Conference Championship Weekend was as entertaining as NFL fans hoped it'd be. Sure, weather impacted the product of the early game, but other than that, both games came down to the wire and were decided by one score. In the end, the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks won the AFC and NFC, respectively, and will face off with the Lombardi Trophy on the line.
While we look ahead to what's to come, let's dive in on what we learned in these two high-stakes contests.
What we learned about the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game
The Patriots can win without relying heavily on Drake Maye
Drake Maye has a legitimate chance of winning the NFL's MVP award in his first full season. He had an awesome regular season, but can the same really be said about his playoff performances?
Playoff Round | Stats |
|---|---|
Wild Card Round (vs. Chargers) | 17-for-29 (58.6% completion), 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 fumbles, 1 lost fumble |
Divisional Round (vs. Texans) | 16-for-27 (59.3% completion), 3 TD, 1 INT, 4 fumbles, 2 lost fumbles |
Championship Round (at Broncos) | 10-for-21 (47.6% completion) 0 TD, 0 INT, 0 fumbles |
Maye hasn't completed 60 percent of his throws in any of his three playoff games, and he has more turnovers (5) than touchdown passes (4), yet the Patriots are Super Bowl-bound. The reason for that has to do with everyone else around him. If the passing game isn't working, the dynamic duo of Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson is capable of dominating, as we saw in the Wild Card Round. If the Patriots are having trouble scoring, the defense can take over a game, as we've seen in all three rounds thus far.
A lot of the attention has gone Maye's way, and rightfully so, but this Patriots team is talented everywhere you turn. Maye having an MVP kind of performance would obviously be fun to watch and help New England greatly, but they've proven over the last month that they can win ugly games even if their star quarterback doesn't have his best night. That can really come in handy against a ruthless Seahawks defense.
Patriots fans have to like their chances regardless of how Maye looks based on what we saw on Sunday, and really have seen all postseason long.
What we learned about the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game
Sam Darnold is capable of winning big games
Last season, Sam Darnold did not play well when the Minnesota Vikings had a chance to win the NFC North and win a playoff game. This season, Darnold won a big Week 18 game to clinch the NFC West and won a playoff game to advance to the NFC Championship Game, but he wasn't asked to do much in either game, giving NFL fans reason to wonder whether he's capable of stepping up in a legacy game in which he was needed to. The answer to that question is yes.
Matched up against a Los Angeles Rams team that had given him trouble in the past, Darnold was at his best on Sunday, going 25-for-36 for 346 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-27 win. The Seahawks' defense had trouble containing Matthew Stafford, but Darnold matched him blow for blow and was the reason why the Seahawks won this game.
Statistic | Sam Darnold | Matthew Stafford |
|---|---|---|
Completions/Attempts (percentage) | 25/36 (69.4%) | 22/35 (62.9%) |
TD | 3 | 3 |
QBR | 82.9 | 81.5 |
QB Rating | 127.8 | 127.6 |
It wasn't by much, but Darnold outplayed the likely MVP winner with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Does it get much better than that?
Not only was Darnold putting up highlight after highlight, but he didn't turn the ball over a single time. He did fumble once, but he recovered it, and he was only sacked three times. He was just about flawless in this game. If Drake Maye finds a way to carve the Seahawks' defense as Stafford did, Seahawks fans should be comfortable with Darnold under center after what he showed he's capable of on Sunday.
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