NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Jared Goff can become the fifth quarterback to lead two franchises to the Super Bowl

Jared Goff took the Rams to the Super Bowl at the end of his third NFL season, but when the Rams lost that game and then failed to win a playoff game in either of the next two years, they concluded that Goff couldn’t get them back to the Super Bowl and sent him to Detroit.

Now Goff is one win away from taking the Lions to the Super Bowl.

If Goff can do it, he’ll be just the fifth starting quarterback to lead two different franchises to the Super Bowl.

The first quarterback to start Super Bowls with two different teams was Craig Morton, who started Super Bowl V with the Cowboys, went to the Giants amid a career decline, and then had a career resurgence and started Super Bowl XII with the Broncos.

The second quarterback to start Super Bowls with two different teams was Kurt Warner, who started Super Bowls XXXIV and XXXVI with the Rams, went to the Giants amid a career decline, and then had a career resurgence and started Super Bowl XLIII with the Cardinals.

Later Peyton Manning started two Super Bowls with the Colts and two with the Broncos, and Tom Brady started nine Super Bowls with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers.

Goff would join that exclusive group if the Lions beat the 49ers Sunday in the NFC Championship Game.

 

Ravens TE Mark Andrews (ankle) activated off IR, set for return in AFC Championship Game

Mark Andrews' remarkable return will come on Championship Sunday.

Andrews has been activated from injured reserve and is poised to play in the Baltimore Ravens' AFC Championship Game matchup against the visiting Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Friday. The team later announced the news.

Originally expected to miss the remainder of the season after suffering an ankle injury in Week 11, Andrews' prospects drew "outside chance" optimism for a potential playoff return shortly after. This week, he practiced in full throughout, just as he did the week prior. However, this time around, the Ravens have deemed their standout TE good to go.

"I would say an amazing amount of toughness," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters when asked what it showed that Andrews is able to play Sunday.

"Physical toughness in terms of the work he put in and the physical pain he went through. I saw him in the training room. Very painful injury, very painful rehab."

Andrews is now set to return to the top-seeded Ravens to continue their playoff run just a step away from the Super Bowl.

"He's been looking good," Lamar Jackson told reporters on Friday. "He's been looking sharp."

Andrews has largely struggled in the playoffs during his career, having averaged four catches for 42.4 yards with no touchdowns in five postseason games. Nonetheless, his comeback can only be seen as a boon for Jackson and the Ravens offense. The three-time Pro Bowler recorded 45 receptions for 544 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games during the 2023 season. He was still second on the team in catches and tops in TD grabs.

Baltimore is aiming for its first Super Bowl berth since the 2012 season, and now it will have its former All-Pro tight end back in the fold.

The Ravens kick off against the Chiefs at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.

NFL.com
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Certainly great news for Lamar and crew.

 

Niners DC Steve Wilks on Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs: 'I don't know if you can contain him'

Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs enters Sunday's NFC Championship Game as an X-factor for the underdog Detroit Lions facing off against a high-powered San Francisco squad.

The shifty back can make defenders look foolish in place and bust open a game with a big play, as he did in the Divisional Round win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 31-yard TD run.

Niners defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was asked Thursday about the key to containing the dynamic rookie back.

"I don't know if you can contain him," Wilks said, via the official transcript. "We have to do a great job swarming the ball, and he's phenomenal. He's four-three on paper, he is four-three on tape. He plays to that speed. Again, they do a great job getting him out in space, trying to create one-on-ones with the backers, great job on third down, and he can run in between the tackles and he's most explosively taking the ball outside. So, definitely someone we have to definitely rally to. And as I said before to the defense, we have to swarm tackle this Sunday in order to stop this run game."

A dual threat, Gibbs averaged 15.2 touches per game in 2023, including playoffs, generating 84.9 scrimmage yards and 13 scrimmage TDs. The rookie paired with David Montgomery to form one of the most efficient backfields in the NFL. Montgomery played the trusty veteran role, getting most of the interior carries, while Gibbs brought jet fuel to the Lions offense, springing big plays.

Last week, Gibbs led the Lions with 114 scrimmage yards (74 rush, 40 receiving) against Tampa, the first game he's generated the 100-plus yard plate since Week 16. The rookie has found pay dirt a lot recently, scoring eight scrimmage TDs over his last seven games (five in first 10 games).

