Category: 2021 NFL Playoffs

Patrick Mahomes pressed his luck once too often on Chiefs’ final drive

Taking risks is part of Patrick Mahomes’ greatness, but in this AFC Championship game, the gunslinger game caught up to him in the end.

When Patrick Mahomes hit Mecole Hardman for a three-yard touchdown pass with 5:04 left in the first half, the Kansas City Chiefs held a 21-3 lead over the Cincinnati Bengals, and it looked for all the world that Mahomes and his crew were headed to their third straight Super Bowl.

But the Bengals roared back in championship form, tying the game with 14 seconds left in the third quarter. Joe Burrow threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase, the Bengals converted the two-point try, and it was 21-21 at that point.

The key play came from Cincinnati defensive tackle B.J. Hill, whose tip interception set the Bengals up for that score.

B.J. Hill’s spectacular Big Man INT leads to Bengals tying Chiefs in AFC Championship game

The two teams traded field goals in the fourth quarter — Harrison Butker’s 44-yard field goal with time expiring sent things into overtime with a 24-24 score. When the Bengals lost the overtime coin toss, and Mahomes got the ball first… well, we were probably all thinking the game thing, right?

This game is over. 

But Mahomes made two killer mistakes on his first and only overtime drive. He managed to avoid paying for the first, and he paid dearly for the second.

On the second play of overtime, Mahomes tried to hit receiver Demarcus Robinson on a slant, cornerback Eli Apple jumped the route, and had Apple held onto the ball here, this was a pick-six, and your ballgame in the other direction.

So, Mahomes wriggled his way out of that one. But on the very next play, Bengals safeties Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell bracketed receiver Tyreek Hill downfield, and the two defenders combined to make an incredible, game-clinching interception.

On the replay, you can see the great job Bates did of getting his hand in to deflect the ball to Bell without committing pass interference. If sacks can be split between defensive players, this was a case where the interception should have been split between Bates and Bell.

Burrow drove his team downfield, and with 9:26 left in overtime, rookie kicker Evan McPherson booted the 31-yard field goal that sent the Bengals to their first Super Bowl since the end of the 1988 season.

As for Patrick Mahomes, he now has the entire offseason to get over those throws that went the wrong way.

It doesn’t take much at all when you’re trying to get to the Super Bowl. Whether you’re on the right side or not.

Bengals defense holds the Chiefs to a tying field goal

A pair of sacks from the Cincinnati Bengals defense forced the Chiefs to settle for overtime.

We are headed to overtime in the AFC Championship game.

For a moment, it looked like the Kansas City Chiefs were going to win in regulation, as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense drove deep into Cincinnati Bengals’ territory and faced a 1st and goal from inside the ten-yard line.

But then, a pair of sacks from the Bengals defense — or a pair of head-scratching decisions from Mahomes depending on your point of view — saw the Chiefs need to settle for a field goal on the final play of regulation to set up the extra frame.

After a Jedrick McKinnon run on first down, the Chiefs faced a 2nd and goal from the Cincinnati four-yard line. Kansas City put the football in Mahomes’ hands, while the Bengals brought just four after the quarterback:

After trying in vain to make something happen against the four-man rush, Mahomes eventually runs out of time and the Chiefs are forced into a third-down situation.

On that third down, the Bengals called for a three-man rush with Sam Hubbard serving as a spy on the quarterback. Hubbard executes the play call to perfection, getting to Mahomes for the sack and nearly sending the Bengals to the Super Bowl when he forces the fumble:

Hubbard stays in the spy technique during the early part of the play, but when he sees Mahomes start to move in the pocket and a crease develop, Hubbard crashes downhill to attack the passer. He gets to Mahomes and punches the football free, but the quarterback manages to secure the loose ball and avoid complete disaster.

The Chiefs did manage to tie the game and force overtime. But if the Bengals are to advance to the Super Bowl, this two-play sequence will have played a huge role in the effort.

A pair of rookies escort Samaje Perine into the end zone

Samaje Perine delivered the first touchdown for the Bengals, thanks to big blocks from a pair of rookies.

The visiting Cincinnati Bengals have finally reached the end zone, as they look to narrow the gap on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs.

With halftime approaching and the home team off to a 21-3 lead, the Bengals got their first touchdown of the game thanks to this screen play from Joe Burrow to Samaje Perine:

What made this play possible, in addition to the burst and play-strength  from the running back himself, is the blocking he picked up along the way. The first big block was delivered from right guard Jackson Carman. The rookie is able to lock up linebacker Willie Gay Jr., which puts Perine into the open field against Tyrann Mathieu. Perine makes the safety miss in space, putting him in position to pick up the first down.

