NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - 2023 Conference Championship Recap

Episode Date: January 29, 2024

In a room full of heroes - Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, and Marc Sessler react to the Chiefs and 49ers advancing to Super Bowl 58. The heroes start by discussing the Chiefs beating the Ravens to win the AFC Championship (03:16). After the break, the guys break down the 49ers beating the Lions to win the NFC Championship (34:05).  Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Around the NFL podcast is ready to serve you a championship Sunday. Mmm, tasty. From the Chris Wesleying podcast studio, it's Around the NFL, the flagship program, the championship Sunday.

that's a little play on word sest dog Sunday in the day of the week and a little ice cream treat my imagination only immediately goes to Jason Zumwald out in the Connecticut wilderness eating a massive banana split nude Sunday oh that's just me well nude I just assume we assume nude

Jason I miss you buddy come back Dan Hans is here with Greg Rosenthal and Mark Sessler and yes the Super Bowl is set it's going to sound familiar but it's going to be a good game The San Francisco 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. And Gregie, you're addicted.

What do you think the opening spread is? I'm not addicted to anything because the NFL prevents me from being so. I love that. I'm not addicted to pigskin. Oh, um. No idea. I met his gambling issue. Go ahead.

Uh, we'll do the draft king since we're connected to them, tententially. 49ers minus one and a half. Niners, Mark. Two and a half. Bing, bang, boom. Cestog's on fire with the spreads. Two weeks in a row.

Two and a half. It is opening at two and a half. A dug-in addicted gambler, I just think. Sessler is not coming back from Vegas. He will be working at Mandalay sportsbook. Are we worried about Cessdog in Vegas for the Super Bowl? I am. I mean, no more than most any Super Bowl, but yes.

My behavior will be pristine. This one is, just start right there. This one's a little touch and go. Other books have it between two and three, but Draft King says it right in the middle. And that's the one that I said. We're loyal to them. I don't know.

Are we? I can't even keep track. I don't know. I just want a Toyota Grand Highlander. Right. And you just want a goddamn Dejorno pizza. A $3 frozen pizza that like a, you know, a child could buy.

Is that asking too much to get Mark a $4.99 pizza. It is. That's what I've been told. So here we are. Two closely contested games, two games that featured big swings and emotion,

two games in which only one team could be victorious, and now the Super Bowl set. So we're going to go through both of them, and we'll start with the AFC championship game. The showdown

between the mighty Kansas City Chiefs, this proud team, this dynasty. Could you call them a dynasty? You almost had, you felt like you got to get back to another one. Maybe win another one before it's like a set in stone dynasty, but they had to take care of business here against the number one seed

Ravens at home with the MVP. If they didn't beat Bahomes this time, they never would. Let's see. To the game. Those are the narratives. 36. Ravens, four-man front. Laying press on the outside. Mahomes will throw it in the pocket.

He's launching one long. Marquez Valdez Scantley catches the ball at the Raven 30 on his backside. Shades of the catch he had against Cincinnati in the end zone last year in the AFC championship game. Marquez Valdez Scantling saving the best for last. Whoa, Mitch Holt us with a call. MVS, who couldn't catch the sniffles in April of 2020, now is unstoppable on deep balls. He makes the catch, the clincher from 32 yards from Mahomes on 3rd and 9

with about two minutes to play. You know, the incompletion there would have given the Ravens the ball with time to either tie or win, but instead, the Chiefs and the Great Mahomes who are touchdowns on each of their first two possessions, then again turned to that defense, which was as good as advertised to beat the Ravens, 17 to 10.

And it is the Kansas City Chiefs back to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years as they continue to chisel away in stone a dynasty case. And Greg, of course, the Chiefs beat the Eagles last year in the Super Bowl, and now they look to be the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since your New England Patriots way back in 2004, 20 years ago. And man, at this point, how could you doubt the Chiefs?

I dare you to do it. I did it. Many others did. And once again, they made everybody gobble on banana splits, humble pie. Jason's nude. Everybody was all fired. The odds makers are doing it again, apparently, as well. And what I think that number and all the numbers can't really quantify

is how Patrick Mahomes with a big time assist from his guy, Travis Kelsey. And it is crazy how this team who's made all these AFC championship games in a row and all these Super Bowls into just short time is really led by their quarterback and tight end, just like the Patriots, that they're led by the best game manager I've ever seen. Like, he's the best player I've ever seen. And there's a lot of game manager discourse going around. I feel like lately. And to me, this game was a sign of how Patrick Wombs

has always been a game manager, but it's even better at it now. Because you think of those first couple of drives. He hits a beautiful throw to Kelsey on third down to stay on the field. Or rather, the fourth down to stay on the field. Incredible play where Kelsey's not open, and he's the backside receiver on that plays the third option. And you get to it in a big spot.

You get Kelsey again, not really. that open for the touchdown, but just a beautiful play. You get a couple touchdowns early, and then nothing happens essentially for eight street drives. And you can say, oh, he didn't even have a very good game. They scored 17 points. And that's all true. But he know what he was doing.

He didn't make any mistakes. And then when you absolutely needed to get a first down at the end, he goes for a big play and he hits it to MVS, who is our modern day Sammy Watkins. He only shows up in the biggest games ever. And he delivers. Even when MVS was obviously, you know, overtly struggling and a couple times like an island games on like Sunday night football, he still was getting behind defense. He still at his speed. That's never been his problem. Right. He was getting behind defenders and it was just like, can you just convert? Can you catch the ball?

And in the last couple of weeks, the questions that we've had about Kansas City's weapons and offense, that story's changed. And it's not that there's suddenly some sort of powerhouse. They're not. They're still struggling. I mean, you know, I watched this game. today, and the way it ended, it was just like a team that finds a way each of these teams have a character and a kind of a definition of who they are, and the chiefs like can win ugly, they can win in ways that they didn't win in previous years, and they can do it with the same players, and

you know, it's like, there's this whole story of this because it's very painful. I think to lose the Super Bowl is stark, but to lose these AFC and NFC championship games, like you come this far if you're the Ravens, and the things that got you

here did not show up today the way they should have. But I would say this, you cannot blame their defense. They shut down Kansas City for the almost entirety of the second half and gave their offense a chance to succeed. But that's what I mean. It's sort of, isn't it always, it's always something. And that's why this is performance in this game offensively, and we'll get to the defense for the Chiefs, just reminded me so much of Brady.

Because like, you look at the box score at the end, it's like, oh, they average 4.4 yards per play. And they were stopped for like seven or eight straight drives. And then, but like, he knows how to make the plays that, that you need to. He knows what that game requires. He does, but I also just think that this Chiefs defense, which is overshadowed because of Mahomes always, is like the stamp of this team is what their defense was able to do today.

You took the MVP and a Ravens offense that had dominated teams and dominated the 49ers and blew the doors off the Houston Texans, and they were non-existent when it mattered the most. Yeah. And I, listen, the Chiefs did not score in the second half. And there are echoes of the, the Patriots dynasty now that are just rippling and bouncing off this, this chief's team and this, this era of chiefs football. And it is, it is the fact that it isn't just Mahomes, you know,

just like it wasn't just Brady. And the fact that they, and I went into them a little bit, went into this game, a little bit dubious. I'm like, I've seen multiple like quote unquote big time defenses not step up down the stretch of the season. And the chiefs once again showed and Steve Spagnola, who you haven't heard anything about getting. another chance at a head coaching job. I mean, this guy is the secret weapon. He is the Belichick to what Bill Parcells had during his era in time in the late 80s and early 90s.

