Greg Bedard of BostonSportsJournal.com joined the Felger & Mazz program on Tuesday, as he does every week to discuss the Patriots and the NFL games from the past week. While on, Greg Bedard did his weekly “3 Up & 3 Down” segment on the program following Championship weekend of the 2023 NFL season…..
But before the 3 up and 3 down, here are some notes from Divisional weekend courtesy of NFL.com…
The Kansas City Chiefs have advanced to their fourth Super Bowl in the last five seasons. The Chiefs are 2-1 in their previous three Super Bowl appearances. In the last 10 Super Bowls only four teams have advanced to the Super Bowl from the AFC. The Chiefs and the New England Patriots have four appearances each, while the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals each had an appearance.
The San Francisco 49ers will be making their eighth Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl 58. The 49ers were 5-0 in their first five appearances, but have lost their last two Super Bowl Matchups.
The matchup between the Chiefs and 49ers will be a rematch of Super Bowl 54, which resulted in a 31-20 victory for the Chiefs.
Super Bowl 58 will be hosted at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will be the first time the Super Bowl will be held in Las Vegas.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will be looking for his third Super Bowl title as a head coach in the NFL, while 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will be looking for his first Super Bowl victory. Reid also has a Super Bowl victory as an assistant head coach with the Green Bay Packers.
With their loss, the Baltimore Ravens missed an opportunity to play in their third Super Bowl, while the Detroit Lions blew their chance to play in the Super Bowl for the first time. They Lions are one of four teams to never appear in a Super Bowl.
3 UP
Travis Kelce
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – OCTOBER 01: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on prior to the game New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 01, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
Greg Bedard: I thought he was awesome. It was very Gronk. Sort of a later Gronk career type of thing with Brady. And the Chiefs absolutely had to have it.
Patrick Mahomes
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 07: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs runs off the field after the first half against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on January 07, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)
Greg Bedard: He’s the new Brady. He’s unbelievable. He’s one of those guys that you will now not bet against.
Trent Williams
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 24: Trent Williams #71 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrate after a touchdown during the third quarter in the game against the Washington Commanders at Levi’s Stadium on December 24, 2022 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Greg Bedard: Trent Williams the 49ers left tackle. He was outstanding in the game. Just about a perfect game. And now he gets to go to the Super Bowl for the first time.
3 DOWN
John Harbaugh
Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens talks with fans before the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 12, 2016 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Greg Bedard: John Harbaugh. I just thought for them to do what they did in that game, to take the approach to abandon the run so early, to not expect a lot of blitzes from the Chiefs. John Harbaugh, he knows Steve Spagnuolo really well, they were on the same staff for a while. Like he should know what Spags is going to do. And Spag’s completely owned him. I mean, Harbaugh got completely outcoached at home. The whole “who has it a better than us” and, you know, all that crap and again, they fall flat on their face.
Dan Campbell
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 28: Head coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions reacts prior to a game against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Greg Bedard: He just failed to manage the game. Like he had gotten to that point, really good game plan that they came in with. Attitude all that stuff, how to play the game, and they did it correctly. But when his team needed him to be a coach and help present them a solution he just went for it and just completely blew it for the Lions.
Lamar Jackson
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 31: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens runs with the ball against the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Greg Bedard: Spagnuolo had a plan for him. Totally thwarted him. Every year there’s going to be more and more pressure. I mean, don’t talk about Lamar during the regular season. Nobody cares. He’s got to get it done in the postseason. And I think he will. I respect the talent immensely. I think he’s an incredible player. The way he’s developed as a passer has been outstanding. I think he’s great in that part of the game. They got him a new offensive coordinator to bring in the college sort of game this year. But again, he came up woefully short in a huge game.
