CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY 2020 PREVIEW

Santiago Leon and Jeff Fawver preview Championship Sunday between the Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC Championship and Green Bay Packers at the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC Championship.

Transcript

Santiago Leon
Welcome to the sports cast January 17 2020. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe and all our channels YouTube Periscope, iTunes. And if you’re an iTunes, please leave a rating and a review. It will help us out tremendously. And visit us on the sports cast.net the sports cast net. This episode is brought to you by Insta Bible download is the Bible for iOS, share a verse and share it to the world. You go into the Bible app and search it on the Apple App Store. championship Sunday 2020 a very significant Sunday, so Sunday before you go into the Super Bowl, and we determine who are the winners and of course, joining us today to flesh this to flesh this out a little bit Jeff Farber, welcome back to the sports cast.

Jeff Fawver
Thanks, Santiago. I appreciate it.

Santiago Leon
Jeff, your Kansas City Chiefs are making a second appearance two years in a row. Well, well, I’ll be hosting the AFC Championship. But this time it’s a different opponent. It’s not the Patriots. How do you see this matchup against the Tennessee Titans?

Jeff Fawver
Last year when they played the Patriots, the big advantage the Patriots had was they were the more experienced team. And now this year playing the Titans, the Chiefs I think the Chiefs hold that role. You know, they’re they’ve been there even though they fell short last year. They’ve been in it. They’ve been there before. You know, I think to the big difference that I see is the New England Patriots secondary is was just full of really, really good players. And for the Tennessee Titans, not to take anything away from them, but they’ve really struggled to slow down teams passing games. Fortunately for them, they played the Ravens, the patriots who really aren’t built to test you vertical So it’s gonna be an interesting matchup I the Chiefs last week, I thought the key for them last week was to come out fast and they did the complete opposite they came up terrible and got down by 20 points I would just say those that like early because they’ll just you know, the slow roll believe the clock and run the ball hundred times and you’ll be in trouble trying to come back from big deficit. Yeah, let’s

Santiago Leon
go back to the Houston game. Obviously, the Texans went up 24 to nothing. In Kansas City came back with 40 unanswered points actually, like the end up end up with 52 points. What was it was it Houston’s game plan that really said hey, we got a score, you know, a lot and fast. What was your Your recap after that game

Jeff Fawver
if you look back at the first couple drives, the only thing that stopped the Chiefs off fence was dropped. And we’re not talking about contested catches difficult catches. The first drive javas Kelsey is wide open. He just dropped an easy first down. And then on the second drop, the Marcus Robinson is wide open and he drops it easy first down. So the chase just had to settle down. And then you know, they got the block. They

Jeff Fawver
you actually come out a little over height, and it creates it creates the jitters. You know, you’re nervous. You don’t make the plays that are normally routine. And she’s just making the routine plays and the Texans cap was dawn Tyree. Kill fumbles scored three touchdowns really quickly. But it was really just three plays. It was a blown coverage of public punt and a blocked punt. So I think it was mostly self inflicted wounds. Once the Chiefs settled down, they had seven straight scoring drives where they score a touchdown. And to me, that was the story of the game that the Texans defense. Their only hope against the Chiefs Was it the Chiefs just dropped the ball. And I think the Titans defenses a little bit better than the Texans. But the Titans defense is really susceptible to the big play. And they were 31st in the NFL and red zone defense. So to me that the Chiefs on offense is going to move the ball and they’re more than likely going to score a lot of points. It’s just a matter of whether or not the tight dolphins can slow the game down on their side and make it tougher on the tooth that way.

Santiago Leon
Now, here’s the question. Kane. question is can the Kansas City Chiefs stop? Derrick Henry and the running game?

