2021 NFL SEASON
Good luck at the window this season!
4 Cincinnati Bengals 12-7 (+7) @ 2 Kansas City Chiefs 14-5 (54.5): Chiefs 33-27 Bengals 27-24 OT
Sunday, 3:00 PM, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO (Weather: Sunny; low 40s)
Keys: Joe Mixon and Tee Higgins had a great season and have balled out in the playoffs so far, but the Bengals are Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase and everyone knows it, most notably the Kansas City Chiefs. Everyone also expects a shoot out from the teams that rank 4th (KC) and 7th (CIN) in both passing yards and ppg, respectively, so look for the two QBs to get competitive and give the betting public the over they bet on. Both teams can both struggle and excel at stopping the run, but neither teams really runs the ball (RuATT, CIN: 19th; KC: 20th), so look for the combined pass attempts to surpass 100. The Bengals have been a great story, but I don't see them beating the Chiefs at home, especially when Cincinnati's best defensive attribute is falling two sacks short of being in the top-10, yet are facing a Chiefs team that gives up the 3rd-fewest sacks in the league (CIN ranks 30th in protecting against QB sacks for what it's worth). Burrow and Chase could make it interesting and cover, but the Chiefs are trying to make history and this is one of the steps.
Let's get real. The Chiefs held a 21-3 lead at halftime and everyone in the world was penning the Chiefs into their 3rd straight Super Bowl before someone laced Patrick Mahomes (3 TDs; 2 INTs) Gatorade with LSD at halftime and the Chiefs lead, and their Super Bowl aspirations, went up in Ja'Marr Chase's and Tee Higgens' dust (combined for 12 REC & 1 TD on 157 RYDS). The Bengals did nothing impressive enough to win this game besides making second half adjustments on defense, but the Chiefs certainly didn't deserve to win after saving some of their biggest coaching and offensive blunders of the season for the AFC Championship game against an inferior, but clearly destined, Bengals team.
6 San Francisco 49ers 12-7 (+3.5) @ 4 Los Angeles Rams 14-5 (45.5): 49ers 24-23 Rams 20-17
Sunday, 6:30 PM, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA (Weather: Indoors)
Keys: Can the Super Bowl host make the Super Bowl two years in a row??? No, because the 49ers are that team that gets hot at the right moment, gels at the right moment, and finds something it's been missing most of the season, right at the right moment. The 49ers are back in the NFC Championship for the 3rd time in 11 years, most recently in 2019 when they defeated the Green Bay Packers, yep, and went on to lose Super Bowl LIV to the Kansas City Chiefs. Well, what do you know. We talked a lot about momentum last week and the same thing applies here: The 49ers have that it factor right now and it starts with the San Francisco defense and ends with Deebo Samuel. The 49ers were 23rd in TO differential during the regular season, but it was Cam Akers (2) and the Rams who were coughing the ball up last week, fumbling four times (Cooper Kupp; Brian Allen) and nearly letting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers steal the game after holding a 27-3 lead midway through the 3rd quarter. The 49ers were also t-5th in sacks and had the 6th-ranked passing defense during the regular season and have been dominant in the playoffs. The major problem the 49ers face is scoring points on a very good Rams defense (t-3rd sacks regular season), because Trey Lance is starting the game in place of Jimmy G and they were already struggling to score then (18 ppg). San Francisco already won here three weeks ago to even get into the playoffs, and Kyle Shanahan owns Sen McVay, so why would the 49ers let the Rams spoil the fun now? Look for San Francisco to put heavy pressure on Matthew Stafford and the Rams RBs, while forcing Kupp and an emotional OBJ to beat them alone. Trey Lance's mobility helps him escape the wrath of Donald and Von Miller, while Deebo Samuel continues to bask in the limelight, so look for the 49ers to ruin the host party and get their rematch with Patrick Mahomes. (Note: Jimmy G is scheduled to start Sunday).
The Rams became the second team in consecutive seasons to host the Super Bowl and also play in it (Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2021) after the football gods had never allowed it once in over 50 years. The 49ers held a 17-7 lead into the 4th quarter and Kyle Shanahan's dominance over Sean McVay and the Rams seemed imminent until the Rams felt the pressure from Stan Kroenke to win "home field advantage" and they rattled off 13 unanswered points, which of course started with a Cooper Kupp (11 RED & 2 TDs on 142 RYDS) TD, to snatch the game from San Francisco and finally slay the dragon. So now instead of the Super Bowl rematch everyone expected we get the Super Bowl matchup no one envisioned, besides my buddy Junior from Boston, and a chance for guys like Matthew Stafford, OBJ and Aaron Donald to to cement their legacies in front of the home town fans like Drake from Toronto, JayZ and Beyonce from NYC, and Kevin Hart from Philadelphia.
Stay tuned for our 7th annual Super Bowl preview: PRO FOOTBALL MEDIA Week 22: #NFL Game Predictions (w/ spreads & analysis) SUPER BOWL LVI EDITION coming Saturday!
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