# NFL 2023-2024: Conference Championships **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-nfl\ **Created:** [January 24, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595 "2024-01-24T16:11:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/121 "2024-01-29T12:39:07Z")
Well, the Chiefs didn’t win the game, the Ravens committed gridiron suicide. Mistake after mistake after mistake did the trick. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/122 "2024-01-29T12:54:00Z")
Ravens got pass-happy. They played the second half like they were down 30 when they were only ever back 10. OC Todd Monken’s plan was either idiotic or non-existent, and he very much deserves firing just for that game. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/123 "2024-01-29T13:04:55Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Well, the Chiefs didn’t win the game, the Ravens committed gridiron suicide. So would you say the same thing about the Lions? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/124 "2024-01-29T13:07:21Z")
Not really. They had a fabulous first half and the 49ers were flat. The 49ers had a great 2nd half and the Lions cooled off. True, the fumble was brutal, but it wasn’t a “mistake after mistake after mistake” situation. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/125 "2024-01-29T13:07:40Z")
Take away the fumble and the freak long pass by SF and the Lions win in a walk. Sure, I would have kicked the FGs but a case can be made for going for it too. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/126 "2024-01-29T13:22:06Z")
I don’t understand what people have against going for it. If they hadn’t consistently done that all season, they wouldn’t have been in this game in the first place. Or have score as much in this game in the first place. So, the solution is to go against the stats and change their practices at the last minute to become more conservative instead of aggressively going for the win as they have all season? What sense does that make? NFL fans don’t love to win. They love to avoid losing I know everybody wants to find “the” reason they lost. There isn’t one. A game is made up of hundreds of little things. The Lions messed up on enough of them to lose. But if you want to find one that had more of an impact than the others, don’t look at the 4th down calls, look to the 3rd quarter when Detroit fumbles on a 1st and 10 following a touchback. Turnovers are bad at any point of the game, but giving the other team the ball back on the 25 immediately after they just scored is cutting your own throat. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/127 "2024-01-29T13:47:57Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > But you also have to remember, they were within 3 because they scored the 3rd time they went for it on 4th down. They went for it in field goal range three times and came away with seven points instead of kicking it three times for nine points. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/128 "2024-01-29T13:54:40Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > They went for it in field goal range three times and came away with seven points instead of kicking it three times for nine points. But they could have missed one or more of those three possible field goals. All second guessing aside, if the defense had just been good enough to NOT blow a halftime 17 POINT LEAD, no second guessing on whether or not they should have just gone for 3 would be necessary 🤬 ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/129 "2024-01-29T13:56:25Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > They went for it in field goal range three times and came away with seven points instead of kicking it three times for nine points But look at it from the point-in-game situation. Had they kicked (and converted) the FG the first two times, they would have been down just four points instead of ten on their last drive. (Assuming, of course, that everything else plays out the same.) Down four with less than a minute to go, they obviously go for it on 4th down. Even kicking a FG on one of those situations gives them a chance to win the game. And in both of the earlier 4th-down situations, converting a first down does not guarantee a touchdown. One was at the SF 28, and the other at the SF 30. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/130 "2024-01-29T13:56:46Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > They went for it in field goal range three times and came away with seven points instead of kicking it three times for nine points. And those extra 2 points would have made all the difference in a 3 point loss ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/131 "2024-01-29T13:59:39Z")
That’s not giving the Chiefs nearly enough credit. They made the plays. They pressured Jackson. They had some hand in those “mistakes.” ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/132 "2024-01-29T14:09:56Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Safe prediction 2: Usher will be trying to perform a halftime show but all the socialnets will be saying is that meanwhile Taylor Swift is partying in the owners’ suite. It’ll be tough for her to get to the game in time after her concert in Japan that day. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/133 "2024-01-29T14:11:57Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > It’ll be tough for her to get to the game in time after her concert in Japan that day Heh. Just saw on The Today Show that she’ll be able to make it, even though it’s a 13 hour flight. Doubt if she’ll be flying coach. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/134 "2024-01-29T14:13:04Z")
Apparently she has a 737? Or some large airliner. No, definitely not flying coach ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/135 "2024-01-29T14:13:11Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Doubt if she’ll be flying coach. Show owns _multiple_ jets. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/136 "2024-01-29T14:29:42Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Show owns _multiple_ jets Assume you meant ‘she’ or ‘Swift’. And, yes, most of us are aware of her many modes of transportation. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/137 "2024-01-29T14:48:03Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > But if you want to find one that had more of an impact than the others, don’t look at the 4th down calls, look to the 3rd quarter when Detroit fumbles on a 1st and 10 following a touchback. I also think the call to run on 3rd down at the very end was pretty bad. It made them use one of their timeouts, which made them go for the onside kick and let the 49ers kill the entire clock. If they had kept that third timeout the 49ers either have to get a first down or punt the ball away with 30 seconds or so left. The 4th down calls were both coin flips, IMO. I think the analytics back that up. I was actually slightly more down on the first one. When you have a solid lead I think adding more points is almost always the right call. It helps keep the momentum on your side, and removes a possible momentum-shifting stop from the equation. At that point trading TDs for FGs probably wasn’t going to be enough for the 49ers, so why give them a chance at the turnover they need to come back? Once the game was close I’m OK with going for it to maximize the points you score. > [@DCnDC](#): > > Ravens got pass-happy. I think I read they had 6 rushes by RBs all game. The others were either QB runs or WR runs. That’s pretty bad play calling… ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/138 "2024-01-29T15:17:06Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I think I read they had 6 rushes by RBs all game. Gus Edwards, their best running back, had three carries. Three. Against a Chiefs defense that has struggled against the run this year. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/139 "2024-01-29T15:32:15Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Ugh. What an awful Lions loss. I don’t know what would be worse- to have had the Lions just get blown out, or what did happen- Lions having a 17 POINT LEAD at the half, tasting victory, and getting it taken away 😩 The mood in metro-Detroit is pretty depressed. Just being in the Super Bowl was a big deal for us and we still have never been to one. I hope the Lions only improve for next year. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595/140 "2024-01-29T17:19:22Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > That’s not giving the Chiefs nearly enough credit. They made the plays. They pressured Jackson. They had some hand in those “mistakes.” Yup - every team tends to make mistakes. The Chefs just manage to play a near-perfect game, and forced Baltimore into pressing. The Chefs’ defense continued to be overlooked - having a fully healthy Chris Jones (who was motivated by a $1.1m Super Bowl appearance clause) didn’t hurt. And L’Jarius Sneed is an absolute assassin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2023-2024-conference-championships/996595.md?page=8)