I'll talk later on about my thoughts on the whole Chiefs defense, but George Karlaftis got back into the playoffs and almost immediately became a monster again. Dominance from cleanly beating OTs for sacks and pressures, to great work in the run game. His three sacks of Stroud were also super important, from the sack on 4th and 10 with the Chiefs up 20-12, and then two sacks on the final drive - he more than Chris Jones (who was still excellent) was the closer in this one.
Team Laydown of the Week: tbd
Runner-Up: Jayden Daniels (QB, WAS)
Almost gave it to him again - it is staggering how composed and efficient he is in his first two playoff games - this time on the road against the #1 seed that was blitzing the shit out of him. Sure, some will say that the various blitzes were to his advantage, but at times Daniels did struggle with the blitz earlier in the season. Not here. His best throw to me was the 40-yarder to Dyami Brown on their TD drive late in the 2nd quarter. That was about as perfect a throw as is humanly possible. It bears repeating that he is the first rookie QB to make a title game without having a Top-3 defense supporting him. This is magical stuff.
Goat of the Week: Mark Andrews (TE, BAL)
Yeah, I'm sure there are other people we could pick out - from Lamar's rough two turnovers, to Goff's rough three - but I'll go with the guy who did a lot to lose that game. Of course there was the fumble near midfield after a big play (credit Bernard for an amazing punch-out). Doubly of course there was the drop on the two-point conversion, about as simple a catch as there should be for a TE. Let's not also forget that right before Lamar's fumble that Von Miller returned 50 yards, Andrews dropped another fairly easy completion that would've given them 2nd and short near the 20 yard line. Maybe Lamar fumbles on the next snap anyway, but that was an early sign that Andrews was in for a rough, rough day.
Runner-Up: KC / HOU Referees
I hate, hate, hate that we have to talk about the referees. And I'll clearly state that I do not think there is a grand plan to elevate KC. It's more so that the officials just suck. But I will 100% say that certain QBs get the benefit of the doubt and are protected, and man when you see the two Roughing the Passer penalties in this game, it is hard to just not shake your head. It also just feeds the conspiracy theorists, feeds some of the worst types of football discourses. Just rough all around. More than anything, I hope we don't leave the AFC Championship Game (or any of the remaining games) having to talk a ton about the referees.
Surprise of the Week: Rams Pass Rush
The Eagles nominally have a good OL. Granted their strength is more notably run blocking, but their pass blocking prowess shouldn't be discounted. Well, in this game, go ahead and discount it completely. The Rams rush was great. Yes, Hurts was more limited than normal, but from Jared Verse, who talked a big game and backed it up, to the continuing steady great play of Kobi Turner, it was a group wide dominant effort. Honestly, even against the run, they were generally good down to down - the three massive TD runs aside. Anyway, I agree that was a ridiculous qualifier, so back with a more normal view - the Rams pass rush has been able to fully replace Aaron Donald, rebuild on the fly, and return to greatness. They have a bright future.
Runner-Up: Bills Blitzers
The Bills don't often blitz, but when they do: holy shit. The Bills knew they had to do something different in this one, after getting run over down after down after down in the regular season meeting. "Something Different" also had to be not just rest on having Milano, Bernard and Johnson in this one - though all three of those guys played well. The real win was McDermott and Bobby Babich blitzing more than they've done in a while, and doing so with great success even against the run - in the first half at least their run blitzes were on point. Hamlin blitzed on the Lamar fumble. Milano spied and ran on a great play to force a field goal in the 1st half. Even in the second half, they realized that was their only real chance getting pressure. They'll have to mix things up against KC, but for a game, McDermott found his Jim Johnson Acolyte ID again.
Disappointment of the Week: Lion's Poise
The Lions were so poised and ready all year. Even in their two losses, they generally played competitive games. If there was any team that I thought was not going to crumble a bit when they realized their defense was swiss cheese, it would've been this group, but from that early sack-fumble, through the picks and the ridiculous Jamo pass, it was just a mess. A mess that still gained like 8 yards a play and racked up 500 yards of offense and generally just gave the ball away. It may not have mattered as they weren't seemingly stopping the Commanders at any point, but they really just panicked away a game taht they easily could've kept super close.
