NFL Conference Championship X-Factors: 49ers need Young to be a disruptor

As we approach the final showdown of the NFL season, the field of contenders is narrowed down to four — and with it, the pool of potential X-Factors looking to get their team to the Super Bowl. As the stakes get higher, who will emerge to book their teams a trip to Vegas?

As we look ahead to Sunday’s AFC and NFC Championship Games, here’s an X-Factor player from each team.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Lions safety | @ 49ers

Gardner-Johnson is no stranger to winning. Since being drafted in 2019, he’s earned four division titles with three different teams — Saints, Eagles, and Lions — and now brings a big boost to a Detroit defence that has allowed just over 20 points a game over their last five, including two playoff victories.

He actually missed most of the 2023 season with a torn pectoral muscle suffered back in Week 2, and was only re-activated ahead of the Lions’ regular-season finale earlier this month. Despite only having played three games since early September, Gardner-Johnson already has 12 tackles alongside two interceptions, including one off Baker Mayfield last weekend against the Buccaneers.

If the Lions want to compete in their first-ever Super Bowl, Gardner-Johnson will have to be at his best once again.

Chase Young, 49ers defensive end | vs. Lions

It’s not often that 24-year old defensive linemen become available on the trade market, but that was the very situation Chase Young found himself in earlier this year in Washington.

After being dealt to San Francisco, Young finished 2023 with 7.5 sacks — that matches his 2020 total, when he won Defensive Rookie of the Year — along with seven tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and a career-high 15 quarterback hits.

The No. 2 overall pick has gone from witnessing a complete teardown to a team loaded at virtually every position on defence, which means premium one-on-one matchups galore. With Detroit’s offensive line a position of strength that has meant success in both the passing and running game, Young will have to be a disruptor to ensure the Niners grab a berth in the Super Bowl.

Nick Allegretti, Chiefs guard | @ Ravens

These days, if you’re an offensive lineman not named Jason Kelce, then you’re probably not being discussed all that much.

In Kansas City, it’s a little different this week. With three-time Super Bowl champion Joe Thuney unlikely to play after suffering an injury against Buffalo, Nick Allegretti enters the fray in a big way. The dependable interior lineman, who has even seen action as the backup center from time to time, will be asked to fill some big shoes against the Ravens’ defence — a unit that led the league in points allowed, sacks and turnovers this season.

Will he be able to stymie the lethal Baltimore pass rush, or will Mike Macdonald’s defensive scheme get the better of him?

Justin Madubuike, Ravens defensive tackle | vs. Chiefs

Talk of the Ravens is typically centered around their star quarterback — Baltimore will, after all, go as far as presumptive MVP Lamar Jackson can take them in what’s being touted as a ‘heavyweight fight.’

However, we can’t overlook the defence. It’s the best in the NFL by many metrics, and the unit was in fine form against C.J. Stroud and the Texans last week. Baltimore did not allow a single offensive touchdown (Houston’s lone TD came via a punt return).

Madubuike is a huge part of the team’s success this year. A 2020 third-round pick, he hadn’t exactly made a name for himself prior to this season, totaling 8.5 sacks in his first three years combined. In 2023 alone, however, he racked up a team-high 13 sacks, ranking ninth in the category league-wide. 

Patrick Mahomes is a tough guy to bring down, but if Madubuike can continue to collapse the interior, he’ll make it easier on his superstar teammates like Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton at different levels of the defence.