The 49ers D did not allow any player to record 90-plus rush yards in a game during the 2023 regular season but gave up 108 rushing yards on 18 carries to Packers' Aaron Jones in the Divisional Round -- first player to earn 100-plus rush yards vs. San Francisco since Week 8, 2021 (Justin Fields, 103).

The Niners remain stout up the middle, but runs bounced outside can give them trouble, even with the best linebacking duo in the NFL in Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw patrolling. If the Lions are going to have a shot on the road, they'll need another massive day and explosive plays from Gibbs.

NFL.com

 

DEEBO SAMUEL WILL PLAY THIS WEEKEND

49ers receiver Deebo Samuel will play Sunday against the Lions. The questions are: How much and how much contact can he sustain?

Samuel, though, insists he’s not worried about protecting his injured left shoulder.

“I ain’t protecting nothing,” Samuel said Friday, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com.

Samuel played only nine offensive snaps against the Browns in Week 6 before a left shoulder injury — later determined to be a hairline fracture — forced him out for the rest of that game and the next two. The 49ers lost all three.

He played only nine offensive snaps Saturday against the Packers before a hit to the same shoulder sent him to the sideline for the rest of the game.


But medical testing Sunday revealed only a deep bruise, Samuel said.

“At the time, it was hurting really bad,” Samuel said. “I was kind of scared a little bit. I thought I had fractured again, and I was just all over the place. In a big game like that, I had millions of emotions on the sideline, trying to kind of hold them together for my team.”

Samuel said he spent most of the week in the training room, getting treatment to get where he is today. He was a full participant in Friday’s practice.

“It was kind of painful at the time, but as the week went on, [the training staff] did a good job, getting all the pain away, getting all my motion and strength back, and I feel like they did an outstanding job,” Samuel said.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said “it’s huge” to have Samuel. How huge?

The 49ers averaged 7.1 yards per play with Samuel and 5.7 yards per play without him this season

PFT

 

Here are four things to watch for when the Chiefs visit the Ravens on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game:

3pm eastern / CBS

1) Lamar Jackson, Ravens cruise into AFC title game. Baltimore has enjoyed smooth sailing for the last month and a half, running through a gauntlet that included the Rams, Dolphins, 49ers, Jaguars and most recently, the upstart Texans. Jackson has compiled an incredible run of performances so impressive that he's now the clubhouse leader to win NFL MVP. But will he take home that award mere days before making his Super Bowl debut? Or will the reigning champions end his dreamlike run one stop shy of the game's greatest stage? Jackson's Ravens have defeated Mahomes' Chiefs just once in four meetings, but all of those contests occurred in the regular season. Historically speaking, Mahomes has been the better postseason quarterback, but these Ravens are different. They're no longer the Greg Roman-directed offense that carried a limited ceiling into the playoffs; Instead, Todd Monken's offense has blossomed at the perfect time, placing them in historic company: Only the 1985 Bears, 1972 Dolphins and 2023 Ravens have scored 25-plus points per game while leading the NFL in rushing offense and scoring defense. The two aforementioned teams won the Super Bowl and are considered to be two of the greatest teams ever assembled. Need more proof? Baltimore's offensive evolution is easy to see in Jackson's statistical difference. After completing 55.9 percent of his passes and posting a 3-5 TD-INT ratio in his first four postseason games, Jackson lit it up against Houston, completing 72.7 percent of his passes for two touchdowns and a passer rating of 121.8. He added two more rushing touchdowns to his ledger, capping a memorable day that could end up being a precursor to another great outing in an even bigger game. It's certainly not an inevitable outcome, but plenty of signs sure seem to point toward Baltimore reaching Super Bowl LVIII.

2) Can Chiefs keep offensive momentum rolling? The prevailing theme of the 2023 Chiefs was one of consternation. Despite featuring an elite quarterback and a play-caller with plenty of familiarity, Kansas City couldn't find a consistent rhythm for most of the regular season. The blame centered on Mahomes' weapons, who were reliably unreliable, dropping accurate passes and flat-out failing their quarterback on a number of occasions. But that seems to have shifted in the postseason, where the Chiefs have scored 53 points combined in their two playoff wins. History is also on Mahomes' side in a meeting with Baltimore's top-five scoring defense. He owns a 2-0 record against defenses owning such status, and has scored a total of nine touchdowns in three meetings with top-ranked pass defenses. Mahomes also seems to have Baltimore's number, averaging nearly 370 passing yards per game in meetings with the Ravens, the most by any player versus any team in the Super Bowl era prior to a playoff matchup. But those facts might be fool's gold, because like Baltimore's offense, this Ravens defense is playing at an incredibly high level that has exceeded its past standard. And even if Mahomes is as sharp as can be, he'll still need more than just Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce to come through. Therein lies the true unpredictable variable.

