The first round of the series did not meet the expectations of the most fond of suspense. Place in the second round, now, with the entry into the scene of the Packers and the Titans, who benefited from a week of rest given their performances in the regular season. Joining them are the winners of the first round, the Bengals and 49ers, who narrowly passed, as well as the Bills, Chiefs, Buccaneers and Rams, who won hands down. At stake tomorrow and Sunday: four precious tickets to the conference finals next week. Here are 10 stories to watch for this second round of playoffs.
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1. Favorite locals
We mentioned to you last week how much in recent years, local teams had experienced problems in the first round of the playoffs. In the second round, the scenario is reversed. The past eight seasons have seen the host teams post an utterly convincing record of 25 wins and seven losses in the second weekend of the playoffs. This year again, the four local teams are established favorites by the bookmakers. However, the expected deviations are less pronounced than last week, with the Titans by 3.5 points, the Packers by 6, the Buccaneers by 3 and the Chiefs by 2. The NFL has spoiled fans with many games decided in dramatic fashion this season and such a scenario is to be expected. Prepare the wings and don’t blink too much…
- Listen to Jean-Charles Lajoie’s column at the microphone of Benoit Dutrizac on QUB radio:
2. From last to finalists?
Among the eight teams still alive, the young Bengals are captivating with their spectacular style of play. That’s all the more impressive considering they’ve finished last in their division for the previous three seasons. If they manage to dispose of the Titans, they will become the fourth team in the past 13 seasons to reach a conference final a year after finishing last in their division. The most recent to achieve the feat are the 2017 Jaguars, shooting stars! The other two, the 2017 Eagles and the 2009 Saints, had pushed the fairy tale to win the Super Bowl. A sign that parity is present in the NFL, the Bengals bring the number of teams to 19 out of 32, which have fought for a place in the conference finals for the past four seasons.
3. Tom Brady and the rematches
Three of the weekend’s four duels feature teams that have faced each other before this season. The Packers had beaten the 49ers 30-28 on September 26. The same day, the Rams overthrew the Buccaneers 34-24. Finally, the Bills defeated the Chiefs 38-20 on October 10. An interesting element in these rematches is that throughout his illustrious career, Tom Brady had a regular record of five wins and six losses in the playoffs when he faced teams he had lost to during the regular season. However, last year, Brady thumbed his nose at that when the Bucs disposed of the Saints in the second round after losing to them twice this season. He then did the same thing to the Chiefs, at the Super Bowl.
4. From friends to foes
The 49ers vs. Packers duel will feature two head coaches who know each other like few others in the league. The Niners pilot, Kyle Shanahan, worked with his counterpart Matt LaFleur for eight years. The collaboration began in 2008 when Shanahan was offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans and LaFleur his assistant. The two then headed to Washington from 2010 to 2013. In 2015 and 2016, LaFleur became the Falcons’ quarterbacks coach, reporting to offensive coordinator Shanahan. It will be their fifth game since 2019, when LaFleur took charge of the Packers. The two have won two games, but Shanahan prevailed in the playoffs in the National Conference Finals in 2019. The two teams meet in the playoffs for the eighth time since 1995. The winner went on to the Super four times. Bowl.
5. The Returning King
Absent in the last nine games, the powerful running back of the Titans, Derrick Henry, will return to action against the Bengals. In eight games, Henry was burning the league with 937 rushing yards before suffering a foot injury that required surgery. Even though he missed half the season, he still ranks ninth among his peers in rushing earnings. Despite the injury to the so-called King Henry, the Titans did very well on the run with input from D’Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard, but Henry is a whole other animal. In their first eight games without him, the Titans averaged almost 10 fewer points. It will be interesting to see just how heavy a workload Titans give him. In six playoff games to date, he has rushed for 150+ yards three times.
6. Big cripples
At this late stage of the season, the injuries that are eating away at the troops can make all the difference. In the first game on the program, it will be necessary to pay attention to the defensive line of the Bengals. Last week tackle season Larry Ogunjobi has ended. Not ideal when facing a team that runs with the ball like the Titans. Defensive end Trey Hendrickson was also knocked out, but he has a good chance to play. Tomorrow night, the 49ers will need all their best defensive elements to master the Packers’ striking power. Linebacker Fred Warner, sublime in coverage, will clearly not be 100% and ace defensive end Nick Bosa is a questionable case. In the duel between Rams and Buccaneers, injuries to Tristan Wirfs and Ryan Jensen on the Tampa offensive line raise fears for the worst against Aaron Donald and his pals.
7. New Rivalry
The game that has the potential to provide the most explosive aerial spectacle is saved for the end, Sunday evening, between Bills and Chiefs. This will be the fourth quarterback duel in 15 months between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. In the regular season, the two quarterbacks, who became two of the most important faces on the league, shared the honors of two games. In the final of the American Conference last year, the Chiefs of Mahomes won 38-24 against their rivals Buffalo. Currently, both pivots are on fire. It will be the first playoff game in history between two quarterbacks who each threw five touchdown passes in their last playoff game. Are these two players quietly taking the place of the epic rivalry between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning?
8. Miller on the Hunt
When he left the Patriots to join the Buccaneers, Tom Brady had no idea he would have the quarterback hunter in his paws again By Miller. In another life, Miller tormented Brady to the point of losing sleep in the American Conference Finals at the end of the 2015 season. The outside linebacker chased Brady relentlessly, ending the game with 2, 5 quarterback sacks to propel the Broncos to the Super Bowl. Since then, Miller has aged, but the Rams seemed to rekindle his former spirit by compromising to secure his services this season. The veteran has six quarterback sacks in his last five games with the Rams. He said he was very excited at the idea of reuniting with his former martyr…
9. Six, the lucky number?
In the national conference, the ranked team number 6, the 49ers, surprised the Cowboys last week and are moving on. Guess 6 is the new lucky number as a sixth-seeded team has made it to the second round of the playoffs for the past five campaigns. Better still, since 2005, six teams ranked at this level have even reached the conference final, namely the Steelers (2005), the Eagles (2008), the Ravens (2008), the Jets (2010), the Packers (2010) and the Titans (2019). Of course, the Steelers and Packers have even won the Super Bowl. The Niners have won their last three playoff games against the Packers in 2019, 2013 and 2012. It’s one of the few spots on Aaron Rodgers’ record.
10. Subscribers to the finals
In recent years, the two teams that have most accustomed us to winning their matches in the second round are the Chiefs and the Packers. The Chiefs have made it to the Conference Finals the past three seasons, while the Packers have been to the most recent two Finals, as well as 2014 and 2016. If the Chiefs win against the Bills and the Bengals overthrow the Titans, they would become the first team in history to play in four straight Conference Finals at home. The team with the most consecutive Conference Finals qualifiers in history is the Patriots, with eight, from 2011 to 2018. The Raiders follow with five (1973 to 1977), while the Eagles (2001 to 2004), the Cowboys (1992 to 1995 and 1970 to 1973) and the Bills (1990 to 1993) have also appeared in four finals in a row.
