Super Bowl Caps Off a Terrific Postseason

 February 15, 2022

The NFL postseason was the best I have witnessed in my lifetime.* Most games were won by three points or less, with many game winning plays occurring in the last two minutes. What also made this special was the slew of upsets. The Cincinnati Bengals scratched and clawed their way to the AFC championship game. Things were going according to plan as the Kansas City Chiefs scored touchdowns on their first 3 possessions. The Bengals defense allowed only three points the rest of the way and upset the heavily favored Chiefs by three.  The Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers matchup never materialized, as both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers were both upset in their opening games.

The usually anti-climactic Super Bowl was as compelling as the previous games, with the L.A. Rams scoring a touchdown with a minute and half remaining to beat the Bengals by three points.  The game was dominated by defense as neither team reached 315 total yards. The Bengals scored only two touchdowns. The first on a trick play with running back Joe Mixon hitting wide receiver Mark Higgins. Higgins scored another touchdown that shouldn’t have counted. He turned the head around of safety Jalen Ramsey with a face mask penalty that wasn’t called. The best defensive player Aaron Donald and the Rams defense was able to keep Joe Burrow in check for most of the game.

Matt Stafford must be thanking his lucky stars that he was traded to the Rams. He is a good quarterback who had no support with the Detroit Lions. The Rams first touchdown was scored by Odell Beckham Jr. an excellent pick up in November. Stafford also has the best wide receiver in the NFL Cooper Kupp, who had 8 catches for 93 yards including two touchdowns for which he received received MVP honors.

All in all this was real compelling Super Bowl with some really good ads. My favorites include, Anna Kendrick for Rocket Mortgage and Barbie’s dream house. The Doritos ad with the animals, the Manning brothers with Terry Bradshaw for Lays and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Zeus with Salma Hayek for BMW electric car. 

 *I must admit my favorite playoffs was when the Bears won their lone Super Bowl.

When the Dust Settled: Super Bow Pits L.A. Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals

January 31, 2022

The NFL playoffs continued to be wildly entertaining. Two scintillating games
decided who would face off in the Super Bowl. Like last week, both games were decided in the closing minutes, with another upset thrown in for good measure. 

In Kansas City, the Chiefs were heavily favored to beat the Cincinnati Bengals. Things seemed to be going as planned as the Chiefs scored on their first three possessions. At the end of first half, the Chiefs had a first and goal from the one yard line after a pass interference penalty. However, they came away with no points. They left enough time for the Bengals quarterback to lead the Bengals on a touchdown drive to close the half.

Last week, the 49ers shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Packer offense. The Bengals did the same to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense. The Bengals had a field goal to start the second half. Seconds later Mahomes was intercepted leading to a short touchdown drive. The Bengals then converted a two point conversion tying the score. They would take their first lead on a 52 yard field goal by rookie kicker Evan McPherson with a little over six minutes remaining. A Chiefs field goal with no time remaining, tied the score sending the game to overtime. This was their only points in the half. 

After winning the overtime coin flip most people thought the Chiefs would pull this one out. This was not to be, as Mahomes was picked off for the second time early in the OT. Another McPherson field goal punched the Bengals’ ticket to the Super Bowl.

 Not to be outdone, the L.A. Rams trailed the San Francisco 49ers 17-7 entering the fourth quarter. The 49ers’ big guns had built this lead. Jimmy Garoppolo connected on touchdown passes to wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who had 98 total yards, and tight end George Kittle.

The staunch Ram defense pitched a shut-out in the fourth quarter and their offense came alive. The NFL’s top receiver Cooper Kupp caught his second touchdown pass and a Matt Gay field goal tied the score at 17. While Rams QB Matt Stafford heated up, the 49ers’ offense struggled. Stafford led another long drive leading to another Gay field goal with less than two minutes to go for a 20-17 lead. A San Francisco comeback ended in three plays with an interception. 

So it’s the upstart Bengals, playing the Rams on their home field in the Super Bowl. This is the second straight year the game is being played on one of the participants’ home field. The Rams are slight favorites to win. All of my predictions have been wrong in both rounds. Therefore, because I want the Bengals to win I’m picking the Rams. Let’s hope this isn’t a snoozer like last year.