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All eyes will be on the AFC Championship Game when the Kansas City Chiefs (11-6, 11-7-1 ATS) travel to take on the Baltimore Ravens (13-4, 12-6 ATS). This is a matchup of two of the best quarterbacks in the league as Patrick Mahomes takes on Lamar Jackson. Kansas City defeated Miami at home in the Wildcard Round, then won in Buffalo in the Divisional Round 27-24, winning outright at 2.5-point underdogs. Baltimore had the bye as the one seed, then easily sent Houston home, beating the Texans 34-10 as 9.5-point home favorites. These teams haven't played since Week 2 of the 2021 season, where Baltimore won 36-35. The Ravens are currently listed as 3-point favorites. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 EST from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and can be found on CBS.
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Most analysts believe that Patrick Mahomes is the best player in football, and he is in an unusual position in this game. Mahomes has an unreal 13-3 playoff record as a starter, two of those losses were to Tom Brady, and the other was to Joe Burrow and the Bengals in a shootout. Despite his success, they are underdogs here, and are listed at +450 odds to win the Super Bowl according to FanDuel. The Chiefs have looked strong in the playoffs, Mahomes threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns against the Bills last week, and Isaiah Pacheco ran for 97 yards with a score. Travis Kelce got back in the endzone as the tight end had two touchdowns in the game.
A heavyweight matchup awaits in Baltimore. pic.twitter.com/3pe7LKxc7C
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 26, 2024
Mahomes has not thrown any interceptions in his first two playoff games this season, and averaged 238.5 passing yards with three TDs. On the season, he averaged 261.4 passing yards per game with a 27-14 TD-INT ratio. He scrambles only out of necessity, but has big play potential when he does decide to take off, he has 60 rushing yards in the playoffs with two runs of over 20 yards. Pacheco has been their main back out of the backfield in the playoffs, he is averaging 93 yards per game with two touchdowns. His production has jumped in the postseason, as he only averaged 66.8 yards per game through the season. Mahomes has settled on three main options in the passing game in the playoffs. Rashee Rice has played well, averaging 88.5 yards per game with four plays of over 20 yards. Kelce had 2 TDs in the last game, and is getting 73.0 yards per game in the playoffs, and Marques Valdez-Scantling has been utilized, gaining 35.0 passing yards per game over the last t wo.
The Chiefs finished the season ranked 15th in scoring averaging 21.8 points per game, and their defense finished 2nd in scoring by allowing just 17.3 points per. Linebacker Nick Bolton has been their leading tackler in the postseason with 23 tackles, the next highest on the team is safety Justin Reid with 14. Reid was the leading tackler in the regular season with 95 on the year, and defensive lineman Chris Jones and George Karlaftis each had 10.5 sacks. L'Jarius Sneed was the only player on the team with multiple interceptions in the season, he finished with two. The Chiefs had one of the worst turnover differentials in the league, they only forced 17 turnovers, but turned it over 28 times on offense.
Injury Report: G Joe Thuney is is doubtful to play.
Players with injuries who are expected to play: RB Isaiah Pacheco, CB L'Jarius Sneed, WR Kadarius Toney, DT Derrick Nnadi, LB Willie Gay