Ricky Dimon
Show Bio
If you thought Conference Championship Sunday wouldn’t be able to fill the shoes of last weekend’s epic Divisional Round slate, you thought wrong.
Okay, four epic games is twice as many as two and we certainly didn’t see anything quite like Chiefs vs Bills. Still, one championship game went to overtime and another was a 3-point margin that came down to the final two minutes. In the end, it will be Bengals vs Rams in Super Bowl LVI following their respective victories over the Chiefs and 49ers.
Let’s discuss what transpired on Sunday and break down what it means heading into the Super Bowl.
At last, the Bungals are the AFC’s best
The Cincinnati Bengals are going to the Super Bowl — you can’t make this stuff up, folks.
Previously referred to as the Bungals (and for good reason!), this franchise finally won a playoff game for the first time since 1990 when it scraped past the Raiders 26-19 and now the rest is history. Winning at Tennessee last week was good; taking down Kansas City at Arrowhead was something entirely different. You just don’t come back from 18 points down on the road in a playoff game against Patrick Mahomes.
Unless you’re Joe Burrow, I guess. The former Heisman Trophy winner may not have had his best game, but he made the plays that had to be made down the stretch (Mahomes, by contrast, did not). Burrow is now 60 minutes of football away from potentially becoming just the third starting quarterback ever to win a National Championship and a Super Bowl (after Joe Namath and Joe Montana). He would be the first to win the the natty, the Lombardi Trophy, and the Heisman.
Was this 27-24 OT loss a choke job by the Chiefs? You bet it was. They threw away at least 3 points and really 7 at the end of the first half, and they also botched their final drive in regulation that should have resulted in a game-winning touchdown. Heck, their ensuing field goal even turned from chip shot into a 44-yarder before Harrison Butker bailed out the offense — albeit temporarily — by nailing it to force overtime.
But even though the Bengals needed help to win this one, there’s no way I’m counting them out in the Super Bowl. Burrow is just a flat out winner. And his supporting cast isn’t bad, either. That Cincinnati defense in the second half…. just wow.
Ram tough
The AFC festivities also featured a double-digit comeback. For a while it looked like Los Angeles was on its way to getting swept in three games this season by NFC West rival San Francisco. Instead, Matthew Stafford and company outscored the opposition 13-0 in the fourth quarter to prevail 20-17.
The explanation for this result isn’t as simple as Stafford vs Jimmy Garoppolo, but…it’s close. Unlike what they did in the two regular-season contests, the Rams’ defense packed the box and forced Garoppolo to beat them. Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t do it. Stafford, meanwhile, engineered three fourth-quarter scoring drives to dig his team out of a 10-point hole. It is true that the former UGA standout made one terrible pass in the fourth quarter that 49ers safety Jaquiski Tartt should have intercepted. If he had, the outcome may have (probably would have?) been different. Still, Stafford was — and is — way better than Garoppolo.
And, oh yeah, Garoppolo doesn’t have Cooper Kupp at his disposal.
Super Bowl LVI: Bengals vs Rams
Are these the two best teams to ever player in the Super Bowl. Heck no! But is this the best uniform Super Bowl ever? Maybe!
Alas, I digress. This is actually a relatively fun matchup even though neither team was anything close to being favored to win its respective conference. There is plenty of star power with Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Stafford, Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr., and Aaron Donald. How effectively the two offensive lines protect their QBs against the likes of Donald and Trey Hendrickson could go a long way to deciding the Super Bowl.
The opening lines are Rams -4 and Over/Under 49.5. Let the betting talk begin!
Pickswise is the home of free NFL Predictions and NFL Odds. Check out the latest NFL Prop Bets and NFL Parlays as well as expert NFL Underdog Picks and NFL Computer Picks.