What the game plan he cooked up to confuse and befuddle Lamar Jackson who looked like he didn't know what he was seeing in this game. And there were so many moments when the Ravens pass protection is holding up. And I know they got to him a couple times as well. but um and he's just holding the ball lamar because he's he's to quote the darned line he was seeing ghosts and there are multiple times and i'm thinking lamar you are the most fantastic athlete to play the quarterback position perhaps ever and you're just sitting in this pocket waiting for something to happen waiting to see something that's not there so you have to give it

to the chiefs that every level of their defense played a big time game but it it is a team effort Greg. And it's Mahomes and Kelsey and that offensive line stepping up, even on a day where they're running game, they couldn't do anything. But the fact that they were able to make enough plays on offense early and then lean on their defense, just a total team effort and a reminder and a lesson to me, and I think it should be to a lot of people is these teams that don't come around too often when the playoffs come, you see them make the plays and stay under control and close out games and teams like the Ravens, no matter how great they have been. during the year.

Things go sideways and they start short-circuiting and you saw that a lot with Baltimore in this game. They did not play a good game, Greg. They didn't play a disciplined game and they're going home as a result. I think their defense played well overall.

The offense didn't. We'll get to that. I want to just give the credit to the Chiefs first. Like you mentioned Pacheco couldn't get anything done. And yet, like when, again, when they get the ball back, 234 to go, Tucker had just at the field goal at 17 to 10,

they had their best run in about three quarters and that seven yards on first. on first down. It's just like even without Joe Tunney, they had some runs on those first touchdown drives. And that seven-yard run set up, you know, Baltimore intentionally taking a penalty and it set up everything else.

But you're right. The story should be the defense. And Lamar Jackson struggled in this game. The run game other than Lamar, he did lead them in rushing for 54 yards, was non-existent. Gus Edwards and Justice Hill had a combined six attempts to Lamar Jackson's 30.

seven passing attempts, which I think they're, you know, Todd Monkin is going to regret how that played out. But the guys on the other side of the field, I think of that Chris Jones deflection in the first half on third down when they were throwing a screen. People were like, oh, if that I saw people like, if that wasn't Lamar Jackson, people would be killing him for that play. It's like, no, that was an incredible recognition in play by Chris Jones that he made multiple times. That was going to be a first down. Lamar even tried to like get it away from him by throwing it sideways and Chris Jones still makes it. Legerius Steed knocks out the ball.

That's a play that Zayflowers is going to live with for the rest of his life, and he should not be reaching it out at the goal line. But it's still Legerius Steed, one of the best defensive backs in the league, making a hustle play and knocking it out at the goal line. They were just so active defensively. Amenahu had that force fumble on Lamar when he did hold it on too long. They get the interception.

They didn't drop their interceptions like we saw so many other teams have today. They intercepted Lamar. in the end zone. So, like, it's a team effort. We, we have a little shot of, of the t-shirt that all the players wore of Steve Spagnola. So if you're watching this on YouTube, but I see those YouTube numbers rising. We appreciate you. Like and subscribe. It was great. I see that. I see them to happen. The in Spags, we trust with the demon eyes. Every defensive player was wearing. Spag said he was almost embarrassed that he was saying, I sure hope we won, because they were wearing it before the game too, and they came through

with an effort that shows how much they trust in Spaggs. Shout out to Nate Taylor on the tweet. It's, I think Spagnola, one of the things that he's done in multiple games where it's like, you know, I think because he was an unsuccessful head coach, he had to recreate his, you know, reputation on some level, but like the blitzes

that he cooked up. Like, I thought the Ravens offensive line was operating from behind the entire game today. And that's how you get, you know, if you're going to beat this Chief's team, you need to be at home, pure, pristine, and you get a terrible Lamar Jackson interception in the end zone. There was another play on a third down pass where he's very lucky it wasn't picked off. You had the fumble. It's like, what Mark Jackson needs to go as the so-called

MVP, go and play his best game. And it's, it's, it just seems to be asking too much, but it's this chief's defense that creates complete and total confusion. I think the Ravens line was cooked from the start like the way that they were rushing Lamar and getting to him with speed rushers like from wire to wire it's like it just seemed like Baltimore had no answers and they got away from who they've been all year I thought they went away from their ground game I thought and this is not meant to like I'm just going to want to cook up Lamar here but I thought we were past this and I thought what we saw in the second half of the divisional playoffs that put some things to bed around him and and what the story is or the quote unquote narrative around

Lamar Jackson is. I didn't expect, that's why I picked the Ravens. That's why I locked up the Ravens. I thought this really was his moment. So I can't say, you have to say, it's a disappointing performance, obviously, by Lamar. But I don't want to take away from what Kansas City's defense did in this game and what Spags and company have done all year.

It's a combination of both. Well, it's also like everything went against them too. Like if the flowers touchdown especially, don't you think change the game? I mean, it's 17, 14. there with a ton of time left in that game. And that was off of two to three straight good throws by Lamar. And here's the thing. You're right. And you have a, um, you have a terrible turnover by Zay Flowers. That's the old Bill Belichick would

bench you if you ever try to reach near the goal line. It was a dreaded mistake. And it might have cost them their season. And they got the ball down deep again. I was at the next possession. And that's when Lamar throws a ball up for grabs. A couple different plays go differently. And the Ravens are either, you know, we're going overtime or they win outright. But that almost like is too kind to their performance as a whole. I thought this was a team that was undisciplined that let the moment overwhelm overwhelm them. I thought they had multiple, you know, bad penalties, whether it was personal fouls, was there too many men on a field?

There was five, 15-yard penalties. Well, that's sort of what I mean, where it's like, you're right, Lamar did not have a good game. he had his moments but like a lot of this year for this team like especially if it was a full team like everyone had a huge part of that they had four personal foul penalties and

those first ones or two of them led to the three points that the chiefs had before halftime which were massive so they ended up minus three which were good calls by the way right there was no there was some missed maybe I thought you could have called a pass interference on Lamar's interception but it doesn't take

away that it was the worst possible throw and like it wasn't an exception anyways. I didn't think we were getting that throw from Lamar this January and that's going to now that sticks with him again whether people want to talk about it it does so it's not it's like it's not just a target Lamar thing

but I like when you think of the Baltimore Ravens under Harbon who they've been like the Roquan Smith unnecessary roughness penalty where it was like you know a sham you're going in there on intentionally to blow things up but you do it in a way where you're not even a good Thespian you're not a good actor

and it gets called for what it is. And Zay Flowers, young player, he's going to learn from this, but like the taunting call. That was an insane. It was about a five-play sequence where he makes a big play, gets a taunting,

then he gets another big play to get those yards back from the taunting penalty, then gets the ball knocked away on a penalty, then goes back to the sideline and slams his helmet down and cuts his finger open. That's an insane, like, five minutes of a human's life

