The Shenoa Report
January 28, 2024
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
It’s Sunday afternoon and I’ve just started writing this blog post. It was another hard week. I’ve put off writing this until the last possible moment. I’m dedicating this post to Tony. I know he read my blog and he loved sports. The first time I met him he was also introduced to “Football Shenoa.” You see, it was the first Sunday of the season and the Giants were playing the Cowboys. If you know me, and my passion for football and the Giants, you know that I was already amped for the game, let alone meeting my father-in-law for the first time. The Giants played nice and actually beat the Cowboys 20-19. I behaved myself and was so glad that both my partner and Tony accepted “Football Shenoa” as well as regular everyday Shenoa. Throughout the years my partner and I would get texts from Tony after games that the Giants lost to make sure I was ok as well as celebratory texts or phone calls after a win. If you read my post last week you can put together that Tony was the major loss in our life. I still encourage you to hug your loved ones. Call your family and tell them you love them. Call your friends and do the same. Life is short.
I went 3-1 on my picks in the divisional round.
Before we get into the conference championship let’s recap the Divisional round.
Texans @ Ravens 10-34
I liked the first half of this game much better than the second. The Texans and Ravens went into the half tied at 10. But when the second half of the game started there was definitely a momentum shift. The Ravens defense didn’t give up a single point to the Texans in the third and fourth quarters. Lamar Jackson had four total touchdowns on the day, two passing and two rushing. Jackson made history by becoming the first quarterback since at least 1948, in the regular season or playoffs, with at least two touchdown passes, two TD runs, 100 yards rushing and a 100 passer rating in the same game. Next up the Ravens will host the Chiefs in the Championship game.
Packers @ 49ers 21-24
This game was way closer than expected. I mean, really close. It came down to the final two minutes. The 49ers didn’t play their best game and the Packers fought and made it very exciting to watch. For more than a moment I thought that the Packers were going to pull off a huge upset. But it was Christian McCaffrey who was the hero for San Francisco as he had the game winning rushing touchdown with 1:07 to play. The 49ers will now host the Lions in the Championship game.
Buccaneers @ Lions 23-31
This game was back and forth until the fourth quarter when the Lions pulled away with the win. Jahmyr Gibbs ran through a huge hole for a tiebreaking, 31 yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Jared Goff made it a two touchdown lead when he connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown later in the 4th. Goff finished 30 of 43 for 287 yards and two passing touchdowns. St. Brown had eight catches for 77 yards and a receiving touchdown. Baker Mayfield threw three TD passes for Tampa Bay, including a 16 yard pass to Mike Evans that got the Bucs within one score with 4:37 left in the game. The Lions couldn't run out the clock on offense, giving Tampa Bay one last chance, but Mayfield threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Detroit’s linebacker Derrick Barnes which ultimately ended the game. The Lions have now won two playoff games in a season for the first time since 1957 and for the first time in franchise history they had two postseason games at home. Next up the Lions will head to San Francisco to face the 49ers in the Championship game.
Chiefs @ Bills 27-24
Ugh. A perfect ending to a perfect week. That’s my sarcastic font. Wide right. Honestly, I’m pretty numb to this ending. In a highly emotional week I would’ve thought I’d cry at this loss. But I just stared at the tv emotionless. It was a super close game where neither team led by more than seven points and they traded leads five times. Bills kicker Tyler Bass had the first score of this game but by missing the field goal at the end of the game he became the villain and ended the Bills season. The Chiefs are pretty good in the postseason. They are 13-3 with Patrick Mahomes as their QB in the playoffs. Now they have knocked the Bills out of the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons. This was Patrick Mahomes first playoff road win as Kansas City usually has home field advantage. Needless to say, they didn’t need the home field to spoil the Bills once again. It was a very close game and even if Bass had made the field goal with less than two minutes in regulation the Chiefs would’ve gotten the ball back and Mahomes probably would’ve orchestrated another comeback to win the game. Or it could have gone to overtime which is also not good for the Bills as Josh Allen has NEVER won an overtime game. So many what if’s. But the reality is the Bills lost. The Chiefs will now head to Baltimore to face the Ravens in the Championship game.
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY
Sunday, January 28th
Chiefs @ Ravens (3pm CBS)
As long as Patrick Mahomes has been a starter for the Chiefs he has taken the team to the AFC Championship. This is the Chiefs sixth-straight trip. It is the second longest streak all-time behind the Patriots (2011-2018). For Andy Reid, this is his 11th conference championship, passing Tom Landry for the second-most by a head coach all-time. This is the first time that the Ravens have hosted the AFC Championship in the franchise's history. I’ll be rooting for the Chiefs but I don’t expect them to win. KC will be without linebacker Willie Gay as well as left guard Joe Thuney due to injuries sustained in last week’s game. This is a devastating blow for the Chiefs. Meanwhile, the Ravens are getting healthier with the return of Mark Andrews. He was activated off of IR for this game after not playing since suffering an ankle injury on Nov. 16. He led the Ravens with 54.4 receiving yards per game this season and led the Ravens with six receiving touchdowns, despite missing seven games. With all that said, I’m picking the Ravens to win this game but I’ll be pulling for the Chiefs.
Lions @ 49ers (6:30pm FOX)
As crazy as it sounds I have more confidence in the Lions beating the 49ers than I do the Chiefs beating the Ravens. I know the Lions are coming into this game as the underdogs. The 49ers are 7.5 point favorites. The 49ers have injuries to watch. Deebo Samuel was injured in last week’s game and if he’s not 100% this game the 49ers could be in trouble. The Lions play with so much heart and passion that I really think they can beat the 49ers. I really just don’t want another 49ers-Ravens super bowl so I am going to pick the Lions to win this game. Why not? GO LIONS!
GO LIONS!
Thanks for the edit Eric!
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