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The Grueling Truth - Where Legends Speak / Latest Football News & Rumors: Tailored for You / 11 Grueling Truth’s we learned during Championship weekend

11 Grueling Truth’s we learned during Championship weekend

An unlikely Super Bowl Matchup!
Publish Date: 01/31/2022
Fact checked by: Simon Briffa
KANSAS CITY, MO - JANUARY 30: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow 9 points to his helmet due to crowd noise in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs on Jan 30, 2022 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA JAN 30 AFC Conference Championship - Bengals at Chiefs Icon2201300973

1) The trade for Matthew Stafford was the right move for the Rams

Sorry Jared Goff, but the trade the Rams made with Detroit has paid off handsomely with a Super Bowl trip in just one year! Stafford caught a lot of flak at the end of the season as he became the pick-six king. That all changed in the playoffs as Stafford led three straight playoff wins and now has the Rams on the cusp of winning it all! Stafford beat Tom Brady in the divisional playoffs, and he did it by hitting big throws at the end of the game to pull it out. Without the trade, the Rams would be nowhere near the Super Bowl.

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2) Jimmy G has played his final game in San Fransisco

Though he’s won 70% of his starts (35-15), playoffs included, with the Niners, the team will save $25.5 million by moving on from him before he reaches the final year of his contract. The 49ers will not keep Trey Lance on the bench for another year. Jimmy did not help his cause with his last throw to lose the NFC Championship game. Garoppolo is a winner, but is he a winner because of the players around him? The case for Jimmy is that when he doesn’t play, the Niners usually lose. I do not think Lance is the answer in San Fransisco, but the Niners front office does, and that’s all that matters.

3) If you want your son to be a quarterback, name him Joe!

You might ask why name your son Joe? JOE Burrow can join JOE Namath and JOE Montana as the only quarterbacks to lead a college football national championship and a Super Bowl title. JOE Theismann and JOE Flacco are also Lombardi-winning QBs. Theismann was the only member of the Joe fraternity not to win Super Bowl MVP honors. If you want your son to be a QB, do NOT name him Mitch or Mitchell!

4) Cooper Kupp is THE best receiver in the NFL

Kupp has had statistically the most remarkable season any receiver has ever had. Kupp piled on another 11 catches for 142 yards Sunday, scoring both Los Angeles touchdowns for good measure. In 20 games this season, Kupp has 170 receptions for 2,333 yards and 20 TDs. Kupp’s 13 100-yard efforts are the most ever in one NFL season, including playoffs. In those games, the Rams are 11-2, both defeats coming to San Francisco.

5) Deebo Samuel is the most dangerous player in the NFL

Kupp is the best receiver, but Samuel may be the best player in the NFL, and he is undoubtedly the most dangerous. Deebo Samuel’s 2,061 yards from scrimmage this season are the most ever by a San Francisco pass-catcher – yes, that includes Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Samuel is big, explosive, and strong, and the way the 49ers use Samuel is about as perfect as you can get. Samuel is a special player, and he is in the ideal place to have his talents utilized!

6) It is evident that Kickers are undervalued in the NFL, and they shouldn’t be

Special teams matter! Everybody plays lip service to special teams being one-third of a football team. Perfect example, the Bengals drafted Evan McPherson in the fifth round, and people thought it was stupid! Fast forward to these playoffs, where that fifth-round draft pick is one of the big reasons why the Bengals are going to the Super Bowl! On top of that, we saw how many games were decided by a last-second field goal? Three of the four divisional playoff games were decided by a field goal, and don’t forget the 49ers blocked a punt to score their only touchdown right before that game-winning field goal.

7) The much-maligned Cincinnati Bengals offensive line comes through in the clutch

Just last week, we watched as the Bengals offensive line gave up nine sacks in what ended up being a win. That same horrid line allowed just one sack in the title game on Sunday. The line became much better once the decision was made to bring in rookie Jackson Carmen from Clemson. Just imagine if the Bengals had even an average line? Can they hold up against the Rams? It’s not very likely, but there is hope that this group is playing better, and really with Joe Burrow at the helm, the confidence of this team makes anything possible.

8) Patrick Mahomes chokes, and I don’t know what Andy Reid was doing

Mahomes was 8-18 with two interceptions and looked tighter and tighter the closer the Bengals got; the end of the first half was mind-boggling. Instead of taking the sure three points, the Chiefs went for it and failed miserably. The play should have been thrown into the end zone, but for some reason, a pass was thrown to the three-yard line, and Bengals cornerback Eli Apple made the tackle, and the Bengals were given life at that moment. Joe Burrow outplayed Mahomes, and Andy Reid was out-coached by Zac Taylor. Did Reid call the play, or did Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy call it? Reid took the blame, and maybe it was to cover for his coordinator? Perhaps he is calling the plays, either way; it was a massive failure.

9) Jaquiski Tartt catch the ball

What if I had caught the ball? That is what Jaquiski Tartt will be asking himself all offseason after dropping what should have been an easy interception on a badly underthrown ball from Stafford with the Niners up 17-14 with less than 10 minutes to go. The Rams recovered to mount a 63-yard drive and game-tying FG. Now many other plays could have overcome that play, so the loss is by no means Tartt’s fault. We saw Eli Apple drop a sure game-winning interception, but his teammates made a play and intercepted the ball on the very next play. The 49ers as a whole disappeared after that drop!

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10) Joe Burrow will be the new face of the NFL

Can you get a more likeable guy than Burrow? He is confident without being cocky, and he has t led the most downtrodden franchise to the Super Bowl. With that being said, half of the NFL will hate him in a few years because they will get tired of him winning! Burrow is special. He sees things that nobody else sees, and it seems that no moment is too big for the kid from Athens, Ohio; the best part of all of this is that he wanted to be a Bengal! The difference is Burrow is better than Mahomes! If the Bengals address the offensive line in the draft and free agency, the Bengals could be the new Chiefs. I know that sounds crazy, but before you start leaving me nasty messages about this take, give me three years, and it will all be proven.

11) Tony Romo sucks

Not much explanation should be needed here! He is annoying and seems less prepared every time you hear him call a game. Luckily we get Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth in the Super Bowl. Everybody seems to hate Collinsworth, but that’s because they all think he is against their team, and he’s not. Collinsworth is the best-prepared analyst in the game, and he is honest; what more could you ask?

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