Written by: Chaim Cohen
Bengals vs. Chiefs
This Sunday we had a very interesting game with the #2 Chiefs hosting the #4 Bengals. The Bengals have been a great underdog these playoffs and have really proved all the preseason haters wrong. The Chiefs did not underestimate the Bengals and knew if they wanted to win they would need to be on top of their game. Mahomes came out incredible with three touchdowns to take an early 21-3 lead. After this though, they seemed to take their foot off the gas, which was a huge mistake. With 1:15 left in the first half, the Bengals got a long touchdown and put the score at 21-10. The Chiefs came down the field and got to the 1 yard line with 5 seconds left. Instead of taking the easy three they tried to do too much and went for a touchdown which they failed to convert. This right here seemed to be the turning point in the game. In the second half, the Chiefs were still trying to do too much. They were refusing to run the ball even though when they did hand the ball off, it was successful. The Bengals were giving them open boxes but Mahomes was still dropping back and running around looking for open receivers. This was very unsuccessful because the Bengals had a season-high in players in coverage. On 36% of Mahomes dropbacks, the Bengals rushed only three and left 8 men in coverage. Due to this in the second half, there were no open receivers. It was a five on eight but the Chiefs seemed not to care and kept making the mistake of not running the ball. With the Chiefs offense struggling the entire second half the Bengals had a great opportunity to perform a historic comeback. Down 11 the Bengals get a field goal and suddenly it's an eight-point game. After a stop, they come back out and Joe Burrow hits Jamarre Chase for a 2-yard fade route and then completes a 2 point conversion. Just like that, it's a tie game and the Chiefs offense is still struggling. The Bengals get the ball and with 6 minutes left Evan Mcpherson hits a 52 yarder to give the Bengals their first lead of the game. Although the Chiefs offense has really been struggling, right when their back is against the wall they cook up the possession they need, and as time expires Harrison Butker sends the game into overtime. For the second week in a row, the Chiefs win the coin toss and get the ball to start overtime, giving them a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Within the first few plays Mahomes heaved the ball to Tyreek Hill, and it was tipped by Jessie Bates and intercepted by Vonn Bell. This gave Burrow the ball only needing a field goal. He led the Bengals down the field and Evan Mcpherson hits his fourth field goal of the game and the Bengals are headed to the Super Bowl. This was one of the most devastating losses in Mahomes' career and could be a big hit on his legacy. This was the largest lead blown in any AFC championship game ever. For this offseason I would say the Chiefs are obviously fine but for sure need to re-adjust a few players’ contracts, such as Mahomes. Even though the Chiefs had a tough loss, they will be back and Mahomes will take this personally and go nuclear next regular season.
Rams vs. 49ers
In the Sunday night game, we had the #4 Rams hosting the #6 49ers in the NFC championship game. This game was another close game and come down until the last minute. The first score of the game came off an extremely impressive 97-yard drive which ended in Matthew Stafford threading the needle to Cooper Kupp for a touchdown. Later, in the second quarter, the 49ers tie the game up with Deebo, who house calls a screen pass for 44 yards. The 49ers go into halftime up 10-7 as Robbie Gould hits a field goal. Thing got scary late in the third quarter for the Rams as George Kittle scores to put the Niners up 17-7. The Rams answer with another Cooper Kupp touchdown as he makes his case for best receiver in the league. Midway through the fourth Matt Gay hits a field goal to tie it up at 17. At this point for the 49ers, they are counting on Jimmy Garoppolo to lead them to win this game which is a scary game. Jimmy finally threw his first touchdown of the playoffs, two actually. Although he was actually playing well for the first time almost everyone knew that the Rams had this game in the bag. Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham were balling combining for 255 yards and two touchdowns. In the late fourth they both came up big and set up the Matt Gay field goal to go up 20-17 with 1:46 left. Now it is Jimmy G prime time and Twitter was blowing up with satire tweets like "Too much time for Garoppolo". After a few play Garoppolo is yelling at his teammates to get the hurry up play, they snap the ball he starts running from Aaron Donald is hit on the throw the ball is tipped, and then intercepted by linebacker Travin Howard. With this interception, the Rams will be playing in their home stadium in two weeks in the Super Bowl. For the 49ers moving forward, they need to let Jimmy G walk and try and build around Trey Lance and Deebo Samuel. Honestly I think Trey Lance may have been better than Garoppolo these playoffs. I know he is a rookie and that would have come with mistakes but Garoppolo looked just as bad so they may as well have gone with Lance because he at least has actual upside. As far as adding weapons I think they are pretty set for the most part offensively, although another star receiver would help. Defensively they are set and the most important is to just keep their players and stay healthy.
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