Most people think of Super Bowl Sunday as the official end to the football season. And technically, they might be correct, but most people who live and breathe this sport feel differently.
The last true day of football is coming this weekend. Championship Sunday. The day we’ve been waiting for since the Bears and Packers kicked off on that Thursday night in early September. Just two more games remain until we find out the two teams who will face off in the Super Bowl.
And for rabid fans, it’s the last chance to have the sport just to themselves. The only thing that matters is what happens on the field. Pure football.
There’s no excitement over who performs the national anthem. You don’t have to worry about the endless hype around a halftime show. No two weeks of buildup. No radio row. No Colin Cowherd interviewing mindless celebrities on South Beach. No non-football fans clogging up a Super Bowl party, asking dumb questions about the game and talking at the wrong time.
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I head into this weekend with a mix of sadness and joy. I’m depressed for the reasons I mentioned above. I’m elated because on Championship Sunday, I’m catching a morning flight to Las Vegas and watching the games from the comfort of The Cosmo. Sorry, don’t mean to brag, but living in Los Angeles really makes it easy to pop over there.
So, take a moment to soak it in. Enjoy the majesty of four teams fighting their hearts out for two precious spots, because if we’re being honest, the Super Bowl is almost anticlimactic.
WHAT’S THE CHATTER?
Location, location, location: I consider myself to be a Ryan Tannehill apologist. I was a big fan of him coming out of Texas A&M and when the Dolphins took him with the No. 8 overall pick in 2012, I thought he was going to be the guy to lift the franchise out of the doldrums.
That didn’t happen. Tannehill set some franchise records in Miami, but starting in 2016, he was hit by the injury bug. He didn’t play at all in 2017 and was limited to 11 games in 2018. And as a result, he was cut loose in the offseason and Dolphins fans and the media didn’t utter a word in his defense.
To think he’s just one win from the Super Bowl is just so … Dolphins. Once you get away from the dysfunctional organization, good things can happen.
I’m not crying, you’re crying: If you didn’t get at least a little emotional watching Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson get their Hall of Fame nods on live television, then you’re not human. You’re a borg. You read that right. I’m calling you a “Star Trek” villain.
Sorry, Pete: The Seahawks had their chance to beat the Packers, but fell just short. It was how short that concerned coach Pete Carroll, who felt that Jimmy Graham came up just short of a first down in a crucial fourth-quarter situation. And while the replay did appear as though the football could have been short of the line to gain, it wasn’t enough to overturn the call on the field.
Pete is still upset. I’m not. Sorry dude, but that’s not the reason Seattle lost that game. They had their chances and couldn’t get it done. Come back stronger next season.
One more for the road: Larry Fitzgerald seems to possess the power of everlasting youth, because the Cardinals wide receiver and future Hall of Famer has decided he will come back for his 17th NFL season. While I usually prefer to see players call it quits as early as possible, Fitz is different.
He appears to be in good health and doesn’t have a huge concussion history. So, if he’s still having fun playing and can be a steady contributor, what’s the problem? Let the old man continue to bless the game with his presence.
Only in the NFL: We watched the Vikings offense sputter and die in the Bay Area last week. So, it makes perfect sense that Minnesota offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski was named the new Browns head coach.
Actually, I’m being a bit harsh. There’s no doubt that QB Kirk Cousins enjoyed a career year playing in Stefanski’s offense, so maybe he has a shot of turning things around in Cleveland. He probably won’t because the organization is a complete dumpster fire, but short of bringing Vince Lombardi back from the grave, Stefanski has as good a chance as anyone.
Hater train: Many people on Twitter got upset after the Ravens lost to the Titans. They spent all season pumping up Lamar Jackson as the man who was reinventing the quarterback position and the game of football in front of their eyes. Then, they watched him fall behind big and stumble to an eventual bitter defeat.
And the peanut gallery that couldn’t wait to cast doubt on Jackson’s potential had their moment in the sun to exclaim, “see? I told you!” And Jackson’s defenders couldn’t stand it.
Everyone needs to relax. Lamar Jackson is an excellent young quarterback with a very bright future ahead. However, the Titans defense did a solid job defending him and laid a blueprint for the rest of the league to follow. Jackson needs to continue to improve as a passer and add more dimensions to his game.
If he does that, he’ll be fine and won’t need anyone to stick up for him.
BREAKING DOWN THE GAMES
TITANS AT CHIEFS, 3:05 PM ET
There are comeback wins and there is what the Chiefs did to the Texans in the divisional round. That was more than a simple comeback. That was god, speaking to us through football. Down 24-0 early in the second quarter, the Chiefs went on a 51-7 run that put the rest of the league on notice.
This team is never out of a game. They’re too fast and too talented. If you get a lead on them, you can’t play to lose. You have to step on their throat, keep applying pressure and pray that Patrick Mahomes gets an attack of the yips. That’s your only hope.
Do the Titans, a team that finished the regular season with a 9-7 record, have a chance? Absolutely. They dispatched two of the AFC’s top three seeds in consecutive weeks and made the top-ranked Ravens offense look pedestrian in the process. My advice would be to continue doing what you’re doing. Give Kansas City a steady diet of Derrick Henry and hope Ryan Tannehill can make a couple big throws.
Just don’t be surprised if the Chiefs erase any lead the Titans build in a matter of seconds.
My pick: Chiefs
PACKERS AT 49ERS, 6:40 PM ET
On paper, picking this game should be easy. The 49ers looked strong as can be during their divisional round win over the Vikings. What was impressive wasn’t the fact that they moved the ball. It was that they ran the ball 47 times and Minnesota’s vaunted defensive front was powerless to stop it.
And don’t get me started on San Francisco’s defense. When their front seven is firing on all cylinders and they have Richard Sherman in the secondary making plays, they are downright frightening.
We even saw these two teams play each other earlier this season. The result? Green Bay suffered an embarrassing 37-8 defeat in which Aaron Rodgers was limited to just 104 yards passing. Ugh.
However, something is sticking in my mind. Let’s travel back to the 2010 season. The New York Jets, with Mark Sanchez at quarterback, were blown out 45-3 by the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. About a month later, the two teams faced off again in the playoffs.
This time, it was the Jets beating the Patriots 28-21 on the road in the infamous Bart Scott “can’t wait!” game. Will we see history repeat itself? If that’s going to happen, the Packers need to find a way to bottle up the 49ers’ running game and make Jimmy Garoppolo beat them.
And Aaron Rodgers must have the type of game worthy of a Hall of Famer. Anything short of that and Green Bay is looking at another blowout loss. Although who knows, Rodgers could throw for 400 yards and still lose by three touchdowns.
My pick: 49ers
NFL Analyst
Currently a Mobile Editor at Yahoo, Saraf spent 5.5 years (Oct. 2010 – Feb. 2016) working for FOX Sports as an NFL Editor and Writer. Prior to that, Saraf worked for CBS Interactive for 4.5 years (May 2006 – Oct. 2010) as a Staff Editor.