that was documented in front of 60 million. In front of 60 million people. Speaking of Lamar, let's hear from the, and he will be a week from Thursday, named the NFL MVP, and you can't take away anything from him

in terms of the performance going into this game, but all of it seems a little bittersweet now for Ravens Nation. No hay in the barn. I mean, no turnovers. You know, they played the game basically perfect. They put points on the board. I felt like if we wouldn't turn the ball over,

we definitely would have a shot. We definitely would have came out. to win, but they did a great job, and I turned the ball over and point points on the board. And let's hear from the other quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, who and Lamar made a good point there. I mean, the Chiefs weren't perfect in this game, but again, they've been so clean, and they've been,

they're playing it the way the Patriots used to play. Even it wasn't a pristine, perfect effort, they play the game the quote-unquote right way, and then the other team wiltz in the big moment, and then you take advantage of it, and all of a sudden, you're walking away. He's like, did we just lose that game? Yeah, you always seem to get beat by the team

that always keeps their heads together this time of year. You don't take it for granted either. You never know how many you're going to get to, or if you're going to get to any. And so it truly is special. Just to do it with these guys, after what we've been through all season long, guys coming together. It really is special, but I told them, I mean, the job's not done.

I mean, our job now is to prepare ourselves to play a good football team in the Super Bowl and try to get that ring. I think we'll remember that you'll see at the end of the game they only had 17 points and you look at the box score and all that and it doesn't seem like a crazy impressive performance. I believe there was an eight drive sequence here where they had three points. I mean, really the last eight and not many first downs either. I think they had eight first downs in those eight drives. So they weren't really moving the ball.

But that obscures, like, how impressive those first two drives were. Like, the play where, to me, that would define this game was the one where Mahomes is scrambling around, breaks a bunch of tackles and throws an insane pass that Kelsey catches. Beautiful. Like he's, I'm trying to think of a great center fielder here. Maybe Mookie and his prime, like, diving for the ball. Kelsey gets that. And that leads directly to a touchdown.

Those were magical plays by Mahomes on those first couple of jobs. They were perfect. He started 11 for 11 in this game. And those two touchdowns, yeah, you needed your defense to be great. But they set the tone for the game. I'm going to give you a center fielder. Jim Edmonds. Okay, that would have been better.

I mean, I think Kelsey's like degree of difficulty with some of the catches, especially like right out of the gate. I think he had four catches in the first quarter alone and, you know, broke the Jerry Rice postseason record. But it was like we had come to this sort of common understanding that this version of Kelsey that we were getting largely was not...

We got rope-a-doped, everybody. 11 for 116, you know how many targets? You know how many throws went to Kelsey that he didn't catch? The bills did. Zero! The bills got roped-doped-doped. The Ravens got roped-doped dope-a-doped. America got roped-doped-doped.

Nobody saw this Chiefs rise coming, except for the Chiefs. I think they always believed that they could do this. I know this maybe is arcane or stupid or means nothing. But I, when the replays, when James Palmer sent out, you know, end zone evidence of you have Justin Tucker sitting there with this little kicking tea and his helmet trying to get in the way of Patrick Mahomes warming up. And Kelsey just comes over and takes Justin Tucker's a hall of future hall of game kicker. Greatest kicker is ever lived.

And it whips it through the end zone. It's like, get out of our space. We're in Baltimore. And it's like something about the chiefs. That's who they are. It was an alpha move. It was. And Justin Tucker, like, to his.

didn't explode or throw a hissie fit or anything. But it was like he was left as the lesser individual in that competition in your home stadium. It was I know this is your stadium. I know you're the number one seed. But this is championship Sunday and this is our time. This is the Chiefs. This is us. This is what we do.

Yeah. You're just the guest and you'll find out in about four hours how this goes. And they absolutely, they all absolutely followed up with a great performance. Let's listen to Kelsey on the riser after the game. Shout out to Jerry Rice, baby. The Chiefs are still the Chiefs and believe it. You got to fight for your rights to party. Believe it, baby.

We're going to Los Vegas, Nevada. They're going to get us another one. I love that. The White Boy Flow from Kelsey, especially when he's excited. Yeah, you got Taylor's... Only Justin Timberlake. Stars and Rise. You know, that doesn't happen often to compete on that.

And let's just, I want to mention this. so before we get sidetracked again the fact that taylor swift is at the game again she comes down on the field after the game there's all sorts of shots of them together and pointed each other and kissing um it's you can't make it up like you can't make up the fact that and maybe and there's been a lot of talk i don't know we haven't really addressed it on the show not because we're avoiding it but just you know it's stupid but a lot of talk about the fixes in and all this was planned and the colors of the Super Bowl logo were supposed to be

telling us that the NFL had already decided who was playing in the game. Greg was very into that theory. He's been texting us, you know, late at night about that. But so the Travis Kelsey thing that he ends up dating most famous woman in the world and now she's been continually in the news and on the cameras and now she's on the field at the ABC Championship game and now she's

going to be at the Super Bowl. This is the biggest Taylor Swift is on the biggest pop culture heater since Michael Jackson you put out Thriller in November 82 and we're going to take it to We Are the World, which he

co-wrote with Lionel Richie and performed in 85. I put Taylor's run. The fact that she's in the middle of even this pop culture moment from all her music and all her success it is outrageous how in the middle of everything this woman is. That's my point.

I mean that, well and like the kiss they had was was like perfectly framed. They actually ran it as they were rolling the credits. It reminded me so much of like maybe the most famous photograph in like American history. In Times Square. In the Times Square picture after defeating, you know,

after World War II and everything. And that, except now it's Travis Kelsey. That's our generation. That's our picture. Travis Kelsey and Taylor stuff. People need to calm down if that, if they get their. Not D-Day.

Everybody's going to, oh, no, D-Day. And it was after victory in Japan. I do think, Dan, you've forgotten, like when, Steve Winwood's back in the high life again came out. Like that was also a heater that really was...

I know you love your Winwood and, you know, I love Benwood. Jackson came in a close second to that. But we, I mean, this is helpful. It's a big take by you. I always push so hard back against the Kelsey might be in the conversation of the greatest tight ends of all time. Because I just think it was ignoring, first of all, how we talked about a lot of those tidings,

not just Gronk at the time. And some of their all pros and all that. And when you stack them up, actually they were just as dominant in their day. as Kelsey was now. Like stuff like this, this playoff run in particular, to put it over the top,

does remind me of like, Gronk, especially in the one where they beat the Chiefs and they got their last Super Bowl and Gronk would kind of spiking it and having that run with the bucks. This is special because you look at the offense, it's not really that much different, Dan,

than the offense we were complaining about. I know we're saying it's so much different. It's not that much different. It's just Kelsey and Rice, and now they're getting a little, little sprinkling of scantling, which does make a big difference. A little sprinkling of scatlin and it took away

the terrible players that were ruining them, Sky Moore and Tony, who's never going to play for the Chiefs again. Right. And it eliminated and they eliminated the mistakes. Like that's all. Like the offense actually isn't doing much more. James Palmer told us that. They got rid of all the dumb plays.

