After one of the most exciting divisional rounds in NFL history, we are left with four teams all worthy of competing in the Super Bowl. There are a lot of expectations centered around Sunday’s AFC and NFC title games this year, as each team brings with them very different storylines and playstyles. All this excitement sets the stage for what could be one of the most thrilling Super Bowls in years.
Whether you’re trying to place your bets or impress your partner’s football-loving parents, it’s important to know each team’s advantages and disadvantages going into these matches. That’s why we’ve written out the main reasons why each team may or may not win their Championship game and get bumped out of the playoffs this week.
Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs
Bengals
Reasons They Lose Sunday
The Cincinnati offensive line can’t pass-block for shit! Pro Football Focus currently ranks the Bengals offensive line as the 20th ranked unit in the league and has one of the lowest-ranked starting guards in football. In the last two games, they have given up 11 sacks – yet they’ve still somehow managed to win.
Although this group has improved immensely from last year, they still have a ways to go.
The solution: start scheming Bengals! Run play-action passes, keep tight ends in to block, and chip elite pass rushers with running backs running pass routes. As it stands, the Bengals will need to pass early and often to keep up with the Chiefs. And unfortunately for their quarterback Joe Burrow, it’s looking to be a long night. The Bengals’ Achilles heel is glaring.
Reason They Win the SuperBowl
All else aside, Burrow is an elite NFL Quarterback. He can make every single throw under pressure and has consistently shown in his short career that the moment can never be too big for “Joe Cool.”
After last year’s draft, the Bengals had no bigger critic than me for picking Jamar Chase over a top-ranked Offensive Lineman to protect Burrow. But boy, was I wrong! The rookie wide receiver has captured 81 receptions, 1,455 receiving yards, and 13 touchdowns making him and his college teammate one of the most feared dynamic duos in the entire league. The Bengals have the makings of a dream team– a team that caught fire and can’t be stopped! This bold-maybe-blind confidence begins and ends with Joe Burrow.
Chiefs
Reasons They Lose Sunday
The Chiefs’ defense gave up the 5th most offensive yards this season while also somehow giving up the 9th least points allowed. This is the epitome of a bend but don’t break defense; give up big plays, but don’t give up points.
When you have one of the best offenses in NFL history on the other side of the ball, you don’t have to be pitching shutouts to win. Just keep the score in hand. The Chiefs are going into this facing one of the most eclectic offenses in the NFL, meaning their hands will be full on Sunday. And if the Chiefs do lose Sunday, it’ll be because their defense couldn’t make a stop in a big moment.
Reason They Win the SuperBowl
Mahomes, Kelce, and Hill are superhuman. No statistic, clip, or tagline can encapsulate the level of talent these three possess. After watching last week’s game, there is no other word I could use apart from “unstoppable” when attempting to describe this unit. Plus, Andy Reid’s play-calling forces defenses to pick their poison when playing them. It doesn’t matter whether you double up on Hill or Kelce as it either opens up someone else, or else it leaves Mahomes without a spy thus giving him a lane to run. Mahomes and his pair of weapons are on fire and it looks like there is nothing there stopping them!
San Fransico 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams
49ers
Reasons They Lose Sunday
Jimmy Garrapallo is the least gifted of the signal callers left in these playoffs. Statistically speaking, Jimmy G’s numbers are among the bottom half when it comes to yards (3,820) and touchdowns (20). He only has one job: not to make mistakes and run a methodical offense that’ll grind teams out in the 4th quarter. Whether or not he’ll be able to do that remains to be seen.
So far this season, the 49ers have managed to play to his strengths while hiding his weaknesses. But the last time the 49ers went to the Super Bowl, they were limited by Garraollo’s plays when it mattered most. And as the season draws to a close, the cracks have been starting to show. Just last week the 49ers made it to the Red Zone three times, yet they couldn’t punch in a score. Can Garrapallo rewrite history for himself on the sport’s biggest stage, or is he doomed to crumble under the pressure?
Reason They Win the SuperBowl
From top to bottom, the 49ers have arguably the best roster in football. Trent Williams, Alex Mack, Deebo Samuels are all bullies on the offensive side and they like it that way. Even Garrapallo has a 68% completion percentage and only 12 interceptions through this year. In all senses of the word, they are a truly complete team. They play physically and proudly; even when they’re in the trenches they tend to win. Old heads like me love this style of ball but the question remains: Will this style lead them to the championships, or are the high flying offenses here to stay?
Nothing better represents this physical trench-warfare mentality than their game last week. The defense kept the 49ers in the game as Nick Bosa wreacked havoc against Aaron Rodgers with two sacks and a forced fumble. Later, the 49ers were bailed out by their special teams with a blocked kick for a touchdown and an excellent play from Robbie Gould in crunch time.
Rams
Reasons They Lose Sunday
Inconsistent play and lack of big-game experience could be the difference in the matchup between the Rams and the 49ers. While the Rams dominated the Buccaneers for most of the game last week, their many mistakes, turnovers, and blown assignments almost gave the Buccaneers a chance.
There have also been many times this year where Matt Stafford has cost his team the win due to him making mistakes. So far, the 49ers have picked Stafford twice in each of their regular-season losses. If the Rams do want that trip to the Super Bowl then that number needs to go down.
Reason They Win the SuperBowl
Aaron Donald is the most dominant player on planet earth and the perennial All-Pro is coming off of a game where he had seven pressures and a sack to cap off his day. The three-time defensive player of the year is the leader of a unit that kept itself in the top half through most of this season. Donald is the best three technique to play since Warren Sapp, and this could be the year he separates his legacy on the biggest stage.
