AFC Championship
Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) at Kansas City Chiefs (12-5)
Betting line: Chiefs -7
Kickoff at 3pm EST (CBS)
NFC Championship
San Francisco 49ers (10-7) at Los Angeles Rams (12-5)
Betting line: Rams -4.5
Kickoff at 630 pm EST (FOX)
And then there were four - and not one damned word about "but the 49ers shouldn't be there because they didn't even win their division!" These might be some good games that could continue one of the most exciting sets of playoff games in NFL history.
The Bengals are 6-2 against playoff teams, including a 34-31 win over the Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium in the next-to-last game of the regular season, a loss that basically knocked the Chiefs out of the number one seed in the AFC playoffs. The Chiefs, however, are 8-3 against playoff teams and in their fourth straight AFC Championship game, all at Arrowhead Stadium, and the Chiefs are 2-1, the sole loss coming in overtime to Teaser Tom Brady. This game may represent the future of the AFC as well, with the talented Joe Burrow leading his charges into the game with the already established among the best QBs in the lead Patrick Mahomes. I'll be rooting for the Bengals for the upset, but I honestly expect KC will likely win.
The NFC, meanwhile, takes us back to a rematch of an NFC title game that occurred less than one month before Buster Douglas flattened Mike Tyson. It is doubtful that this game will have the same 30-3 result that one did - and it's meaningless trivia anyway since nobody in that game is playing in this one - but how great the game will be, nobody knows. Two of the Rams' five losses have been to the 49ers, a blowout in San Fran in week ten (31-10) and an overtime loss to end the regular season at SoFi to end the regular season. While it's debatable about how "tough it is to beat the same team twice in a season," it's NOT debatable that "it's REAL TOUGH to beat the same team THREE TIMES in one season." It's actually EASIER than it is to do it twice in college football.
Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, there have been 22 occasions where teams met THREE TIMES in one season, the first being the Dolphins-Jets in the 1982 strike expanded playoffs. The team going for the three-sweep is a whopping 14-8 cashing in the third win. And since 1994, the team going for the third win has won TEN OUT OF FOURTEEN TIMES in the third contest. However, it should also be noted that in the vast majority of those cases, the team going for the third win was the HOME TEAM and San Fran is, in fact, the visitor today.
The 49ers are 7-5 against playoff teams, the Rams are 4-5 with as noted two losses coming to the 49ers.
My pick? Rams in a close one.
Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) at Kansas City Chiefs (12-5)
Betting line: Chiefs -7
Kickoff at 3pm EST (CBS)
NFC Championship
San Francisco 49ers (10-7) at Los Angeles Rams (12-5)
Betting line: Rams -4.5
Kickoff at 630 pm EST (FOX)
And then there were four - and not one damned word about "but the 49ers shouldn't be there because they didn't even win their division!" These might be some good games that could continue one of the most exciting sets of playoff games in NFL history.
The Bengals are 6-2 against playoff teams, including a 34-31 win over the Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium in the next-to-last game of the regular season, a loss that basically knocked the Chiefs out of the number one seed in the AFC playoffs. The Chiefs, however, are 8-3 against playoff teams and in their fourth straight AFC Championship game, all at Arrowhead Stadium, and the Chiefs are 2-1, the sole loss coming in overtime to Teaser Tom Brady. This game may represent the future of the AFC as well, with the talented Joe Burrow leading his charges into the game with the already established among the best QBs in the lead Patrick Mahomes. I'll be rooting for the Bengals for the upset, but I honestly expect KC will likely win.
The NFC, meanwhile, takes us back to a rematch of an NFC title game that occurred less than one month before Buster Douglas flattened Mike Tyson. It is doubtful that this game will have the same 30-3 result that one did - and it's meaningless trivia anyway since nobody in that game is playing in this one - but how great the game will be, nobody knows. Two of the Rams' five losses have been to the 49ers, a blowout in San Fran in week ten (31-10) and an overtime loss to end the regular season at SoFi to end the regular season. While it's debatable about how "tough it is to beat the same team twice in a season," it's NOT debatable that "it's REAL TOUGH to beat the same team THREE TIMES in one season." It's actually EASIER than it is to do it twice in college football.
Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, there have been 22 occasions where teams met THREE TIMES in one season, the first being the Dolphins-Jets in the 1982 strike expanded playoffs. The team going for the three-sweep is a whopping 14-8 cashing in the third win. And since 1994, the team going for the third win has won TEN OUT OF FOURTEEN TIMES in the third contest. However, it should also be noted that in the vast majority of those cases, the team going for the third win was the HOME TEAM and San Fran is, in fact, the visitor today.
The 49ers are 7-5 against playoff teams, the Rams are 4-5 with as noted two losses coming to the 49ers.
My pick? Rams in a close one.
