Wild Card Weekend.The Bengals won 26-19 over the Raiders, but not before the drama of the Raiders having the ball on the Bengals 9-yard line woth 12 seconds left, only to have the Raiders' QB throw an interception.
Bills 47-17 over the Patriots. Very heartening result to me, for two reasons: One, the Patriots coach Bill Belichek is one of the most despicable characters in the NFL, someone with absolutely no personality, and someone who has twice been caught in illegalities, for taping opponents' defensive signals, and for deflating footballs. The second reason is that the Bills gave an NFL berth to my childhood hero, Elbert Dubenion, who played at Bluffton College, in my hometown, and went on to an awesome NFL career, even though he was already 27 years old when he got started (he had been in the military before college).
Chiefs 42-21 over the Steelers. The Chiefs clobbered the Steelers, giving me great joy for two reasons. One, I lived in Kansas for many years and became a fan of the Chiefs. Two, the Steelers' QB, Ben Rothlisberger, is a two-time rapist who has no moral character whatsoever. Wishing him a useless retirement, even though his hometown in Ohio is only 17 miles from mine.
Divisional Round. The Bengals won 19-16 over the Titans. QB Joe Burrow got sacked an incredible nine times(!), but he kept his poise and engineered a last-minte drive that ended in a winning field goal as time ran out.
49ers 13-10 over the Packers. As in the Bengals game, the niners won it with a field goal as time expired. The niners special teams play waas the highight of this game, with a blocked field goal and a blocked punt. Special teams players are often overlooked, so it is gratifying to see them get the credit they deserve in this game. Both the Bengals and 49ers wins are noteworthy in that the #1-seeded team lost, despite having the advantage of a wild card round bye.
Rams 30-27 over the Buccaneers. The Bucs came back from a 27-3 deficit to tie the game at 27 in the 4th quarter. The Rams then won with a miraculous 44-yard pass with 10 seconds left, putting them in field goal range, and their kicker connected for the 3-point win. Good riddance to the cheating Bucs quarterback, Tom Brady, who announced his retirement a few days after this game.
Chiefs 42-36 over the Bills. This is the only game whose result I didn't wholeheartedly support. I was torn between these two teams, rooting for the Bills only because they have never won a Super Bowl, unlike the Chiefs. This game has been aptly called the greatest game every played. The Bills went ahead by three with only 13 seconds left, and the game seemed to be over. However, the Bills kicker kicked the kickoff into the end zone, resulting in the Chiefs getting the ball on the 25-yeard line with 13 seconds still left. Commentators thought he should have kicked it short, forcing a runback to taske time off the clock. In two plays, QB Patrick Mahomes took the Chiefs into field goal range, and the kicker came through to tie up the game.
In overtime, the Chiefs won the coin flip and scored the winning touchdown, without the Bills ever having a chance to score. This odd sudden death rule has been roundly criticized, and shoud be tweaked before next season begins!
Championship Sunday. Bengals over the Chiefs, 27-24. The Bengals came back from 18 points down to send the game into overtime. QB Joe Burrow came though in the clutch, as did kicker Evan McPherson, who hit four field goals.
Rams 20-17 over the 49ers. The Rams trailed by 10 points in the 4th quarter, but came back to shock the niners.
So, the Super Bowl will feature the Rams, led by QB Matthew Stafford, vs. the Bengals, led by QB Joe Burrow.
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