Jeff Fawver
No, they can’t. But the first matchup between the Titans and chase Derrick Henry had 180 yards and two touchdowns. And it still took a complete choke job for the Chiefs to lose the game at the end. So let’s say he gets 180 yards and two touchdowns again. That might not be enough because in that game in that first matchup, the Chiefs had a touchdown cold back by a penalty that it was the right call, but it was just such a dumb play by the cheese. They had a play with Tyree kill was running uncontested Patrick mahomes just overthrow and then there was a third player, the Chiefs running back fumbled of the Titans returned it for a touchdown. So that’s that’s a 21 point swing. In a game that ended up being a three point spread. So the Titans had every possible thing bounce their way. And they won by three points. could that happen again? I think, yeah, it could. But it’s very unlikely. So I do think the Derrick Henry, he’s gonna get his yards. He’s gonna make some plays, he’s probably going to score a touchdown or two. But I look back at the last couple weeks and I say the Titans have have relied on the other teams turning the ball over to score against the Patriots. The dolphins only scored 14 points. If they score 14 points against the chiefs. You know, they’re they’re going to lose by 20. So they’re going to have to score more than what they have. The Ravens kept turning the ball over. And that’s what really killed the Ravens.

Santiago Leon
How about Ryan tannehill Jeff, is he a force to be reckoned with

Jeff Fawver
I wouldn’t take it as far as to say a force to be reckoned with. But if you keep it within the structure of the offense, if you run the ball really well play action, let him throw the deep ball down the field, he could definitely do those things. So throw that yellow ball into double coverage and he’ll turn the ball over. You know, he turned the ball over against the Patriots. He should have turned the ball over against the Ravens, but they dropped a couple routine interception. So I think Ryan tannehill is definitely an upgrade Marcus Mario, Ryan tannehill absolutely, positively can make positive plays and even big plays. But

Santiago Leon
he’s definitely not in that level with Brady or with Eli Manning. But tell me about the Titans defense can they stop Kansas City or at least slow them down a bit

Jeff Fawver
Well, when I watch it what I see I really liked their linebacker group. I think right up the middle, they’re really really solid. Both their defense tackles drill, Casey and Jeffrey Simmons are very good players. And if you get predictable past situations then they could get after the passer a little bit. But my concern with the Texans I mean, I’m sorry, the Titans would just be there with the Chiefs spread them out. They don’t have the horses to run with the chiefs. Were the two split Tyree kill, but Cole Hardman, Sammy Watkins.

Santiago Leon
Jeff went off the air that he’s probably in the back roads of Pennsylvania.

Jeff Fawver
I know one point they were down four out of the five. And that really changed the game. They were able to hit my hopes a little bit. I’m not saying never touch the hope this game. But I also don’t think he’s going to be under siege and under constant pressure. So to me if the Titans just try to go man’s man at the secondary I mean, why retail and Travis kelsier just going to eat them alive. But if they take, you know, calculated risk, they could get pressure off, I hope. I think that i think that’s their only hope. Really. They have to try to disrupt the timing of the receivers with boats.

Santiago Leon
Yeah, that’s something that we were discussing here in the sports cast. Who do they need to stop Kelsey mahomes or hill or even Williams and it’s mahomes you got to slow him down. You got to make him impossible throw those passes because if it’s not him, that ball cannot get to Kelsey. What is the most important offensive player besides mahomes for Kansas City right now.

Jeff Fawver
So When I look at it when you look at last week the Texans decided no matter what we’re not going to let Tyree kill beat us they doubled up pretty much every snap. And then you saw the third quarter they tried to play a one on one and they had the gravel behind the prevent any of the touchdown because he just blew past Roby. My point was sharing that is that I think the Titans are going to try to take away Kelsey and take their chances on Tyree kill. So with the hope has those opportunities to hit the deep ball until he has to hit them. And again, I could be thrilled to be completely wrong. But the text said they didn’t want Kelsey just to kill them over and over again or 10 and 15 yard gain. I’m sorry, the Texas did one Tyree kill the score the 70 yard touchdown. So Kelsey killed the 110 and 15 yard game. I think my grayble is going to take the opposite approach is going to double Kelsey and bracket Kelsey and try to jam them at the line. And he’s going to have some situation where Tyree kill and Nicole Hartman and Sammy Watkins, we’re going to be one on one. Now, the thought behind that is it’s cold weather, it’s harder to throw the ball down the field. And, you know, there’s just a greater chance that you miss a long throw than a short throw. So I think the players are going to take their chances, they’re gonna, they’re going to make my hopes hit those deep plays. It sounds counterproductive when you say it out loud. But if you let the hope just 10 yard passes to Kelsey all day that you’re going to have a really hard time stopping. So I think one of the keys is going to be I mean, Tyree kill is going to be open. That’s just it. Their first batch of pirate kill had 150 yards. Eddie had a 60 yard touchdown. That should have been an idiot. Walk in the Bahamas. So Tyree kill could easy Nigel say easy for me kill good I had 200 yards in that first game, and I really don’t think the rebels going to change much I think he’s going to continue to make Tyree kill outside receivers beat them instead of letting Travis Kelsey go bananas.

