That was an unbelievable weekend of NFL Playoff Football I have ever seen where all 3/4 games were decided by walk off field goals by the road team while the Chiefs won a thrilling game on a game winning touchdown at home against the Buffalo Bills. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow took 9 sacks and the Bengals won on a game winning field goal in Nashville. The San Fransisco 49ers in the freezing cold at Lambeau Field won with no offense but got help from their defense and special teams. The Packers special teams costed them the game where the blocked punt for a touchdown led to the game tying score and then former Bears kicker Robbie Gould kicked the game winning field goal as time expired in regulation. Rams almost choked at the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers but won on a game winning field goal. In the nightcap on Sunday the Chiefs won the coin toss and took the ball down the field as Mahomes found Kelce for the game winning touchdown as the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in an amazing quarterback duel between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. I will recap each game and look forward to the AFC and NFC Championship games.
Bengals at Titans: If you would of told me that Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow would get sacked 9 times in a game and still win the game, I thought you would be totally crazy. Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill didn’t play well throwing an interception on the games first play and he also threw a killer interception which led to the Bengals game winning field goal. Tannehill threw 3 interceptions while Derrick Henry in his first game back from injury had 62 yards rushing. Bengals win there second playoff game in a row where Joe Burrow was cool and calm while his rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is continuing his amazing rookie season with another 100 yard game in his first 2 playoff games. This Bengals team is so much fun to watch as they are going to the AFC Championship game for the first time since the 88-89 season as Bengals rookie kicker Evan McPherson booted a 52 yard field goal to send the the top seeded Titans one and done in the Playoffs as the Bengals win 19-16.
49ers at Packers: The Green Bay Packers were heavily favored to win this game led by the likely MVP in Aaron Rodgers, Packers were coming off a bye week and they were at home at historic Lambeau Field in the cold while it was snowing. Packers scored a touchdown on it’s first possession and thought it would be a long night for the 49ers but for the rest of the game their defense held the Packers to only 2 field goals. On the Packers second possession they were driving for another score but the 49ers forced a key fumble which they recovered. 49ers sacked Aaron Rodgers 5 times while there offense couldn’t do anything. With about 4:45 left in the 4th quarter 49ers blocked a punt which was returned for a touchdown that tied the game at 10. 49ers get a key stop which then setup the game winning field goal by former Bears kicker Robbie Gould who is perfect in the post season kicking field goals as he nailed a 45 yard field goal to give the 49ers an unlikely win with a score of 13-10. This was only the second playoff game that Aaron Rodgers didn’t throw a touchdown pass since the 2010-11 NFC Championship game against the rival Chicago Bears.
Rams at Bucs: As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers learned it is so hard to repeat in the NFL. The LA Rams raced out to a 27-3 lead and thought this would be an easy win on the road against the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers but the Bucs fought all the way back to tie the game at 27. Rams new quarterback Matthew Stafford looked sharp throwing 2 touchdowns and rushing for one while the Rams defense gave Tom Brady and the Bucs offense fits. Yes I know the Bucs had key injuries on both sides of the ball but give them credit for taking the Rams all the way to the very end. We all know going up against a Tom Brady team that they wouldn’t give up and they make it a game. Rams lost 4 fumbles which led the Bucs getting back into the game and I had a feeling that Tom Brady would complete another comeback just like 28-3 in Super Bowl 51 during the 2016 season as the Rams tried to give the game away after having that hot start against the Bucs. After taking a first down sack Stafford found the games best receiver in Cooper Kupp on 2 key completions which covered 64 yards. On the 44 yard completion Kupp got behind the defense which setup the Rams game winning field goal to advance the Rams to the NFC Championship Game as Matt Gay nails a 30 yard field goal to give the Rams a 30-27 win in Tampa Florida.
Bills at Chiefs: This was the best game clearly of the weekend and it was amazing from start to finish. Yes it ended in overtime where Patrick Mahomes found his star tight end Travis Kelce for the game winning touchdown and the Bills never got to touch the ball in overtime which I feel needs to be changed in the off season. In the NFL Playoffs I really feel in an overtime game each team should get at least one possession and I really feel bad for Josh Allen and the Bills offense they didn’t get a possession as the Bills defense was exposed by Mahomes and the Chiefs offense. Bills up and coming quarterback Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes gave us an amazing quarterback shootout as Allen went 27/37 329 yards and 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions while adding 68 yards rushing meanwhile Mahomes went 33/44 for 378 yards and 3 touchdowns while throwing 0 interceptions and he added 69 yards rushing with a rushing score. The Bills and Chiefs in that 4 quarter exchanged touchdowns which made it amazing TV to watch. When the Bills took a 36-33 lead with 13 seconds left I really thought the Bills were going to win this game and finally take out the Chiefs but with Patrick Mahomes as the quarterback it’s not over until it is over. The Bills made 2 critical mistakes which was not a squib kick to burn the clock down and when the Chiefs had the ball the Bills played a prevent defense which got the Chiefs to tie the game on a 49 yard field goal. When the Chiefs won the coin toss I knew they were going to win with a touchdown as they won 42-36.
AFC Championship Game Bengals at Chiefs: Joe Burrow vs Patrick Mahomes will be a lot of fun along with all the great weapons like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce for the Chiefs while the Bengals have stud rookie wide receiver like Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Mixon at running back. Key for the Bengals who will be the underdogs is protect Joe Burrow from the Chiefs pass rush while for the defense is be aggressive by pressuring Mahomes and force some turnovers. Bengals did beat the Chiefs 34-31 on a last second field goal in week 17 in Cincinnati but it is so hard to beat the Chiefs twice during the season.
NFC Champhionship Game 49ers at Rams: 49ers have beaten the Rams 6 straight times all in the regular season. Can Sean McVay finally get a win against Kyle Shanahan in a long time? 49ers need to protect Jimmy Garoppolo from the Rams pass rush led by the games best defender in Aaron Donald while the 49ers defense needs to continue to be very physical. For the Rams protect Stafford against the 49ers really good pass rush led by Nick Bosa while protecting the ball. I think the team that avoids the turnovers will likely win this game. I am so excited for Sunday to see who will go to the Super Bowl.