Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.
The season is almost at an end; just one game left! We had a close game and a not-so-close game. Let’s talk about the one with little suspense first: San Francisco vs. Philadelphia. All year long the 49ers have struggled with quarterback injuries. Maybe struggled is the wrong word, let’s go with overcome QB injuries. Trey Lance was the player S.F. packaged a king’s ransom for and he started the season under center. Unfortunately, he went down Week 2 with a fractured fibula and some ligament damage. Season over. The good news for Kyle Shanahan was that he had Jimmy Garoppolo, who has a 40-17 career record as a starter. Things were humming along as Jimmy led them to a 7-3 record in games he finished. Then he broke his foot against the Dolphins and San Francisco was forced to turn to their third string option, rookie Brock Purdy, a 7th round draft pick. Purdy played remarkably well and won all six of his starts (and his first two playoff games). Unfortunately, early in the game against the Eagles, a Philly pass rusher grabbed his arm as he was mid-throw. This resulted in a fumble, but more importantly, Purdy’s UCL tore. He was done
Now, all year long the 49ers got by with solid (if not spectacular) QB play on the strength of their rushing attack and fantastic defense. This came to a crashing halt against Philadelphia on Sunday. Quarterback door #4 held journeyman and career backup Josh Johnson, who is 36 and has been on 14 different NFL teams and practice squads. He was not good, and neither was the rushing attack. He managed just 74 yards passing and the team only rushed for 81 yards. The defense wasn’t great as they allowed 25 first down. You can point to the three fumbles by the offense as hamstringing the defense, but they just had trouble getting the Eagles off the field. Those 25 first downs (against just 11 from S.F.) resulted in a huge 37:26 to 22:34 time of possession advantage. The final score was 31-7 and it didn’t feel that close. The interesting question now for the 49ers is who will be the signal caller next year. Purdy looked awfully good, but Lance was a huge investment. It won’t be Garappolo; Shanahan has already said he won’t be on the team next year. The Eagles are back to looking like a juggernaut once again now that Hurts seems to be back near full strength.
In the AFC, Kansas City was dealing with their own quarterback injury. Patrick Mahomes suffered that ankle sprain in the divisional round and looked severely hampered by it. A week off and he looked much better against the Bengals. He outplayed Joe Burrow (26-41 for 270 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT) to the tune of 29-43 for 326 yards and 2 TD. The Cincinnati defense was very good against the run, allowing only 42 yards on 20 carries by the Chiefs. This game was tight the whole way. With the score tied late in the 4th, K.C. was driving, hoping to get into field goal range. Mahomes was forced to scramble on that bad ankle on a 3rd and 4. With just 17 seconds left, the Kansas City quarterback veered out of bounds at the Cincinnati 42. This was good for a first down, but left the Chiefs with about a 60 yard field goal and maybe a play or two if they were lucky to try and get a little closer. O.T. was looming as a very likely denouement to a hard fought game. But a hand in Mahomes’ back when he was a step out of bounds by Cincy linebacker Joseph Ossai tilted the game dramatically. It wasn’t incredibly late or violent, but it was a clear penalty. Suddenly the Chiefs were looking at a far more manageable 45 yard field goal, which Harrison Butker calmly sent through the uprights for another Kansas City trip to the Super Bowl.
It was a big mistake from Ossai, and plays that late in the game seem far more significant than early errors and missed opportunities, but I really feel for the young player. He’ll blame himself for the loss and many fans (and perhaps some teammates) will as well. I hope he bounces back and can continue to have a successful career. Now, how will K.C. fare against the Eagles? Well, that’s for Stemshul to predict, but it does look like Hurts is healthier than Mahomes at this point and the Eagles D is playing very well right about now. Check in later this week for the official 64tacos Super Bowl prediction. There is clear evidence that our rankings system is genius because the top two teams in our rankings are the Super Bowl match-up (don’t think about this too hard, just accept our greatness like we have). Enjoy the big game!
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