But a huge part of that formula is 11 targets to Kelsey for 11 catches and 116 yards. But that's it. what he did. That's just amazing. It is a big different. That is what I mean. We weren't getting that. This is what they're from last year when they were still an unstoppable offense more or less and won the

Super Bowl. What made that work despite losing Tyreek Hill was that they had some they didn't have a lot of big playability. That wasn't part of their offense last year either. They got you know stuff in moments. But MVS adding that to their their

recipe down the stretch here. But Kelsey was the key to everything. And Reese, Missyray shows up every I know he's consistent he's the only guy that was consistent all year but that's what we kept on saying like what's wrong with this offense Travis Kelsey having a kind of like one of those all time tight end seasons last year lifted all the boats and now that he's back to doing that again all of a sudden and I know they didn't have a huge offensive game but it just you can't understate how incredibly important he is to what they do I mean mohomes opened 11 for 11 Kelsey's targeted 11 times has 11 catches and I thought this was the defense that could find a way to nullify someone like Travis Kelsey. And to be fair, once they got out of their 15-play script, they did. I actually think this was a good performance by Mike McDonald,

and we end up talking about the winners only. But like Kyle Hamilton played incredible too. It was awesome. Roquan Smith was incredible today. I thought Patrick Queen was really good today. They got beat, and I just think great offense beats great defense. And when you go, when they look at it, those plays that beat them on those first two drives, most of them are just like great plays

that beat guys in good position, including that Kelsey touchdown. Like, what could have Kyle Hamilton done anymore on that play? He was all over him. Mahomes fits it into a tiny window. He had good coverage. Like that, it happens better. And they were just better. And they adjusted. I do think on the other side, though, when you look at that box score, and it's flowers for five for 115. And then after that, it's nothing. Algalar had a nice big play on a nice throw from Lamar, and Beckham is kind of playing their fourth receiver role. Bateman, who they trusted to play more, like, he doesn't do anything. And the drop-off that there was no one other than Lamar and Zay, who had his own issues,

that really did anything. So it was, I think they're going to want to fill out this roster. As good as this team was, Beckham's not going to be back with this team, I don't think, unless he just can't get a contract elsewhere. And he's willing to take, like, a lot less money. And they actually do need more weapons still. But here we're back here again. Right.

I was saying, exactly. Like, you're about to lose. And you're not wrong. You're about to lose Mike McDonald as likely, like, to, you know, head coaching duties. And you have to remove some of these weapons. And all the same questions crop up. Like, this is the team that should be pounding people in Baltimore in their home stadium in late January. Take away Lamar on the ground.

They ran for 27 yards. I got to kill Monkin because the lack of carries in this game. And I know the game script and the time of possession was a big. deal, but I mean, that's how they were never, they were never far off. So I, I, yeah, but they, they were the team with critical mistakes. Right. Exactly. What I mean is they never ran the ball. Part of it was they could never get any drives going. After that touchdown drive, they have the Lamar fumble drive that last five plays. They have a one first down five play drive, a three and out, a three and out to start the second half. They had a little

something going and then they have take negative plays, a punt before that. So it's like these short drives, but you're absolutely right. I, I thought the Chief's defensive line really stood up. I thought on the other side of the ball, it was like a pretty even battle and the Ravens won their share. But for the Chief's defensive line, Karloftus and the middle of that line,

Dana Omenahue, certainly Chris Jones. Like, they kind of beat, I think, the Ravens' offensive line for the most part, especially against the run. I thought decisively, like surprisingly, and like they have a drive that ends at the nine, fumble, interception, the one in the end zone. And then, you know,

a too late field goal. It's like they, they disappeared. And like, I felt like the Ravens kept having these drives where it's like, here's your chance to get back into this, but it would melt in some way. And it's like time was ticking fast on them. They outgained the Chiefs, 201 to 78 until that last. Baltimore's defense was playing.

It's balls off in the second half. It did everything you can ask. And you don't, listen, there are very few quarterbacks that are as fortunate to say, who we're going to talk about later. Brock Purdy to have All-Stars or Kurt Warner, not to single out Purdy, back in the day to have all stars all around you like you shouldn't if if lamar is as good as

we say he is you shouldn't have to build the perfect supporting cast around him for this ultimately to end with a Lombardi trophy being hoisted like the the true great ones make the most of it and i think there's still less there in patrick mahomes or tom brady's conference then no one ever makes it well i'm just saying like that no one else is great i know i don't disagree with that you're saying that this is a roster on offense that needs tweaks and it would have maybe been a different game. Mark Andrews was 100% in this game obviously but it just was a bad look

all the way around for the Ravens. Fidderly disappointed. A great pick and he was a little immature made some mistakes in this game. He's also a rookie and it was their clear number one receiver. So that was a nice fine. They're just going to be looking for more. And one last thing about the Kelsey Gronk comparison.

And it's impossible not to do that with like two greats that basically overlapped and play the same position. just like gronk back in the day so many of the kelsey catchers are absolute daggers either third down conversions fourth down conversions red zone scoring plays so even when he like in this game he had 11 it felt like 21 even when like last week he only had five but it felt like 10 because the plays he makes are so consequential because and it makes sense in the money moments in the crucible moments that's where number 10 looks and they they're going to the hall thing

together one day. That's why we believe in tight end wins. That's a stat that matters to me. I'll tell you this. I don't care who else. What anybody picks, I'm done. I'm out of the picking against Patrick Mahones and Travis Kelsey and Spags and Andy

Reed in January and February because look, they've been laying waste of the doubters and they've loved doing it. And they're going to be and there again a dog, Greg. So any thoughts? Any other thoughts on this game before we move on? That is almost perfect for them because it's like it's kind of

inconsequential, two and a half points, whatever it is. But they can ride that. I think they know they will. That will. That will fuel them. We will hear about that two weeks. We will. We will. Um, all right. We're going to take a break. And then we're going to go to the NFC side of things, which was, oh man.

What a wild one. All right. Let's take a break. What's up everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from Scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects

the dots from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Alright, welcome back. So, the AFC Championship,

Chip. I want to say it went to script because the favorite went down in flames. But the game played out in ways that made sense, you know, and with the mighty Mahomes and company, triumphant. This NFC title game we're about to get into. By the way, it's time for the Sunday drive presented by the first ever Toyota Grand Highlander. And I'm only asking for one Highlander. Like Mark, I think we're asking for like, he's, you know, let's get Mark five pizzas. Yeah. At least.

That compared to a, like, a human vehicle that costs thousands of dollars, it feels like... The hell is a human vehicle. I mean, just the fact that, like, they're going to send you, like, a $25,000 truck or something or whatever it is, like, and I'm getting five frozen pizzas. Must fit in with a human automobile. It just feels like someone's getting a better deal potentially there. I'm just saying, but, like, you're right. Monetarily, it's not going to even out.

But just, like, give Mark, like, a French bread pizza. Yeah. Well, just so I can know the product better to... Give them the classic pie. you know just mix it up it's a fair request on your part for me are you ready for a big w at your next watch party anyway we don't know I don't know either oh what I was saying was it just this game we're about to talk about now had so many it was really two games two different games but the thing is when there's two different games you

want to be typically the team that has like their game last and for fans of the team from Michigan. By being their game, you mean like scoring lots of points? Yeah, and just like, you know, because let's be honest, Greggy, this might be a all-time, or the all-time momentum game. This is the momentum bowl.

