(photo from SportsIllustrated.com)
After a historic Divisional Round, the NFL’s Final Four teams battled it out for a chance to punch their ticket to Super Bowl 56 In Los Angeles. The AFC and NFC champions both happened to be the #4 seed of their respective conference, something that has never been done before. With both games being decided by 3 points, Super Bowl 56 is primed to be an eventful and competitive game this year.
Cincinnati Bengals (13-7) @ Kansas City Chiefs (14-6)
Final: Bengals-27 Chiefs-24
Player of the Game: Cincinnati Bengals Defense
For the first time since 1988, the Cincinnati Bengals are off to play in The Super Bowl. The Bengals entered this game against the Chiefs as a big underdog, since Kansas City has been a juggernaut in the AFC for the past 4 years. The Bengals struggled in the first half, mainly due to a lack of offensive production. Cincinnati trailed 21-3 at one point, but a long touchdown from RB Samaje Perine shifted the momentum towards the Bengals, lighting the spark for their comeback. The Cincinnati Bengals defense put on an absolute masterclass in the second half, limiting the Chiefs offense to only 3 points and Patrick Mahomes to 16 yards of offense. The main difference makers on defense consisted of Trey Hendrickson, D.J. Reader, Jessie Bates III, to name a few. In overtime, rookie kicker Evan McPherson iced the game as he did last week, sealing the Bengals date with destiny. This young Cincinnati Bengals team will ride their wave of momentum into Los Angeles and will attempt to win their first ever Super Bowl in franchise history in two weeks.
The Kansas City Chiefs had to face a rude awakening on Sunday afternoon, and it came in the form of Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. The AFC is primed to be crowded and competitive for the foreseeable future with a plethora of young stud QB’s like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and Lamar Jackson, to name a few. Kansas City started the game off as they usually do, gathering a large 18 point lead, but they ended the half with a failed redzone opportunity on a bad throw from Mahomes. Mahomes would continue the poor play into the second half, only gaining 16 yards in the half, as mentioned before. Mahomes further collapsed in overtime, throwing an interception 13 seconds into the quarter. The Kansas City Chiefs will look to be in contention next year, and their approach to free agency will be the story to watch, with multiple key assets like Melvin Ingram and Tyrann Mathieu set to hit the open market, but also, Juju Smith-Schuster is rumored to be interested in joining Kansas City next year. Whatever happens, Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid & co. should have the Chiefs prepared for next year.
Game Highlights (All footage courtesy of the NFL): Bengals vs. Chiefs AFC Championship Highlights | NFL 2021
San Francisco 49ers (12-8) @ Los Angeles Rams (15-5)
Final: Rams-20 49ers-17
Player of the Game: Cooper Kupp
For the second time in his young career, Rams Head Coach Sean McVay is off to the Super Bowl. The Rams made it clear to everyone that they were “all in” and their aggressive approach to building their roster has paid off for now, the Rams only one win away from bringing the Lombardi Trophy to the City of Angels. For the second year in a row now, the Super Bowl will be played in the city of a participating team. Matthew Stafford, after never having a playoff win before this season, now has 3 and is one step closer to getting a ring. Cooper Kupp continued his dominant play, racking up 142 yards and 2 TD on 11 receptions. Odell Beckham Jr. hauled in 113 yards, his first 100 yard game since 2019, and his first ever postseason 100 yard game. The Rams live up to their Los Angeles persona, with a star-studded cast of players including Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr, Von Miller, Aaron Donald, and Jalen Ramsey to name a few. The Los Angeles Rams will look to bring home the franchise’s second ever Super Bowl Trophy in SoFi Stadium.
After knocking off the higher seeded Dallas Cowboys then Green Bay Packers, the San Francisco 49ers underdog playoff run has come to an end. Deebo Samuel had one of the better overall seasons from an offensive weapon that the NFL has seen in recent memory, Samuel being a threat both as a WR and a RB. Samuel finished the NFC Title game with 98 total yards and 1 TD on 11 touches. 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo finished his day with 232 yards and 2 TD, but ended the game with a costly interception that would seal the 49ers fate. The clear story for the San Francisco 49ers this offseason will be the QB situation. 3rd overall pick in the 2021 Draft, Trey Lance took a redshirt year, sitting behind Garoppolo for a majority of the year. With how much the 49ers gave up for Lance last year shows that they clearly value him as their guy, meaning Jimmy G has likely played his last game in a 49er uniform. The 49ers will go into the offseason with a projected 12.78 million in cap space and no first round picks.
Game Highlights: 49ers vs. Rams NFC Championship Highlights | NFL 2021