A Browns Fan's Rooting Guide To NFL's Conference Championship Weekend
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Conference championship weekend is upon us as only two weekends of true, meaningful football remain – unless you consider the Pro Bowl true meaningful football.
In the AFC, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens look to block Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs from making a fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years. On the NFC side, Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers hope to avoid a third straight year of failing to advance past the conference championship game with the NFL's playoff darling, Detroit Lions, coming to visit the Bay.
Of course Browns fans wish their beloved Brownies were playing this weekend, but there are still plenty of intriguing storylines to follow as the stage becomes is set for Super Bowl 58. Here is a Browns fan's rooting guide to Conference Championship Weekend.
Detroit Lions
Of all the four remaining teams, Detroit is by far the easiest to root for. They're the feel good story of the playoffs, making a Conference Championship appearance for the first time in over three decades. That's the surface level reason to support them, but they're also a really entertaining team to watch.
Jared Goff is surrounded by an embarrassment of riches on offense. From twitchy, RB Jahmyr Gibbs to Gronk-like rookie tight end Sam LaPorta and the Sun God himself, Amon-Ra St. Brown at wide receiver this team has so many weapons. Not only that but Detroit has been able to generate the most pressure in the league this season, led by hometown star Aidan Hutchinson and have seen rookie slot CB Brian Branch be impactful all over the field.
As was noted last week, Detroit is a bit of a controversial team for Clevelanders to back because their baseball team is a rival of the Guardians and Ohio's favorite college team isn't even allowed to say the name of the state it plays in. But the parallels between these two long-tortured sports cities should generate enough of the "feels" to look the other way in this instance.
Kansas City Chiefs
While there are probably plenty of Browns fans who would say they're sick of seeing Mahomes and the Chiefs play for championships, the alternative is supporting the city that stole your team. That would just be sacrilegious.
Jackson is a pretty likeable character in his own right and his story from betting on himself coming out of college and becoming a soon to be two-time MVP is a good one. A trip to the Super Bowl would certainly cement his status as one of the top QBs in the league. That won't matter for most Browns fans though who will never root for one of their most hated division rivals – rightfully so.
If Tyler Bass had just made that field goal last week for the Bills we may be having a different conversation because that team would have been much easier to root for againstz Baltimore. Instead, the Chiefs feel like the lesser of two evils here.