This is the one that causes Claibon and Greg to drop to their knees and profusely apologize. I mean, I think that sets the table accurately. I don't think you at this point, Greg, could debate it. This game we're about to talk about has proven Mark and I in millions of

of others correctly while sending you scrambling for shelter. Not true. Never. It is completely true. Not true. All right, to the big bell bottom. Three yards away. Nine feet is required.

Purdy under center. Use check. Now Elijah Mitchell is in. They give it a Mitchell off the right side. Pushing for the goal line. Is he in? Touchdown! San Francisco.

Eli is home. There it is the call from Greg Papa with Tim Ryan. K-N-B-R. The San Francisco 49ers down 24-7 at the break. Absolutely Barnstorm, the Lions in the second half. Going up 34-24 after that Mitchell touched, then that was set up by a big CMC play. And then a late lion's score made it close and hurt some people involved with deserts.

However, all that mattered in the end was San Francisco with that big run in the second half, take out the Lions 34 to 31. The Niners scored 17 points in an eight-minute span of the third quarter to tie this NFC title game, pull away in the fourth, and they get a rematch with the Chiefs who defeated them, crushing fashion four years ago. Mark, um, the lions did everything right, did everything right in the first half. But San Francisco's offense, um, has the explosiveness that if you open the door from, uh, they will storm right in and to the credit of Purdy and Iyuk and Debo and Cmc and Kittle, they ran right in and set the place on fire. Well, they remind me, you know, of what we talked about

with the chiefs to the degree that, like, you're talking about a team that's been through these crucible moments against a team that is learning what that means to even be as an NFL team. And they came out, the lion so hot and so fiery. And it was like they seemed inevitable to me almost. But then there was this, like these games happen, how will they unfold? Like, there was a sequence of items. And I'll just say it quickly when get into it.

But it was like you have a key moment where it's 24 to 10. it's fourth and two for the lions. They have a chance to really, I think, stick a knife into the Niners. A fourth and two pass to Josh Reynolds that goes incomplete. You could have ran the ball there. On the next sequence for the Niners,

you have that Brandon Ayuk, incredible throw downfield, a 51-yard completion that ricochets off the helmet of Kindle Vildor, sounds like a Space Age underboss. A name that will live in infamy in Detroit. I mean, that's not the line.

That isn't like something you just blame on the lions. It's just this fateful moment that happens. Yeah, the momentum bounced off the helmet. Depending on who caught it, they had the momentum. Whatever happened there. You sound terrible, Greg. I'm just saying. That doesn't, what you're saying makes no sense.

No, it's luck. That was luck. It is just two very different things. It's lots of luck. It's like, you know, Bill Buckner, it's whatever you want to say. It's like suddenly, you know, plays. Well, you know what it is. It's a failure to execute, though.

Bill Dorr doesn't make the catch and opens the door for the Niners to make a play. It's true, but it also would have been an incredible play if he had. but then IUC scores plays later. It's 2417 and you can start to feel stuff shifting. And then you get Jemir Gibbs, who is such a wonderful player for up until this moment, the key fumble and then you have a big one by Brock Purdy. They score, it's 24, 24, and everything starts to shift.

A 17 point lead, a race like that, eight minutes. It was nothing. Eight minutes. And we can get to all the Campbell decisions and the way. I have those set up, by the way. this thing falls apart. But now that we've even had, like, the game ended probably one hour ago or something like that,

now that we've even had, like, a little time to think about it. We don't get to do these four days later. We do it, like, 40 minutes later. That's what you're going to remember from this game, or I'm going to remember first, is the ball bouncing off the helmet, the fact that they had a 17-point lead, the fact that they couldn't execute on the fourth downs,

the fact that they kept dropping passes, they kept dropping the ball, Jamir Gibbs. Josh Reynolds had two drive-killing drops. But what is lost a little bit in that is that this 49ers offense, which was statistically the best offense in the league all season long, they're down 17 points at halftime.

They get some good fortune, certainly in the second half, but they got the ball five times after halftime. They scored every freaking time. They scored three touchdowns and had two field goals. And one of those field goal drives was the best field goal drive of Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy's life.

They squeezed seven minutes off the clock to take a lead that completely, leaded the comeback and gave them their first lead. So there are five drives on offense with, yes, that one very lucky play, but offensively, and they're an offensive team going up a very shaky Lions defense in general all year, they were perfect. They had to be perfect after halftime. And offensively, they ran it when they needed to. They got big plays when they needed to. Purdy ran it when he needed to. And yes, he got very fortunate in this game throughout at different points. But ultimately, when in not cutting times, second half, they were the best

offensive league looked like the best offensive league. Absolutely. And you want to, you know, people are going to maybe just dwell on the Niners side of things and the collapse, but you have to give it to the Niners. And Kyle Shanahan, who before last week, you know, the whole story is on this guy as great as he is. If his team gets down late, they're done. Back to back, big comebacks. They survived the Packers game. And then they kind of The way I was so impressed by what the Ravens did against the Texans and the divisional round where they took some punches in the first half and then just took control of the game, the Niners did that, but on a hugely bigger stage. So you got to give him credit.

Now, so much of the talk around the game is going to go back to how do the Lions blow a 24-7 lead. Okay. And the IU catch is a huge part of it. I think it will live in infamy in Detroit because I don't think it would have been what your word was outstanding or whatever it was catch. I thought it was a playable ball by DB that gets turned not only into it's not even just an incomplete pass, gets turned into a huge game that sets up the touchdown that sends that building and credit to Niners fans because that's not typically a stadium where you say, oh, that place rocks when it gets loud. That place was rocking. So that was a massive play.

The fumble happening immediately after huge play. Huge. That felt like the biggest one to be the fun. Yeah, it thing snowballed after that. But with Campbell, there were four big decisions in this game that people are going to talk about. The first one I'm not going to go crazy about because I agreed with it first of all. Greg, I don't think you did. But seven seconds to go in the second quarter, they're up 21 to seven.

It's fourth in goal to San Francisco three. Campbell thinks it over, decides it's a little too far. He kicks the field goal. And I think Greg Olson was on him a little bit and said, listen, this is your chance to give a knockout punch. Hindsight, 2020. Maybe you do take that chance. but instead of going for 287, they take the field goal. I guess, and I think part of that, Greg, was the Niners,

or Campbell knowing the Niners got the ball to start the third quarter to being like, let me take these points, get ahead, three scores. And you wanted to go in feeling like it was as dominant as possible. It's hard to have it both ways and say like, okay, take the field goal here, but don't take it there. The numbers and I think Campbell's instincts coming into play here, a lot of it has to do with, like, a big part of the reason you go for the fourth and goals is because you're pinning the other team back and you lose that advantage at the end

of the second quarter. You get no advantage from that. So I'm with you and that's what I like about Campbell. He hasn't been a play it by the book guy. He has a feel I think for the game and he takes the three there and I think part of it he said it. They wanted to get to 30. They did in the end but they

knew they needed to score a lot. All right, Mark I'll set you up now on the next big play with Campbell. It's fourth and two at the San Francisco 28 yard line. There's seven minutes left in the third quarter it is 2410 instead of bringing out the kicker it was not a big time kicker and that you have to keep these things in mind michael badgely michael bad join the team um but instead of a kicking the field goal to try to go up 27 10 this was after san francisco march down the field to kick the field goal to start the second half he opts to go for it he passes underneath

