NFL Conference Championship Playoff Preview

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January 29, 2022

by Steve Thomas

We saw one of the best weekends of playoff football in a long time – maybe ever – during last week’s divisional round playoff.  Not only that, but two of the NFL’s old guard, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, were eliminated.  Thus, we’re faced with two of the four teams having not been to a Super Bowl in decades.  This championship weekend has the makings of yet another fabulous day of football.  What’s going to happen?  We’ll see.  Our game previews start below.

Playoff Seedings

AFC

  1. Tennessee Titans (12 – 5; 1st, AFC South; homefield advantage and bye)
  2. Kansas City Chiefs (12 – 5; 1st, AFC West)
  3. Buffalo Bills (11 – 6; 1st, AFC East)
  4. Cincinnati Bengals (10 – 7; 1st, AFC North)
  5. Las Vegas Raiders (10 – 7; 2nd, AFC West)
  6. New England Patriots (10 – 7; 2nd, AFC East)
  7. Pittsburgh Steelers (9 – 7 – 1; 2nd, AFC North)

NFC

  1. Green Bay Packers (13 – 4; 1st, NFC North; homefield advantage and bye)
  2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13 – 4; 1st, NFC South)
  3. Dallas Cowboys (12 – 5; 1st, NFC East)
  4. Los Angeles Rams (12 – 5; 1st, NFC West)
  5. Arizona Cardinals (11 – 6; 2nd, NFC West)
  6. San Francisco 49ers (10 – 7; 3rd, NFC West)
  7. Philadelphia Eagles (9 – 8; 2nd, NFC East)

2022 NFL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:

Championship Weekend

Sunday, Jan. 30

3:05 p.m. ET – Bengals (#4) at Chiefs (#2) (CBS)

6:40 p.m. ET – 49ers (#6) at Rams (#4) (Fox)

Super Bowl

Sunday, Feb. 13

6:30 p.m. ET, SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, CA (NBC)

Halftime Show – bring back real music for the halftime show Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Mary J. Blige

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

Cincinnati Bengals (#4) at Kansas City Chiefs (#2)

Line: Chiefs, -7

The Bengals scored 460 points (ranked 7th) and have been an outstanding passing team, ranked 2nd in the NFL in both quarterback rating and completion percentage.  They are a bottom-10 rushing team.  Quarterback Joe Burrow passed for 4611 yards (ranked 6th) in 16 games this year, had a 70.4% completion percentage (ranked #1), 34 touchdowns (ranked 8th), 14 interceptions, and a 108.3 quarterback rating (ranked #2).  On defense, the Bengals have surrendered 376 points (ranked 17th) and are middle of the pack by most passing metrics, and gave up 4.3 yards per attempt on the ground.  The Bengals finished the season with a 3 – 1 record and beat a number of quality teams this season, including the Chiefs and the Steelers twice.  In the Wild Card round, Cincinnati defeated the Raiders in a close game that featured a blown call by the officiating crew that allowed an unearned Bengals touchdown and that came down to the final possession of the game.  For his part, Burrow went 24 for 34 for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns against a Raiders team whose 96.4 opposing quarterback rating was ranked 24th.  Last week, the Bengals defeated the Titans by a score of 19 – 17 in a game that featured a crazy ending in which the Bengals intercepted Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill at the Cincinnati 47 yard line with 28 seconds left.  The Bengals then drove down to the Titans’ 34 yard line and kicked the game-winning 52 yard field goal on the final play of the game.

The Chiefs have had their ups and downs this season, but scored 480 points (ranked 4th).  They are ranked 3rd in total yards, 4th in passing yards, 16th in rushing yards, and 10th in rushing yards per attempt.  Quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for 4839 yards (ranked 4th), had a season quarterback rating of 98.5 (ranked 10th), and a 66.3% completion percentage (ranked 17th).  Darrel Williams led the team in rushing with 558 yards (3.9 yards per attempt), but the big name here is Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who missed 7 games due to injury but still gained 517 yards at an average of 4.3 yards per carry.  Receiver Tyrek Hill led the team with 1239 receiving yards, with tight end Travis Kelce just behind him with 1125 yards.  The Chiefs’ defense has struggled.  They gave up 364 yards (ranked 8th), and were ranked 27th in total yards and passing yards, 21st in rushing yards, and 31st in average yards per carry.  Kansas City was on a big-time roll at the end of the regular season, winning 9 of their last 10 games, including over the Packers, Cowboys, and Bengals.  In the Wild Card round, they defeated the Steelers in a 42 – 21 blowout in the last game of Ben Roethlisberger’s hall of fame career.  Last weekend, Kansas City defeated Buffalo in one of the great playoffs battles in recent memory.

The Bengals defeated the Chiefs in Cincinnati in week 17 by a score of 34 – 31; however, Clyde Edward- Helaire did not play in that game.

Steve’s prediction: Chiefs win but don’t cover

San Francisco 49ers (#6) at Los Angeles Rams (#4)

Line: Rams, -3.5

San Francisco scored 427 points this season (ranked 13th), and were ranked 7th in total yards gained, 12th in passing yards, 11th in completion percentage, 7th in rushing yards, and 20th in rushing yards per attempt.  Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had a 68.3% completion percentage (ranked 6th) and a 98.7 quarterback rating (ranked 9th).  Elijah Mitchell led the team in rushing with 963 yards and 4.7 yards per attempt.  Receiver Deebo Samuel and Tight end George Kittle led the team in receiving yards, with 1405 and 910 receiving yards, respectively.  Other weapons include receiver Brandon Aiyuk (826 yards).  On defense, the 49ers allowed 365 points (ranked 10th), and are ranked 3rd in total yards, 6th in passing yards, 30th in opposing completion percentage, and 7th in both rushing yards and rushing yards per attempt.  San Francisco won 4 of their last 5 games, including two overtime victories.  The 49ers defeated the Dallas Cowboys last week by a score of 23 – 17 in the Wild Card round, and then defeated the Packers in Green Bay by a score of 13 – 10 in yet another insane ending.  In that game, the 49ers got a touchdown on a blocked punt with 4:41 left in the 4th quarter, and then drove 44 yards to kick the game winning field goal on the last play of the game.

The Rams scored 460 points, which was ranked 8th, and were 9th in total yards, 5th in passing yards, 25th in rushing yards, and 26th in rushing yards per attempt.  Quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 4886 yards (3rd), 67.2% completion percentage (12th), and a quarterback rating of 102.9 (6th).  Sony Michel was the Rams’ leading rusher, with 845 yards and 4.1 yards per carry.  Receiver Cooper Kupp had 1947 yards, which led the NFL.  Receiver Van Jefferson had 802 yards, and tight end Tyler Higbee had 560 yards.  On defense, the Rams surrendered 372 yards, which was ranked 15th.  They were ranked 17th in total yards, 22nd in passing yards, 6th in rushing yards, and 7th in rushing yards per attempt.  The Rams went 5 – 2 after their bye week to finish off the regular season.  The Rams easily handled the Arizona Cardinals by the score of 34 – 11, and then defeated Tampa Bay by a score of 30 – 27 in Tampa on another last-second field goal.

The 49ers and Rams played each other in weeks 10 and 18, with the 49ers winning both games, the first in San Francisco by a final score of 31 – 16, and the second in overtime in Los Angeles by the score of 27 – 24.

Steve’s prediction: Rams win and cover