Occasionally, a team comes out of nowhere, gets hot at the right time, defies the odds, and makes a miracle run to the Super Bowl. This season will not be one such occasion. The best teams in the league took care of business this weekend and will meet up in next week’s conference championship contests. The Chiefs, Eagles, Bengals, and 49ers will be this season’s final four and football fans couldn’t ask for much more. Every game from here out should be a good one and each of these teams would make a worthy champion.
Despite Mahomes’ Injury, The Chiefs Top The Jags
On the first drive for Kansas City on Saturday, Patrick Mahomes had all the answers for the Jaguars’ pressure. He led an 83-yard drive that culminated in an 8-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce. It felt as though this would be a repeat performance from Week 10 when Mahomes shredded the Jacksonville defense for 331 yards and four TDs. However, during the Chiefs’ next possession, Mahomes had his lower leg rolled up on awkwardly by a Jacksonville defender and he went down in obvious pain.
He went to the locker room and missed most of the second quarter. He returned in the second half but was clearly hobbled. Even with the injury he was the best player on the field and led a fourth quarter, 75-yard TD drive at a point when the Chiefs’ lead had been cut to only three. It was enough to hold off the Jags and advance with a 27-20 win.
Kelce Shines Again
Other than Mahomes, the K.C. offense was led by Kelce, who put up a 14-reception, 98-yard, and two-TD performance in what felt like just another day at the office for the superstar tight end. It was yet again a brilliant game in what has been an incredible season for the 33-year-old, future Hall of Famer. Don’t buy into an age discount during 2023 fantasy drafts. We’ve seen tight ends of this caliber age quite gracefully with Tony Gonzalez putting up great TE fantasy seasons all the way through his age 37 campaign, and that was without Mahomes as his quarterback.
Lawrence Shows Well, Jags Future Is Promising
Though Mahomes’ injury likely led to this game being closer than it otherwise may have been, Trevor Lawrence looked just fine playing in a big-time, AFC playoff game. The game plan for the Jags was ball control and he executed that, connecting on a couple of nice shot plays when they were there. He had a couple of mistakes in the game but nothing that wouldn’t be expected of a second-year quarterback in the playoffs on the road. The future looks very bright for Lawrence, Doug Pederson, and this young Jaguars team. Lawrence looks to join a group of great AFC quarterbacks in their 20s who should be battling each other in playoff games for years to come.
