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After a long season that started back on September 7 with the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions, just four teams remain in the postseason. Conveniently, both teams that played in that first game are still alive during the 2023-2024 playoffs.
The Chiefs will travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in the AFC Championship, and the Lions will travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers in the NFC Championship. The Conference Championship Round always delivers some of the best games of the season, but which team will come out on top?
It surely remains to be seen, as both contests should be a good battle. However, several key X-factor players will need to show up on Sunday to help deliver a victory in the Conference Championship. Here are four players (one on each team) for every remaining Super Bowl contender.
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Baltimore Ravens: Zay Flowers, WR
I could have gone with a lot of different options here, including linebacker Roquan Smith. What has set quarterback Lamar Jackson apart from the rest of signal-callers this season has been his improvement in the passing game, thanks to the addition of rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers.
Jackson completed a career-high 67.2% of his passes in 2023 to go with a career-high 3,678 yards – 551 more yards than his previous career high of 3,127 in 2019. Flowers' presence underneath and over the top has been a reason for that. That connection will surely need to continue in the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs and possibly beyond into the Super Bowl.
Jackson has never had a true WR1 over his career, and Flowers has fit that bill in 2023. He had 77 catches for 858 yards and five touchdowns in his first season and has been a huge boost in plenty of big games this season. The rookie totaled six catches for 60 yards and one touchdown in a Week 14 win against the Los Angeles Rams, nine catches for 72 yards and one touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16, and three catches for 106 yards and one touchdown against the Miami Dolphins in Week 17.
With Jackson finally having a talented wide receiver to throw to in big moments, that connection to Flowers will be key in Sunday's Conference Championship matchup. If those two are clicking through the air, it will be hard to stop this elite Ravens' offense.
Kansas City Chiefs: Willie Gay Jr., LB
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. might surprise many people on this list. Many might have expected cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice, or even tight end Travis Kelce. But Gay really is the difference maker for this Chiefs' defense in the Conference Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Gay did leave last week's contest against the Bills with a neck injury and is currently viewed as day-to-day. If he can't go, that would be a huge loss for this Kansas City linebacker core. However, there's a good chance he will be able to suit up, especially given his comments on X after the game.
However, the reason Gay is on this list is because of his potential assignment to contain Jackson. The 25-year-old linebacker was a quarterback spy on Josh Allen in the Divisional Round before being knocked out of the game. In just 11 snaps, he did a nice job containing Allen before his departure, and now he'll have a tough task trying to limit the best-rushing quarterback in the NFL.
Jackson rushed 11 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns in the Divisional Round last week. The last time these two teams faced off in 2021, the Ravens quarterback rushed 16 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns against the Chiefs. Gay will need to stop his running this weekend to help his team advance to the Super Bowl if he is active.
San Francisco 49ers: Brock Purdy, QB
If I knew that San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (shoulder) was playing this weekend, I might have gone with him. Instead, I'll go with his quarterback Brock Purdy, who has the most to win and lose in the NFC Conference Championship game against the Detroit Lions.
The 49ers have everything going right for them, in terms of talent on both sides of the ball. They have one of the best defenses in the entire NFL, led by All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner and edge rusher Nick Bosa. On offense, they have one of the top wide receiver duos in Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, the best running back in Christian McCaffrey, and a top-three tight end in George Kittle. The rest falls on Purdy.
If Purdy is at his best, no one is stopping this 49ers team. But, if the young quarterback is off his game and can't get his weapons the ball, there's a good chance this 49ers team will lose. In all four San Francisco losses this year, there was a common theme among them: Purdy struggled big-time.
In those four losses, he threw for a combined 1,017 yards, three touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Purdy is the team's X-factor this weekend, and they'll need him to be at his best to help advance his team to the Super Bowl.
Detroit Lions: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB
When the Detroit Lions drafted running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick, not many analysts agreed with the choice. However, that selection has worked out well for the Lions. Gibbs rushed for 945 yards on 182 carries (5.19 yards per carry) with 10 rushing touchdowns and also totaled 52 catches for 316 yards and one receiving touchdown.
There's been a lot of impactful offensive players for the Lions' offense this year. But no one has had the impact that Gibbs has had when the ball is in his hands. The rookie has crossed the goal line twice this postseason, one in each game while totaling 182 scrimmage yards in those two contests.
However, if the Lions want a chance to defeat the 49ers on the road in the NFC Championship game, they will need to give Gibbs more touches and opportunities on offense. The 21-year-old back has played less than 37% of the team's offensive snaps in both of Detroit's playoff wins this postseason. That might need to change this weekend.
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