3) Baltimore's defense packing punches for Mahomes, Chiefs. A quick skim of the rankings tells us this Baltimore defense is very good. The Ravens are first in points per game allowed, opposing passer rating, rushing touchdowns allowed, sacks and tied for first in takeaways (31). They rank third in yards per play allowed, supporting the tape with legitimate statistical production. And when it comes to the tape, they're downright frightening. With studs at every level of the defense -- including first-team All-Pros Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton -- Baltimore has game-changing potential in its personnel. The unit proved it against a relatively explosive Houston offense in the Divisional Round, holding C.J. Stroud and the Texans to three offensive points in a dominant win. Baltimore hasn't allowed a passer to break 300 yards in a game this season, and has allowed as many games with two passing touchdowns (four) as it has had contests with two or more interceptions (four). Simply put, this defense is ferocious, capable of wrecking game plans with pressure brought from seemingly every angle, and has yet to meet an offense that can counter legitimately. The task is incredibly tall for Mahomes. Fortunately for him and the Chiefs, he has experience with such situations.

4) Two kicking titans could determine the game. I really wanted to use this space to write about Kansas City's greatest strength, its defense, but I have to show some love to the kickers, because we're about to watch the game's best two boots share the same field with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Justin Tucker is a surefire Pro Football Hall of Famer and commonly known as the best kicker to ever play the position, but he has missed five field goals this year, the second-most misses of his career (behind last season's six misses on a league-high 43 regular-season attempts). He went a perfect 2 for 2 (and 4 for 4 on extra points) on a frigid day in Baltimore last weekend, so he seems to be in a good spot entering Championship Weekend. And on the other side resides Harrison Butker, another dynamite kicker who has missed just two field-goal attempts this season, and has drilled all six of his postseason tries. If the Chiefs can contain Baltimore's offense and keep pace with them into the final minutes of the game, this position will become vitally important. And after we watched Tyler Bass miss the biggest attempt of his 2023 season (and perhaps, his career), we already know how big a field goal can be in a playoff game. Fortunately, we'll see two of the best of their generation handling the duties. Maybe we'll even luck out and see one send his team to the Super Bowl.

NFL.com

 

Here are four things to watch for when the Lions visit the 49ers on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game:

6:30pm eastern / FOX

1) Deebo is set to play after Divisional Round injury. Deebo Samuel (shoulder) left last week's Divisional Round win over the Packers after only 10 snaps, unable to continue after briefly reentering last week's game. His status was up in the air for much of this week, but on Friday he was able to fully participate in practice and removed the injury report heading into the weekend. He's one-quarter of the 49ers' four horsemen with Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. With the four of them on the field, the offense has averaged 7.3 yards per play with a 52.6% success rate, per Next Gen Stats. Without Samuel, they're at 6.9 and 45.4%, respectively. To put it another way, after Samuel got hurt nine plays into the Browns game in Week 6 and missed the next two, the Niners lost all three games. It wasn't until Samuel returned that the Niners ripped off six wins in a row. The Lions have had some issues tackling in space this season, so Samuel's availability is a particularly huge boon from a YAC standpoint. On the flip side, the Lions have defended the run and screen passes -- that's McCaffrey's music -- very well this season. Detroit's secondary showed its vulnerability against the Rams and Buccaneers, and it might have been more trouble against the Bucs had Mike Evans not dropped at least two big passes last week. The 49ers now know they'll have all the weaponry possible at their disposal for this game, which should make them more comfortable against Aaron Glenn's defense. This unit has had some struggles against higher-powered offenses but might be more confident stacking the box against CMC on early downs and playing more two-deep-safety looks in passing situations to guard against Aiyuk, Kittle and Samuel.