But eying more than just a fresh set of downs, Perine takes aim for the end zone, and picks up a block from another rookie, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase:

The Cincinnati defense will need to get some stops for the Bengals to have a chance at the comeback, but getting the first touchdown, thanks to some big blocks from a pair of rookies, is a great first step.

How the 49ers can — and must — solve the Jalen Ramsey problem

If the 49ers want to get to their second Super Bowl in three seasons, they’ll have to solve the Jalen Ramsey problem.

Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey is arguably the best at his position in the NFL. His size, technique and anticipation are unmatched. This five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro will have a big task ahead of him as he must lead this Los Angeles Rams defense in physicality and communication against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.

Oftentimes, opponents will avoid Ramsey’s side of the field completely, which means he won’t get many plays on the ball. Because of this, there are times Ramsey will overpursue in order to make a play. Some teams, including the 49ers, have used this against him.

It’s not often that Ramsey gets beat; and to be fair, the 49ers won’t have any Mike Evans-caliber receivers out there.

So, plays like this are unlikely to happen. The 49ers will have to take a different approach in order to beat Ramsey.

Two of the many traits of Ramsey’s game that take him to the next level are his physicality and mental processing. Since Ramsey can recognize a play developing, he does a great job closing to the ball quickly.

When Ramsey is the furthest defender to the outside without a wide out blocking, there is absolutely no point in running in his direction. He has proved that he will not be out muscled one-on-one.

One way the 49ers exploited his aggressiveness in 27-24 overtime win in Week 18 was to let Ramsey overpursue.

In the clip below, the tight-end sells the fake block perfectly and with the motion lead-blocking for Deebo Samuel, we can’t blame Ramsey for falling for that one. Who knew Samuel had an arm like that?!

The 49ers will have to have some tricks up their sleeve, and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will have to execute to perfection.

Against man coverage, Garoppolo might have to look off some his throws and use pump fakes to get his receivers open against Ramsey. On rub routes, he must remain patient and allow the pick to play out.

In week 10, Ramsey was defending the slot, as he went inside, the wideout took two steps forward then cut inside.

In Week 18, the 49ers used a similar rub route concept, except this time, Ramsey was lined up on the outside. He still bit on the underneath route.

Garoppolo’s pump fake really made the difference here and allowed his receiver to get some space from Ramsey.

In this zone-match defense, the other way to beat Ramsey is by forcing him to defend the in route when he is playing off coverage.

On these routes, since it’s tough to beat Ramsey over the top, underneath is the way to go. These routes are open. Keep in mind that if Ramsey is in zone, he won’t even break inside because the nickel corner will be there.

The next progression from the in route is the dig; this is where a receiver will fake a go route and then cut inside.

Ramsey has great anticipation but the chance of getting beat by a double move allows a little bit of separation at the receiver’s break.

Trick plays, rub routes and digs should all be in the game plan this weekend for the 49ers.

It’s almost impossible to avoid Ramsey completely, but these are a few ways to beat him in man and zone-match coverage. Garoppolo must sell his fakes, remain patient and try not to throw it to Ramsey when he is defending out routes, Those are his specialty.

If the 49ers solve the Ramsey problem, they could well be on their way to another Super Bowl.

Secret Superstars of the NFL’s conference championship games

Arik Armstead, Tyler Higbee, Sam Hubbard, and Juan Thornhill are four underrated players whose presence could mean a lot in the championship games.

Matthew Stafford. Joe Burrow. Patrick Mahomes. Nick Bosa. Aaron Donald. Cooper Kupp. Odell Beckham Jr. Tyreek Hill. Ja’Marr Chase. Deebo Samuel.

The Conference Championship games for the 2021 NFL season are filled with some of the league’s biggest names, and justifiably so. But every big game also has “smaller” names who rise up at the right time to make things happen when they’re most needed.

Here’s one under-the-radar player for each of the four remaining teams in the tournament, whose exploits could swing things in the directions of their franchises on the way to Super Bowl LVI.

NFC Championship Game ticket prices soar on secondary market

How much are conference championship game tickets going for on the resale market?

The hottest ticket in Los Angeles is to Sunday’s NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams.

To get in the door, on Ticketmaster’s resale market, it will cost you $575 for a seat in the corner of the end zone, row 18, aka nosebleed.

A view in the second deck of SoFi Stadium starts at about $800 and heads far North of four figures.

Nothing in the lower deck checks in at less than $1,000 to watch from those seats.

To check out the prices, click here.

