A Wild Match
Rams vs Bengals in 2022 Super Bowl
With the conclusion of one of the most bizarre years in football history, the NFL playoffs are here. The season ended with a controversial 18 week season. Since 2020, the NFL has shifted away from a 12 team postseason to a 14 team postseason.
For the playoffs, the Tennessee Titans (AFC) and Green Bay Packers (NFC) clinched the first seed and were granted a bye week rewarding them for a fabulous regular season.
To kickoff the postseason, quarterback Joe Burrow led the Cincinnati Bengals to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders.
On one of the final plays of the game, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw an interception at the goaline to seal the win for the Bengals.
Many believe that this was Carr’s last snap as a Raider.
In Buffalo, quarterback Josh Allen led the Buffalo Bills to blowout the New England Patriots 47-17. Allen put on a masterclass as he threw for more touchdowns than incompletions in this route.
In AFC wildcard game on Jan. 17, the Kansas City Chiefs were able to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to advance. Despite the early defensive touchdown for the Steelers, the Chiefs were able to run up the score 42-21.
With an already historic season, wide receiver Deebo Samuel had yet another great game to upset the Dallas Cowboys. With the 49ers leading the whole game, the Cowboys had momentum in the fourth quarter. After a final play controversy, fans around the league were buzzing about this ending.
In the last wildcard game, the Los Angeles Rams beat the Arizona Cardinals.
Cardinals fans were disappointed by the team’s last half of the season performance, as quarterback Kyler Murray threw two interceptions including a pick-6 which gave all the momentum to the Rams.
In an absolute nail-biter of a game, the Kansas CIty Chiefs were barely able to best the Buffalo Bills.
From a record-breaking game from wide receiver Gabriel Davis, the Bills fell just short in overtime.
In a defensive game between the Packers and 49ers, the Packers fell short of the win.
The Packers had the lead in the fourth quarter until a disastrous punt block was returned for a touchdown to tie the game. 49ers’ kicker Robbie Gould nailed a walk off kick for the win.
Many Packers’ fans were upset as it is believed that this was quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ last game with the team.
In what seemed like a blowout on Sunday Jan. 23, the Buccaneers began an amazing second half comeback against the Los Angeles Rams.
With the Rams leading the game by 27-3, quarterback Tom Brady managed to tie the game. However, in the final drive, wide receiver Cooper Kupp caught a 40-yard bomb from quarterback Matthew Stafford to get the Rams in field goal range.
This would lead to a Matt Gay walkoff kick for the Rams to win 30-27.
As Championship Sunday was upon us, there was no clear favorite to make the Super Bowl as all four teams participating looked unbeatable.
In the early game, the Cincinnati defense locked up in the second half to shut down quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, leading them to a 27-24 win, guiding them to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1989.
In the late game, the Los Angeles Rams took on the San Francisco 49ers for a chance at revenge for losing to them twice this year.
As the game entered the fourth quarter, the 49ers led 17-7. Led by Stafford and Kupp clinching their spot in the Super Bowl to be hosted at their home field.
Many PVHS students have the Bengals winning the Super Bowl and Kupp taking the MVP.
“I believe that Joe Burrow has what it takes to win the Super Bowl,” sophomore Jackson Rucker said. I also believe that with Cooper Kupp’s historic season, he will win the MVP. ”
As the Super Bowl nears, it is tough to bet against this red hot Bengals team led by Burrow and his plethora of young, hungry weapons including rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
However, Stafford is the more experienced quarterback and with the support of an all-star defense led by defensive tackle Aaron Donald and cornerback Jalen Ramsey the Bengals are in for a wild match.
This is Aaron's first year writing for The Point. Aaron enjoys sleeping and going to church.
