Chiefs-Pats, Rams-Saints should be weekend to remember
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NFL Divisional Round featured the Chiefs’ most notable victory in at least 25 years. It made for quite a thrilling weekend in Kansas City, snowfall and all.
But the second round of the NFL playoffs were otherwise a bit of a dud. None of the four games saw a fourthquarter lead change.
Need not worry: The postseason is saving its best for the last.
On paper, anyway.
The AFC and NFC conference championship matchups spotlight the best four teams from the regular season — and the most exciting ones, at that.
Why? Points. Points. And more points. The four teams still alive in the playoffs possess the most efficient four offenses in football. The Chiefs led the league at 35.3 points per game during the regular season. The Rams were second at 32.9, the Saints third at 31.5 and the Patriots fourth at 27.2.
It’s the highest combined total in league history for the four teams who comprise the conference title games. Sure, offensive efficiency is at its peak in the NFL. The notion that defense wins championships has long expired.
But never have we had such proof of it at this stage in the season. The viewer should reap the rewards with a potentially enthralling afternoon of football.
Just ask the oddsmakers. The over/under for both games is at 57 points, according to most sportsbooks in Las Vegas. The two lines equal 104
total points, the highest combined projection for conference championships since 1985, when the data was first tracked, according to Action Network.
But this is just a forecast. We’ll have to wait and see
what happens, right?
Actually, the evidence is already there.
The Patriots beat the Chiefs 43-40 with a game-winning field goal as time expired on Oct. 14, a game that included 946 total yards of offense. The two teams combined for 50 points in the second half.
And when the Saints and Rams met on Nov. 4, the Saints built a 21-point lead before the Rams tied the game in the fourth quarter. The Saints scored twice late for a 45-35 win.
That’s 83 points from one game and 80 from the other.
In a league with rules increasingly built for offensive success, the offenses have indeed seized control. And nobody has a better one than the Chiefs. Kansas City led the league in points, yards and yards per play. Add to that, it gives the ball each snap to the man favored to win the league’s most valuable player award next month.
The top-five offenses in the NFL went 59-21 during the regular season, and the top-four were seeded first or second in their respective conferences. It’s carried over to the postseason, those four averaging 30.5 points last weekend.
Whereas the top-five defenses in points against (Bears, Ravens, Titans, Jaguars and Texans) were 47-33 in the regular season, and none are left standing.
As owners as the No. 1 offense in football, the Chiefs just need the trend to last a couple of more weeks.