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Cincinnati 19, Tennessee 16
The Bengals ended the longest active drought between playoff wins last weekend. Now this weekend, they won again, and made history in so doing. Not only do they now have an active playoff winning streak of two, but they earned the first ever road playoff win in franchise history. In the process, they also have qualified for the AFC Championship Game, ending the longest active drought in the NFL in terms of qualifying for the Championship Game, as they had last made it back in the 1988-89 season, when they went to Super Bowl XXIII. Now, that dubious distinction belongs to the Cleveland Browns, who last made it to the AFC title game following the 1989-90 season, when they lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game for a third and final time in four years. The Houston Texans have never qualified for the game, although that franchise only began playing games in the 2003-04 season. On the NFC side, the Detroit Lions would be next, having last reached the NFC Championship Game back in the 1991-92 season.
Joe Burrow has matured in a hurry in Cincinnati. Yesterday, he looked reminiscent of his dominant mode as a generational level talent in his final, championship season at LSU. In this game - only his second postseason game, and in his second overall season as an NFL quarterback, Burrow completed 28 of 37 passes for 348 yards and an INT. Ja'Marr Chase proved to be his favorite target, grabbing five catches for 109 yards. The ground game was pretty decent as well, as Joe Mixon added 54 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
In a losing effort for Tennessee, Ryan Tannehill completed 15 of 24 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown, but he also threw three costly INT's. A.J. Brown led all Titan receivers with five catches for 142 yards and a touchdowns. On the ground, D'Onta Foreman collected 66 yards on four carries. Derrick Henry was not effective in his return for the Titans, playing with a metal plate in his foot.
Tennessee has been the AFC's top seed three times in franchise history. it happened in 2000, in 2008, and in 2021. Each time, the Titans lost their very first playoff game, and failed to reach the AFC Championship Game. They lost to the Baltimore Ravens in both 2000 and 2008. This time around, they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cincinnati held onto the ball for over 33 minutes and gained 345 yards and 17 first downs, compared to 353 yards and 16 first downs for Tennessee. One of the major deciding factors proved to be turnovers: the Bengals committed one, while the Titans committed three.
It was a low-scoring contest, but there were some momentum swings. The Bengals notched two field goals in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead, but the Titans scored a touchdown in the second, tying the game. Cincy got another field goal late in the second quarter, however, and took a 9-6 lead into the lockers for halftime.
The Bengals got a touchdown early in the third quarter, and seemed to take command of the game, with a 10-point lead. However, the Titans responded, getting a field goal and then a touchdown to tie the game up as the two teams entered the final quarter.
But the Titans made a costly mistake late, as the Bengals picked Tannehill off for the third and final time late in the fourth quarter, and giving the Bengals nice field position. They were able to get a 52-yard field goal attempt off in the final seconds of the game, and for the fourth time in the game, Cincy placekicker Evan McPherson split the uprights. This time, it was good enough to ice the game and send the Bengals to the AFC Championship Game next Sunday. They will wait to see whether they will travel to Kansas City or Buffalo, depending on who wins that game later today.
My pick: Inaccurate
San Francisco 13, Green Bay 10
The 49ers had been dominated all day. Green Bay's defense looked almost impregnable, to the point that it took San Francisco late in the second quarter to finally get their only first down of the evening to that point. In addition, the 49ers did not get any points until midway through the third quarter, when they got a field goal to close the deficit to 7-3.
However, the 49ers defense did their job. Green Bay had Aaron Rodgers, who always makes an offense potentially dangerous. Indeed, the Packers came out roaring, marching 69 yards down the field in the opening minutes, which was punctuated with a 6-yard touchdown run by A.J. Dillon, giving the Packers the early 7-0 lead. At that point, it sure looked like the home team was ready, and might be able to blow their opponents out.
But it proved to be the only touchdown that the Packers would score all game long.
The two teams split the time of possession almost evenly, with neither offense looking especially great. The Packers earned 263 yards and 14 first downs. San Francisco was no better on offense, as they only got 212 yards and 12 first downs. Both teams committed one turnover each.
So how did the 49ers manage to win on a day when their offense proved so ineffective?
Special teams. Yes, there were two huge plays that stand out in particular. The first was a blocked field goal attempt in the final seconds of the first quarter that could have given the Packers a 10-0 lead for halftime. Jimmie Ward came in virtually untouched and blocked Mason Crosby's field goal attempt. The other one was even bigger, as Jordan Willis blocked a Corey Bojorquez punt very deep in Packer territory in the fourth quarter, with under five minutes left in the game. Talanoa Hufanga then picked it up at the 6-yard line and ran it in for the easy score, stunning the home team and the home crowd. Given how close this game proved to be, those two plays probably won the game for San Francisco.
Then, the 49ers offense finally showed some signs of life, which they rarely had up to that point, in the game's final minutes, setting up the 45-yard field goal attempt by Robbie Gould that capped a 9-play, 44 yard drive. It was good, sending the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, where they will await the winner of today's game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams.
In possibly his last season for San Francisco, Jimmy Garoppolo completed 11 of 19 passes for 131 yards, with one interception. George Kittle proved to be his favorite target, notching four catches for 63 yards. Elijah Mitchell added 53 yards on 17 carries on the ground.
As for the losing Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers completed 20 of 29 passes for 225 yards in what may very well have been his last game in a Packers uniform. Aaron Jones led all Packers receivers with nine catches for 129 yards. He also led Green Bay in rushing, picking up 41 yards on 12 carries.
Rodgers walked off Lambeau Field, possibly for the last time, in disappointment. Once again, the Packers failed to reach the Super Bowl despite being one of the top two seeds and earning a playoff bye in the NFC for a third year in a row, and for the sixth time overall in the last decade (2011, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020, and now 2021). He also is 0 for 4 in playoff meetings against the 49ers, specifically.
My pick: Inaccurate
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