Tag: AFC Championship

Bengals fans spark debate over Chiefs vs. Ravens AFC title game rooting interest

Should Bengals fans root for the Chiefs or Ravens in the AFC title game?

With the AFC championship matchup set, Cincinnati Bengals fans find themselves in a tough spot.

On one side of the conference championship are the Baltimore Ravens, an AFC North rival and one of three from the division to make the playoffs this year and actually pick up a win.

On the other side is Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, arguably Cincinnati’s biggest outright rival of the Joe Burrow era and one of the league’s overall better rivalries right now.

Once the matchup became official, Bengals fans got to debating whether they should root for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs — or nobody at all.

Ravens to host Chiefs in AFC Championship game

The Baltimore Ravens will host Kansas City in the AFC Championship game after the Chiefs 27-24 win over the Bills in the divisional round

Baltimore will host the AFC title game for the first time since 1971, and it’ll be a matchup for the ages when Lamar Jackson squares off against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kansas City defeated Buffalo 27-24 in the first road playoff win for Mahomes, and it sets up a matchup of two recent NFL MVPs.

The Chiefs will travel to M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday at 3:00 PM EST in a matchup to see the winner advance to the Super Bowl after Mahomes went 17-23 passing for 215 yards and two touchdowns.

Second-year running back Isaiah Pacheco paced Kansas City with 15 physical carries for 97 yards (6.5) and a critical touchdown. Travis Kelce had five catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns on a night when rumors swirled about his potential retirement.

Kansas City and Baltimore previously met in the postseason following the 2010 season.

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Lamar Jackson leads Ravens to AFC Championship Game

The NFL should simply hand the MVP award over to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson after his AFC Divisional Round performance.

The NFL should simply hand the MVP award over to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson after his AFC divisional-round performance.

Tied 10-10 with the Houston Texans at halftime, the Ravens led an emphatic 24-0 scoring run in the 2nd half.  Jackson finished with a total of four touchdowns: two rushing and two passing.

The Ravens controlled the tempo of the game, winning the time of possession 37:35 to 22:25. In the third quarter, the Ravens capped off a 12-play, 93-yard drive to go ahead 24-10 in thrilling fashion.

Jackson seemed unbothered by the Texans’ blitzes, as he completed 16 of his 22 pass attempts with precision. His leadership created an aura of poise as Jackson connected with eight different receivers and rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries.

The Ravens will host the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium next Sunday against the winner of the divisional-round game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.

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AFC Championship loss to Patriots still haunts Leonard Fournette

Leonard Fournette still disagrees with a call from the 2017 AFC Championship Game against the Patriots.

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The 2017 AFC Championship Game was a highly-contested battle former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette will never forget.

Neither will Patriots fans considering New England won the game by a 24-20 margin on a game-winning touchdown catch from former receiver Danny Amendola.

For his part, Fournette had a big hand in the game. He finished with 24 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown gave Jacksonville a 14-3 lead at the time.

However, it was one particular play that went New England’s way that still haunts Fournette. New England ran a trick play in the fourth quarter, where Amendola was the recipient of a screen pass. He threw it to the other side of the field to Dion Lewis.

Lewis ran into open space, and Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack came up from behind Lewis and stripped him on the play. Jack recovered the fumble but the play was blown dead once he was ruled down on the field.

Fournette appeared on Good Morning Football and said he still disagreed with that ruling to this day.

“Myles Jack was not down,” Fournette said. “That’s the famous quote we always say. He was not down. It just brings back so many memories. I know for a fact if we would have won that game, that franchise team still would have been together. You never know what would have happened, how many we could have won. We were still young at the time. We had a lot of vets.”

New England would end up winning the game. However, one has to wonder what things would’ve been like had Jack been ruled up, and the Patriots’ big comeback was stifled.

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Reliving Tom Brady’s most memorable losses to the Broncos

Here’s a look back at Tom Brady’s most memorable losses to the Broncos.

At age 45, Tom Brady has (hopefully) announced his retirement for the last time. Brady and the Denver Broncos have clashed many times over the years, most of the games resulting in classic quarterback duels, championship matchups and memorable moments. Brady finished his career 9-9 against Denver, 8-6 in the regular season and 1-3 in the postseason.

Broncos fans love to hate Brady, whose face often makes appearances on the Ball Arena Jumbotron to make fans boo louder.

In honor of Brady’s retirement, we’re taking a look back at his five most memorable losses to Denver.

We will not do this series again, in the chance that Brady pulls a Brett Favre, which is immortalized by this hilarious This is SportsCenter sketch.

Richard Sherman disappointed by officiating during Championship weekend

Seahawks great Richard Sherman was one of many people who were disappointed in the officials in both games.

Championship weekend was a bit of a let-down. The NFC title game turned out to be a blowout thanks in part to the 49ers having to play their fifth-string QB and the AFC Championship was tainted by some missed calls.

Seahawks great Richard Sherman was one of many people who were disappointed in the officials in both games.

Worst of all, Ron Torbert’s crew missed an egregious hold on the deciding play of the game between the Bengals and the Chiefs.

For some inspiration, they could look to the NBA, where the official referees’ account provided a good example of admitting when they made a mistake in the Lakers Celtics game.

They don’t have to flagellate themselves to this extent, but just admitting when a mistake is made would help silence the lunatics who believe the NFL is rigged and Damar Hamlin died and has been replaced by a clone.

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Chiefs stock watch: Which players impressed during AFC championship vs. Bengals

Here’s a look at how the stock is trending for some #Chiefs players after the AFC Championship game victory over the #Bengals. | from @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs will play in Super Bowl LVII after a thrilling victory over the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20.

Defeating the Bengals after last year’s devastating loss with crucial plays from stars and rookies on both sides of the ball. Here’s a look at how the stock is trending for some players after the AFC Championship game; check it out:

Chiefs beat Bengals to advance to Super Bowl LVII

It’ll be the Chiefs and the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on Sunday night in the AFC championship to advance to Super Bowl LVII.

The Bengals had a chance to win late, but critical and questionable penalties not only kept Kansas City drives alive but also cost the Bengals. With 41 seconds remaining, Cincinnati punted deep into Chiefs’ territory, only for rookie wide receiver Skyy Moore to return it 29 yards to set up Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes in excellent field position with one timeout remaining.

After a first-down run went for six yards to set up Kansas City at the Bengals’ 47-yard line, the Chiefs called their final timeout with 21 seconds remaining. Mahomes’ pass to Moore was incomplete coming out of the timeout, and the Chiefs were facing a 3rd-and-4.

With no one open, Mahomes scrambled to the sideline, getting the first down with under 10 seconds remaining. However, with Mahomes clearly out of bounds, Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai shoves Mahomes, and the officials immediately throw the flag.

Instead of a 60-yard attempt with some wind, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker attempts a 45-yarder, which he crushes, sending Kansas City to its third Super Bowl appearance in four years.

It was a gutsy performance from Mahomes playing on an injured ankle. He completed 29 of 43 passes for 326 yards, with two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow completed 26 of 41 attempts for 270 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Burrow was under duress throughout the game due to Cincinnati’s offensive line injuries.

Now the Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, where there will be no shortage of storylines. Brother [Eagles center Jason Kelce] vs. brother [Chiefs TE Travis Kelce], Andy Reid’s team of 14 years {Eagles] vs. Reid’s team of the last 10 seasons and counting [Chiefs]. It will also be a meeting between the NFL’s two No. 1 playoff seeds.