Playoff Picks: Championship weekend, 2021

After a hugely successful wild card weekend, Andy and Tony came down to Earth a bit during the divisional games last week.

But it was worth it for what might have been the best slate of playoff games in a long time.

I’m not sure the conference championship match-ups have the same appeal that the divisional round games have, but the postseason action has been sizzling so far. Maybe these games will surprise us.

Sunday, January 30

Bengals at Chiefs (-7, 54.5)

Andy: It’s interesting that the total has gone from 51 to 54.5. Not sure that’s high enough yet. Kansas City has been on fire offensively of late. And it took every ounce of it to outlast Buffalo. I think the Chiefs-Bills game should have been the conference championship. I’ve enjoyed watching Cincinnati’s run and Joe Burrow is definitely establishing himself as one of the league’s great clutch QBs. As good as that offense is, I’m not sure he can keep pace for an entire game with Pat Mahomes and his arsenal. Yet. Cincinnati is a couple offensive linemen and a couple defensive pieces away from being a really, really big threat. But this weekend, Kansas City pulls away in the end. Chiefs 38-27.

Tony: I’ve heard talk this week of the Bengals “playing with house money” because they didn’t expect their truly competitive window to open until next year. True, they still need help on the offensive line, and a few other spots–but they damn well better be thinking about this opportunity rather than “playing with house money,” because next year’s competitive window can slam shut pretty quickly. That being said, I really don’t think they have what it’s going to take to hold down Patrick Mahomes for a full 60 minutes, thereby subjecting America (and Mahomes) to more of of the ridiculous antics of his wife & brother. Chiefs 42-28.

49ers at Rams (-3.5, 46)

Andy: Well, Matthew Stafford has been getting monkeys off his back all post-season. His dominating first half against Tampa, coupled with the last second drive to stave off the Bucs’ comeback attempt, is just what he was brought in to do. The Cinderella 49ers have been impressive in “upsets” over Dallas and Green Bay, two teams whose playoff performances in recent years have shown that it is hard to get to the Super Bowl with your hands wrapped tightly around your throats. So, who wins this rematch of the 1989 NFC Championship game? The Rams are probably a little better team right now. But San Francisco has won six straight in this series and Kyle Shanahan seems to have a bit of a place in Sean McVay’s head. I’m pulling a little bit for Stafford, who I’ve always thought was pretty good even while he was serving his sentence in Detroit. I think he’s on a mission. I think he snaps the streak and claws his way to a Super Bowl. Rams 30-17.

Tony: Not going to lie, my season largely came to an official end last Saturday, when I knew I didn’t have to worry about obnoxious Packer fans here in Minnesota muddying up my social media streams about the #LastDance BS. In fact, it’s been quite amusing watching many of them this week try to convince themselves that they’re better off without Aaron Rodgers.  And other than listening to a bunch of Rodgers jock sniffing pundits on national sports media, it should be another fun offseason of Packer drama too.

Oh, there’s still an NFC Championship game to play?  I’ll go 49ers, 20-17, just to be different.