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“AFC–NFL WEEKEND”
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Some Sunday watching NFL football.  Big plays, big mistakes, a big upset too.

CHIEFS-RAVENS:  An out-of-character game.  The Chiefs, known for offense, won because of their defense.  The Ravens, the toughest team in the league, got beaten down.  Kansas City moves on.

Andy Reid outschemed John Harbaugh.  Steve Spangnuolo blitzed Lamar Jackson into a defeat.  The Ravens so tough, self-destructed all day long.  Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce-were Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

What a Sunday of self-destruction by Baltimore.  8-penalties, most of them fatal, killed momentum.  Personal fouls, late QB hits, 12 on the field, 3-offensive line flags.  It was so very strange to see.

And for all the big plays they made, trying to catch up (21-32-39-54Y), they were stymied by flag after flag.  Shutoff when their QB was sacked, flushed from the pocket, or had to scramble and throw incompletions.  It was such a different Ravens team than the one who had slugged their way thru this schedule.

And for the Chiefs, they answered every question.  Can they win in the cold and snow?  Can Patrick Mahomes win on the road in the postseason?  Who they trust to catch the ball after a season of wide receiver failures most of the year?

The Chiefs came out firing on all cylinders right from the start.  Dictated tempo.  Torched the Ravens zone defense.  Travis Kelce targeted 11-times, caught 11-passes for (116Y) and was impossible to defend.

So Mahomes is now (14-3) the playoffs, and (34-13) as a road QB.  Reid is (27-14) as a coach in the playoffs.  The Ravens go unrewarded again and Jackson is now (2-4) in games at the most important time of the season, the playoffs.

What happened in Baltimore was so-out-of character.  The Chiefs defense won them the game.  The once powerful Ravens were so substandard

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49ERS-LIONS: As close as you can come to a Super Bowl berth, but it was a win for the Niners and a loss for Detroit.

The Lions did play 30-minutes of dominant football, but could not produce a second half, losing a 17-point lead and watching the Niners score on 5-straight possessions, reel off 27-points in a row, as San Francisco heads back to the Big Show.

Brock Purdy went up and down the field on scoring drives.  Made enough big passes, ripped off 4-runs all in the second half, scampering out of trouble and getting first downs..  Brandon Aiyuk took a deflected pass off a facemask to complete a 51-yard pass play that led to the comeback touchdown.

Detroit’s coach Dan Campbell, always aggressive, bypassed 3-field goals to go for it on 4th down, twice failing and not being able to stay in the game.  The lost points and lost momentum were a difference maker.

Tough night for Jared Goff, disappoining night for a team that ran for (182Y) rushing, a tough night for a deflated defense, trampled in the 2nd half.

That said, a great season in Detroit but a failure to get to the finish line-Super Bowl Sunday.

The Niners kept making play, the Lions fell apart, and the sold out Santa Clara Stadium went crazy.

Take a deep breath for 2-weeks and prepare for the Chiefs-Niners, which could be as wild as what we saw this weekend.

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