2018 NFL Tournament of Champions: Semifinals

If you're following along at home, the 2018 NFL season begins in just ten days. That means my NFL preview series is kicking off, with the AFC North preview going live earlier this morning. Stay tuned over the next several days as I continue to go through the league division by division. My home division of the NFC North will go live tomorrow morning.

But while this is going on, the NFL Tournament of Champions is starting to wind down. At the beginning of May I opened with the 52 Super Bowl champions in an effort to find the best team of all time (not counting the pre-Super Bowl era, which, given how the postseason field looked, those teams probably wouldn't have made it). But now we're down to four, with the title game scheduled for Labor Day Sunday night.

Of the 24 teams that made it as far as the postseason, only two group winners remain, and they are our two top seeds who got to host this weekend. They have tough challenges ahead of them against teams from the new millenium.

Who will play for the Championship of Champions? To find out, we're giving home field advantage to our two remaining group winners based on seeding and record. Weather conditions from the weekend are being taken into account. You can view scores and standings for the tournament here, and I will embed the updated bracket below. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to it!


Sunday

@ (1) '99 STL 31, (3) '16 NE 17

The Patriots' Cinderella run comes to an end at the hands of the Greatest Show on Turf, though the Patriots got off to a pretty good start. New England's defense forced a three and out on its first attempt, preceded by a decent opening drive on offense that they followed up on, going 61 yards in nine plays capped by an eight yard strike from Tom Brady to Julian Edelman to open the scoring with just over three minutes to go in the opening frame. But the Rams made adjustments after that first drive, and broke out opening the second quarter as Robert Holcombe got loose for a 33 yard touchdown run to tie the game. The Rams' defense made a nice stop too, forcing a three and out, and the Rams went right back to work with the ball, flipping the field and going a total of 74 yards in ten plays capped by Kurt Warner finding Marshall Faulk from two yards out for their first lead midway through the frame. New England almost got some points back, but Stephen Gostkowski missed a 50 yard field goal, and the Rams made it a six point swing with a minute and a half to go when Jeff Wilkins hit from 39, though a holding penalty took away an Isaac Bruce touchdown run a few plays before. Gostkowski would miss from 52 before the half, keeping it a 17-7 game at the break. St. Louis then all but put it away to open the third quarter, as Warner led an 11 play, 59 yard drive that survived a Bruce fumble and was capped by a three yard strike from Warner to Torry Holt. Gostkowski would finally hit from 43 yards out on New England's next drive, but it was too little, too late, as a Tom Brady interception a minute into the fourth quarter set up a 13 play Ram drive capped by a 15 yard strike from Warner to Az-Zahir Hakim for a 31-10 lead. Brady would hit Edelman one more time with 15 seconds left, but that was all, and the Rams are a win away from a repeat. Warner was excellent, completing 21 of 29 passes for only 187 yards, but he had three touchdown passes to three different receivers. Marshall Faulk was held to just 63 yards rushing on 17 carries, but Robert Holcombe helped with 58 yards on six carries, including that 33 yard touchdown. Tom Brady was pretty good in defeat, completing 20 of 32 passes for 243 yards, two scores, and one pick. Julian Edelman hauled in seven catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns, while LeGarrette Blount had 67 yards rushing on 19 carries for New England.

@ (1) '96 GB 26, (2) '00 BAL 7

Photo from AP (Photographer uncredited)

The Packers get to host the title game between the top two teams next week with a defensive performance that beat one of the best in league history. Green Bay controlled field position early, setting up a 31 yard Chris Jacke field goal midway through the first. But the Ravens answered immediately, with Tony Banks hitting Shannon Sharpe for a 76 yard touchdown on the very next play from scrimmage to give the Ravens their lone lead of the game. Brett Favre and company marched down, converting a couple third downs to help set up a 42 yard Jacke field goal that pulled Green Bay within a point. Priest Holmes seemed to get the Ravens back in business with a 39 yard run early in the second quarter, but a Leroy Butler sack pushed them back and forced a punt. Green Bay went to work with a couple third down conversions befor efacing third and 11 from their 37, when Favre found an open Antonio Freeman, who took it 63 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. After a Baltimore three and out, the Packers went right back to work, setting up a Jacke 32 yard field goal at the halftime gun for a 16-7 lead. Neither offense mustered anything in the third, though the Packers were winning the field position battle with a couple punts from Baltimore territory. Finally it was the Packer defense that broke the silence as George Koonce picked off Tony Banks and took it 33 yards for a touchdown. Banks would throw another on the next drive, but Green Bay would turn it over on downs in Raven territory. Banks and company followed with a turnover on downs of their own, leading to a 43 yard Jacke field goal and a 26-7 Packer lead with five and a half to play. The Ravens turned it over on downs just shy of midfield, though they would block another Jacke field goal attempt inside two minutes. But they went four and out, and Favre kneeled the game out. He finished the day 16 of 24 for 298 yards and a score for the Packers, with Antonio Freeman doing a ton of damage with five catches for 133 yards and that touchdown.  Sean Jones registered two sacks for Green Bay, while George Koonce and Eugene Robinson logged interceptions. Tony Banks struggled for the Ravens, completing just six of 22 passes for 127 yards with a touchdown and those two picks, while Priest Holmes and Jamal Lewis combined for 60 yards rushing on 20 carries, 39 of which came on that one Holmes carry.