to josh reynolds he drops the ball turnover um and you start to hear people getting on campbell a little bit which i thought was unfair mark because this is what dan campbell and the lines were about all year year. I'm with you. I think that you could say, do you run the ball there, maybe? Because they, you know, earlier on the game, they were running with a lot of force and power. They picked up a third in 13 running it early. Right. And so there would be evidence that that might have been another option. At that point in the game, Goff was also starting to feel pressure from Bosa. Nick Bosa was starting, he had two sacks in this game. And golf was under a lot of heat on that actual, in particular, like, incompletion of Josh Reynolds. And then it leads to

the IUC play. But I would say, like if we just talked about a Ravens team that looked different today than the way that they were hammering teams in the past like I had at no point thought that Dan Campbell went away from his character who he is, how he runs this team and so this is part of what the lions do and the golf pass was true like Reynolds dropped the ball and they were connecting on it was a tough cut it would be tough but they were connecting on a lot of stuff tonight it's like I think it's just you go for it and I have no problem with that

at all I don't get the whole issue with this one this one gets a little diceier now it's fourth and three at the Niners 30. Now you've lost the lead. The Niners just went on that long drive to kick the field goal. You have a chance to tie the game. He bring out Badgley to attempt a 47-yarder, which is a very high percentage make in the league right now, now in the NFC title game in the fourth quarter midway through.

It's a little harder kick. But no doubt he decides to again keep the offense on the field. And this time, Greg, Goff does not take care of his own business because he misses someone crossing underneath and throws incomplete. So a chance to tie the game midway through the fourth, you decide to go for it. And he gets killed.

He's getting killed on social media for this. My point about the previous play still stands. This is with the lines were. You can't change now. Yeah, that would have been a 47-yarder. Again, that's hardly locked in for Michael Badgley in a big spot. But your boy. This is it.

Yeah. This one is coin flip, but that's who they were. And I wish I could rewatch that play right now. Because if, if I'm remembering right, I think Bosa had a quick pressure on that. play too. Bosa really made his money in the second half of this game. He was really good. And so that impacted

the play. Gough, I think, was a little off down the stretch. Going for the field goal there, I just think the thing to remember is the Lions' defense did not have a stop in the second half. And they look at. And people kind of use the fact that, hey, you'd be within seven if you had just hit that

field goal, okay, true, but you just gave up a touchdown. The point was they needed to keep scoring to possibly keep keep up. So, yeah, maybe you kick a field goal. Your defense still needs to get stops. It wasn't showing that it could do it. All right. Let's hear, by the way, I want to hear from Campbell

on his decision to stay aggressive. I don't regret those decisions. And that's hard. You know, it's hard because, you know, we didn't come through. It wasn't able to work out. But I just, I don't. I don't. And I understand the scrutiny I'll get. That's part of the gig, man.

But, you know, We just didn't work out. And now the final move that he makes. And this is the only one I thought was indefensible. They are down 34, 24 at this point. It's third in gold. The San Francisco won. I understand the odds are stacked against it.

But with 65 seconds to play, they run the ball to Montgomery. It gets stuffed. And not only does that backfire, you have to burn a timeout. So at that point, you're playing. You have to go for it on fourth down, obviously, which they convert. But now it's onside kick or bust because you no longer have three time. out's mark. That was a very shaky decision. Probably not winning either way, but that was the only one where I was like, well, Campbell F that one up. I'm with you. I, like I, you know, I think you said it

perfectly. Like, you're going through the script and, you know, with the bullets flying in, in real time and you've got to do the best you can with it. And I, I didn't love that play call necessarily, but this is who the lions are. And like, I think that one of the reasons that more coaches are being hired who see decision making the same way that Dan Campbell does is because this is like I think Greg Olson and we talked about like Greg Olson is one of the better

describers of why these things are happening why coaches because he's sitting there and talking about coach is my mind right he's describing like what today's NFL is and like I understand also if you're coming from a different point of view from a different time or like some of this stuff drives you mad or you don't quite have the full read on why

it's happening that can be if you're a Lions fan you got a lot of frustration but this is who they are. This is your head coach. You got this far because he's been doing this all year. He's been doing it last year. It's like aggression is the way to go in today's league. Well, and especially with this team, which is an offense heavy team that didn't play great on offense.

I think Goff, his ball placement was a little off in the second half. But even that run, Dan, I hear you. It didn't work. But I think that's sort of what we get back to with all these. It's just like, I think the process all made sense. It's just like the players decide And they didn't win They didn't execute

They were the inferior team ultimately I think when you stack it all up But you kind of look back at that sequence And they were taking a little while to get down there Furkser barely steps out of bounds At the one Looked like Ferkser was going to score He was moving like Frankenstein after he caught them off

Not the first guy you'd want to like pinpoint in that situation He caught it was like why is Sam Laporte? Did he hurt his knee again? It's like oh no It's the guy that doesn't have a catch this year Yeah I wouldn't Again I'd have to rewatch it I doubt he's the first read on that play, but he had a lot of...

Island, bad. Right. He probably should have scored there. Then they do throw on second down. So then you're at a point, you're at a point you have to score. And like, they know that you know

that you know that you can't like, that you don't want to blow the time out there. And so you're trying to catch them a little by surprise. How are you overthinking it though? That's all I'm saying. Perhaps. But you're also thinking, what are we better at? What can we do best?

We can run the ball. It's a low, it's a higher percentage play. and yes, they did get the touchdown. That touchdown was like one of the best plays a Lions receiver made all day. It was a great catch by Jameson Williams on a great throw by golf. It was a very difficult.

It's just hard for those to work. And like, I just come back to like, the players have to make the plays. And the Lions just didn't make it. Like they had four drives that went poor before that touchdown drive, right? Here's how three have amended. Two with Reynolds drops.

We didn't mention the first Reynolds, the second Reynolds drop, to me was the bigger one. It was on a third down. He's wide open on a crossing route. It's a perfect throw. And he literally kicks it. Like he drops it and then he kicks it.

So there's four drives in a row that go poorly. Two are on Reynolds' drops and one is Gibbs' fumble. So it's just like they drop the ball, literally. And like, you know, Amon Ross St. Brown, who just I thought in the first half was like, just going to take over this entire game. In the second half, you know, to mirror what you're talking about,

about just drives crumbling away, he wasn't targeted until eight minutes left to go in the game. And it's like, so the guys in the first half that were dominating San Francisco, a lot of it just sort of vanished. I want to throw some flowers to your boy, Mark, Brock Purdy, who will be obviously the subject of exhaustive examination for the next two weeks. And I thought the beginning of this game and, you know, even into and including that throw, the big completion to Ayuk, was everything that,

concerned me about Purdy in big spots this season. But the fact of the matter is sometimes you just got things are with you. Things are clicking and you're having a good season and he did throw he got away with a couple bad throws, a couple of floaters. He survived them.

