As we start to approach Championship Weekend in the NFL some familiar teams will be in the spotlight once again with a chance to go to the Super Bowl. The Cincinnati Bengals are in their second straight AFC Championship Game. The Kansas City Chiefs are in their fifth straight AFC Championship Game. The Philadelphia Eagles have been in seven NFC Championship games since 2001, including their second in six years, and for the San Francisco 49ers this will be their sixth NFC Championship appearance in twelve years.
The 49ers went to the NFC Championship game three straight years, spanning from the 2011-12 to the 2013-14 season, made another appearance in the 2019-20 season, and now will be in their second straight NFC Championship game after making it to Championship weekend last year as well.
Now, out of the six appearances only two turned into Super Bowl appearances, and unfortunately none of those Super Bowl appearances amounted to a championship, but the Atlanta Falcons should take a page out of the 49ers book on how to consistently win in the NFL. Tuesday night on The Jon Chuckery Show, Jon explained why the Falcons need to be taking notes on what the San Francisco 49ers have been doing for the past twelve years.
First and foremost Jon points out that throughout these runs the 49ers have made to the NFC Championship game, and sometimes the Super Bowl, that the 49ers have not had the same head coach, the same quarterback, or elite quarterback play. Next, Jon points out that the 49ers are the “best line of scrimmage team in the entirety of the NFL”
Jon also says “No matter what they’ve had, they’ve always had elite defensive line play. Jon is absolutely right too, from Aldon Smith, Justin Smith, and Ray McDonald to Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, and Nick Bosa the 49ers have had an elite defensive line for the past decade plus.
On the offensive side of the trenches the San Francisco 49ers have had Joe Staley and Trent Williams as their left tackles, and that alone makes Jon Chuckery’s statement about the 49ers being the “best line of scrimmage team in the entirety of the NFL '' valid.
What the San Francisco 49ers have been able to do over the past twelve years with Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Jimmy Garoppolo, and now Brock Purdy is a perfect example as to why the Atlanta Falcons should not go all in for Lamar Jackson, stick with Desmond Ridder, and as Jon Chuckery says “just stay the course”. The Atlanta Falcons need to use all of that cap space they are going to have this offseason, their draft picks, and build from the inside out, and fix the issues they have on their offensive and defensive lines.
Jon Chuckery said it best “If you have elite line of scrimmage play on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football you can win.” You don’t need a Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, or a Lamar Jackson when you have elite line of scrimmage play on both sides of the football, you just need a guy that can do his job well, and Desmond Ridder so far has shown he can do that and possibly more.
Adding Lamar Jackson to an incomplete Falcons team will make the Atlanta Falcons a perennial playoff team, but if the Falcons build their trenches the way the San Francisco 49ers have, then they can be perennial Super Bowl contenders.