NFL Conference Championship Weekend generates some of the most memorable moments in NFL history.
Moments like “The Drive” and “The Catch” are forever etched into the ancient hieroglyphics of NFL postseason lore, which begs the question.
What do we call Patrick Mahomes’ 5-yard scramble on 3rd & 4 with 17 seconds left in the game that set up the game-winning field goal?
Perhaps “The Scramble” could work…
But that would overlook Joseph Ossai’s misguided decision to shove Mahomes once he had already stepped out of bounds, which resulted in a crippling personal foul penalty, which moved the 15-yards closer to a trip to the Super Bowl.
However you choose to remember the play, there is no denying that it was the moment of this Conference Championship Weekend.
Chiefs 23, Bengals 20
KC: There is no way to sugarcoat this.. The Kansas City Chiefs played an inspired brand of football, which was led by one of the guttiest performances from an injured superstar in recent sports history. Mahomes 326 passing yards and two scores through the air is one for the ages. As if we needed any further proof that he is a bonafide superstar, he delivered the goods on a big stage against a real challenger for his spot on the throne. Despite the Herculean effort for Mahomes, Chris Jones was the real MVP of this game. It was an all-around team effort, which included another masterful coaching performance from head coach Andy Reid, to punch their ticket to their third Super Bowl appearance in the last five seasons.
CIN: As great as the offensive line performed against the Buffalo Bills, they equally struggled against the Chiefs. Joe Burrow was under siege for the majority of this game and the running game was a virtual non-factor. I would be doing a disservice to the Bengals faithful if I didn’t at least mention the officiating in this contest, which had moments that were outright confusing and borderline embarrassing for the NFL. Despite the Bengals coming up short this time around, the Bengals are a team that still has a very bright future with Burrow emerging as one of the best young quarterbacks in the league.
Eagles 31, 49ers 7
PHI: The Eagles punched their ticket to Super Bowl LVII by playing their brand of football. A dominant running game and tough defense. Quarterback Jalen Hurts didn’t have his best day as a passer, but he avoided any big mistakes and proved capable of managing the game with timely runs to extend drives to compliment what turned out to be a stellar defensive performance.
SF: At some point, injuries at the quarterback position become too much for any team to overcome… No matter how talented that team is. The 49ers feel like a snake-bitten team under Kyle Shanahan. And while it’s yet another tough exit for a 49ers team that has more than a handful of reasons to say ‘what if’ about this season, the fact that this team rallied around a rookie quarterback, who was selected with the very last pick of this NFL draft, is just a testament to how well run this organization is. I say with confidence that this team will be in the mix for another Super Bowl bid next season… if they can only figure out who to move forward with under center.
Derek Tate was born and raised in the Tampa Bay Area. He has been covering the NFL for the last five years and is currently the Sports Director and Play-by-Play Announcer for the TV station in northern Michigan, NewsNet. When he isn’t watching, analyzing, living, eating or breathing NFL Football, he enjoys spending time with his one-year-old daughter, Kennedy.