Santiago Leon
Yeah, that’s something that you gotta you gotta realize, you know he’ll will be open. He’s one of the fastest players or the fastest player in the NFL wide receiver wise. Running back Damian Williams had a good game. How important is he with with the Kansas City offense?

Jeff Fawver
David Moyes is one of those guys where he’s been. He’s been a little bit hit or miss. He’s always capable of the big play. And he does have a little bit of a nose for the end zone. I mean, you know, he scored three touchdowns last week he scored three touchdowns in AFC Championship game last year. He scored a touchdown against the Colts in the playoffs last year. So he’s capable.

Jeff Fawver
I would just Say,

Jeff Fawver
in my opinion, the key for David Williams is to get what yards are there, you know, don’t get too fancy try to turn everything into a home run. Because

Jeff Fawver
a lot of teams when they’re playing the chase, they’re just terrified of getting beat deep. So the rhotic yards are going to be there, you know, five to seven yards at a time that you just take what the defense gives you. Damian Williams is, you know, we see that he had a four yard touchdown against the Chargers in the 91 yard touchdown run against the Vikings. He’s capable of those big plays, but where he could really make it difficult on defenses is just taking the seven yards there when it’s available. So that’s really what I want to see from him. If you can get seven yards on first down or second down. That gives you a great opportunity to keep your offense on the field and extend drives.

Santiago Leon
After seeing the Titans beat to Goliath, the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens, I cannot underrate them, Jeff, I cannot overlook them. Yes, some people say this might be the easiest path for Andy Reid to get to the Super Bowl. But Tennessee is no one has. I mean, you can say some people have not figured them out yet. But can you I mean, you. You can’t underestimate their momentum right now. Can’t you

Jeff Fawver
shouldn’t be overlooked. They look. Anytime you win a road game in the NFL, it’s hard. Anytime you win a playoff road game, it is incredibly hard. The Titans want back to back road playoff games against quality opponents. So if anyone’s overlooking them, they’re clinically insane. Like they should be overlooked. I also believe that The chiefs are really good as well. So I think for the fight the way they did the chase to do some dumb stuff, just to make it blood, they need to chase the shoot themselves in the foot a little bit. And that, hey, like I said, that first matchup that she shot themselves over and over and over again. So it could happen. But I don’t think anyone’s really overlooking the fight. I just think that they bought it braided. They played, they’ve also had a perfect storm. Because where you can beat the places to test that vertically. And the two teams that they play can’t throw the ball vertically. I mean, the Patriots this year could throw the ball down the field against anybody at the Ravens. We saw what happens when you force Lamar Jackson to throw the ball deep and outside the number is just not that’s fine. Right. So I think it’s a combination of things. But I think inside the locker room, the coaches, the players, they understand they have to play a good game to win the title, those fundamentally sound quality. And I don’t think anyone is like Kansas City locker rooms overlooking that anyway.

Santiago Leon
Yeah, absolutely. The game is this Sunday at 305 pm on CBS. So definitely keep your eyes open. This is the first of the big, big games. Let’s go to the NFC packers and Niners Packers did beat the niners earlier this season. I believe I believe he was in San Francisco. How do you see this matchup obviously Aaron Rodgers Hall of Fame quarterback and then the niners the new new kid, new kid like in the block. How do you see this matchup

