5 Lessons Learned – NFL Conference Championships

The wild and wonderful NFL Playoffs continued with two epic conference championship games on Monday morning.

Cincinnati and Los Angeles will face off in Super Bowl LVI in SoFi Stadium in two weeks.

And then there were two… pic.twitter.com/HeJb2gz1bV
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 31, 2022

There was no shortage of storylines from the AFC & NFC Championship and we are recapping them all in our 5 Lessons Learned post here.

1 – Mahomes Blew It

Taking nothing away from the Bengals, the biggest reason Kansas City did not advance to a third straight Super Bowl was Patrick Mahomes putting together an all time choke job in the second half.

It followed a first half where he was almost robotic, helping the Chiefs build a 21-3 lead thanks to insane moments like this that have become the norm for him.

But following the Bengals first touchdown of the game, he drove the Chiefs down the field on the verge of halftime and they were all set to restore their 18 point advantage.

Then one play completely swung the momentum and began his and the Chiefs downward spiral.

Let’s run through all of the things wrong with that play, for starters, there were five seconds left so having the time to run a play and still preserve the field goal opportunity with no timeouts was a gamble.

Secondly, what was Andy Reid thinking calling a play that essentially guaranteed a running clock if it didn’t wind up in the end zone.

It limited Mahomes’ options to either hand it off to the back or take the easy completion to Tyreek Hill and ask him to beat two Bengals defenders in a tight space, leading to a great tackle from Eli Apple who had been victimised a lot.

It also took all five seconds off the clock so even if they had a timeout to spare, they wouldn’t have been able to call it, a truly Dallas Cowboys like mismanagement of the clock.

Oh and for the icing on the cake, the broadcast caught Mahomes trying to call timeout despite having used them all, channelling his inner Brian Hoyer from the 2020 season.

In hindsight, that should have been a warning ahead of a mistake riddled second half that almost saw the Chiefs get shut out, largely because of Mahomes’ struggles.

To his credit, once the Bengals had taken the lead, he engineered an impressive drive to get the Chiefs down in position to at least tie the game and take all the time off the clock.

However another brain snap on his part nearly ruined the drive, but first Joe Thuney and then his kicker were able to bail him out after this.

Mahomes doesn’t have many shockers like the second half of the AFC Championship, but when he does, there can’t be any excuses made.

i still cant believe the Chiefs had 83 yards, 3 points and 2 INTs in 7 drives after halftime
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) January 31, 2022

Now watch as he finds a way to use this as motivation to get even better next season and do something stupid like throw for 6000 yards and 60 touchdowns.

2 – Burrow’s Bright Future

Remember last week when the discussion was about how Josh Allen and Mahomes were going to be undisputed kings of the AFC for the next decade and everyone else would be battling for third place?

While Mahomes was busy imploding, Joe Burrow was inserting himself into the conversation thanks to a historic 18-point comeback, a feat only matched in the AFC Championship by Peyton Manning.

But confidence has never been an issue for Joe Burrow going back to his days at LSU and once he got the team going, it was going to be damn tough to stop them.

While Ja’Marr Chase was the focus of the Chiefs defence, Burrow was able to get into a rhythm throwing to Tee Higgins as they began their second half comeback.

TEE. IT. UP.

Watch on CBS pic.twitter.com/Plb3M5nfdF
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 30, 2022

That allowed Burrow to go to Chase on the goal line to help tie the game up heading into the fourth quarter.

It wasn’t all perfect for Burrow with an ugly pick early in the fourth, but he was able to bounce back by showcasing his mobility in the pocket to escape this precarious situation.

And when he got the ball in overtime, he didn’t throw an interception.

It allowed Evan McPherson to kick the game winning field goal for the Bengals… again.

Perhaps it is best summed up by paraphrasing a line from one prescient prognosticator, “Hey Cincinnati, welcome to the Super Bowl where everything Burrow does is made up and the points REALLY matter.”

If the Bengals win, Burrow is going to have a very strong case to be the Super Bowl MVP.

Bet Now: Super Bowl LVI

3 – A Chance At Redemption

Flash back to February 2019 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Sean McVay, the boy wonder had the LA Rams in the Super Bowl for the first time in 17 years.

It was not a good day for McVay or the Rams as they were outclassed in every sense of the word by New England, with some thinking that he showed too much respect towards Bill Belichick.

The pre-game conversation between Bill Belichick and Sean McVay the last time those two matched up. [Super Bowl 53]pic.twitter.com/etsrJpmD7C
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 10, 2020

Three years later, McVay is heading back to the Super Bowl with a chance at redemption thanks to his roster.

His big name players came up in a battle with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship starting with the Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp connection.

Midseason signing Odell Beckham Jr added 113 yards on nine catches and was a reliable target for Stafford to keep the chains moving.

Aaron Donald had a relatively quiet game by his standards but when the 49ers were trying to tie the game up, he made sure that wasn’t going to happen.

And now he is coming for the one thing that has eluded him for his entire career, a Super Bowl ring.

Bet Now: Super Bowl Touchdown Bingo

4 – Shanahan’s Tough Call

All things considered, defeat in the NFC Championship is a decent year for the San Francisco 49ers, especially one that was supposed to be a transition season.

A healthy defence made some big plays on their way to the final four and Deebo Samuel emerged as an all around playmaker, capable of scoring from anywhere.

Anyone still asking 𝒘𝒉𝒐?
That's ALL-PRO DEEBO#SFvsLAR on FOX/49ers App pic.twitter.com/lkPnzye3M6
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 31, 2022

Jimmy Garoppolo came in for plenty of criticism for his up and down play but his success rate speaks for itself, however the 49ers now have a lot to think about at that position.

They sold out thinking Trey Lance was going to be an upgrade and Garoppolo’s replacement but some serious thought has to be given to keeping the Northern Illinois product for the final season of his contract.

Even if just for how popular he is in the locker room.

49ers tackle Trent Williams on Jimmy G: “Nobody wants to be in the position he was in. But you couldn’t tell. He handled it like a class act. I’m proud of him. A brother for life.”

It truly is worth mentioning, even in the wake of that finish, how well Jimmy handled this year.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) January 31, 2022

Of course they could always look outside the organisation if they aren’t happy with Garoppolo and think Lance isn’t ready…

Statement from Tom Brady’s agent Don Yee: pic.twitter.com/vbUhSToYtT
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 29, 2022

He did grow up as a 49ers fan after all.

5 – Sean Payton Got Out Before It Got Ugly

While all the headlines over the weekend were focused on one rumoured departure from the NFC South, the confirmed big name leaving his team is going to be an interesting storyline to follow.

His status as a Saints legend was cemented by helping the Saints to their first Super Bowl title in franchise history in his fourth season in charge and keeping them in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

He, along with Drew Brees ran one of the most productive offences in NFL history and helped the Saints transform into an NFC powerhouse.

Of course that came with a major bill that finally came due this offseason, with the Saints reportedly $70m over the 2022 salary cap with no easy way to get under the limit while still fielding a competitive team.

So Payton decided that he would pull the plug on that long rumoured exit now and give a new coach a chance to start fresh.

His immediate future involves taking some time away from the game, possibly with a bit of acting.

But he would be almost certain to return to an NFL sideline in the near future with Dallas the most likely location.

In the meantime, the new coach will have some tough calls to make on the roster.

Bet Now: NFL Draft

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