Table Of Contents:
- Super Bowl 2024 San Francisco 49ers
- AFC Championship: Kansas City Chiefs defeat Baltimore Ravens
- NFC Championship: Detroit Lions fall to San Francisco 49ers
Super Bowl 2024
The Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning champions, will play the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl 2024.
Live coverage of Super Bowl LVIII from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, will air on CBS, Nickelodeon, and Paramount+ for streaming.
AFC Championship: Kansas City Chiefs defeat Baltimore Ravens
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 in the AFC Championship to advance to their second consecutive Super Bowl, their fourth trip to the NFL championship game in the previous five seasons.
The 2024 Super Bowl is set, with the Kansas City Chiefs to face the San Francisco 49ers
The NFL’s most dynamic quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, squared off on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. After the Ravens’ opening drive ended in a three-and-out, the game appeared to be a barn burner.
The next two possessions saw touchdown drives from both sides. Star tight end Travis Kelce (yep, Taylor Swift was there) scored a touchdown reception to finish a 10-play, 86-yard drive by the Chiefs. In just over two and a half minutes, the Ravens responded with a swift six-play drive that was highlighted by a 30-yard pass from Jackson to Xavian Flowers, tying the score.
The Chiefs then used nine minutes of game time to execute a protracted 16-play touchdown drive. With 10:56 remaining in the second quarter, Isiah Pacheco ran for a two-yard touchdown, giving the Chiefs a 17-7 lead. It would be the last touchdown scored by either side.
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The remainder of the match was characterized by solid defense and a lack of opportunities. The Chiefs recovered a strip sack of Jackson at Baltimore’s 33-yard line, ending the Ravens’ subsequent possession. But after failing to convert on a fourth and one run, Kansas City was left with nothing on the subsequent drive, even with the excellent field position.
The next three drives saw the sides trade punts until the Chiefs were able to end the half.
The Ravens were undone in the second half by two pivotal turnovers. The first occurred on the opening play of the fourth quarter when Flowers tripped right in front of a potential score. Rather, the Chiefs recovered the ball for a touchback in the endzone.
A promising drive by the Ravens on their following possession ended abruptly when Jackson’s ball to Isaiah Likely, who was well-covered, on second and 10 from the Kansas City 25-yard line was intercepted in the end zone.
However, despite the Ravens’ problems, the Chiefs’ offense was unable to produce any results after halftime.
With just 2:34 remaining in the fourth quarter, Justin Tucker’s 43-yard field goal pulled the Ravens within seven points, marking the only score of the second half. The Chiefs ended the game with a 32-yard pass from Mahomes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling on third and 9, giving them a new set of downs as the clock approached the two-minute warning. However, Baltimore’s offense never saw the ball again.
The Chiefs just needed a few kneel-downs to win the game because the Ravens ran out of timeouts and were unable to stop the clock.
NFC Championship: Detroit Lions fall to San Francisco 49ers
In the NFC Championship game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the San Francisco 49ers handed the Detroit Lions a crushing 34-31 setback (yep, Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir was present).
The Lions were well-positioned to earn their first-ever Super Bowl participation after jumping out to a 24-7 lead at the half. But in the second half, the 49ers stormed back.
The game was tied at two points when San Francisco converted a field goal on its opening play of the third quarter. After a defender’s facemask deflected a long ball, Brandon Aiyuk made an incredible catch that put San Francisco in position for a first and goal at the five-yard line during their following drive. After that, the Niners scored 27 straight points, and with 3:02 remaining, Elijah Mitchell’s 3-yard touchdown run put the score at 34-24.
Detroit’s inability to convert on two fourth downs in the second half when in field goal range aided San Francisco’s comeback attempts as well. Following the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell was questioned about his choice to go for it and he stated, “I just felt really good about us converting and getting our momentum and not letting them play long ball.”
“They were bleeding the clock out, that’s what they do, and I wanted to get the upper hand back,” Campbell stated. “I understand that it’s simple in retrospect. I don’t regret the choices I made. And that is challenging. The fact that we failed makes it difficult. It was unable to succeed. However, I don’t… And I am aware that I will be under observation.
With 56 seconds remaining, the Lions came back within three, but they were unable to recover the onside kick that followed. At that point, San Francisco managed to run out the remaining seconds.
Following San Francisco’s victory, the Chiefs will play again in 2020 in Super Bowl LIV, which they won 31–20.