Jeff Fawver
one thing that we see so many times playoff matchups never go exactly like the first matchup it. So I mean, you can look at 100 examples throughout NFL history where, again, there was a blowout, the regular season doesn’t play out that way. So a good example as of 2014, the Seahawks crushed the Packers in the regular season, and that the Packers went into Seattle, and they could control the game until the last five minutes, had a thought for just a gigantic choke job by the Packers, they would have went to the Super Bowl. So I say all that just to say that I lean towards the Packers in this game for two reasons. One is the later in the season you get the more your quarterback matters. And also Aaron Rodgers is it Dr. Aaron Rodgers anymore. I still trust him more than I trust Jimmy Garoppolo At two, no matter how much you try to fight it, I think the niners putting a beat down on the Packers early in the year might make the old just a little bit overconfident. So I think it’ll be a great game has the 40 Niners defense is just filled with great players. So it definitely wouldn’t shock me if the 40 Niners win. But I definitely lean towards the Packers because of the quarterback matchup. And just because of that mental side that when you really beat a team badly sometimes it can make you a little bit complacent.

Santiago Leon
Yeah, something to definitely look at what does the niners need to do to win this game?

Jeff Fawver
If you’re the 40, Niners you want to run the ball as much as possible, and you want to get the packers and predictable situations. So I mean Aaron Rodgers is still great. But no matter how good the quarterback is when you have a foot for the way the niners do. If they know that you have to throw the ball, they’re going to get a pass rush on you. Because they have both those is great. They have Armstead is great. They have the four who has a situational pass rusher is great. So this is just have so many guys that can get up to the quarterback. If you get into a situation where they know that you have to throw the ball. It’s difficult. It’s tough to protect your quarterback for that long.

Santiago Leon
What do the Packers need to do to win the game.

Jeff Fawver
They have to protect Rodgers. They have to win first out the Packers to really run the ball when they’re playing well. So if the packers are going to win the game, they need to see a lot of threes and fours had thought 3010 So first, winning first and second down It’s just a gigantic key for the Packers. So if you get it to 33 or 34, that your entire playbook is open and even Rogers scrambling and running around, you know, you can pick up first downs with his legs. So protecting Rogers is a big key and then on the other side of it, it Grobbelaar with the passing situation. If if the niners run the ball well first Dallas, they can use the flash pass to get the ball to Kendall and to get the ball to Sanders. Rocco could do that. But if you get grappling with the third head, head hit the drop back and throw. He struggles with it. I mean, we saw it last week after Bravo threw that interception against the Vikings. The 40 Niners pretty much neutered and they just kept running and running and running and keeping the passing it really simplistic. So if you get groffle or whatever

Santiago Leon
something to definitely look at Of course drop below in the second or third season. Oh, I think it’s his third season starting for the San Francisco 49 or so definitely. You know, pretty upbeat about DAGs playing home Levi stadium but you know Levi stadium is not the most dangerous home I you know, place to play at or anything. It’s kind of, I can’t say neutral in that but it’s not, you know, Green Bay, or it’s just not city. This is not a hostile environment. It could be in the future but it isn’t right now. So it’s also Aaron Rodgers home down as well.

Jeff Fawver
Yeah, sure. You know, he’s gonna carry that little extra chip on his shoulder. For the rest of the for the rest of his career. I mean, the niners were and

Jeff Fawver
you know, they pass

Santiago Leon
So that’s quite

Jeff Fawver
terrible by any means. But he hasn’t been the player that Aaron Rodgers

Santiago Leon
Yeah. And of course he’s with the Redskins right now. Anyways, are you ready for the final predictions for championship Sunday?

Jeff Fawver
Absolutely.

Santiago Leon
Dennis, Tennessee Titans in Kansas City Jeff, what is your final conclusion score and everything.

Jeff Fawver
So I, I think maybe in a way it’s gonna be a blessing in disguise. I don’t think that they’re going to come out that way two weeks in a row and fall behind. The Tennessee Titans have not won a game where they fell behind by more than 10 points. So with all that said, what I see happening, the chiefs are going to jump out to Leader only the Titans are going to keep fighting. The chiefs are going to win. And the final score is going to be 35 to 24. But the chiefs are going to have to score a touchdown late to come up with that final score. So it’s going to be a 24 to 28 game with four or five minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the chiefs are going to score a touchdown to put it away.

Santiago Leon
Now in devil’s advocate, how would Tennessee when

Jeff Fawver
the Chiefs turn the ball over? And if they have a repeat of the Tennessee, Tennessee where their special teams are absolutely terrible.