Sam Farmer of the LA Times tweeted the other day about how tickets were moving on Stubhub.com.

The lowest resale price — aka what will get you in the door — for the Bengals-Chiefs AFC Championship clash is $444.51. Maybe the 51 cents are an homage to Dick Butkus, who knows?

Second-level seats at Arrowhead are all pushing $1,000 or more, no matter where you choose to sit.

You actually find tickets around $760 for the $100 level. Not many but those tickets are going at a lower price than the 200 level for some reason.

Of course, there is no guarantee many of these seats will find takers at these prices.

To check the map, click here.

 

 

One prop bet we love for each team in the conference championships

Betting on the AFC and NFC championship games this weekend? Here are 4 prop bets we love, one for each team

We’ve reached the penultimate round of the NFL playoffs with the field being whittled down to just four teams: the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers.

Each game is a rematch from the regular season, with the 49ers beating the Rams twice and the Bengals stunning the Chiefs in Week 17. It’s tough to predict which teams will emerge victorious on Sunday, but if you’re looking for another way to bet on the games, we’ve got you covered.

Here are four prop bets that we love this weekend, with one bet for each team. All odds are via Tipico Sportsbook.

Remembering the last time each remaining playoff team made the conference championship

It’s been a long time since the Bengals reached the conference championship, but the same can’t be said about the Rams, Chiefs and 49ers.

The NFL playoffs started out with a dud on wild-card weekend, with only one of the six games being decided by a single possession. The divisional round was just the opposite, with all four games being won with walk-off scores by the Bengals, 49ers, Rams and Chiefs.

And so we’ve now reached the conference championship where the Bengals and Chiefs will battle for a spot in Super Bowl LVI, and two NFC West rivals – the Rams and 49ers – will meet for the third time this season.

For three of these teams, it hasn’t been long since they last made the conference title game. The Chiefs have been here in each of the last three seasons, while the Rams and 49ers represented the NFC in the Super Bowl two of the last three years. The Bengals, however, haven’t reached the AFC Championship since 1989.

Coincidentally, all four teams won their most recent conference title game, and we looked back on those four victories with Sunday’s marquee matchups looming.

NFC Championship preview: How the 49ers can beat the Rams

The San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams meet for the third time this season, now with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Here is how the 49ers beat the Rams.

And then, there were two.

NFC West rivals square off Sunday with a trip — or at least a short excursion — to Super Bowl LVI on the line. When the Los Angeles Rams kick things off against the San Francisco 49ers, it will be the third meeting this year between these two franchises.

Unfortunately for the Rams and their fans, the first two meetings did not go their way.

Back in Week 10, the 49ers won in dominant fashion, topping the Rams by a final score of 31-10. That game was perhaps notable for how the 49ers began the game, putting together an 18-play drive that covered over 11 minutes of game time, nearly the entire first quarter, that gave the 49ers an early 7-0 lead.

San Francisco followed that with a Pick-Six of Matthew Stafford on the Rams’ ensuing possession, and things were trending in their direction early.

Then in Week 18, with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo dealing with a thumb injury and the 49ers needing a win to get into the playoffs, San Francisco pulled out a three-point win in overtime, setting the stage for their playoff run.

So how does the third meeting between these teams play out? Do the 49ers make it a perfect 3-0 against the Rams on the season, or does Los Angeles become the second-straight team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium?

Here is what the 49ers have to do to beat the Rams.

NFC Championship preview: How the Rams can beat the 49ers

The three things the Rams need to do against the 49ers to advance to the Super Bowl.

And then, there were two.

NFC West rivals square off Sunday with a trip — or at least a short excursion — to Super Bowl LVI on the line. When the Los Angeles Rams kick things off against the San Francisco 49ers, it will be the third meeting this year between these two franchises.

Unfortunately for the Rams and their fans, the first two meetings did not go their way.

Back in Week 10, the 49ers won in dominant fashion, topping the Rams by a final score of 31-10. That game was perhaps notable for how the 49ers began the game, putting together an 18-play drive that covered over 11 minutes of game time, nearly the entire first quarter, that gave the 49ers an early 7-0 lead.

San Francisco followed that with a Pick-Six of Matthew Stafford on the Rams’ ensuing possession, and things were trending in their direction early.

Then in Week 18, with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo dealing with a thumb injury and the 49ers needing a win to get into the playoffs, San Francisco pulled out a three-point win in overtime, setting the stage for their playoff run.

So how does the third meeting between these teams play out? Do the 49ers make it a perfect 3-0 against the Rams on the season, or does Los Angeles become the second-straight team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium?

Here is what the Rams have to do to beat the 49ers.