After 20 weeks of football we have reached the final four of the NFL season, coming off of one of the greatest weekends in playoff history with all four Divisional Round games ending on the final play of the game. Championship weekend features some familiar faces like the Kansas City Chiefs, who have made the AFC title game four years in a row along with two teams in the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers who have had an appearance in the NFC title game over the last few years. The other team joining them is the Cincinnati Bengals, who won their first playoff game since the 1990 season and won their first ever road playoff game last weekend in Tennessee. All four of these teams are coming off emotional victories, hoping to turn that momentum into a trip to Super Bowl LVI.
AFC Championship Game: Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs (-7)
In the first game on Sunday it will be a matchup between David and Goliath. The mighty Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a 34-28 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday night in what was one of the greatest games of all time on the back of Patrick Mahomes’ late game magic. They are hosting their fourth consecutive AFC Championship game and will be looking for their third straight trip to the Super Bowl.
Their opponent will be the Cincinnati Bengals, who are coming off a nail biting win of their own on the road against the top-seeded Tennessee Titans thanks to a 53-yard game winning field goal from rookie kicker Evan McPherson.
The Bengals have long been looked at as bottom feeder in the league, not having won a playoff game for over 30 years before this season. The change in culture can be attributed to Joe Burrow, the second-year super star quarterback out of LSU who has turned the Bengals from a laughing stock into legitimate title contenders in less than two seasons. They enter Sunday as a touchdown underdog, but Burrow and company believe they deserve more respect.
“I’m tired of the underdog narrative,” Burrow said. “We’re a really good team. We’re here to make noise.”
While Burrow and the Bengals have certainly gained a lot more respect and have turned heads with their quick turnaround, it is understandable as to why they underdogs on Sunday.
The Chiefs have become the kings of the AFC, thanks to their quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Since Mahomes took over the starting role in his second season in the league in 2018 he has brought the Chiefs to the AFC title game every year. Kansas City got out of the gates slower than usual this season, as they had longer, more methodical drives of 10 plus plays rather than quick two or three play drives scoring quickly and efficiently. Teams used the same blueprint that kept them to just three field goals in last year’s Super Bowl against Tampa Bay, letting them dink and dunk rather than getting beat by the big play, so the Chiefs adjusted and look like the best team in the NFL yet again.
The offense was not the only thing to get off to a slow start this season, the defense looked broken as well. Between weeks 1-7 they gave up 29 points per game, leading to a 3-4 start. But since week eight they have turned the tables and have been one of the best defenses in the NFL, giving up just 15.8 points per game and helping lead them to the AFC West title and the number two seed in the conference. The only time they have given up more than 30 points over that stretch was to these Bengals, who beat them 34-31 in week 17 in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is one of the most improved teams in the league this season, and to be one of the most improved teams in the NFL you cannot just rely on your quarterback, you need every aspect of the team to improve. That is the case for the Bengals with one exception, the offensive line. The bengals gave up the 23rd most points per game in 2020 with an average of 25.8, but that number has significantly improved in 2021 to 20.7, the 12th best in the league.
To go along with the improved defense you can look at the running game, as Joe Mixon was finally healthy in 2021 and had 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns. The running game paired with Joe Burrow and his three stud receivers, including presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year Ja’Marr Chase have made this the eighth highest scoring offense in the NFL with 27.1 points per game. Everything on this team seems to be humming along, that is if you do not include the aforementioned offensive line. This unit is one of the worst in the league, and that was evident on Saturday as Burrow was sacked nine times by the Titans. They are going to need to keep Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and company out of the backfield to be able to run their offense on Sunday.
The key to this game is going to be the Bengals offensive line and whether or not they will provide enough time for Burrow to make his reads and open running lanes for Mixon. Stopping Patrick Mahomes is nearly impossible, so containing him and not letting him hit home run balls to Tyreek Hill will be key to keeping this game close. This game has shootout written all over it and should have a similar feel and pace to the game in week 17 where the Bengals won at home.
NFC Championship Game: San Francisco 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams (-3.5)
Both the 49ers and Rams were road underdogs last weekend and pulled off upsets in the Divisional Round to get to the NFC Championship, a battle between two rivals that will be meeting for the third time this season.
The 49ers have taken care of business both times these teams have met, winning in convincing fashion and turning their season around on Monday Night Football back in week 11. They met again in the final week of the regular season, as San Francisco mounted a comeback down 17-0 and won in overtime to save their season and punch their ticket to the playoffs. This time around they will meet for the right to play in the Super Bowl, in what would be a home game for the Rams if they can snap their six-game losing streak to their hated rivals.
San Francisco is coming off the biggest upset of the weekend, taking down the top-seeded Packers in the snow at Lambeau Field, the offense did not score a touchdown, but the special teams came up big, blocking a field goal at the end of the first half as well as a punt late in the 4th quarter that was returned for a touchdown and tied the game at 10-10. The defense was spectacular yet again and while the offense sputtered a bit, Jimmy Garoppolo was able to do just enough and set up Robbie Gould for the game winning field goal as time expired.
The Rams on the other hand dominated the first half against the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but nearly threw the game away late thanks to three second half turnovers, including a fumble by Cam Akers late in the fourth quarter up by a touchdown as the Rams were trying to run out the clock.
The Buccaneers tied the game after the Akers fumble with a touchdown, but Matthew Stafford hit back to back passes with under a minute left, including their “Love of the Game” route to Cooper Kupp to set up Pro Bowl Kicker Matt Gay for a game winning field goal of their own as time expired.
Matthew Stafford has had his ups and downs in his first year in Los Angeles, including being tied for the league lead in interceptions with 17. Aside from his tendency to turn the ball over, Stafford has been one of the best quarterbacks in the league and has one of the best receivers in the league to throw the ball to, Cooper Kupp.
Kupp led the NFL in receptions, yards and touchdowns for a wide receiver and won the receiving triple crown, becoming only the fourth player ever to accomplish this feat and the first to do so since Steve Smith in 2005. Kupp alongside a revitalized Odell Beckham Jr. have made this passing attack one of the best in the league and is a big reason why the Rams are one win away from being the second team ever to host the Super Bowl.
On the other side of the field Deebo Samuel has been the do it all guy for this 49ers offense. He has not only been a top tier receiver but has also taken carries in the backfield and has been incredibly explosive, scoring six touchdowns through the air and another eight on the ground. The third year player out of South Carolina was named a First-Team All-Pro and you can expect him to run wild in Inglewood on Sunday night.
The strength of the 49ers is their defense, led by Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, and Fred Warner. They allow for Garopollo to manage the game and not have to play the role of superhero, causing can also cause havoc in the backfield and forcing turnovers.
The Rams have arguably the best player in football in Aaron Donald and one of the best cornerbacks in the league in Jalen Ramsey. They also traded for Von Miller in the middle of the season and he was a force last weekend against Tampa Bay. They should be able to give Garoppolo fits and will need to slow down Samuel to keep this 49ers offense under wraps. This game will come down to which quarterback can make the fewest mistakes and which defense can make a big play.
This weekend will be hard to compete with last weekend’s historic Divisional Round but it should feature two great games. Los Angeles did not have an NFL team for over twenty years, and now they will host the winners of these two games in Super Bowl LVI in their $5 billion stadium.
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