Conference Championship Sunday

By Ryan “The Goose” Gosiker

Sports is the gift that keeps on giving. Week in and week out, it provides extraordinary moments. Some through joy and others through heart-shattering defeat. This past weekend saw a little bit of it all as the NFL delivered a masterpiece in both Conference Championship games for the right to play for the Super Bowl on February 11th. The early game saw the Kansas City Chiefs travel to Baltimore. KC was fresh off their first road playoff win of the Mahomes era. The Ravens came in having won 11 games against teams with a winning record including a dismantling of the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara on Christmas. Baltimore earned the right to be the favorite in the game especially at home and the Chiefs missing OL Joe Thuney and LB Willie Gay. Gay was expected to spy and follow Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson. Kansas City was surgical on their first offensive possession resulting in a Mahomes to Kelce touchdown. The defense stepped up creating turnovers and forced Lamar Jackson, the likely MVP of the league, to hold the football too long allowing the defensive line to eventually get home or force a throwaway. Mahomes and the offense would push the lead to 17-7 just before half. That was the last time they scored on the day as the Steve Spagnuolo, former Giants Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator, led defense would swarm the Ravens, forcing 2 more turnovers in the second half. This is the Chief’s 4th Super Bowl appearance in 5 years as they look for their 3rd title. They will get a chance to beat San Francisco like they did in Super Bowl 54 as the 49ers barely survived against the pesky Detroit Lions. Detroit led the NFC title game 24-7 at halftime. In the 3rd quarter, the 49ers capitalized on two critical Josh Reynolds drops, a pass that hit a Lions defender in the helmet before landing in a 49ers’ arms, and a fumble by rookie Jahmyr Gibbs. The game was tied with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. They would add 10 more points in the 4th quarter to hang on to win. Detroit left 6 points on the field by going for 2 4th downs. This is the identity of Dan Campbell as a coach. As a former athlete, we loved nothing more than when Coach trusted us to go-for-it. Detroit choked the game away to the 49ers benefit. Now, we all have until the 11th to regroup, and we will break down the game next week, but as a viewer, this past weekend was outstanding. The drama. The intensity. The importance of each play. You do not find it in other sports; at least not like this. Check out my sports show: “Game Time with The Goose” every Saturday from 8:00 to 9:00 AM on WTBQ AM 1110 FM 93.5 and on WGHT Radio with co-host Zach Kruk, Sports Director of WTBQ and WGHT!