The other team didn't take advantage of it, but then when it was time to win the game in the second half, just like he did it in the end of the game against the Packers, he made big plays. He was precise with his throwing and most of, most of all, the thing I think people will remember about this Purdy performances, how many big plays he made

with his legs. Right. For a guy that is obviously Mr. Irrelevant, not the most athletic, how many times did he escape pressure and turn a sack or no gain into 10, 15, 18 yards? And that was a big difference in this game as well. Yeah, like the 21

yard run that came after the Gibbs fumble that set up a Christian McCaffrey touchdown to tie the game at 24, 24. It's like, you don't just expect that from Brock Purdy. And I thought, tonight, you know, he had something like 50, something yards on the ground.

48, 9.6 yards per carry. He added it to his game. And it's like, this is a really young quarterback who's adding something to his game. And it's like even when Mahomes did that last season, I thought to some degree it's like, what more can Mahomes do? It's like in the playoffs, Mahomes

on the ground with like a high ankle sprain was a differentiator game after game. In this game, Brock Purdy added that to his palette. And he had the huge run last week. It was only one against the Packers, but by far a career high in rushing. And it's funny because compared to the average NFL quarterback now, you're right, he's not that athletic.

But he does have good short area quickness. I mean, you could see it in some of it. Like, he can move. If you put him in the NFL 20 years ago, he's a better than average runner. He is above sort of the line that you almost need to be now. He is Jeff Garcia, maybe. Right. He is, no, Jeff Garcia is a great runner.

But, like, he's athletic. He's athletic enough, is what I'm saying. And, like, he made those. Now, he was fortunate. I thought, like, the opening drive of the game was very typical of how his game was. Two absolute big boy throws. It's almost hard to remember by then, like, one where he was getting hit, another just beautiful ball placement.

And then he almost threw an interception that they dropped. To start the second half on that field goal drive, that drive ended almost, he was melting down at the end of that drive. He had, like, three crazy. decisions in a row before they kick that field goal and he got away with like That's when I thought I might be getting a Donald's sideline shot. I have my double fingers crossed.

He's not a very safe player but the mistakes that he makes doesn't linger and he didn't really make any the rest of the game. One of the passes that you're talking about on the first drive because there was a perfect throw to Brandon Iyuk but there was a play on third down where he completed a pass

to Debo Samuel where he was destroyed on it and I just do think he's a tough quarterback who's like there's no question the fact that he will do anything to make the play. He's easy to root for. He's got the guts of a burglar, as they say. He doesn't. He does not. If he throws interceptions, he's going to keep throwing, which could lead to games like Christmas and Baltimore, but also it shows that he's not afraid. He believes in himself. By the way, going back, and I will, yes, maybe the fumble, the immediate fumble after that touchdown is kind of the play that really swung

the game. But it gets forgotten a little bit because everything was going, like, It just happens so quick to football on the first play of the drive. The Ayuk catch off the miss by Vildor is the play that I'll remember as when everything turned. And when this truly became momentum bowl, Greg. Let's listen to the Dan, because I want to hear from Dan Miller. It's a bummer that they are not getting to the Super Bowl. And I think it's 66 years now without the Lions winning a championship. here is the call of that play from the Detroit side of things.

And then right after that, if we could, Eric, play Ayuk's post-game comments about to play. Purdy out of the gun. Purdy takes the snap back and looking, looking, looking, loading, throwing deep down field. It is up in the air and caught by Iyuk. Hit the hands of Kindleville, D'Ure. Ayup made the grab. There is a flag down as well. Wow.

It looks like he's going to go against the Lions. It hit in the door. There is no foul in the play. Catch was made, and the run was down at the contact at the four and a half more line. He went right through Bill Doors' hands and right off his face mask. Exactly right. Man. Before the game, a Ladybug landed on my shoe.

And y'all know what that mean. So that's all I can say, because ever than that, I don't know. I don't know. Just great luck. God was with us today. Great win. Bang, bang on her game. It's crazy.

Superstar that probably was the moment although the Gibbs fumble really cemented it that Lions fans must have started feeling like

oh my God Greg I said it when it was 24 24 after the fumble and score it already felt like 34 24 24 right but

and then it was in a blink of another eye the score at that point is 24 to 10 and and you just feel like if you're a Lions fan you've been seeing

ladybugs landing on other team's shoes for 50 something years and you felt like this was maybe the year that was going to be different. We have Dan Campbell talking after the game about how there's no like guarantee that you ever do get back to this point. Look, I told those guys, this may have been only shot. Do I think that?

No. Do I believe that? However, I know how hard it is to get here. I'm well aware. And it'll be, it's going to be twice as hard to get back to this point. year than it was this year. That's the reality. Well, I would say this, though.

You can look across and point to the Niners and say that a team that's really well built like the Lions with a, that I didn't say, I don't think they overachieve this year. I think they adequately achieved for like the roster they have. Like, but they're not going away. Like, I get what he's saying. But like, there's a lot of hope for the Lionsers and for every, for every 49ers team and every Chief's team and back of the day, every Patriots team, they're. so many other teams that

look like they have a bright tomorrow and you think, oh, they'll be back next year. We talked about this last week too. You just never know. And he's right, because this is what I like him telling them that. I like him telling them that because that's also who they are. And I'm glad that he's being honest because this was a good time to strike for the Detroit Lions in that division with the Packers trying to figure things out.

The bear's still trying to figure things out. The Vikings being the Vikings, like this felt like their chance and they let it slip way. When we have Dan Campbell, I don't know what's going on with Dan's nose the last couple weeks. Very red. It's been distracting to me. Is it bother anyone else? I hadn't noticed that, but now I'll not. Eric raises his hand. I'm the most colorblind

man in America. His nose look great to me. I mean, it's a very masculine nose, the shape and structure of it, but there's a discoloration or a high coloration. Sorry to rub it in, Greg. Here's more Campbell on the game that almost was. You know, Coach Shanahan's a hell of a coach.

That's a team that, you know, they've done it, they lived it, and they made the place. So credit to them. I'm really proud of all these guys I am. I mean, and it's hard when you lose that way. It's hard. You know, you feel like you get your heart ripped out. And on the other side with Shanahan, because I thought something he said after the game really, illuminated how special they are and how different they are.

He said, we played as bad of a first half as we could, but we were still within 17. How many teams can say that and be like, we're all right. It's only 17. That's a three-score game in the second half of the NFC championship game, but that's not just coach speak. He knows he has the dogs to dig out,

and they made him look great in this game because they lose this game, Greg, Mark. There's a lot of chatter around Shanahan. the guy that just can't get over the hump and instead in two weeks it gets another chance to kind of really stamp himself as if not the top of the chain of coaches right there. I think it's easy to feel like almost a sadness if you're a generalist and you're not rooting specifically for one of these teams that you lose the experience of the lions going on to do something that would have been fun. It would have been fun. But that said, like if we shift focus in a couple days, like what the Niners have been through and how close they've, come and how close Shanahan has come like he knows you can come back from 17 because he lived through

28 to 3 and he's lived through a thousand moments coaching in all different situations and he's got the right people on the field to do it um I mean this guy has been doing this for his entire life and it's like there is a part of me that's like I cannot help but rude for Kyle Shanahan to finally do it because he has come so close over and well yeah because they know how the further you get the more brood of the losses. And this will be the fourth time in five years. I mean, they're not a dynasty in the way that we use the word. But to make four conference finals in five years,

to make two Super Bowls now in five seasons, you just feel like you got in those. Got to win. Those conference finals, by the way, were brutal losses. You got to win. You got to get it done. And I do think they learn,

they can't fall down like that against the chiefs. obviously. But I do think they learned something about themselves because I think one of the reasons I thought this team was not built to make that comeback, wasn't the offense. It was that their defense looked like trash for large portions of this Packers and Lions game. And that's something to be concerned about. The Lions had almost like 200 yards. I just thought the game script was such that the Lions would be able to run the ball in the second half. The Lions still ended up with 182. Montgomery 15 for 93. Ibs 12 for 45, and Jameson Williams had that electric 42-yard touchdown to start the game.

