The Ravens don't actually blitz all that often (23.4% of opponent dropbacks during the regular season, per Tru Media, the seventh-lowest blitz rate in the NFL), but Macdonald makes heavy use of simulated pressures so that opponents do not know where the rushers are coming from.
The single-most important aspect of this matchup will be how Kansas City's offensive line holds up against Macdonald's various pressure looks. 2 and 3 wide receivers ( Tank Dell and Noah Brown), is a far different task than doing it against Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and this Chiefs offense - even if that offense did not perform up to its usual standards this season. Obviously, doing that against a rookie quarterback in his first road playoff game, while missing his Nos. Stroud and the explosive Houston Texans offense - which was fresh off tearing up the Browns - to just 213 total yards, 10 first downs, and three offensive points a week ago. Baltimore finished the regular season ranked first in FTN's DVOA, with the league's seventh-best unit against the run and best defense against the pass. Odds: Ravens -3.5, O/U 44.5 ( via Sportsline consensus odds) When the Chiefs have the ballĬoming off two of their best offensive performances of the year, the Chiefs will now face the toughest defense they have seen all season. Before we break down the matchup, here's a look at how you can watch the game. Which of these teams will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl? We'll find out soon enough. The Chiefs have hosted the conference championship in each of the last five years, and this will be a new challenge for them a week after going on the road for the first time in the playoffs, period.
Kansas City, meanwhile, is looking to head back to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in Mahomes' six seasons under center, and to capture its first road AFC title game win. Baltimore is looking for its first AFC title of the Jackson era, and its first as a franchise since the 2012 season, when John Harbaugh's squad defeated his brother Jim's 49ers in the Super Bowl. The Ravens finished the regular season with the NFL's best record and will bring likely league MVP Lamar Jackson to bear against Patrick Mahomes and Co. In the first of two Sunday games, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will visit the Baltimore Ravens as two of the NFL's best team vie for the right to call themselves the AFC's best. Conference championship weekend is finally here.