By Marvin A Azrak
As football fans stepped into the second episode of this year’s “Playoff pavilion,” the expectation was for dramatic finishes with a home team or two finding a way in the end. But what we received was the cream of the crop in terms of drama, historical performances, and, yes, upsets.
It has NFL fans still unable to catch their breath even two days after the amplest weekend of football this league has ever seen. When the dust settled, the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, and Kansas City Chiefs survived and advanced to conference championship weekend. But here’s a deep dive into what just transpired that elevated these playoffs into uncharted waters.
BENGALS 19 TITANS 16
Rookie kicker Even McPherson’s 12 point day lifted Cincinnati to their first-ever road playoff win. But considering his late heroics, it’s easy to forget that there were three touchdowns in this game. The first was a Derrick Henry running TD on a direct snap that brought the Titans to a 6-6 tie. But Joe Burrow found Joe Mixon for a score, capping off a 10-0 Bengals run for a nine-point lead. Ryan Tannehill wouldn’t go quietly, however, as he would march his team down the field for an FG before finding AJ Brown in the right corner of the endzone to even the game at 16. But after seeing his defense get a stop, part of a playoff record-tying nine sack day of Burrow, Tannahill was pressured and was picked off in the waning seconds, setting the stage for a 52 yard Field Goal by Evan McPherson to send the underdog Bengals to the AFC championship game and the #1 seeded Titans home.
49ers 13 PACKERS 10
In snowy Green Bay, the top-seeded Packers were “Snow’d out” of the NFC championship game. As expected, the game was a battle in the trenches, and points were at a premium. For 55 minutes, the lone touchdown came early when AJ Dillion capped off a well-orchestrated drive-by two-time reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers, who would stand up as the difference. But San Francisco would block a Mason Crosby field goal just before the break and a punt with under five minutes remaining before Talona Hufanga scooped it up and ran into the end zone to even the contest at 10.
AR12 would get his chance to shine but came up empty-handed before Niners kicker Robbie Gould improved his team to 4-0 against Green Bay in the playoffs by kicking a buzzer-beating FG through the uprights for San Francisco’s second straight road playoff win. Despite getting next to nothing out of the offense, Jimmy Garrapalo and the six seeded 49ers are going to the NFC championship game.
RAMS 30 BUCS 27
Saturday’s games were terrific, but Sunday’s instant classics rightfully overshadowed them. The first one took place in Tampa Bay, where Mathew Stafford and the Rams squared off against Tom Brady and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defending champion.
Initially, it looked like Stafford, and the Rams would run Tampa off their home turf, who looked out of sync, trailing 27-3 in the third quarter. To that point, the highlight reel moment was when Stafford connected with triple-crown winner Cooper Kupp
for a 70 yard touchdown in the first quarter that essentially set the tone for the sun-splashed afternoon.
But Tom Brady had other plans and began to marinate another heroic comeback as only the GOAT could. A field goal brought the score to 27-6. After the defense forced an LA fumble, Brady went to work and ultimately found paydirt to get the Bucs within a respectable 27-13 headed into the fourth quarter.
The last stanza began with a three-and-out by Los Angeles, but Brady was then sacked and fumbled the ball allowing the Rams to recover and momentarily sap the life out of the raucous Raymond James stadium crowd. Suddenly, a lifeline was offered by the visitors as a housewarming gift, by promptly giving the ball back to Tom Brady with yet another fumble. TB12 would once again falter, though, as a Mike Evan’s dropped pass in the red zone marked a seemingly season-ending turnover on Downs. But yet again, the Rams proved they weren’t willing to live up to their team name and “Ram” the champs, as Matt Gay missed a 47 yarder, preserving the two-possession margin. Tom would capitalize on his fourth opportunity, after once again falling short following the missed FG, throwing a dime to Mike Evan’s with 2:00 to go, cutting the deficit to 27-20. Los Angeles still controlled their destiny, as, despite the late rush by Brady, they still led by a touchdown and were a first down away from advancing.
But the worse thing that could happen at that moment did, as Cam Akers fumbled the ball while on the cusp breaking the lane for victory formation, allowing Brady to get one final shot in regulation. TB12 wouldn’t miss this, finding Lenord FOURNETTE, who took it into the endzone with 42 seconds remaining, tying the game up at 27.
Everyone in the building and the millions watching around the globe was thinking “Overtime” and readying themselves for more Tom Brady heroics, but Mathew Stafford had other ideas.