Runner-Up: The Discourse
We do not need to relitigate Lamar Jackson's career - in both ways. Way too many people are saying he'll never win the big one. An equal amount of "way too many" are saying the exact opposite, that he was amazing and felled by teammates. The truth is in the middle - he had an average game, which for him is a disappointment. Equally great players have had rough road playoff games in 20 degree weather. The fact that we're still doing this QB-Winz nonsense, in either direction, is so harrowingly sad. The world deserves better in sports discourse in 2025. I realize it will likely never change. I think this started with Tom Brady ruining people's minds (and he did) but those minds were already tough before.
Team Performance of the Week: Bills OL
The Ravens DL, and defense overall, has been on a real heater in recent weeks. They just swallowed up whatever Pittsburgh attempted to throw at it, and had basically been a Top-5 unit for months. Well, in this one the Bills OL dominated that matchup from the start. If anything, it was weirdly shallow pass plays on the first two drives of the third quarter that were the only real wins the Ravens defense had all game. Allen had time to throw, and the running game had lanes throughout the game, having one of the more successful games, by success rate, against the Ravens all year. That was a masterful performance for what is the best single unit the Bills have at this point.
Runner-Up: Chiefs Defense
Team Laydown of the Week: tbd
fffff
Runner-Up: Lions Defense:
I hate to put them here. They're so battered by injuries, to an extent I've rarely seen of a defensive unit - in a way similar to the Bills last year. But even then that was a woeful performance. The coverage guys who played so insspiringly well in their Week 18 win over the Vikings were just disastrous in that game. Yes, Robinson's injury hurt them even further, but they provided just no resistance at all. The pass rush was always going to struggle if Glenn didn't send extra men, but even then you would think NFL-quality DL players, even if backups, would get a pressure at some point! None to be had though. All credit to the Commanders, but that was a truly awful performance they went up against.
Storyline that Will be Beat into the Ground this week: Bills v Chiefs, the new Biggest Games of All Time
Did you enjoy the biggest game ever last week, the one with the two MVP favorites? Yes, well to be fair we all did. It was a fantastic game, tightly played and dramatic. But that's nothing? Get a hold of this one - the two teams that have played every regular season from 2020-2024, and in the playoffs now in four of those years. It's too much Bills and Chiefs man! The way this season always had to end! All of that is true, but it is also going to get nauseating quick. This could be an amazing game, but it can also be a mess of discourse and drama and what-not.
Storyline that Should be Beat into the Ground this week: The Eagles ability to Turn the Roster Over
The Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2017, with a roster stocked of a mxi of young talent and high priced free agents. They lost the Super Bowl in 2022, with a roster stocked of a mix of young talent and high priced free agents. They are more likely than not to make the Super Bowl in 2024 with teh same. Now, the 2022 and 2024 rosters have some similarities, obviously, but also some notable differences. Gone are Reddick, Cox and the guys that made the 2022 DL pile up 70 sacks. In their place are a bunch of guys from George (all good, it turns our). Hurts, Brown and Smith are there, but they went out and paid a RB (the horror!). And neither team is anything like 2017. The Eagles have mastered just staying good and deep. It's commendable, to say the least.
Storyline that Should be Beat into the Ground, Part 2: The further fall of the Ravens & Lions
A year ago, the Ravens were the best team in the NFL, and hosted the title game after a 13-4 season. The Chiefs narrowly beat them because the Ravens made some critical mistakes. Later that day, the Lions, in their first title game since 1991, lost a 24-7 lead to the 49ers. Coming into the season, both were seen as early favorites. The Ravens were a DVOA darling. The Lions the same, but also a normal W-L darling going 15-2. We haven't had a season where the losers in the prior year's title games made the Super Bowl since 2012 (Ravens and 49ers). And we won';t this year. On Saturday Night, after the Lions lost, I remembered mostly what Dan Campbell said after the loss a year ago, that this may have been their closest chance. Both teams are relatively young, and Lamar to preternaturally talented, that I still think they have bright futures, but the darkness will extend another 12 months.
