AFC and NFC Championship Predictions

The AFC and NFC Championships are upon us this Sunday, and its been a wild ride. The Chiefs take on the Ravens, and the Lions take on the 49ers. These two games are about to be very exciting, with lots of shootout potential in each games. I’m going to make my predictions for each game, with what I think each team needs to do to win.

Starting with the AFC, the Chiefs visit the Ravens as 4 point under dogs. The Chiefs won a close one in the divisional against the Bills, winning 27-24. Taking on the Ravens will be a whole different beast. The Chiefs will have to use Willie Gay as a QB spy again on the very mobile Lamar Jackson. Josh Allen was able to run wild when Willie Gay got hurt and had to leave the game early. Hopefully Gay will be healthy for Sunday and able to contain Jackson. The Chief’s offense will have to keep doing what they do best; let Mahomes make plays. Taking on the number 1 defense will be a tough challenge, but there’s no one else I’d rather have take them on. Pacheco will have to run very well against the Pro Bowl linebacker duo in Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen. As long as the Chiefs can move the ball on the ground, they’ll be able to keep up. The Ravens won’t need to change anything in their game plan. They just need to run the ball well, and capitalize on play action when they run it. The Raven’s activated star tight end Mark Andrews off IR, so hopefully he will hit the ground running. Rookie Zay Flowers will have a tough challenge against All Pro corner Trent McDuffie. I think the Ravens take this one 31-28.

The Lions visit the 49ers in the Bay, with the 49ers lucky to have star WR Deebo Samuel who was forced to leave early last game with a shoulder injury. The key for the 49ers this game will be limiting turn overs on offense, because they’re going to need to score the ball every chance they get to. With All Pro Christian McCaffery in the backfield, he’s going to get force-fed the ball. Because when he has the ball, good things happen. On defense, they’re going to need to limit explosive plays in the run and out of play action, because Detroit is one of the best teams to run Play Action. Teams are afraid of the two headed beast in the backfield in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. The run game has been so successful in Detroit because of star Right Tackle, Penei Sewell. When they Lions run the ball behind Sewell, they average 7 yards per carry. With Gibbs’ electric speed and Montgomery’s power, the Lions will always have a running back ready to run the rock. Sewell is an athletic freak, and OC Ben Johnson knows what he has on his line. Many plays are called to cater towards Sewell’s athleticism. If Sewell is able to win his matchup this game, this Lion’s offense will be firing on all cylinders and give the top seeded 49ers a run for their money. Give me the Lions in every way possible. Its an upset brewing, and I’m all over it. I think the final score will be Lions winning 37-34.