The Rush: Bengals and Rams to meet in Super Bowl LVI after wild Championship Sunday
The Cincinnati Bengals tied for the biggest comeback in Championship round history after beating the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in OT, while the Los Angeles Rams held off the San Francisco 49ers for the 20-17 NFC Championship. Tom Brady’s retirement remains a mystery. Josh McDaniels has reportedly been hired as the next Las Vegas Raiders head coach. And Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open for his record 21st Grand Slam title.
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
- McPherson, and Cincinnati is heading to the Super Bowl.
- Garoppolo under pressure. Donald got there. In the air. Intercepted by the Rams. And they may ride to the Super Bowl on that.
JARED QUAY: I know you know there was some important football played yesterday, and like a lot of past championship weekends, Tom Brady's name was mentioned a lot. Unlike those previous years, Brady wasn't playing. Instead, we were all trying to figure out if this guy is retired or not. Adam Schefter reported that he was, and then Brady's dad said he still hasn't decided yet.
So it's all up in the air. We kind of feel like these guys in Boston.
- I don't know. I don't know. Is Gronk next then, I guess?
JARED QUAY: And like these Boston guys, we're just going to eat our feelings away.
- You told me you as you were first walking by. Where are you guys trying to go right now?
- We're trying to find an open Dunkin' Donuts.
JARED QUAY: While the world waits on Brady, his former offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, is going to Vegas to reportedly be the Raiders next head coach. And to be honest, I'll believe it when I see McDaniels at the presser and he actually signs the contract, because you know the guy don't always come through on his word.
- Shady.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JARED QUAY: OK, to the games. If you thought last week's madness was a one-weekend wonder--
- You were wrong.
JARED QUAY: The Chiefs were up 21 to 3 at one point.
- Play action into the line, and Mahomes going to slide and throw. To the end zone. Oh, what a catch.
JARED QUAY: But the Bengals came roaring back.
- Second and 12. Perine gets past Ward. Look at him go inside the 20, into the 10. Oh, he takes it the distance.
JARED QUAY: Cinci scored 21 unanswered points to take the lead in the fourth quarter. But Mahomes and KC do what they always do and forced overtime.
- Yes, he can.
JARED QUAY: But then the Bengals forced a Mahomes interception, marched down the field, and--
- McPherson. And Cincinnati is heading to the Super Bowl.
JARED QUAY: But I was keeping track, Cinci just tied the biggest comeback in a championship game. Think about this, two years ago the Bengals won two football games. Last year, they won four football games. Hell, before this season, they hadn't won a playoff game in over 30 years.
- That's crazy.
JARED QUAY: And now the Cincinnati Bengals have just beaten the top two seeds in the AFC and are going to the Super Bowl.
- Are you kidding me?
JARED QUAY: Oh, there's more. Joe Burrow has a chance to join an exclusive Joe Schmo club. This club includes Joe Namath and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks to win a college football championship and a Super Bowl. Clearly, only a Joe is capable of accomplishing that feat.
- We did it. We did it, Joe.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JARED QUAY: The NFC Championship was just a touch less dramatic than the AFC Championship. The Los Angeles Rams trailed by 10 points entering the fourth quarter, but they figured a way back.
- Third down and 1. Stafford, end zone. Kupp, got it. Touchdown, Rams.
JARED QUAY: And then got a lead thanks to a 30-yard field goal with under two minutes left. Then, the defense did the rest.
- Garoppolo under pressure. Donald got there. In the air. Intercepted by the Rams. And they may ride to the Super Bowl on that.
JARED QUAY: So the LA Rams are headed to the Super Bowl. Actually, they're staying right where they are, because for the second year in a row, the home team of the host city is playing in a big game.
- I guess I'm hungry for a home cooked meal.
JARED QUAY: In the wee hours of Sunday morning here in the US, the men's bracket of the Australian Open came to its conclusion, and Rafael Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam.
- Huzzah!
JARED QUAY: In a 5 and 1/2 hour epic, Rothman came back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev.
- I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it.
JARED QUAY: With a win, Nadal broke a three way tie between himself, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic for the most Grand Slam singles titles amongst male tennis players.
- I'm impressed.
JARED QUAY: Federer was out of the tourny because of injury, and Djokovic missed it because he got himself deported.
[LAUGHTER]
Nevertheless, congrats Roger. Federer sent him a heartwarming message on Instagram, and Djokovic probably felt compelled to do the same on Twitter. But let's be honest, Djokovic is definitely kicking himself for gifting the record to the [INAUDIBLE], because his ass is unvaxxed.
I mean, forget the whole coronavirus and pandemic, at this point you can't let people get a one-up on you, man. Just take the shot. Yes, it may save millions of life by not spreading, letting the virus adapt, but at the same time, you'll be able to win a championship, man.