Happy Monday! This weekend was kind of a bummer for football, unless you are a fan of New England or Atlanta. Today’s “Weekend Recap” will look at the conference championships while looking ahead towards Super Bowl LI in two weeks. I’ll also be talking about the Cavaliers-Spurs thriller from Saturday night and give you the college basketball team to watch as we head into the final stretch of the regular season. There is a decent amount to get to so let’s jump right into the recap.

Two Games, Two Blowouts, and Super Bowl LI is Set

Yikes, didn’t see those games going that way. For the first time in 40 years, 19+ points decided both conference championship games. In the AFC Championship game, New England dominated Pittsburgh, and once Le’Veon Bell left the game in the first quarter with a groin injury you could sense that was it for the Steelers. Chris Hogan was literally wide open all game long, and Tom Brady made Pittsburgh pay for those defensive lapses to the tune of nine catches, 180 yards, and two touchdowns for the former Monmouth football player and Penn State lacrosse walk-on. Without Bell, the Patriots were able to double-team Antonio Brown all night long and force the younger receivers to try to beat them… they didn’t.

It’s the record ninth Super Bowl appearance for New England, and the seventh of the Brady-Belichick era. Belichick also surpassed the legendary Don Shula for the most Super Bowl appearances for a coach in NFL history. The Deflategate Revenge Tour will ride into Houston, and the storyline of Roger Goodell handing Brady the Lombardi Trophy should certainly be talked about at length over the next two weeks.

Over on the NFC side of things, there were no excuses for what Atlanta did to Green Bay. It was simply the better team putting the pedal down and never letting up. The Falcons scored early and often en route to its first NFC Championship since 1998. Presumptive MVP Matt Ryan added another incredible performance to his resume for the season, throwing for 392 yards, four touchdowns, and added one rushing touchdown for good measure.

An early missed field goal by Mason Crosby and a redzone fumble by Aaron Ripkowski sealed Green Bay’s fate by the start of the second quarter. Atlanta had all of the momentum and there was no stopping that offense after that. The Falcons were up 24-0 by halftime and Green Bay would only get as close as 22 points in the second half.

What is set up now is one hell of a matchup for Super Bowl Sunday in two weeks. Atlanta boasts the top scoring offense in the NFL while New England has the top scoring defense in the league. The previous five meetings between the top offense and top defense in the Super Bowl have trended towards the defense (4-1 in such meetings). The early line from Vegas has New England favored by three, and it’s the highest over/under in Super Bowl history (58 points). There will be plenty more to dive into over the next two weeks, but this could potentially be a great Super Bowl.

San Antonio Outlasts Cleveland in OT

 

ESPN got the game of the weekend to kick off its Saturday night primetime slate of NBA games. San Antonio (#2 in my NBA rankings) pulled off an overtime victory on the road in “The Land” over the defending champion Cavaliers (#3 in my NBA rankings) 118-115. The star of the game was Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who dropped a career-high 41 points in the victory, which included the game-sealing steal and dunk in the closing seconds of overtime.

It was a nice win for San Antonio but we all know that both of these teams have bigger things on their minds than winning a regular season game. Each team is trying to upend Golden State in a couple of months in the playoffs. That being said though, it was an incredible basketball game and has me excited for what’s to come after the All-Star break in the Association.

Keep Calm and Bear Down

The top story in college basketball over the weekend was the return of sophomore guard Allonzó Trier to the Arizona lineup for its showdown with UCLA. The Wildcats were a solid lineup before, but with Trier back in the fold this team has the look of one that could be cutting down the nets in March. Arizona stifled a great offensive team in UCLA due in large part to their length on the defensive end of the floor.

Trier’s road back to the basketball court has been marked with a ton of uncertainty following a car accident in the offseason and a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs in the preseason. While many thought the Wildcats would not see Trier suit up this season, there had been growing rumors that he would win his appeal with the NCAA and be back in time for the Los Angeles road trip.

In today’s reveal of the latest top-25 rankings, Arizona moved from #13 to #7. This is a team that has top-five potential, a favorite to win the Pac-12, and could be in line for a coveted number-one seed come Selection Sunday. Keep an eye on Arizona because they are making a strong run to the top of the NCAA. “Bear Down” indeed.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with “No Huddle” to recap my predictions from August and hand out my picks for the NFL awards. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.