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Tough Conference Championship Weekend for Pats fans

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Jan 18, 2020

It’s a bittersweet Conference Championship weekend.

Woe are New England Patriot fans, who have to endure the feeling of not watching an AFC championship game with your team in it for the first time since January, 2011.

That’s a streak of eight straight AFC title games, and you can bet it may never be broken. The Patriots went 5-3 in those games, losing to Denver twice in Denver, and to Baltimore in Foxborough. They beat the Ravens, the Colts, the Steelers, the Jaguars and the Chiefs in their five wins. The Colts and the Steelers may as well have not shown up. The other games were super.

Fun times.

But now it’s a different world. The dumpster fire that is Major League Baseball has given us a respite from the Tom Brady drama, and of course now Patriot fans will grit their teeth watching the player we once thought was Brady’s heir apparent, Jimmy Garoppolo, quarterback the San Francisco 49ers with a great chance to get to the Super Bowl in Miami.

“It’s been a whirlwind of a season,” Garrapolo told a huge throng of reporters earlier this week

It certainly has. Maybe he’s the sweet part for some. And on the AFC side, Patriot fans are probably rooting for former linebacker Mike Vrabel, whose smashmouth approach with the Titans ruined the Patriots’ chances at a week of sun and fun in Miami.

Football old-timers, though, would probably love a Packers-Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl – a rematch of the two franchises who played in the first ever Super Bowl. Hank Stram. Vince Lombardi. Len Dawson. Bart Starr. For the 100th year of the NFL, you have to admit, it would be a fitting touch.

Will Jimmy G and Vrabel ruin things? Hmmm, let’s take a gander:

CHIEFS 33, TITANS 18

Tough call in some respects, because the Titans have imposed their game, their will on opponents. Derek Henry is a beast, and if he is pounding the ball it’s tough for the opposition to get it back without damage already done. Vrabel has done a great job in not putting all his eggs in the Ryan Tannehill basket, even though Tannehill is the NFL Comeback Player of the Year and his QB rating is high. Having him throw for under 100 yards in two straight winning playoff games tells you the Titans blueprint.

The Chiefs are hurting up front defensively with tackle Chris Jones not having practiced until he stepped on the field Friday with a bad calf, and he missed the win over Houston last week. Not a good matchup for him to miss if he can’t go.

But the Chiefs have to smell it. They were one neutral zone infraction of making the Super Bowl last year – or have you forgotten? And Patrick Mahomes is back to his old self after an injury riddled season, winging it and slinging it.

One thing that helped Tennessee last week was the injury to Baltimore back Mark Ingram. That forced the Ravens to have Lamar Jackson throw it 50-plus times. But they don’t want to force Mahomes to throw it that many, because he will, and will make those passes count. Chiefs keep up their end of the Super Bowl I bargain.

NINERS 27, PACKERS 17

These two have played some great playoff games over the years, including a Wild Card round game 21 years ago when Steve Young threw a late TD pass to Terrell Owens, beating Brett Favre and the Packers, who had been to two straight Super Bowls.

Now their regular season matchup this year was one to forget for the Packers, who were bludgeoned 37-8 back in Week 12.

It won’t be like that this time, even if 49ers tight end George Kittle is bouncing back from a sore ankle (he has practiced).

San Francisco is perhaps the best defensive team of the four remaining. John Lynch has built a really good one,mainly through the draft – see Nick Bosa — and he was able to take three years to do it. Patience worked.

This year the Pack and Aaron Rodgers are back, but they won’t be back in the Super Bowl. Hard to believe Rodgers’ last Super Bowl appearance was in 2011, Super Bowl XLV a win over Pittsburgh. But Green Bay hasn’t been there since.

And we say they won’t be this time. Ready for Chiefs-Niners?

LAST WEEK: 3-1

PLAYOFFS: 5-3

REGULAR SEASON: 75-45

Tom King may be reached at 594-1251 or tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on Twitter (@Telegraph_TomK).

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