NFL Conference Championships

Image courtesy of Sporting News.Com

By Jack Cherico 

After some of the best divisional games the NFL has ever seen, the conference championships did not disappoint. The Cincinnati Bengals faced the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC, while the Rams faced the 49ers in the NFC, serving up two great matchups for NFL fans. 

The 3:30 game was the AFC matchup, Bengals vs. Chiefs, featuring two electrifying offenses that, if a team’s defense lets up for even a second, they will score. It seemed like most of America was rallying behind the underdog Bengals due to the excitement the team brings. Quarterback Joe Burrow, and his relationship with his former LSU teammate, wide receiver Jamar Chase, has been a rallying factor all season. Meanwhile, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s brother, Jackson, and wife, Brittany, have led fans to pray for the Chiefs’ downfall due to their seemingly annoying social media presence on TikTok. 

Cincinnati got out to a rocky start in the loudest stadium in the NFL, and the Chiefs seemed to have complete control of the game. Kansas City rocketed out with a 21-3 lead, but the Cincinnati defense’s essential stop in the red zone on the last play of the half gave the Bengals momentum going into the locker room. Mahomes held a first-half stat line of 3 touchdowns and a 90+ competition percentage, while Burrow was underwhelming, only throwing a single touchdown in the first half. 

However, in the second half, the Bengals’ offense scored 21 unanswered points while the defense held Mahomes to 0 touchdowns in the second half and a 34 quarterback rating. However, a terrible last possession from Mahomes, in which he ran around like a chicken with his head cut off, was still able to give the Chiefs a field goal and send the game into overtime at a 24-24 score. The Chiefs won the overtime coin toss for the second game in a row, but a Von Bell interception gave Cincinnati the ball at midfield. Rookie kicker Evan McPherson was put into a position to win the game again, as he has been throughout the playoffs, and drilled a 31 yard kick to put Cincinnati in their first Super Bowl since 1989. 

The 6:30 game between the L.A. Rams and the San Francisco 49ers was a NFC West division showdown between two California rivals that adamantly do not like each other. Due to the Rams’ recent move to L.A. from St. Louis, their fan base has not been attached to the team for long. This led to more 49ers fans being at past games than Rams fans, even if the game was in L.A.. Due to this inequality of numbers, the Rams tried to geo-lock the ticket-buying process to the Southern California area for the playoff game, effectively locking out 49ers fans from buying tickets. Eventually, this obstacle was removed, but it put a bad taste in the 49ers’ mouths, and gave them extra motivation against L.A.

L.A. is considered one of the best on-paper teams in the league, with Pro-Bowl players littered throughout the lineup, including favored Offensive Player of The Year Cooper Kupp and reigning Defensive Player of The Year Aaron Donald. San Francisco was led by wide receiver Deebo Samuel, whose Swiss Army knife performance as running back and receiver added a new dimension to the 49ers’ offense this year. During the game, San Francisco slowly gained a 17-7 lead, but mistakes from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who has faced criticism ever since his arrival in the Bay Area, gave the Rams some life. The Rams’ off-season acquisition quarterback Matthew Stafford was able to dish the ball to star receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Kupp, who had over 100 yards each. L.A. rallied from the 10 point deficit, tying the game at 17-17 when kicker Matt Gay put the Rams up 20-17. The 49ers were given a chance to come back, but much to 49ers fans’ chagrin, Garoppolo could not perform in the clutch, throwing a game-ending interception, likely also ending his career in the Bay Area. 

Both the Bengals and the Rams are talented teams that want to punch their ticket to NFL royalty and hoist the Lombardi trophy, but they will have to face each other first.