HappyDays

What is low percentage about a quick flat route to Gibbs? Should have been an automatic 1st down.

Really? Schemed open a deep TD that Jameson Williams alligator armed. Then schemed open a pass to Gibbs that Goff air mailed. The offensive play calling is not the problem. As I type this Goff throws a duck that should have been completed on 4th down. I feel bad for Ben Johnson. His play calling deserved better than this.

Three offenses led by the Shanahan scheme - Houston, Miami, and SF - have looked noticeably soft against playoff contenders. It makes me wonder.

Damn I feel bad for Goff. He is getting let down by his WRs this half.

That's PFF's 10th highest rated guard Jon Feliciano to you. No I'm not joking.

I think SF would get pushed around on both sides of the ball against KC. Detroit I believe would hold their own in the trenches and that is matchup #1 that you need to win against the Chiefs (and most teams for that matter).

It's pretty rare that I'm ever comfortable blaming a single player for a loss. If the Lions lose this one, it is 100% on Reynolds.

Wow Reynolds out here shaving points. They might need to take him out of the game for his own good.

Wow. Lions with a masterclass in giving a game away. Reynolds drop, unlucky bounce, bad fumble. That's how you erase a 14 point lead in two minutes.

I usually agree, but the Lions have been an aggressive 4th down team all year long. Why would they stop now? Reynolds should have just caught the ball and then it's a genius decision.

Ben Johnson has been perfect. He's taken shots at the exact right times. He hasn't been afraid to keep running the ball to keep the offense steady. He's spreading the ball to his best players with no predictability from play to play. Congrats are in order to Washington fans. They suddenly have a real owner and are about to the best up and coming coach in the league leading their franchise.

Every season there are two MVPs - Mahomes and Allen. In seasons where neither of them get the #1 seed, the voters will justify giving it to someone else. But realistically it's those two and then everybody else.

What worries me about Goff in the Super Bowl is you can't miss as many opportunities as he has in this game. He missed a deep TD earlier, and that TD just now. It's not always going to be a perfect pocket against the Chiefs. Gotta hit those when they're there.

Poor Kyle Shanahan. He just can't get the QB right. Purdy is the best he's had yet and it still just isn't good enough.

The trick play was a great call and probably should have been a TD. Ben Johnson has been perfect so far. I'm surprised the Lions didn't go for it there. I'm a believer in committing to being the team that got you this far. The regular season Lions wouldn't have punted there.

I don't consider slot receivers to be true #1s. Kupp in his prime is the only slot player I've ever seen good enough to earn that label. But yes St. Brown is certainly an outstanding slot WR. And Gibbs has speed. But for me mostly it is just elite coaching that has the Lions performing this well. Not even Sean McVay made Goff look this good. Ben Johnson may be a super early career version of Andy Reid, he has been that good. I expect his offenses will still be dominating the league 20 years from now.

I came into the game thinking the 49ers would be the only team capable of beating the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. But now I'm thinking the Lions could do it. Ben Johnson vs Steve Spagnuolo is a heavyweight fight. I just wonder if the Lions defense is talented enough to slow the Chiefs down?

They don't have a true #1. Their offense is primarily just a coaching masterclass. That and an elite OL.

They didn't play well. It was historically bad efficiency given up. If you want to blame the players over the coaches, fine. It's still the reality of what happened though, and what keeps happening every time we face the Chiefs in the playoffs.

Bills are the only team this season that scored over 20 points against the Chiefs and lost the game.

All year the book on the Chiefs was score more than 20 points and you win the game. The Ravens game ends up being the same script. The Bills end the season being the ONLY team all year to score more than 20 on the Chiefs and lose the game. Another frustrating end to the season caused solely by our defense. And I see no path to fixing it next year. We're stuck in neutral. ****

Must be nice having a defensive coach that makes adjustments before it's too late.

Ravens defense in this game is actually a perfect example of what this thread is about... We gave up 8.5 yards per play to the Chiefs last week. Their offense averaged 5.5 YPP in the regular season. So we gave up a full 3 yards per play more than their average... As of 6:50 remaining in the 4th quarter (before the game ended on a dumb Lamar Jackson INT) the Ravens have given up 4.4 YPP. So they gave up 1.1 yards per play LESS than the Chiefs average... Ravens defense played amazing. It wasn't pretty early on but they made adjustments about halfway through the 2nd quarter and never let up from there. I'm actually angry watching Lamar and the Ravens offense waste a great defensive performance. If our defense had played this well last week we would have beaten the Chiefs by 10 points.

Sorry but Lamar has been flat out bad in this game. Way too many missed throws. He had one truly exceptional passing play and nothing else. Even his legs aren't getting him out of trouble as much as usual.

MVP has already been decided, it's voted on right after the regular season ends. The last time Lamar won the MVP and the #1 seed he got booted in the divisional round.