Championship Sunday in the NFL features two excellent matchups, and while the NFC Championship game featuring the Detroit Lions at the San Francisco 49’ers has its merit, the featured clash is definitely in the AFC. It is a classic bout – the established champion Kansas City Chiefs versus the team that has been close, but not close enough in the Baltimore Ravens.
Analysis and commentary on this game has been endless throughout the week, but the best look at the much anticipated game came from the guys at First Things First on FS1. One of the reasons might just be the personal stake that two of the show’s debaters have in the game. Nick Wright is an avid Chiefs fan and Chris Broussard is a Ravens maven.
On the Wednesday, January 24 edition, moderator Kevin Wildes was dishing dimes left and right to the pumped up Wright and Broussard leading to some explosive commentary. The trio used graphics, statistics, and lively repartee to give viewers an all-encompassing look at the AFC title game.
One of my favorite aspects of First Things First is the variety of personalities on the program. Each personae brings a different skill set and attitude to the airwaves. Broussard is a respected reporter, best known for his basketball acumen, but able to transport his knowledge and eloquence seamlessly across the sports landscape. Wildes provides a level of sanity to the program. His opinions are lucid, fact-filled, sarcastic when necessary and to the point.
And then there is Nick Wright – one of the most unique, grandiloquent, and at times mesmerizing personalities on sports television today. With his long hair and beard, depth of discussion, and vociferous confidence, he is a mystical cross between Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart, Roy Firestone, Jr., and Kenny Powers.
Wright and Broussard raised their games jousting on Chiefs-Ravens producing the best game preview and analysis of the week. This is the matchup everybody wanted to see, and the significance was not lost on the First Things First trio, all TV vets who know a good story when they see one.
The emotion of actually being fans of the teams buoyed the discussion. We are living in an age where television sports gabbers openly admit their allegiances to a given team – a move once considered taboo.
We know that NFL Network’s Colleen Wolfe is an Eagles’ fan, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is a Steelers fan and Boston Connor Campbell of The Pat McAfee Show roots for the Patriots. I am good with this shift. It is cool for viewers to see that these television stars are just fans at heart. It connects them with fans and provides a parallel and common denominator.
First Things First showed a great graphic showing that the Ravens won 9 games against winning teams this season all by at least a 14 point margin. That was a telling statistic that I had not previously seen, a consistent strength of First Things First.
There are a lot of entertaining sports shows on television, but this program offers heretofore unknown stats and information. You actually learn something. Broussard floated the idea that the Chiefs could actually get blown out in the AFC Championship game causing Wright’s ire to begin to cook.
Wildes sensed that Wright was about to explode and reminded him not to be so angry when talking about the Chiefs. Honestly though, there is nothing like witnessing Wright’s facial expressions just before he speaks. It’s almost like watching a classic Jackie Gleason slow boil just before he unloads on Art Carney.
Wright furtively unfurls his wit and candor better than anyone on television. He starts at a calm and relaxed pace and rhythm, works up the dander and volume, and then explodes into his main point. On this occasion, he also ended with a quintessential Nick Wright quote, “I’m frustrated that I’m always right and no one listens.”
Wright called Broussard’s contention that the Ravens could blow out the Chiefs “disrespectful and ridiculous,” and countered with a graphic showing that the Chiefs have only one 14-plus point loss since Week 8 of the 2021 season including playoffs.
Broussard came back with a graphic showing that the 8 other teams that had blown out 6 or more teams with winning records all won the Super Bowl. It was like dueling graphics with Broussard on guitar and Wright on banjo. All we needed was Ned Beatty and a canoe.
Wright had a great line stating that every year, the Chiefs season starts in the AFC Championship game. He is correct. The Chiefs are the current incarnation of the dynastic Patriots. They are the big boys on the block. Each year, experts say they are not as strong, or this is the year someone can beat them, but nobody beats them.
In his banter with Wright, Broussard brings a refined cool. He knows what he’s talking about and explains his position clearly and concisely. Broussard and Wright are often at odds with each other but recognize that they are also working in concert, setting up each other’s retorts to an argument. There may be no better pair on television at doing this.
Wright agreed that this is definitely a different Chiefs’ team, less about prolific offense and more built on defense. He argued that this is a plus because they can still win without Mahomes dominating and threw out that stat that Kansas City has allowed 30-plus points only once in the last 35 games. Broussard added a counterpoint that the Ravens’ defense is historic leading the league in scoring defense, sacks, and takeaways.
The First Things First trio also talked history saying that Josh Allen versus Mahomes is not the latter day Peyton Manning versus Tom Brady, but that Lamar Jackson versus Mahomes could be if Jackson wins on Sunday. Wright had the final word on that averring that as of right now, Patrick Mahomes does not have a rival.
The lively analysis of the AFC Championship game continued with a discussion on how Mahomes thrives on bulletin board material and all doubters. On this edition, Wildes astutely played the role of narrator letting the thespians Broussard and Wright take center stage. Still, Wildes knows when to interject. He slyly gives his compadres just enough rope to either tie a slick slipknot or hang themselves.
The ultimate strength of First Things First is its ability to back up the bluster with bona fide facts. There are no weak links on this program, and no one person has to carry the conversation. These distinct personalities meld together and provide a tremendous back-and-forth with different perspectives and styles.
John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
