Graphic by Raj Brodie
Miles Pearlman
Sports Reporter
With the Superbowl approaching, the 2022 NFL playoffs have not disappointed; we have witnessed some of the biggest nail-biters in NFL playoff history. Fourteen teams entered, and two remain.
January 15th marked the start of Wildcard Weekend as we saw the Bengals top the Raiders by a score of 26-19, going down as Cincinnati’s first playoff win in over 30 years. Later that night, New England fans were more than disappointed to see their Patriots endure an absolute beating from the Bills as quarterback Josh Allen led Buffalo to a 47-17 victory over New England. Sunday brought us three more games as Tom Brady led his Buccaneers to an easy 31-15 win over the Eagles; the 49ers hung onto their lead over the Cowboys, beating them 23-17; and the Chiefs started off hot, in a triumphant 42-21 win over the Steelers. Monday came with one final Wildcard game where we watched Matt Stafford finally pick up his first career playoff win as he and the Rams topped the Arizona Cardinals 34-11.
One week later was the Divisional Round. Three of the four games were decided by just three points, contributing to it being one of the most entertaining weekends of football we have ever seen. The first game was between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans. With Derrick Henry finally coming back from his injury, the Titans had a lot of hope, but it was all lost when the Bengals kicked the game-winning field goal as time ran out, and the Titans suffered a heartbreaking 19-16 loss. The next game between the San Francisco 49ers and the heavily favored Green Bay Packers gave the viewers a sense of deja vu as it ended in the same field goal-winning fashion. The 49ers completed the fourth-quarter comeback with a game-winning field goal as time expired. The 13-10 victory sent San Francisco on to the Conference Championships.
The excitement didn’t end there though as Sunday the 23rd brought us two more exhilarating contests. In the first one, the Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Buffalo Bills. The battle between two of the best quarterbacks in the game led to an explosion of offense in one of the most competitive games of football we have ever witnessed. Within the final two minutes of regulation, we saw three lead changes. A touchdown pass with 1:54 left on the clock gave the Bills a 29-26 lead. Just as we thought all hope was lost for the Chiefs, they answered with a 64-yard touchdown of their own in just 52 seconds. With just 1:02 left on the clock, Josh Allen answered back with another touchdown, giving the Bills a 3 point lead with only 13 seconds left. Yet somehow, with only 13 seconds on the clock, the Chiefs worked a miracle, tying up the game with a field goal. The game was sent to overtime, and, when Kansas City won the coin toss, they didn’t look back as they scored a touchdown, finalizing their surreal 42-36 victory. I don’t think it’s possible to top the excitement of that game, but the Rams vs. Buccaneers game came as close as it could get as Matt Stafford trumped Tom Brady in what would be Brady’s final career game. Even though he lost, Brady put on a show, coming all the way back from a 27-3 deficit. Once again though, the divisional round game ended with a game-winning field goal as time expired. Stafford and the Rams won 30-27, sending them to the Conference Championships.
The streak of 3-point games was added to during the Conference Championships as both games were decided by 3 points once again. The Bengals, who very few expected to make it this far, put up a massive comeback, winning the game in overtime after being down 21-3. The Chiefs won the coin toss in overtime, and everyone thought it was over for the Bengals, including Bills quarterback Josh Allen who tweeted the word “Pain” in response to the Chiefs winning the overtime coin toss for the second game in a row. Allen, among many other viewers, thought we would see a repeat of the Chiefs vs. Bills game. The Bengals surprised us all as they put up a massive stop and kicked a field goal to win it 27-24, sending them to the Super Bowl. The Rams vs. 49ers game brought us yet another close finish as Los Angeles went on to come from behind and win it 20-17. The Rams entered the fourth quarter down 17-7, but they were able to silence the 49ers and sneak past them to win and be crowned the NFC conference champion.
So two teams remain. The Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams. Both teams will be fun to root for. The Bengals are a young, up-and-coming team, led by sophomore QB Joe Burrow and rookie wide receiver, Ja’Marr Chase. On the other side of the ball, we will see Matt Stafford in his first Super Bowl of his 13-year career, Odell Beckham Jr. in his first Super Bowl, and some more stars that are more than deserving of winning themselves the prized Lombardi Trophy. All we can do now is wait in anticipation for Sunday to roll around.
