Crowe's Picks for NFL Championship Weekend
John Crowe, Sports Contributor
Crowe's Picks for NFL Championship Weekend
Is there any way that Championship Sunday can now measure up to that? Probably not, but these are the four teams that could do it. It’s a nice mix of teams too. The Chiefs are the veterans, having been here in four straight seasons. The 49ers are making their fifth NFC Championship Game appearance in 11 years. As the St. Louis Rams, the Rams haven’t advanced this far since 2002 and the Bengals are in the AFC Title Game for the first time since 1989.
One thing is for sure – it’ll be a weekend of rematches. It’s round two for the Bengals and Chiefs while it’s the trilogy for the 49ers and Rams. Cincinnati and San Francisco come in as regular-season winners with the Niners having swept the Rams including a week 18 victory in LA just to make the playoffs.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAs for our picks, we’re 9-1 so far through two rounds with only the Packers and Aaron Rodgers coming up short for us. Will 11 (wins) be heaven or will we go bust before Super Bowl XLI? Let’s take a look.
NFL Championship Power Rankings
4. Cincinnati Bengals (12-7) – Is the moment too big for this young and exciting Cincy team?
3. San Francisco 49ers (12-7) – Will the Niners have the Rams number one more time?
2. Los Angeles Rams (14-5) – Can the Rams end that losing streak at home with a trip to the Super Bowl at home on the line?
1. Kansas City Chiefs (14-5) – Will Patrick Mahomes make it three straight Super Bowls all before his 27th birthday?
AFC Championship Game – Bengals at Chiefs (Sunday 3 pm, CBS)
On Evan McPherson's last-second field goal, the Bengals took round one between these two teams back in week 17, 34-31. Rookie of the Year candidate wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase turned the Chiefs’ secondary into his own little playground with 266 yards and 3 TDs. But after last Sunday’s epic overtime comeback 42-36 victory over Buffalo, Kansas City is a 7.5-point favorite for the AFC Championship Game. It’s still mind-blowing that the Bills allowed the Chiefs to go 44 yards in 10 seconds to send the game to overtime on Harrison Butker’s game-tying 49-yard field goal before surrendering a Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce 8-yard touchdown for the win. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow might be salivating after seeing Josh Allen throw 4 touchdowns last Sunday after Tyrann Mathieu left the game in the first quarter with a concussion. The Chiefs will need Mathieu to clear concussion protocol to be available in this one in order to shut down Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. It’s the first AFC Championship Game appearance since the 1988 season for the Bengals while the Chiefs are making their fourth straight appearance. Granted, the Bengals are 2-0 all-time in this spot, but it’s been a while and could the moment be too big for this young team, just as it was for the Bills and Titans the last two seasons coming into Arrowhead Stadium? Cincy can’t let Burrow get sacked 9 times as they did against the Titans. Plus, Mahomes is just not going to make three big game-changing mistakes like Ryan Tannehill did last Saturday. It’s a whole other level here as the Chiefs have that chip on their shoulder to get revenge not only for the Bengals’ regular-season loss but to get back and avenge the team’s Super Bowl loss to the Bucs last season. It will be an offensive show and just like the Bills vs. Chiefs, it could come down to one key stop by the opposing defense. It’s just a matter of which side is capable of making it.
Winner: Chiefs
NFC Championship Game – 49ers at Rams (Sunday 6:30 pm, FOX)
San Francisco has owned the Los Angeles Rams of late. In winning six straight games, the 49ers haven’t been beaten by LA since December 30, 2018. Yet with one victory Sunday to break the losing streak, the Rams will become the first team in NFL history to host a Conference Championship Game and then play a Super Bowl at home in consecutive contests. Of course, the Bucs became the first team to play and win a Super Bowl at home last season with their win over the Chiefs. Imagine it happening twice in two seasons after not having happened through the first 54 Super Bowls? San Francisco beat Los Angeles 31-10 in week 10 and 27-24 in overtime in week 18 with Matthew Stafford throwing four interceptions in those losses. The Niners are doing it old school – not a ton of offense, good defense, and special teams. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is a combined 27-44 with 0 TDs and 2 INTs in playoff wins over Dallas and Green Bay. If not for a blocked field goal and blocked punt for a touchdown against the Packers last Saturday night, the Niners would be home right now. Now, for the Rams, their offense exploded for 27 points into the third quarter and then held on for dear life against the Bucs, winning 30-27 on Matt Gay’s final-second field goal. The Rams simply can’t fumble the ball four times as they did against Tampa Bay and expect to get by the 49ers. Unlike Garoppolo, Stafford has been stellar in netting his first two playoff victories, going 41-55 for 568 yards, 4 TDs, and 0 INTs. His final two throws to Conner Kupp in the final moments leading the Rams to the win over the Bucs were clutch indeed. They went 63 yards in five plays in 42 seconds including stopping the clock and the field goal. Just as the Chiefs did in their win, that’s next-level stuff folks. We know both defenses will show up, but which offense will show up for each team? That will decide this one in which I’m banking on the Rams doing just enough to continue the Hollywood script for a championship home tilt on February 13th at SoFi Stadium.
Winner: Rams