He found Cooper Kupp for 29 before slinging the ball downfield for a 44-yard pickup to Kupp, allowing Matt Gay to nail
the chip-shot field goal and send his former team home while allowing the Rams to advance within one win of their second Super Bowl in four seasons.
BILLS 36 CHIEFS 42F/OT:
It was only fitting that the best game ever watched by 51.7 million fans was the most anticipated of the four, as Buffalo and Kansas City squared off 364 days after their AFC championship game bout when Patrick Mahomes defeated Josh Allen in Arrowhead. Back at that identical sight a year later, the two young superstars put on a show that had the sports world clamoring for more even after one team was sent home.
Buffalo struck first when Devin Singeltary ran it in. Mahomes would answer with an acrobatic drive and single-handily will Kansas City to a 7-7 tie. With the first half winding down, Mahomes spun around, turned, and fired a dart to Byron Pringle, seizing the KC lead.
But it was Josh Allen who rapidly offered a sign of the events that would unfold in the future, as he found Davis again to send us into a 14all intermission deadlock.
As expected, the Chiefs began the second half by smothering Buffalo on both sides of the ball, stalling the Bills before a Harrison Butker FG, and 25 yards of grit and mastery by Nicole Hardman upped the KC lead to 23-14. Buffalo would promptly respond a play later as a 75-yard strike from Allen to Gabriel Davis for his second TD of the day.
Down 26-21 with 2:50 left, Josh was on the brink of elimination facing fourth down in his territory, before several timely completions kept the surge alive long enough for KO on 4th and 13 when he found Davis for touchdown #4 and a 27-26 Buffalo advantage, which would become a three-point lead after a Stephon Diggs two-point conversion.
For much of the contest and the last year, it was the Bills reeling, but at this moment, it was Kansas City and their world renounced atmosphere at the kingdom with their heart in their throats. However, with a single play did the pulse of Mahomes and the Chiefs of the AFC rise off the matt once again when Tyreke” The Cheetah” Hill burst into the endzone to give the hosts the lead again with 1:00 left.
But 47 seconds later, Josh Allen would throw his final pass of the 2021 campaign, firing a laser to Gabriel Davis again four TD#4 and a 36-33 Buffalo advantage with a mere 13 seconds remaining in regulation.
In Buffalo, there are losses. A phrase defines that. Whether it’s” Wide right or “Music City Miracle,” it immediately gives Bills fans a sour taste of nostalgia. Sunday marked addition to that list, as “Appalling 13” was born when Patrick Mahomes found a streaking Hill for 15 and a prominent Travis Kelce for 19 when he was required to make the two most accurate throws of his four-year career thus far. It allowed Harrison Butker to nail a 49 yarder through the Missouri night to send the game to overtime and cap off the wildest 2:00 minute drill in NFL history.
Back in 2019, in Mahomes first year as a starter, the Chiefs saw their season come to an end to the Patriots at the hands of the overtime rule that states if a team scored a touchdown, it ballgame even if the opposition never had their fair shot at extra time glory. Outraged, they proposed to fix that rule at that offseason’s “State of the NFL” meetings, but it was shot down by a resounding unanimous vote from the other 31 clubs. Two seasons later, the Chiefs were rewarded for their courage, as they received the luck of the coin toss(Heads), and completed yet another improbable comeback in their franchise first ever dynasty, with Patty15 finding his leading man in Kelce for the victory.
As for Josh Allen, although he submitted an outing of 9 touchdowns, 0 turnovers, 771 total yards, and just a measly 14 (!) total incompletions, he walked off the field not having his fair chance to push the Bills over the “Kansas City” hump.
WHAT WE LEARNED:
- Just because your QB doesn’t bring it doesn’t mean you won’t win the game(49ers-Packers)
- Kickers are more valuable than you think(Bengals-Titans)
- Always go forward, not backward (Rams-Bucs)
- Never give up(Bills-Chiefs)
As we approach conference championship game week, I wish all four teams good luck topping what this past weekend served us.
What we have with us now are matchups between NFC West Rivals in the 49ers and Rams, and about between the Bengals and Chiefs, where Kansas City will look to avenge the 34-31 defeat they received from Cincy back in week 17, where Mahomes expressed confidence the two teams would meet again come playoff time. Meanwhile, the Rams now will be vying to become the first NFL team to play a conference championship game and the Super Bowl in its home stadium.
PREDICTIONS:
Rams over 49ers
Chiefs over Bengals
Let’s give 13 year veteran Mathew Stafford a shot at his first ring against a motivated Patrick Mahomes, who didn’t fair too well the last time he was in the big game falling 31-9 to the Bucs last year.
