NFL Championship Game Running Thread

[Starman]

My hunch is that Niners-Lions will come down to a huge balls-out gamble by Campbell in the final minutes that either succeeds or fails spectacularly.
Just for fun, let's call it Lions 33-31. Mahomes makes a big play late for KC - 28-25.

 

[Cosmo]

Kind of wild that KC has made six straight AFCCG appearances on the heels of the Patriots appearing in the game seven straight times. No one else has appeared in more than four in a row. Longest NFC streak is four (Dallas twice).

 

[Batman]

Kind of wild that KC has made six straight AFCCG appearances on the heels of the Patriots appearing in the game seven straight times. No one else has appeared in more than four in a row. Longest NFC streak is four (Dallas twice).

Eagles went to four in a row as well, from 2001-04.
What's always been weird to me is how, since about 2000, it's felt like the NFC has a lot more parity from year to year than the AFC. Maybe it was just Patriots fatigue, but for the longest time it felt like we were stuck in a Patriots-Steelers-Ravens-Broncos circle jerk in the AFC championship game. Now the faces are finally changing, but the Chiefs have replaced the Patriots and the Bengals and Bills have filled the other spots in the circle.
The Packers and 49ers have played in 11 of the last 13 NFC championship games, but they've only faced each other once and it seems like that second spot has been more of a rotation than in the AFC. There's usually one team that seems to jump up out of nowhere to get this far (Bucs, Rams, Eagles, Lions the past four years).

Of course, then I looked at the actual numbers and there isn't much difference. Eleven NFC teams have reached the championship game since 2014. Thanks to the changing of the guard the past few years, the AFC has had 10. So maybe I'm just an idiot.

 

[MileHigh]

Eagles went to four in a row as well, from 2001-04.
What's always been weird to me is how, since about 2000, it's felt like the NFC has a lot more parity from year to year than the AFC. Maybe it was just Patriots fatigue, but for the longest time it felt like we were stuck in a Patriots-Steelers-Ravens-Broncos circle jerk in the AFC championship game. Now the faces are finally changing, but the Chiefs have replaced the Patriots and the Bengals and Bills have filled the other spots in the circle.
The Packers and 49ers have played in 11 of the last 13 NFC championship games, but they've only faced each other once and it seems like that second spot has been more of a rotation than in the AFC. There's usually one team that seems to jump up out of nowhere to get this far (Bucs, Rams, Eagles, Lions the past four years).

Of course, then I looked at the actual numbers and there isn't much difference. Eleven NFC teams have reached the championship game since 2014. Thanks to the changing of the guard the past few years, the AFC has had 10. So maybe I'm just an idiot.

Since 2000. AFC, 13 of the 16 teams have gotten to the AFC title game (Browns, Texans, Dolphins).

13 (1): Patriots
6 (2): Chiefs, Steelers
5 (1): Ravens
4 (1): Colts
3 (1): Broncos
2 (4): Bengals, Jets, Raiders, Titans
1 (3): Bills, Chargers, Jaguars

NFC, 14 of the 16 teams have gotten to the NFC title game (Cowboys, Commanders)

7 (2): 49ers, Eagles
6 (1): Packers
3 (7): Falcons, Giants, Panthers, Rams, Saints, Seahawks, Vikings
2 (3): Bears, Buccaneers, Cardinals
1 (1): Lions

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

history rhymes and stuff

And they only fell short once under Schottenheimer. I wonder if they (and he) finally would have broken thru from '07-09. Had to have a betetr shot than Norv (to be fair, Norv won three playoff games...and also lost to the dogass Jets as the no. 1 seed in '09)

 

[Octave]

byh-

The 2006-09 Chargers also had a chucklehead quarterback who had a penchant for the dumb play.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

byh-

The 2006-09 Chargers also had a chucklehead quarterback who had a penchant for the dumb play.

There's an extra layer of melancholy to Marty's series of near-misses b/c he seemed like a really decent guy, the type of guy who used to be able to be a head football coach in the NFL. (His rough final few years certainly add to the melancholy)

I remember Washington having a press conference a day or two after 9/11 and he was teary-eyed saying that he, like everyone else in the room, just wanted to get home and be with his family. He always had good teams and it seems like most of the playoff near-misses were just awful luck (I was a kid or in college for most of these so it's possible there were coaching snafus I missed/don't remember). The Drive, The Fumble, running into the Bills' AFC dynasty with the Chiefs, Steve Bono stinking and Lin Elliott missing three FGs, Elvis Grbac being Elvis Grbac with a 13-win team. Maybe the blown lead against the Patriots in '06 was his doing, but as you noted, the QB didn't do shirt in that game.

 

[Octave]

I was always a Marty fan. Anyone who can pilot Steve DeBerg to plural playoff appearances (and Dave Krieg for another) can coach a little bit.
Even though DeBerg was along for the ride most of the time (along with Marty's Pleistocene-era offenses).

 

[Batman]

Since 2000. AFC, 13 of the 16 teams have gotten to the AFC title game (Browns, Texans, Dolphins).

13 (1): Patriots
6 (2): Chiefs, Steelers
5 (1): Ravens
4 (1): Colts
3 (1): Broncos
2 (4): Bengals, Jets, Raiders, Titans
1 (3): Bills, Chargers, Jaguars

NFC, 14 of the 16 teams have gotten to the NFC title game (Cowboys, Commanders)

7 (2): 49ers, Eagles
6 (1): Packers
3 (7): Falcons, Giants, Panthers, Rams, Saints, Seahawks, Vikings
2 (3): Bears, Buccaneers, Cardinals
1 (1): Lions

I guess it was just the Patriots being there every ... damn ... year for so long, and their opponents more often than not coming from that Steelers-Ravens-Broncos group of opponents. Eight of their 13 appearances were against one of those teams, and then you also had Steelers-Ravens and Steelers-Broncos once each. The Pats also played the Colts three times, but for whatever reason that match-up didn't seem as stale to me.

 

[justgladtobehere]

In January 2009, NFC title game was in Arizona at 1 p.m. MST. In a dome. AFC title game was in bitter cold in Pittsburgh at 6:30 p.m. EST. Because, well, it's all about the fans.

There was no option. The time slots switch between conferences.

 

[MileHigh]

There was no option. The time slots switch between conferences.

I realize that. And as I also noted, had these two matchups we have this year would have been last year or next year, the NFC would kick at noon local time and the AFC at 6:30 local time.

 

[Batman]

I would certainly lay the points with the 49ers. I would take the Chiefs on the grounds of how many times are you ever going to get to bet Mahomes AND the points.

This is two weeks in a row the Chiefs have been 3.5-point underdogs, and they were only favored by four against the Dolphins. Entering the playoffs they were, IIRC, around +800 to win the Super Bowl and are still at +350.
Chiefs are the best deal going in the playoffs. Even if they lose this week, given the odds it's hard to feel bad about it as a calculated value bet.