Championship Sunday Reaction

 AFC Championship Game

Cincinnati-27 Kansas City-24 (Overtime)

1- This might go down as the biggest collapse/choke job in the history of the AFC Championship. The Chiefs were up 21-3 in the first half on the Bengals. They could not be stopped. After taking a 21-10 lead at halftime, the Chiefs only scored three points the rest of the way. The Bengals came all the way back and won the game in overtime 27-24. This was an absolute shocker based on the way it went down.

2-The decision by the Chiefs to go for it from the Cincy one yard line with only 2 seconds left in half was questionable. The play call was even worse. Pat Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill in the flat but he was tackled short of the endzone and time ran out. Instead of taking the easy field goal and being up 24-10 at the half, the Chiefs got too greedy and cute, and it back fired on them.

3-The Bengals did an amazing job in the second half. Joe Burrow made some huge plays in avoiding sacks and keep plays alive and extending drives. He also made some clutch throws and bring the Bengals all the way back. Give the Bengals defense credit too. They shutdown Mahomes and that offense in the second half and gave them nothing. They got two key interceptions as well. Just a fantastic job by that defense.

4-The game also shifted when the Bengals picked off Mahomes down 21-13 in the 3rd quarter. They scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive, got the two-point conversion and tied the game at 21. The second interception was on the first drive of overtime when Mahomes got picked off on the third play on a terrible throw to Hill, who was doubled covered. The Bengals took advantage and drove into field goal range to win the game 27-24. 

5-The Chiefs have been to four straight AFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls in the last four years. The window is not shut on Mahomes. Andy Reid is still a top coach and this team will be back, but this feels like a real opportunity lost. Up 21-3 and at home over the underdog Cincinnati Bengals, and they lost the game. Mahomes was really bad in the second half, and it wasn't Andy Reid's finest hour as well. Trust me, I enjoyed every second of it, and this was just a terrible loss by the Chiefs, and it will haunt them all offseason.

6-The Bengals continue their improbable run to the Super Bowl. To go into Arrowhead and knock off the Chiefs after being down 21-3 is truly amazing. Joe Burrow has cemented his spot as one of the next "Franchise" QBs in the league, and this team was 2-14 two years ago, and 4-11-1 last year, and now they are in the Super Bowl. Give head coach Zac Taylor credit as well. He has done a great job turning this team around. It seems pretty improbable that the Bengals are going to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988, but here they are. 

NFC Championship Game

Los Angeles-20 San Francisco-17

1) This game played out very similar to how I felt it would play out. It was a close game throughout, but the Niners have to be thinking about the fact that they held a 17-7 lead going into the 4th quarter. They had to feel that they were going to win the game, but they couldn't close it out.

2) The Rams battled back and scored 13 points in the 4th quarter to come back and win the game. Once again, their stars played great. Matt Stafford, Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr, and Von Miller all played well and helped the Rams win the game. The Rams looked liked they were going to lose to the 49ers for the seventh straight time, but they came through and won the NFC Championship.

3) Kyle Shanahan will be thinking about his decision to punt when the 49ers had a 4th and 2 from the Rams 45 yard line with 10:05 left in the game. SF was up 17-14 at that point, and touchdown on that drive probably puts the game away. Even if they settle for a field goal, they can take up some more time. Shanahan tried to draw the Rams offsides, but they didn't bite and he punted it away. LA came down and tied the game at 17 on the next drive.

4) Sean McVay did not have one of his best games as a head coach in this spot. He had two horrible challenges which left him with none at the end of the game, and he burned all of his timeouts. They are lucky they won the game, and his clock and game management was really off the charts bad in this one. 

5) The 49ers are going to be kicking themselves after Jarski Tartt dropped an easy interception at midfield with SF up 17-14 in the fourth quarter. The Rams tied it up on a field goal on that drive. That was a killer for SF.

6) The Rams defense turned it up and shut down the Niners on their last two drives to secure the win. All those investments on that side of ball paid off in the end.

7) The Niners were very close to advancing to another Super Bowl, but they fell just short. There will be some sleepless nights for them in the offseason as well. It looks like Jimmy G will end up getting traded in the offseason and the run with this group might be over.

8) The Rams loaded up on stars and big-name players and it paid off. They traded away first round picks and it worked. They are heading back to the Super Bowl and get to play the game in their home stadium as a bonus.