The 2022 Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs had people glued to their seats all weekend long. All four games had plentiful lead changes throughout and were decided on the final play of the game. Here are a few things that stuck out to me over the weekend.
Cincinnati Bengals
33 years. That’s how long it has been since the Cincinnati Bengals played in the AFC Championship Game. The 1988-89 Bengals, who had notable broadcast names, Boomer Esiason and Cris Collinsworth on the team, defeated the Buffalo Bills securing their second AFC Championship in franchisees history, the first being in 1981.
Both those seasons the Bengals went on to face the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl (XVI, XXIII), losing both contests. Coincidentally enough, if Joe Burrow can lead the Bengals over the Chiefs at Arrowhead this Sunday, there is a path where the Bengals could face the 49ers for the third time in Super Bowl history if San Francisco is able to upset the Rams in Los Angeles.
Both the Bengals and 49ers faced their opposition during the regular season winning in all contests.
What Joe Burrow was able to overcome in the Divisional Round should have Bengals fans excited, but there is reason for concern. Burrow was sacked nine times and hit 13 times against the Titans. When given time, or scrambling under pressure, he was able to complete 28 of 37 passing attempts for 348 yards (75.7 completion %) and connect with Ja’Marr Chase on five of six targets for 109 yards.
Ryan Tannehill was sloppy with the ball during the game. The Titans were able to amass 360 yards of total offense, but the three interceptions thrown cost Tennessee the game.
When the Chiefs and Bengals played week 17 of the regular season, the Chiefs defense was able to hit Burrow 10 times and recorded four sacks in the game. If the Bengals can keep Joe Cool upright, the weapons are there, and the holes are open in the Chiefs’ defense for the Bengals to exploit.
Ja’Marr Chase is the guy and a major part of why the Bengals were able to win in week 17 with eleven receptions for 266 yards and three touchdowns. If this connection is clicking in the AFC Championship, the Bengals have a chance.
However, on the other side of the ball, the Kansas City offense may be too much to handle. For as much admiration LSU fans have for Burrow and Chase, the disdain for Eli Apple was felt all over Saints Twitter these past couple days. Apple, with no remorse, tweeted about “hating the Saints fanbase the most,” and this tweet below about the city and culture of New Orleans.
If you would like a history of his play the past few seasons, linked below is a compilation of his best efforts to increase Wide Receivers’ upcoming contracts.  
Trash talking aside, the concerning thing about Apple is his coverage. He is allowing a completion rate of 60.3% and an average of 12.8 yards per completion, per Pro Football Reference. Tyreek Hill averaged 13.6 yards per catch last week against the Bills and Travis Kelce during the playoffs is averaging 15.7 yards per target, per ESPN stats.
Both offenses have the ability to win the game. When it comes down to the wire, it really depends on which defense will blow the game.
NFL Overtime Rules
The Chiefs-Bills matchup hands-down was the most chaotic finish this NFL season, and the win probability chart can back this up.
Three lead changes and four scores within the final two minutes of the game had NFL fans desiring more drama once overtime began. Alas, we did not receive this, and, as someone who had no rooting interest in the game, it felt deflating once the Chiefs scored the walk-off touchdown on the opening drive of overtime.
Under the current rules, teams that have won the overtime coin toss in the playoffs have a 10-1 record, via NFL Research, and an insane 90.9-win percentage. Only seven games were won via a walk-off touchdown, including the Tim Tebow to Demariyus Thomas first-play 80-yard touchdown in the 2012 AFC Wild Card round, 2015 NFCCG where Russell Wilson connected with Jermaine Kearse for a 35-yard touchdown, Super Bowl 51 where “28-3” became a meme and James White scored on a two-yard touchdown run, and the 2019 AFCCG where Brady led a 13-play drive to send the Patriots to Super Bowl 53.
Nothing is more disappointing than rallying your team to overtime and not getting a chance to take the field for one more chance. Following the 2019 AFCCG, the Chiefs requested a change to the overtime rules, a change that was swiftly denied. Three years later, what was once done to Patrick Mahomes was done unto Josh Allen.
Both offenses did everything they could to win this past Divisional Round game, and their defenses did everything to lose it. Taking away overtime yards, the Bills gave up 485 yards of offense, 119 of those yards coming within the last two-minutes of the game. You could argue that a team giving up that much offense got what it deserved in overtime, giving up another 75-yards and a walk-off touchdown bringing the total to 560 yards.
A 10-1 record seems unfair to me when it comes to NFL overtime rules, and having seven walk-offs is more than enough evidence to conclude that having your season decided by a coin toss is an immensely idiotic rule.
Following this game there should be a rally to change these rules, and my proposal, like many, is simply to give both teams a possession in overtime. If after both possessions the game is still tied, then the next score wins. This rule should be administered to both regular season and playoff overtime games. I do enjoy the novelty of a tie, so having that chaos is welcomed in the regular season, but if the competition committee wants to rid the record books of that so be it.
The NFL should look fondly on this as giving both teams a possession in overtime would lead to longer games resulting in more points, stats and yards accumulated to keep those who gamble or play fantasy football engaged throughout the contest.
If the NFL wants to argue player safety when it comes to overtime rules, we can simply look to the hypocrisy of having games on Thursdays or the 17th game added this season to disprove that notion.
It is time Roger. Fix the overtime rules.  
Brady-Manning VS Mahomes-Allen
This notion of a new rivalry was proposed by Mike Golic Jr. during the Chiefs-Bills game this past weekend.
Mahomes is in year five, fourth as a starter, while Allen’s fourth season concluded with this game. Comparing the two, Mahomes has led his team to four straight AFCCG and two Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl LIV. Allen, has made the playoffs three times, one AFCCG, and has lost to Mahomes twice in the playoffs.
Mahomes has followed a similar path to Brady, sitting his first season and starting afterward. For reference, this looks similar to Brady’s 2001-2004 seasons. Peyton Manning started his career in 1998, but for the same comparison we will look at his 2001-2004 seasons.
Brady won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) and missed the playoffs during the 2002 season. Manning missed the playoffs in 2001, made the AFCCG during the 2003 season and lost to Brady twice in the playoffs.
Just looking at how the two rivalries have started, the comparisons are obvious.  Mahomes-Allen is starting to become the next great NFL quarterback rivalry and will surely continue in the future. It will be interesting if other young quarterbacks’ rivalries will continue this trend. Will Burrow-Herbert be the next Rivers-Roethlisberger? Or can that rivalry become something greater than its predecessor?