Well, as I predicted, the games were not as exciting this week as last year. Which isn’t really a surprise because last year was epic and perhaps the greatest weekend of football of all time. The Chiefs were rolling until Mahomes got hurt and still took care of business. A late field goal made it seem closer than it was. The Eagles demolished the Giants. The Bengals were dominant against the Bills and the Cowboys choked away any chance of victory like only they can. I was 4 for 4 with my picks so I have that going for me…which is nice. Here are reactions from last week.

1. Hennething is possible! With Mahomes hurt, our defense forced a punt which landed near our goal line. I texted my friend Dave and said, Time for Henne to lead us on a 99 yard drive. I was way off because the ball landed on the 2 so it was only a 98 yard drive. And I wasn’t joking. I had full confidence that Henne would do just that. Why? Well first of all, we relied on the run game which we are actually quite good at when we want to be. Secondly, I knew everyone would focus more and do everything just right because they knew they had to. When Pat is in, everyone seems to relax a bit because they know Pat’s got it. And finally, everyone loves Henne and plays hard for him. Now could he have done this for the rest of the game…not likely. He only threw for 23 yards and he was helped by a 15 yard penalty and a 39 yard run by Pacheco but it sure was fun. And for a drive or two, Henne is solid.
2. What happened to the Bills? At the beginning of the year, the Bills looked like the best team in the league. But over time it seems like they just wore down. They had a lot of injuries on the defensive side of the ball. But it also seems like Josh Allen has regressed and isn’t nearly as good as he was last year. He is reckless at times and even though they have 2 or 3 good running backs they refuse to run the ball consistently. Maybe the Damar Hamlin situation wore on them too but they just didn’t look like a good football team the last few weeks. Honestly, it seems like they get real excited to beat the Chiefs and after that it is all down hill.
3. Worst last play of the game ever. The Cowboys got the ball down by a touchdown with around 3 minutes left. They quickly went 3 and out and punted back to the 49ers which I wouldn’t have done. The 49ers are really good at running the ball which serves them well in their ability to run out the clock. The Cowboys did eventually get it back but with around 40 seconds and no timeouts. Then their tight end, Dalton Schultz made two terrible plays. The first was when he nonchalantly didn’t drag his second foot and was out of bounds for an incompletion. The second was when he caught it but didn’t go forward before going out of bounds and so the clock didn’t stop. The Cowboys should have spiked it at this point but instead they ran a play that didn’t work. Why teams do this so often is beyond me. There is so much time wasted lately in close games at the end. Anyway, this led them to run a play where all their linemen were lined up outside and Ezekiel Elliot would snap the ball to Dak. Elliot got flattened immediately after the snap and might still be on the ground and then instead of throwing outside to where potentially the O line could block for someone Dak threw it to a guy that was all by himself besides the defender who tackled him before his feet even touched the ground. It was one of the weirdest and worst plays I have seen in a while. On a side note, did anyone notice how quickly John Lynch got down to the field? I have never moved that fast in my life. Even my son, Walker was like, “how did he get down there so fast?”
4. Bengals are the loudest, most arrogant team since the 90’s Cowboys. These teams have some similarities. Both are full of young talented, flamboyant players who like to talk a lot. They are confident, cocky and not shy about it. To be fair they do back it up. And I am sure if you aren’t a Chiefs fan, you are probably cheering for them this weekend. But as a Chiefs fan I find them extremely annoying. Also, if you think you are so good, why are you always playing the disrespect card all the time. Why do you need this sort of motivation? Also, some of the things you claim are disrespectful aren’t anything out of the normal. For instance…
5. Ticket issues. Mixon and Chase said it was disrespectful that the league was selling tickets to Atlanta. Joe Burrow was asked after the game and said “better get your refunds.” Well, Joe, you know who already got refunds? All the Bengals fans who bought tickets in case the Jaguars beat the Chiefs. That’s right, literally every team who could possibly host the next round sales tickets before the games happen. The only teams that weren’t doing that were the Jags and the Giants because there was no way they could host the Championship round. The reason they were selling tickets in Atlanta was because that was one of the potential options of where the game could be. Of course CBS knows this but instead of pointing out the facts they played along and even asked Joe Burrow the dumb question. And all the studio guys talked about it like it was a big deal. This proves my theory once again that all media sucks and is more about creating drama then reporting truth. The Bengals are literally selling Super Bowl packages on their website now. This is the dumbest non story that is somehow a story that I have seen for a while.
6. Bonus reaction…Did you see the size of the mountain lion that Derek Wolfe killed? Apparently there was a mountain lion harassing a small mountain town here in Colorado. It had killed some dogs and was hiding under people’s porches, etc. I am not here to argue that it was right or wrong for them to kill the Mountain Lion. But I am here to argue that it is the biggest mountain lion I have ever seen. Derek Wolfe is a very large man and the picture is insane. You can check it out here: https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/former-broncos-derek-wolfe-kills-large-mountain-lion-in-colorado
7. Final Reaction: The 4 best teams are left. I don’t think you can argue anything else. These should be great games on Sunday. They will be battles. All 4 teams have great teams that are battle tested and are full of grit and determination. I don’t see any of these teams being drastically better than the other. This should lead to great games on Sunday and a great Super Bowl.

Rankings of most likely to go to the Super Bowl:

1. Bengals: They looked like the real deal. I hate them but they are very talented. They have beaten the Chiefs 3 times in a row and always make all the right plays. Burrow who is already really good, plays even better against us. Their defensive schemes slow down and at times even stop Mahomes when he has two good legs. They are arrogant and awful. But they are also awfully good. And now they are road favorites. Road favorites in Conference Championship games are 9-0. They have a better roster and with Mahomes hurt, they are the safest bet to make it to the big game.
2. Eagles: The Eagles were dominant against the Giants while the 49ers struggled to eek out a victory over the Cowboys. That doesn’t mean a whole lot but I give the Eagles the edge for a couple of reasons. First they are at home. That is a long trip from San Fran. Secondly, Hurts is better than Purdy. Purdy is good QB but he struggled when he was pressured on Sunday. The Eagles lead the league in sacks. So slight edge in the rankings to the birds.
3. 49ers: They have arguably the best roster in the league. They have one great running back and one good one, two excellent receivers and a great tight end. Did you see that crazy catch by Kittle? They are well coached and have the best defense. Can Purdy handle the pressure and win on the road? We will see.
4. Chiefs: Well, you can’t argue that I am biased. Look, I love our team and think we have really overachieved. Our young players are playing better and if anyone can win this game it is Pat and Andy. But we don’t match up well against the Bengals. We are 0-3 against the Burrow led Bengals and Pat has an injury that at best is going to limit him. 5 AFC Championships in a row is impressive but I also think we might be a year away. Which is a funny thing to say, but might just be true. We shall find out on Sunday.

Hope for the Losers:

Jaguars: You should legit be hopeful. You overachieved this year and got to the playoffs a year ahead of schedule. Lots of young talent and a coach who knows how to win. You are the team in the AFC South now.

Giants: Ouch…that was a rough one but hey, no NFC East division winner has repeated since 2004. So you have a shot next year.

Bills: Next year is our year! Also, at least you got your butt kicked and didn’t lose in some crushing way like last year.

Cowboys: You choked in the second round instead of the first round. Good job.