Chiefs, 49ers returning to Tremendous Bowl; Frustration, heartbreak for Lions, Ravens

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🏆 Good morning to everybody however particularly …

THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AND THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

The extra issues change, the extra they keep the identical: The Chiefs are going again to the Tremendous Bowl, and so they’re dealing with an opponent they met there 4 years in the past: the 49ers.

It is arduous to overstate simply how spectacular Kansas Metropolis was. The reigning champions went into Baltimore and smothered Lamar Jackson‘s offense whereas getting excellent performances from Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in a gutsy 17-10 win over the Ravens. Kansas Metropolis is heading to its fourth Tremendous Bowl in 5 seasons.

Mahomes’ stats could not look wonderful, however his skill to make the precise performs — typically highlight-worthy, typically odd and typically simply sensible — helped the guests do sufficient towards the league’s greatest protection. It helps that he had Kelce (11 receptions, 116 yards, one landing and one main file damaged), however within the recreation’s deciding second, he discovered Marquez Valdes-Scantling on an ideal 32-yard toss.

It was one other terrific efficiency from Mahomes when his staff wanted it most, I wrote from Baltimore.

• Pereles: “It was emblematic of the Chiefs’ path this season. Valdes-Scantling dropped an analogous go towards the Eagles in November, a recreation that kicked off Kansas Metropolis dropping 4 of its subsequent six. However Mahomes shouldered the blame then and was desperate to go off the reward Sunday. … Very similar to this recreation, this has been removed from Mahomes’ greatest season. However via these struggles, he improved his skill to handle video games — so usually a talent used to deride quarterbacks however the one which helped the Chiefs advance to the Tremendous Bowl.”

The protection, in the meantime, was completely improbable, holding the Ravens to a season-low 10 factors. Additionally improbable? Jeff Kerr’s story on the Chiefs protection and the shirts it made to honor its coordinator.

Then got here the offensive shootout in a recreation, that once more, was heavy on drama. The 49ers erased a 17-point halftime deficit — the biggest in convention championship historical past — to beat the Lions, 34-31.

After enjoying one depressing half, the 49ers performed a few of the greatest soccer I’ve seen and caught some breaks alongside the best way. Their second-half drive chart was: subject aim, landing, landing, subject aim, landing, kneel to complete recreation. Alongside the best way, Brandon Aiyuk made one of many best catches you will ever see, Christian McCaffrey broke a file, Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled, Josh Reynolds dropped two passes and the Lions failed on two fourth downs and bungled the clock. Extra on that in a bit.

However I need to discuss Brock Purdy. Here is his second half: 13 of 16 passing for 174 yards and a rating in addition to 4 rushes for 49 yards. Sure, Purdy helped put the 49ers of their deficit. However there’s additionally a purpose Kyle Shanahan had been 0-31 when down five-plus factors within the fourth quarter earlier than final week and 0-19 when down 17+ within the second half earlier than this week and now has a win in each situations. As a result of Purdy — although he could dig you some holes — can even rescue you from them. What a efficiency.

Some early Tremendous Bowl content material …

👍 Honorable mentions

😔 And never such a great morning for …

THE BALTIMORE RAVENS AND THE DETROIT LIONS

Shedding hurts, however dropping actually hurts when successful was inside your grasp. And the Ravens and Lions each had a Tremendous Bowl journey of their grasp.

Baltimore will rue a bevy of missed alternatives, obtrusive errors and an underwhelming offensive day. Here is the laundry checklist of failures:

• Eight penalties for 95 yards, together with 5 private fouls
• Zay Flowers, moments after a taunting penalty, fumbling inches in need of the aim line
• Jackson throwing an interception into triple protection
• Six carries for 23 yards by working backs (and solely 16 carries for 81 yards general)
• Three turnovers (two in scoring place) and 0 turnovers pressured

It regarded like one staff that had been there earlier than and one staff that hadn’t, Jeff Kerr writes.

In the meantime, the Lions collapsed. Plain and easy. Two key drops by Reynolds that will have been first downs. A Gibbs fumble. An ill-conceived (and, even worse, poorly-executed) working play late within the recreation that price the Lions a significant timeout.

Oh yeah, and people two fourth-down failures that would have been two subject targets — six factors — in a recreation the Lions misplaced by three.

However that’s who Dan Campbell is. I am not going to criticize him for adhering to his philosophy, which simply produced among the finest seasons in franchise historical past and has fully revitalized the group. He stood by his choices postgame, and I am fantastic with that. If Reynolds or Gibbs hangs onto a ball, we’re speaking in regards to the NFC champion Lions. As an alternative, we’re speaking about what may have been, an all-time heartbreaking loss. And nobody will take that more durable than Campbell himself.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏀 LeBron James, Stephen Curry ship double-overtime thriller; Luka Doncic scores 73

The NBA known as it “Rivals Week” and, man, did the league ever ship — LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry was one of many best regular-season video games ever. James (36 factors, 20 rebounds, 12 assists) sank a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left within the second extra time to raise the Lakers to a 145-144 win over the Warriors.

This recreation was completely bonkers: Curry (46 factors, 9 3-pointers) pressured extra time, Klay Thompson pressured double extra time, D’Angelo Russell did a bunch of absurd issues (absurdly good and absurdly dangerous), and simply when it regarded like Golden State would snatch a victory off yet one more Curry 3-pointer, James obtained to the road and transformed. Colin Ward-Henninger broke down the ten largest moments, and actually, this checklist may have been twice as lengthy. I do not know what number of extra LeBron-vs.-Steph showdowns we’ll get, however they only carry on delivering.

One night time earlier, we obtained one other all-timer: 73 factors from Luka Doncic, fourth-most in NBA historical past. Devin Booker had a mere 62 in yet one more night time with two scoring explosions.

🎾 Jannick Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka win Australian Open singles titles

For the primary time in a decade, there is a identify outdoors the Huge Three on the Norman Brookes Problem Cup. Jannick Sinner shocked Novak Djokovic within the semifinals after which rallied previous Daniil Medvedev, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, to win the Australian Open for his first Grand Slam title.

• Sinner, 22, can be the primary Italian man to win the Australian Open title and the primary Italian man to win any main since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
• He is the primary participant outdoors of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to win the Australian Open since Stan Wawrinka in 2014.

What a last it was. Medvedev cruised via two units, however Sinner fought again, successful the third and fourth units and taking management with an enormous forehand winner within the fifth to go up a break. The match-winner, fittingly, was an enormous forehand, too.

On the ladies’s aspect, Aryna Sabalenka shut down any probability of a brand new champion, rolling previous Qinwen Zheng, 6-3, 6-2, for her second consecutive Australian Open title. Sabalenka didn’t lose a set all event and was completely dominant towards Zheng, successful eight of the primary 9 factors to set the tone.

Sabalenka, 25, is the primary lady to repeat on the Australian Open since Victoria Azarenka in 2012-13, and she or he already has her eyes on a three-peat, telling the gang, “I like you a lot, and I am unable to wait to return again,” after the victory.

📺 What we’re watching Monday

🏀 No. 12 Duke at Virginia Tech (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 9 LSU at Mississippi State (W), 9 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Suns at Warmth, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV
🏀 No. 4 Houston at Texas (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 76ers at Path Blazers, 10 p.m. on NBA TV