This year has been an interesting season of NFL football. Between injuries of impactful players, COVID-19 illnesses, and new policies, a lot of teams are in an unusual position. Here is what you need to know about the playoff season so far.
The first playoff game this year was in the AFC between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills with the Bills coming out on top. The Pittsburg Steelers then fell to the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Bengals defeated the Las Vegas Raiders, advancing to play the Tennessee Titans who got a bye-week.
In the NFC, the LA Rams knocked the Arizona Cardinals out of post-season play, and the Buccaneers advanced past the Philadelphia Eagles. Finally, the 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys to play the number one seed Green Bay Packers who got also got a bye the first week.
The divisional round is when the post-season made history and where the course of the Super Bowl changed. Both number one seeds were knocked off in this round. The Tennessee Titans were knocked out by the the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Green Bay Packers were knocked out by the San Francisco 49ers. This is the first time since 2010 that both top seeds were knocked out in the divisional round.
In this round, the Buffalo Bills were also knocked out by the Kansas City Chiefs in an intense game that ended in the Chiefs coming out on top after overtime play. Then, the LA Rams beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, advancing to meet the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional title game.
For the AFC, the Bengals and the Chiefs will be meeting on Sunday, January 30th at 3:00 p.m. in the Chiefs stadium. This will be the fourth straight year the the AFC Championship will be hosted by the Chiefs. The Bengals, however, are making their first trip to the conference championship title game since 1988.
The NFC Championship will be the 49ers against the Rams and will take place on Sunday, January 30th at 6:30 p.m. These two teams will be meeting for the third time this season. The 49ers also have a series advantage as they have won the last six straight meetings against the Rams.
The winners of the two games will then meet on February 13th to face off in the Super Bowl.