Jeff Fawver
That’s right.

Santiago Leon
Let’s go to San Francisco Green Bay of San Francisco. Jeff, what is your final conclusion over that matchup?

Jeff Fawver
You know, I I really, man I like the niners defense maybe more than anybody because i think i think that when we went through that phase where they had a ton of injuries, people forgot how great the niners defense is capable of being. But with that said, I can’t be a hypocrite with everything I just said previously. The later in the season you go, the more your quarterback matters. And it’s not that I think Jimmy groffle is bad or anything like that. But I just don’t trust him the way I trust Rogers and the big moment. So 2724 the packers are going to win, and it’s going to come down to a situation where it’s tied at 24 and the Packers defense is going to get a stop. Rodgers is going to get the ball back with just enough time to drive down and get the game winning field goal.

Santiago Leon
They have it Jeff described it Aaron Rodgers pulls through Kansas City and green Bay. I believe that would be the first Super Bowl that ever happened was between Kansas City and Green Bay, wasn’t it?

Jeff Fawver
It was the first Super Bowl. That’s right.

Santiago Leon
Yes. radians high in Miami. So we’ll see if that happens. I think it’s very doable. For the two games, which one do you think will be the closest?

Jeff Fawver
Oh man. I tend to think the packers and 40 Niners game will be a little bit closer, but I could certainly see both of them coming down to the end. The chiefs are seven point favorite and they’re not a seven point favorite by accident. So last week, the Chiefs were a nine and a half to 10 point favorite. And they still covered easily after falling behind by 24. So I think the 14 is a Packers game will be the closer game of the two. That doesn’t mean I’m discrediting the title. But if you have to pick one or the other that Just

Santiago Leon
came out Coach belcheck Kinney out coach Andy Reid.

Jeff Fawver
You’re being honest from the Chiefs perspective, that’s what we’re all nervous about. I thought it was great last week because the number one complaint about Andy Reid among any chiefs fan, look, he can be a great play caller. He comes up with a great strategy. He comes up with a great game plan. But sometimes Andy Reid get the lead, and it just caught on it. He loses his aggressiveness. Last week. The Chiefs kept the pedal down to the Marriott. They kept scoring points, they scored 51 points. So I think what chiefs fans want to see to feel more comfortable is if the chiefs are up by 14 the Titans and they have the ball. We want to know that injuried is trying to get a 21.1 did not run the ball three times. So we love Andy Reid. He’s a great coach, but we have to see it in the big game.

Santiago Leon
Exactly. You know, coming questions when it comes to the big game, why he hasn’t won a Super Bowl, and things like that. Jeff, what is the best way to reach you to talk to you about Matt more?

Jeff Fawver
The best way to follow along is on Twitter, and we hope not more feels better. He must practice because he’s sick. Well, yeah, but we don’t want to see

Jeff Fawver
the whole game. And let’s just do that. But

Santiago Leon
it isn’t real display that he can win in big games against Houston.

Jeff Fawver
My mom’s turned it up a notch. I mean, I know statistically it wasn’t his best game. yardage wise, but when the Chiefs needed him the most, he was absolutely awesome. So the only I think the only bad throwing the entire game was when he forced that the hill and Hill took that big hit. That was probably the only really bad play had and look when the Chiefs made that comeback that might help them by turning the ball over on the fake punt and the public kick return was the difference in the game was what the two sides was opportunity. They scored touchdowns every single time. So I took that next step to be the guy to put the nail in your coffin when he given the opportunity.

Santiago Leon
Jeff with his analysis of a man that doesn’t know what like who knows so much about Kansas City’s Jeff fires to follow him JT father and of course follows on the sports cast net, the sports cast on net, or on Twitter at the sports cast. One will be falling through the NBA the NFL playoffs throughout the weekend pretty excited and then Miami in two weeks we’ll see if mahomes makes his first appearance in a Super Bowl. A young quarterback has plenty of time ahead of him, but he’s the one that prefers to start a little bit early is his Super Bowl appearances. Anyways, Jeff, I appreciate you coming on to the sports cast.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai