NFL (2024 Season)

[Ted$8roadFan]

Now I have to ask... who do you think choked worse, the Bills or the Chiefs?

Bills gave up a FG with 13 seconds left. Chiefs blew a 21-3 lead and passed up an easy FG that would have made it 24-3 before halftime.

The Chiefs, definitely. They let the Bengals back into the game.

[jeffandnicole]

Now I have to ask... who do you think choked worse, the Bills or the Chiefs?

Bills gave up a FG with 13 seconds left. Chiefs blew a 21-3 lead and passed up an easy FG that would have made it 24-3 before halftime.

As a number one seed, it's automatically the Chiefs.

Except that they weren't the #1 seed.

Yeah I just realized that. Changing that comment!

[thspfc]

So who had the Bengals in the Super Bowl?

Me, but against the Pack.

Before the playoffs though, right? A little easier to predict a 4 seed to make the Super Bowl than it is a 4-11-1 team to make the Super Bowl the following year.

What Cincy has done really is remarkable though. Classic 3 year rebuild: year 1, blow it up and get a bunch of solid draft picks, year 2, probably still terrible but you at least find out if you've got your guys, and year 3, contenders.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

So who had the Bengals in the Super Bowl?

Me, but against the Pack.

Before the playoffs though, right? A little easier to predict a 4 seed to make the Super Bowl than it is a 4-11-1 team to make the Super Bowl the following year.

What Cincy has done really is remarkable though. Classic 3 year rebuild: year 1, blow it up and get a bunch of solid draft picks, year 2, probably still terrible but you at least find out if you've got your guys, and year 3, contenders.

Other than this was the 5th "classic rebuild" the Bungels, err, Bengals, had attempted since their last Super Bowl appearance. They finally got it right.

[jeffandnicole]

So who had the Bengals in the Super Bowl?

Me, but against the Pack.

Before the playoffs though, right? A little easier to predict a 4 seed to make the Super Bowl than it is a 4-11-1 team to make the Super Bowl the following year.

What Cincy has done really is remarkable though. Classic 3 year rebuild: year 1, blow it up and get a bunch of solid draft picks, year 2, probably still terrible but you at least find out if you've got your guys, and year 3, contenders.

Based on this site, Bengals were 120-1 odds to win the Superbowl prior to the season.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/super-bowl-2021-odds-favorites-chiefs-buccaneers/3h8myhws7vl91u8omlskk9124

49ers and Rams were 14-1 and 15-1, respectively.

[DenverBrian]

Now I have to ask... who do you think choked worse, the Bills or the Chiefs?

Bills gave up a FG with 13 seconds left. Chiefs blew a 21-3 lead and passed up an easy FG that would have made it 24-3 before halftime.

The Chiefs, definitely. They let the Bengals back into the game.

Definitely the Chiefs. Both games were at Arrowhead. Mahomes has never had to play a playoff game other than the SB anyplace but Arrowhead. He wigged out. I put the choke squarely on him.

[kurumi]

So who had the Bengals in the Super Bowl?

It's the year of the Tiger starting this week. The 49ers have an uphill battle against Fate

[Great Lakes Roads]

The LA Rams are going to the Superbowl! 17-20 final score

[1995hoo]

 Nobody's going to the "Superbowl." 

[NWI_Irish96]

So my preseason prediction was a Bills-Rams Super Bowl which wasn't too far away from actually happening.

[webny99]

So my preseason prediction was a Bills-Rams Super Bowl which wasn't too far away from actually happening.

Ahh, those 13 seconds... If not for today's result, it would have truly felt like the Bills were 13 seconds away from the Super Bowl. But it's been a magical playoff run for Cincinnati. Truly well-deserved, for franchise and fanbase alike.

The fact that the Bills have outscored the Bengals 83-72 in the playoffs so far, despite being eliminated a week earlier, really just goes to show that anything can happen in any given week, and sometimes the playoffs are more about luck and matchups than they are about talent.

[webny99]

And the Rams... where to start. They finally ended their losing streak to the 49ers at the best time possible. They went all-in to win a Super Bowl, and it paid off, with playoff wins over Tom Brady and two divisional opponents. Now they have a chance to win it all on their home field. And I think the 49ers really won too... they had a great run with Jimmy G and they already have their QB of the future.

I actually figured the championships would be a let down after a great divisional weekend. Instead, we got two more great (or at least good) games today. 8 of the 12 games so far have come down to the wire, so I think you have to put these playoffs in the conversation for best ever.

[thspfc]

If OBJ being a major part of a team making the Super Bowl after he was blamed for Cleveland's issues doesn't tell you how babied Baker Mayfield has been, I don't know what does.

Super Bowl is built different this year. One team that looked like they were going to miss the playoffs in mid-November. The other had perhaps the single worst month any Super Bowl team has ever had, when they got blown out by the Titans and 49ers, and lost to the Packers by 8.

Quite ironically, the Packers and 49ers become the first teams since the 2017 Chiefs to beat both Super Bowl teams in a given season.

[thspfc]

So my preseason prediction was a Bills-Rams Super Bowl which wasn't too far away from actually happening.

Ahh, those 13 seconds... If not for today's result, it would have truly felt like the Bills were 13 seconds away from the Super Bowl. But it's been a magical playoff run for Cincinnati. Truly well-deserved, for franchise and fanbase alike.

The fact that the Bills have outscored the Bengals 83-72 in the playoffs so far, despite being eliminated a week earlier, really just goes to show that anything can happen in any given week, and sometimes the playoffs are more about luck and matchups than they are about talent.

The Bills let the Chiefs march down the field and score a TD right away in overtime.

The Bengals intercepted Mahomes and kicked the game winning field goal.

That's the difference. Not sure how that can be disputed; the Bengals played better than the Bills did.

[webny99]

So my preseason prediction was a Bills-Rams Super Bowl which wasn't too far away from actually happening.

Ahh, those 13 seconds... If not for today's result, it would have truly felt like the Bills were 13 seconds away from the Super Bowl. But it's been a magical playoff run for Cincinnati. Truly well-deserved, for franchise and fanbase alike.

The fact that the Bills have outscored the Bengals 83-72 in the playoffs so far, despite being eliminated a week earlier, really just goes to show that anything can happen in any given week, and sometimes the playoffs are more about luck and matchups than they are about talent.

The Bills let the Chiefs march down the field and score a TD right away in overtime.

The Bengals intercepted Mahomes and kicked the game winning field goal.

That's the difference. Not sure how that can be disputed; the Bengals played better than the Bills did.

I agree, obviously, that the Bengals played better against the Chiefs on defense in particular. I think the Bills played much better on offense - they had 5 touchdowns, including two go-ahead TD's in the 4th quarter; the Bengals had 2 touchdowns total - but it is a team game and the Bills defense did nothing in the final 13 seconds and overtime.

The 13 seconds was also really poor scheme, which is on the coaching staff just as much as the players. They had the safeties too deep and didn't focus nearly enough on the right area of the field to avoid giving up the mid-range completions/YAC. So it's obvious that the defense cost them the game and I hope it's addressed in the offseason, but the offense played a great game and still lost, so yeah, I think that supports my original point.

[tdindy88]

The LA Rams are going to the Superbowl! 17-20 final score

Aren't they already there?

[jgb191]

If the latest pattern (of the NFC Champions hosting their own Super Bowl) holds up next year, then the Cardinals could very well host the visiting AFC Champions (whomever that may be) in Super Bowl LVII in the Phoenix metro area..

Last Year:  Tampa hosted KC in Super Bowl LV
This Year:  LA Rams hosts Cincinati in Super Bowl LVI
Next Year:  Arizona could host (TBD) in Super Bowl LVII

[jgb191]

As for my Super Bowl prediction:  I was half-right/half-wrong.  My preseason prediction at the start of the season was for it to be LA Chargers vs LA Rams.  The Rams did their part, but the Chargers wouldn't do theirs

[JayhawkCO]

Oh boy. Overtime at Arrowhead for the 2nd week in a row. But this time, the defense does their job and gets an int. And the Bengals win!!!!!

I know the Bills defense didn't play well last week, but it sure would have been nice to get one quarter - or even 13 seconds! - of an out-of-sync Mahomes. An incredible job by the Bengals defense, as the Chiefs were on pace to score 42 points again and then got shut out in the 2nd half aside from the FG that forced OT.

No comment about the Chiefs winning the toss and still losing?

[NWI_Irish96]

If the latest pattern (of the NFC Champions hosting their own Super Bowl) holds up next year, then the Cardinals could very well host the visiting AFC Champions (whomever that may be) in Super Bowl LVII in the Phoenix metro area..

Last Year:  Tampa hosted KC in Super Bowl LV
This Year:  LA Rams hosts Cincinati in Super Bowl LVI
Next Year:  Arizona could host (TBD) in Super Bowl LVII

Rams are the first team to play their conference championship game and Super Bowl in the same stadium.

[webny99]

Oh boy. Overtime at Arrowhead for the 2nd week in a row. But this time, the defense does their job and gets an int. And the Bengals win!!!!!

I know the Bills defense didn't play well last week, but it sure would have been nice to get one quarter - or even 13 seconds! - of an out-of-sync Mahomes. An incredible job by the Bengals defense, as the Chiefs were on pace to score 42 points again and then got shut out in the 2nd half aside from the FG that forced OT.

No comment about the Chiefs winning the toss and still losing?

Yeah, the defense did their job 

Doesn't change how I feel about the overtime rules... although if the Chiefs had scored a TD on the first possession of OT two weeks in a row, especially after having the ball for the last 6 minutes of regulation, that may have prompted a change to the rules. But I'm not holding my breath.

[webny99]

If the latest pattern (of the NFC Champions hosting their own Super Bowl) holds up next year, then the Cardinals could very well host the visiting AFC Champions (whomever that may be) in Super Bowl LVII in the Phoenix metro area..

Last Year:  Tampa hosted KC in Super Bowl LV
This Year:  LA Rams hosts Cincinati in Super Bowl LVI
Next Year:  Arizona could host (TBD) in Super Bowl LVII

Rams are the first team to play their conference championship game and Super Bowl in the same stadium.

I hope @oldtakesexposed catches up with everyone that said "the path to the Super Bowl goes through Lambeau". So much for that! It's pretty crazy that teams are 2-0 hosting the Super Bowl in their home stadium after going 0-54 the previous 54 years.

Even more crazy that the Rams were home for the wild card, on the road for the divisional, and then back home for the title game. Not sure that's ever happened before. They have to be thanking their lucky stars that the 49ers took out the Packers... I genuinely believe that the Rams would have lost if they had to go to Lambeau. Reminds me of this meme - the Rams let the 49ers into the playoffs so they could take out the Packers

[1995hoo]

LA will have the further distinction of being the designated visiting team in a Super Bowl played in their home stadium (this because the designations alternate between conferences each year and this year it's the AFC's turn to be the designated "home" team). I wonder whether the league will force them to use the visiting locker room. I believe typically when a team has played a "road game" at home (most commonly in baseball, both during the pandemic and when games have been moved due to ballpark problems or completion of suspended games) they don't use the other locker room for convenience reasons, but those situations are a bit different from a Super Bowl or all-star game or similar.

[thspfc]

My Super Bowl score prediction: Rams 27, Bengals 13

Don't get me wrong, I want this to be a good game. Unlike past Super Bowls, I don't really care who wins. However, the Rams pass rush against the Bengals offensive line? And Jalen Ramsey covering Ja'Marr Chase? Chase hasn't faced anyone quite as good as Ramsey in his career. Burrow is going to have to get the ball out quickly, which mitigates Cincy's strong downfield passing game. Cincy has also scored only 5 touchdowns in the playoffs, compared to 12 field goals. Kicking four field goals per game worked when the Bengals were moving the ball into opposing territory on almost every drive, but I don't think they're going to move the ball as well against the Rams.

[tdindy88]

LA will have the further distinction of being the designated visiting team in a Super Bowl played in their home stadium (this because the designations alternate between conferences each year and this year it's the AFC's turn to be the designated "home" team). I wonder whether the league will force them to use the visiting locker room. I believe typically when a team has played a "road game" at home (most commonly in baseball, both during the pandemic and when games have been moved due to ballpark problems or completion of suspended games) they don't use the other locker room for convenience reasons, but those situations are a bit different from a Super Bowl or all-star game or similar.

Makes me wonder what happens when the Rams play the Chargers and the Chargers are the home team? I would guess both teams share the home locker room. Given the Rams/Chargers playing at the stadium I guess it is technically possible for the Rams to be the visiting team whenever the two teams play and the Chargers are the home team.