Chiefs should just be given the Super Bowl after instant-classic vs. Bills
By Scott Rogust
The Kansas City Chiefs showed they should be considered the Super Bowl favorites after their epic overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills.
If the Kansas City Chiefs have shown anything since putting Patrick Mahomes under center in 2018, it is that you can never count them out. That was exactly what happened in the Divisional Round. After forcing the game into overtime, Mahomes led the offense all the way down to the red zone, and connected with tight end Travis Kelce to win 42-36 and advance to the AFC Championship Game.
Based off of this epic performance and when looking at the remaining teams in the playoffs, the Chiefs have to be the Super Bowl favorites.
Chiefs look like Super Bowl favorites after win over Bills
Kansas City showed off their resilience late in the fourth quarter.
After the Bills took a 29-26 lead on wide receiver Gabriel Davis’ third touchdown, the Chiefs responded with a 64-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Tyreek Hill to retake the lead. But, Allen reconnected with Davis to take a 36-33 lead with just 13 seconds remaining. That proved to be plenty of time, as Mahomes hit Hill for a 19-yard gain and Kelce for an additional 25 yards, setting up Harrison Butker’s game-tying 49-yard field goal.
Winning the coin toss essentially sealed the victory for the Chiefs, as Mahomes took advantage of a tired Buffalo defense to get the game-winning touchdown.
Now, the Chiefs are now scheduled to host the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game. The Bengals do not want to be considered underdogs any further, but they had to overcome an offensive line that surrendered nine sacks on quarterback Joe Burrow by the Tennessee Titans defense to pull out the 19-16 win.
The two teams faced off in Week 17, with the Bengals pulling out the 34-31 victory in Cincinnati. But can they put up a similar performance with a spot in Super Bowl 56 on the line, especially if Kansas City’s pass rush puts a similar amount of pressure to what the Titans did in the Divisional Round?
Then, there is the NFC. The San Francisco 49ers did not get much from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but blunders by an atrocious Green Bay Packers special teams unit and a disappearing act from the offense, helped them pull out the 13-10 upset at Lambeau Field.
As for the Los Angeles Rams, they held a 27-3 lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but absolutely imploded in the second half due to a variety of errors. After the game was tied, Matthew Stafford took advantage of Tampa Bay’s bad defensive play call to connect with star wide receiver Cooper Kupp for a 44-yard catch. That set up Matt Gay’s game-winning, 30-yard field goal. But, it cannot be glossed over that the Rams had the game won in the third quarter, and literally fumbled it away (three times, to be exact).
Following this epic victory, it is hard to view the Chiefs as anything other than the favorites to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the playoffs.