So maybe all the NFL talking heads were right? Last weekend might've actually been the most incredible weekend of playoff action the league has ever seen; three underdog road winners on walk-off field goals, a 24 point comeback all for not, and perhaps the craziest final two minutes straight out of a Madden game in playoff history. 2021 (22) Divisional Weekend was AWESOME, but it did shine a floodlight on how asinine playoff OT rules are. Hopefully, both of today's Conference Championship matchups get settled in regulation. We've got plenty of narratives to discuss. Let's get right into it.
AFC Championship Game: (4) Cincinnati Bengals vs. (2) Kansas City Chiefs [-7/54.5)
CBS 3:00 PM
The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the AFC Championship Game for the fourth straight year. And for the fourth consecutive year, they're facing a team in the AFCCG that they already played in the regular season.
In 2018 they lost to the Patriots 43-40 week 6 and 37-31 in OT in the AFC title game. In 2019 they lost to the Titans 35-32 week 10 in Nashville before getting revenge KC 35-24 en route to their lone Super Bowl title of the Mahomes-Reid era. Last season, KC swept the Bills 26-17 in week 6 and 38-24 in AFCCG. This season, the Bengals beat the Chiefs 34-31 in Week 17 and meet again today, three weeks later. Cincy held KC to just 3 second half points in a comeback win.
I'm clearly biased, as I hate this iteration of the Chiefs and have been riding the Bengals all playoffs out of respect for my friend and Joe Brrr, but, as a narrative guy, I've seen this story before. These Bengals give me 2019 Titans vibes, and I worry if they'll run out of gas against a superior opponent, even though they bested them in the regular season.
This matchup is all about whether or not the Bengals can protect Joey Burrow. Last week he got sacked 9 times. NINE. Sure, he still threw for 348 yards in the win, but that is not a sustainable recipe for success IMO. Cincy can't afford to be behind the chains today. The Chiefs secondary can get exploited, as we saw last weekend. Gabe Davis went off 201 yards and 4 touchdowns. Buffalo's WR core might have a better overall #1 receiver in Diggs (and even after one season of Ja'Marr Chase it's debatable, but I'll give the slight edge to the guy who's been doing it for five years), but overall the Bengals depth with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd should give the Chiefs DBs nightmares...if Joe has time. If I fell asleep right now and woke up at 5:15 and saw the score was 31-10 Chiefs, it wouldn't shock me; they've seemingly figured it out after early-season struggles. I think this game could easily be where the clock strikes midnight on an ascending young Bengals team, but I'm a mother fucking narrative guy. I said Joe Burrow would make the HOF before he got drafted, and this game could be one of those "holy shit moments" we look back at in a few years; how did a Bengal team that had never won a road playoff game before this season win two in a row? The 1981 Bengals changed their uniforms and made the Super Bowl, and the 2021 Bengals changed their uniforms and are now one win away from their 3rd Super Bowl appearance. The Bengals don't make a ton of AFC Championship Games, but when they do, damnit, they win (2-0). Do you know who they faced in both of those Super Bowls? They're playing in the other conference title game. Let's not forget that the Bills would've beaten KC if they had someone with, say, my football IQ calling the shots in the last 13 seconds. How do you not squib it or cover their two most obvious weapons??? The world has been through enough these past two years; we don't need Jackson Mahomes or Brittney Matthews getting a second more airtime. Joe Brrr saves the day. Bengals 30 Chiefs 28
NFC Championship Game: (6) San Francisco 49ers vs. (4) Los Angeles Rams [-3/45.5]
FOX 6:40 PM
As a narrative guy who's already bet on the 49ers, I'm almost worried about how much San Fran has Sean McVay's number. He went 0-2 against the Niners in 2021 and has lost 6 straight vs SF and Kyle Shanahan. Could this be the monkey off is back game?
The Rams did everything in their power to lose last week, and frankly, I can't believe they're in this game. Credit them for making a play late, but I don't trust them to close things out. They held a 17-0 lead vs. these 49ers in week 18. They had a chance to end their season; instead, the Niners have kept winning, knocking out the Cowboys and Packers on the road. Rumor has it SoFi will be Candlestick north, and I don't see two straight home Super Bowl hosts after 54 years of no true home team. I apologize for this quick, little-to-no detail breakdown; I've been riding with Jimmy G and the 49ers and don't plan on stopping today. In 2018, both road teams won conference championship games (and I had each team's ML). I think history repeats it in like eight different ways. I don't trust Matt Stafford late. We're getting Bengals-49ers III in two weeks! 49ers 23 Rams 17
1 Comment
8/22/2022 09:35:03 am
hthanks for sharing the article, and more importantly, your personal experience mindfully using our emotions as data about our inner state and knowing when it’s better to de-escalate by taking a time out are great tools. Appreciate you reading and sharing your story since I can certainly relate and I think others can to
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