And yet give the defense credit, too, when they needed to in the second half, they do have a lot of star players and they came together enough. Their run defense, which is a problem. And we'll talk about it leading up to the Super Bowl. It did get good enough when it really mattered to get them over the line. Unbelievable. Yeah, I can't. And that was, by the way, the Sunday drive presented by Toyota.

What a drive. Of course it was. Let's go places like Las Vegas. Learn more at Toyota.com slash grand highlander. Yeah, I'm not going to lie. Like, this is not, listen, if it's not the Jets playing, I'm not going to get overly invested in terms of heartbreak. Although I feel for Cynthia Freeland, who's a friend of ours,

I absolutely feel for Patra, who we know forever. And he was lined up to be on the show tonight. I was texting with him earlier late last week. Like, you know, we tried to get him on on Thursday. We couldn't make it happen. It was like, how about Sunday if they win? and just knowing, and listen, Patrick, you don't, we're not texting Patrick, you stay, give him a wide berth as you would, any diehard fan right now.

I don't even like that the email is sitting in his inbox right now. No, he's probably in the, Eric's doing a job. Listen, Eric, we're not coming after you because you're doing your job. Right. There's, to make a show like we do, there has to be things like setting up linkups for a, essentially a feed into the studio. But listen, you don't, you don't. You've never met Kevin Patra.

Right. He's an intense, powerful man who works out. I just, I don't want you to be hurt. The timing of it all was just very, very unlucky because as I'm trying to set this up, okay, hey, if they win, we're going to do this. I'm okay, got to get this and now moving parts. And as I'm sending this link, like, it's flipping. And then I get separate messages from both Dan and Greg, hey, like, don't.

Mark wasn't even worried about Patrick. He's like, if he dies, he dies. Don't message him directly, especially at this moment. Like at this moment. Never even crossed Mark's mind. So it was, but yeah, I mean, hopefully it just went to spam. Here's the thing. And I'm not saying you should do this because this could lead to other problems.

If you could somehow hack into the NFL network mainframe to unsend that email before Patrick wakes up for like his 5 a.m. shift tomorrow to write news items about this great comeback by the Niners, I think it would be in your best interest. And I'll leave it there. I didn't say to do it. I'm just saying that's one thing you might want to think about it. What if I just spam him

so it just gets pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed and push and push. That's another potential incredible hold. It feels like a lot of work. Yeah, he's got to be very careful. I would say, I think he will survive. He'll be.

Mexico is an option as well. He'll be okay. And if he comes at us, we'll just blame it on the shadowy league figure who actually lost the game for the lines by sending like a text that that jinx them when they were up 17. You can't do that.

Can't do it. Um, yeah. And so what I was saying was, if it's not the Jets, I'm not really going to be heartbroken about anything. But I will, I will say I did just like probably a lot of people. I had thoughts of, you know, 100,000 Lions fans coming into Vegas. And what as we've been so lucky to cover so many Super Bowls and we're going to be doing it again. Um, and I can't wait. Uh, that would have been a completely unique, obviously new experience and, and hopefully, hopefully the lions get over the hump. down the line. But there's no doubting what Campbell said is absolutely true. You don't know. You just never know if you're going to get another crack at it. And when you get to this level at this stage, to let it slip away is just crushing. Yeah. Like they showed the, you know, this is unusual, but like they cut to Ford Field, which was a capacity crowd. I remember as a child watching like WrestleMania 3, not at WrestleMania 3, but at like at a stadium with a bunch of other people, which I, my dad was forced to take me to a highly nerdy event. They used to do like closed

circuit. Yeah, it was close circuit. This was the opposite of that. This was like a city, like literally celebrating for many of them the biggest event that they've ever come together for. And so they stopped showing that stadium as the second half happened. Yeah. The procession back to the parking lot in the court field.

Also, I saw one shot of Eminem who was at the game in San Francisco doing a double bird to like a bunch of fans in the suite and the level below him. like what is what is Eminem's like exit route out of Levi's stadium does he stay at the pleasant does he pull a Mark Wahlberg and leave in the third quarter of 283 to get it to beat the crowd

is Marshall Mathers currently brawling with multiple I would the opposition I don't know no I'd say that you get like a couple of your friends to like wrap you in in blankets and take you out like a dead body and no one knows that it's got to have some security that

that's true we saw that they're actually footage of Taylor Swift being snuck from backstage to the stage before one of her concerts in like a cleaning person's cart. Yeah. And that was a way to maybe do that with Marshall Maddox. This is definitely the playoffs and the season in general where we've got like minor and major celebrities crawling out of the suites

into the crowd itself or antagonizing them, you know. He was sitting in the crowd and I don't think 49ers fans would even look a scant at you or us having that view they're different. The lions are different. There's been...

I don't know about that, Greg. I think the honors fans don't... They're annoyed we're even talking about this right now. Well, they can eat it. There were 24 teams. That's why it's the bad boy of NFL media. There were 24 teams. Give them a guitar squeal.

It's like wine and cheese. I'm just saying there were 24 teams that were in the NFL when the NFL truly started, the merger. There's one of those 24 teams that have not been to the... Super Bowl. That is the Detroit Lions. And you're comparing, and there's another team

on the other side, and I know it's been a minute, who've won five Super Bowls. So yes, the average fan is going to root for that fan base who has been through more heartache than anyone, who's never even really had a chance and that this was their chance. Of course, the average fan's got to be rooting for them. It was new. That's what we

talked. Yeah, a little less new news in terms of uniqueness, but at the end of the day, we are not complaining because Chiefs v. Niners is going to be a hell of a game. Andy Reid versus Kyle Shanahan. That is gorgeous. It's happened before and it was a great game last time.

And I have a feeling just like the desert is feeling right now that it's going to go down to the wire again. So that is the game next time you hear us doing a recap. Well, Mark's going to be, we're sending Mark to Orlando, correct, to cover all bowl games. What am I doing? Just dodge ball, the triple jump tag. Can you know defend his Pro Bowl flag football MVP? He had that big drive to finish. I think there's a miniature golf shootout.

I officially do not have time for that. No, Mark is coming to Vegas with us and we're going to cover all the games. We still, of course, have two weeks of shows before that. So make sure you're there and tuning in. Anything else? Yeah, we'll be back Tuesday. Tuesday. Music's playing.

I guess nothing else. That's it. It's a wrap. Thank you to everybody. We've been listening every Sunday all season. One game left. Heed the call. Hey, everybody.

And Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On move to six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies. To evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers,

and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sundays. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

Thank you.