Conference Championship Recap: Down to the Wire

I always enjoy the Conference Championships, because this is it. It's the final step before the Super Bowl. The winners go on to the big dance, while the defeated lament about coming so, so close to the ultimate goal. For Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, the fact that they got this far was improbable, yet there they were, at Arrowhead, the AFC's current impenetrable fortress. Even with the Bengals' amazing run, many figured that the proverbial clock would strike midnight on this day. After all, these are the Kansas City Chiefs. Their QB is Patrick Mahomes. Their star receiver is Tyreek Hill. They have the #1 tight end in the league in Travis Kelce. And with KC leading 21-3, it looked like the Chiefs were on their way to their third straight Super Bowl.

Until they apparently weren't.

Cincinnati still trailed at the half, but a funny thing happened when the second half started. The Bengals took the field. The Chiefs? Well...that's another story. The KC offense completely stalled against the Bengals defense. What we saw was Mahomes play what appeared to be his worst half in his budding career. Cincy was coming back. They were down 21-10 at halftime, but a field goal, TD, and two-point conversion tied the game. Cincy would take their first lead with a field goal by Evan McPherson, but Mahomes drove the Chiefs deep into Cincinnati territory, and it looked like it would be a typical game winning drive for KC. But on third down, Mahomes fumbled, and even though KC recovered, it left three seconds left and put the Chiefs further back. They had to settle for a Harrison Butker FG, and for the second straight week, we have overtime at Arrowhead.

Kansas City won the toss, just like they did against Buffalo. Already, fans were prepared to complain about the OT rules, as they expected a repeat of the Divisional Playoff. Mahomes nearly threw a pick at 2nd down, but at 3rd down...remove the "nearly." Intercepted. Intercepted. See, if Buffalo had done that, it would have been a different ballgame. Because of the interception, all Cincy had to do is get into FG range, and boy did they! A series of first downs and a run by Joe Mixon put them in the red zone, and one McPherson kick later, as Jim Nantz once said three years prior, "Hello, Super Bowl!"

The Cincinnati Bengals are in the Super Bowl. Repeat: the Cincinnati Bengals are in the Super Bowl! I've watched football for close to 30 years, and as long as I can remember, the Bengals were basically the doormat of the AFC Central/AFC North. They entered this season having not won a playoff game in 31 years, yet this season, they reached the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988. Joe Burrow, in his second year in the league, is one win away from hoisting the Lombardi. The funny thing? Quite a few actually expected the other Ohio team to actually get this far. Funny how things work out.

Because of the AFC game being first, the final two games of the season would take place at SoFi Stadium, and the first of those two featured the home Los Angeles Rams against the division rival San Francisco 49ers. The last time the Niners entered SoFi, it was the final week of the regular season, and the Niners won in OT to clinch the NFC's last playoff spot. It was part of the Rams' bad recent history against the Niners, as San Francisco had won six straight against LA, including winning both meetings in 2020, which saw nearly the entire Niners team decimated by injuries. Despite the Rams scoring first, it seemed like the narrative would continue, as the Niners scored the next 17 points and took a 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

So it looked like a third Super Bowl meeting between the 49ers and Bengals would be set in stone, with the number tying the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl meetings. However, Cooper Kupp's TD early in the quarter (his 2nd of the game) cut SF's lead to three, and after that, the Rams defense stifled the Niners. Though the Rams had to settle for two FGs by Matt Gay, it was still a 20-17 lead for the Rams, but Jimmy Garoppolo still had a chance to get the Niners (at least) in field goal range. The Rams would get to "Jimmy G" quickly--Aaron Donald's distraction led to a rushed pass that was intercepted by Travin Howard. And with that, the Rams were headed to Super Bowl LVI, and would play the big game in their home stadium.

I am happy for the Rams, but the player I am the happiest for, without question, is Matthew Stafford. Prior to this season, Stafford spent 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, and even though he was a division rival to my Green Bay Packers, I always liked Stafford. With every bad season the Lions had, I often felt for Stafford, to the point where I was actually happy for him and the Lions during the two times they made the playoffs (2011 and 2016). I hated that Stafford seemed to receive most (if not all) of the blame for the Lions' bad seasons, when the truth is that the Lions were just a terrible team. When Stafford and Jared Goff were traded for each other, fans believed that it was the end of the Rams. Shows what they knew. Stafford is off to the Super Bowl, and with one more win, he'll have a championship ring, just like his longtime baseball buddy, Los Angeles Dodgers ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

Another player I'm happy for is Odell Beckham Jr., who joined the Rams in November 11, 2021 after being controversially ousted from the Cleveland Browns. I've always been a fan and defender of OBJ; the defender part doesn't surround his game, his talent hasn't come into question. OBJ is one in a long list of Black athletes who have been on the receiving end of racially motivated accusations of being "arrogant" and a "diva," when he's actually the exact opposite. This year saw OBJ thrown under the bus (indirectly) by Baker Mayfield regarding the Browns' problems. OBJ went to LA, and in just a few short months, he's in the Super Bowl--one win away from a championship. Somewhere in Cleveland, Baker Mayfield is in tears, but he wipes them away before shooting another commercial.

So that's that, Super Bowl LVI is all set. It will be the Los Angeles Rams facing the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium on February 13, and after 54 years of this occurrence never happening, a team will play the big game on their home stadium for the second straight year. The Rams are in their fifth Super Bowl; their only win came in Super Bowl XXXIV when the team was in St. Louis, but they will look to bring Los Angeles their first Super Bowl championship in 38 years (the Los Angeles Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII). For the Bengals, this is their third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history; they reached Super Bowls XVI and XXIII--both losses to the Joe Montana-led 49ers. Super Bowl LVI will air on NBC; their last Super Bowl telecast was the Philadelphia Eagles' victory in Super Bowl LII.

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