Matt Mathias

Sports Editor

mcm5909@psu.edu

The Super Bowl matchup is set as both the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams will face off in So-Fi Stadium on February 13. This is the second time in two years that a team participating in the championship game will play in their home stadium, that being the Rams. Last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled off the same feat when they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs.

Both games played on Sunday were well contested, following the trend set by other playoff matchups this season. The first of the two, the Bengals versus the Chiefs, was held in Kansas City. At the start of the game, it seemed like quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his dynamic offense would run away with the game. The unit scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the first half. A big swing in momentum that took place came on a goal line stand at the end of the first half. With no timeouts left, Kansas City attempted to get the ball into the endzone one more time. However, they were stopped short and were unable to stop the clock. As a result, they went into halftime scoring no points to add to their lead. The Chiefs got greedy as they wanted to go into the half with a huge lead, yet the halftime score was 21-10. This margin, 11 points, was the same margin that the Bengals were able to overcome in their previous matchup versus the Chiefs in the regular season.

As the second half kicked off, the Chiefs got the ball first. The Cincinnati Bengals were ignited by the final possession of the half as they stepped up in a big way to control the flow of the game from this point on. In the third quarter, the Bengals would be the only team to put up points. They kicked a 31-yard field goal and also scored a touchdown with a two-point conversion tacked on to it. The touchdown was scored by wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in a drive that took five plays and just over two minutes. Going into the fourth, the score was 21-21.

In the final quarter of regulation, both teams put forth their best defensive efforts. The Bengals continued to disrupt Mahomes and his gameplan while the Chiefs finally slowed the pace of the surging for the Bengals, quarterback Joe Burrow. Both teams would kick a field goal in this quarter, sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, Mahomes and the Chiefs won the toss and were set to receive the ball first. NFL fans across the country had flashbacks to the matchup from the week before where the Buffalo Bills played a thrilling game that forced overtime, yet were unable to get the ball back before the game ended. However, the story on this day would be different. Mahomes made a fatal error in overtime as he sent the ball downfield to wide receiver Tyreek Hill in double coverage and the ball was intercepted by safety Vonn Bell. Burrow and his team were able to take the ball downfield and capitalize on this mistake. Rookie kicker Evan McPherson was able to come through again in the clutch as his team would win the game thanks to his 31-yard field goal in overtime. The final score was 27-24

All in all, this game showed how when Mahomes gets cold, he does so quickly and has trouble getting his rhythm back. He seemed to lose his confidence fast as the Bengals defense came at him with a whole new gameplan. The Bengals erased an 18-point deficit, which tied an AFC championship game record for the largest comeback. Following the game, Burrow praised his defense in a statement saying, “Our defense really stepped up and made plays in the second half. And on offense we made plays when we had to. I thought the offensive line played really well all day. We started running the ball there at the end and that’s exciting. Big win for us.”

Mahomes took responsibility for the loss in his post-game comments saying, “When you’re up 21-3 at any point in the game, you can’t lose it. I put that on myself.”

The second game of the day was a matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers. While it was a home game for the Rams, one would have never guessed it. The crowd was filled with a sea of the San Francisco faithful as the fans were quite divided in the stadium. The Rams were all in going into this season, trading for star quarterback Matthew Stafford at the start of the season and, frankly, giving a lot up in the process. Meanwhile, the 49ers got to this position by drafting players who fit their caliber of player who will grind and pound away at the opposing team. 

The game started off with no teams scoring in the first quarter. In the second quarter of play, Cooper Kupp scored a touchdown on a 16-yard pass from Stafford. This put the Rams up 7-0. From there, 49ers standout wide receiver from this season, Deebo Samuel, took the reins. He took a pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the house scoring on a 44-yard play. San Francisco would also tack on a field goal at the end of the half. They led by a score of 10-7.

In the third quarter of play, the 49ers tight end George Kittle put his team up 17-7 with another endzone visit. The 49ers and their stout defense had been putting pressure on Stafford all game. The Rams would have to give a better effort in the fourth quarter. They definitely did just that.

To kick off the fourth, Cooper Kupp scored again on an 11-yard reception from Stafford, making it a 17-14 game. The Rams defense started to find themselves down the stretch, as they did not allow the 49ers to put up another point for the rest of the game. Later in the quarter, the Rams were able to put together two separate drives that resulted in field goals, giving them a 20-17 lead.

Garoppolo had one final chance with less than three minutes to play in regulation to move his offense down the field. Rams defensive end and former Pittsburgh Panther Aaron Donald had other ideas. He was able to reach Garoppolo in the backfield, forcing him to make an errant pass, which was picked off by Travin Howard. The 49ers championship hopes had been defeated by their own mistakes.

Following the game, Stafford gave a statement about how much this win meant to him this late into his career. “I feel blessed to be able to play in this league for as long as I have,” Stafford said. “But I sure am happy for this opportunity, for not only myself, but really so many guys in the locker room that deserve this.”