After top quarterbacks, and MVP candidates Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady were knocked out of the playoffs, many football fans are asking which team will win it all. The playoffs are coming to an end as the divisional round games finish up, and with teams one game away from the Super Bowl, this is ‘go big or go home.’

The 2022 divisional round of the playoffs was definitely one to remember with all four games ending on a walk-off score (3 game-winning field goals, 1 touchdown). This also resulted in three of the four teams pulling off upsets against their higher-seeded rivals. Just some of the craziness included a 27-3 comeback, a game-tying drive with 13 seconds left on the clock, and fourscore changes in just the last 2 minutes of regulation. NFL fans can only hope the same heart-racing endings continue throughout the conference championship games and even the Super Bowl. As of now with 4 more teams eliminated, 4 now set their sights on hoisting the Lombardi trophy.

NFC:

The NFC or National Football Conference was upset central this weekend with both underdog teams pulling off the wins in electric fashion. The number 6 seed,49ers, came straight off of a win over Dallas in the wildcard and then traveled to Green Bay where they hit a field goal to win it 13-10. Special teams played a huge part in San Francisco’s win as they returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and blocked a crucial field goal from the Packers before halftime. Next up is the 4th seeded Los Angeles Rams winning against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-27. Despite the close score, it did not seem this way after halftime where the Rams were leading 27-3. However, in classic Tom Brady fashion, the Bucs were able to rally back and tied the game up at 27 with 43 seconds to go. The Rams, behind star wide receiver Cooper Kupp, were then able to get into field goal range to hit a 30-yard game-winning field goal to end the GOAT’s hopes of winning back-to-back super bowls with the Buccaneers. All this now leads to the conference championship matchup between the Rams and 49ers to determine who will move on to the super bowl. One surprising fact about these games is that both All-Pro quarterbacks and top MVP candidates, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, will be missing out on the Super Bowl but will make an appearance at this year’s Pro Bowl.

AFC:

After the jaw-dropping Chiefs vs Bills game, it is no surprise why many people predict that the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl. The Chiefs were able to upset the Bills for the second year in a row and advance to the conference championship. They were able to score a field goal and come back to tie the game in the last 13 seconds of the match. After they won the toss and chose to have the ball first. The Chiefs were able to score a touchdown on the first drive of overtime to end the game. Another upset that happened this weekend in the AFC was the Cincinnati Bengals beating the number 1 seed the Tennessee Titans. This was another surprise as the Titans are already one of the best teams in the league, and with their star running back Derrick Henry back in the game, the Titans were predicted to win. But, in the last second of the game, Joe Burrow and the Bengals were able to score a game-winning field goal and advance to the next round in the playoffs. We can only wait to see which team comes on top to go to the Super Bowl.

After this crazy football weekend, we asked students at iUP to give their thoughts on their favorite games of the playoff round and opinions of who they thought will win the Super Bowl. By a landslide, students thought that the most exciting and best game to watch from the weekend was the Kansas City Chiefs vs the Buffalo Bills. This game had all kinds of action and even went into overtime where the Chiefs were able to score a touchdown and win the game. This game was so crazy that a total of 25 points were scored in the final 2 minutes of the game. The final score was 42-36 with the Chiefs advancing to the conference championship. The second question that we asked students was who they thought would win the Super Bowl. Unlike the poll above, this was very close with the Cincinnati Bengals winning student’s votes and the Kansas City Chiefs coming in with a close second. Out of 11 responses, there were 5 votes for the Bengals, 4 for the Chiefs, 1 for the San Francisco 49ers, and 1 vote for the Los Angeles Rams.

This round of the divisional playoffs has definitely been one to remember with all four games being decided by a score. Despite painful losses and triumphant victories, these game outcomes have now paved the way for the conference championship games between the Chiefs and Bengals for the AFC and the Rams and 49ers for the NFC. Leaving us fans now with the questions, “Will Patrick Mahomes lead the Chiefs to their 3rd straight super bowl appearance?” and “Will the 2nd year star, Joe Burrow, captain the Cincinnati Bengals to their first super bowl appearance since 1988?”