2) Goff returning home with redemption in mind. Goff grew up and played his college ball just across the Bay from San Francisco before spending his first five seasons down the coast with the Los Angeles Rams. He returns to the area to face a team he struggled to beat at times with the Rams, and it provides the perfect statement opportunity as Goff continues to fight for respect. Although he's been the driver of one of the best offenses in the NFL this season, Goff might not be viewed as a top-tier QB, and as of now he's entering a contract season in 2024. The Lions, however, wouldn't be here without him. With rookie tight end Sam LaPorta able to play through pain, they have a sophisticated passing game that can attack all three levels of the defense, and the play-action from under center makes Detroit's offense particularly difficult to slow down. The offensive line is a strong group, although the loss of guard Jonah Jackson can't be overlooked against a Niners rush unit led by Nick Bosa. Goff is completing 74% of his passes and hasn't turned the ball over in the playoffs. He's shown increasing confidence in secondary targets such as Jameson Williams and Josh Reynolds and still has his go-to targets in Amon-Ra St. Brown and LaPorta. But Goff also loves to attack the middle of the field, which is an area that the 49ers defend extremely well, thanks to players like Fred Warner. They also have a true No. 1 cornerback in Charvarius Ward, so if Goff is going to prove his doubters wrong, it will be a tall challenge against this defense.

3) Pressure on Purdy to perform. Last season, Purdy was one of the league's great stories, as he went from Mr. Irrelevant to NFC Championship Game quarterback. After suffering a major elbow injury in that game, he worked his way back from offseason surgery and elevated his level of play in Year 2. But the critics remain, as Purdy has struggled in the 49ers' losses this season -- and in last week’s skin-of-their-teeth win over the Packers, when he had at least one would-be interception dropped and had issues with accuracy in the rainy conditions. Nine of Purdy's 11 picks this year came in their four losses. But for most of this season, he's been a highly effective signal-caller in one of the league's most dangerous offenses, with elite targets at receiver, tight end and running back, generating a stunningly good 9.6 yards per attempt. When he's on, Purdy's superpower has been (like Goff's) attacking the middle of the field, even in tight windows, and giving his pass catchers terrific YAC possibilities. The Lions have had some coverage problems at times, as top cornerback Cam Sutton was chewed up by Evans last week, and new starter Kindle Vildor is likely to be targeted by the Niners. The Lions' secondary has playmakers in Brian Branch, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Kerby Joseph, but it also gives up its share of yards. The weather conditions look extremely favorable for Purdy, so the pressure will be on as he seeks to prove he's the 49ers' future at QB by landing his team in Super Bowl LVIII.

4) Lions' run game could give the 49ers problems. Fire and ice. Thunder and lightning. Come up with whatever descriptors you want for Lions running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. They've been that good this season, totaling 1,960 rush yards and 23 rushing TDs, along with 68 combined receptions. When teams have ganged up on Montgomery, Gibbs has provided a spark, as he did last week, flipping the script after the Bucs slowed the run game early. Even Craig Reynolds chipped in with a clutch fourth-and-goal TD run. One of the great battles within the battle in this game is Lions offensive tackles Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell versus the 49ers edges Chase Young and Bosa. The Packers had success running right at Young last week, and you can be sure the Lions will try to do the same. The 49ers had defended the run very well most of the season but have struggled in that department since Week 15. Last week, the Packers ran for 136 yards and averaged 4.9 yards per handoff. Because the 49ers have defended slot receivers (where St. Brown does most of his damage) and have great coverage linebackers in Warner and Dre Greenlaw (to deal with LaPorta), the Lions know how important their RB duo will be in this game. If Detroit's offensive line can replace Jackson, it could have success attacking the Niners on the ground and setting up the play-action pass game.

NFL.com

 

Good Morning... Welcome to Championship Sunday! Enjoy it!

 

Isiah Pacheco is a full go... helps the Chiefs immensely.

 

Fun game. Some hitting going on out there.

 

Pacheco drives into the endzone to cap off a 9+ minute drive. Chiefs up 14-7 and their having fun doing it.

Great blocking out in front of Mahomes. O-line blasting people around on run plays.

 

Unlike a lot of records that fall in the post seasn Kelce will do it in fewer games. He currently has 20 games in the post season (today is 21) Rice appeared in 29.

 

Nobody boxed out jackson so he completed a pass to himself

 

Jackson to Jackson for big gainer (13 yards). Crazy assed shit right there.

 

Amazing

 

Kyle Hamilton has been a nightmare

 

Baltimore has to keep their composer, Jone's pop to Mahomes face is really stupid.

 

Chiefs missed out on a golden opportunity to go up 3 scores with the 3 and out coming out of the half. Baltimore on the ropes but they’re explosive on both sides so it’s far from over.

 

Who's going to deliver the knockout blow Chiefs or Ravens

 

I have a dumb question: Is OBJ playing?

 

Yes. Seen him in the 1st Q... been quiet tho.