Creed HumphreyPatrick Mahomes

Lenny the Loser Will Be Waiting to See if Chiefs’ Mahomes Practices Wednesday

And then there were four.

Four tough, physical, talented teams have advanced to the AFC and NFC title games and Vegas has made it clear: Both games are a tossup.

The Chiefs have been installed as one-point favorites over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Eagles are 2.5-point favorites over the San Francisco 49ers. If conventional wisdom still holds – home field is worth three points – then a case can be made that the Bengals really are favored. Same for the 49ers.

Based on what we saw over the weekend the lines are justified. The Chiefs showed they are more than a football version of Smokey and the Miracles with a 27-20 win over the Jaguars.

When Patrick Mahomes suffered a serious high right ankle sprain in the first quarter, the Chiefs defense had to throw a blanket over the Jags offense. They held Trevor Lawrence and Co to one touchdown and a window-dressing field goal in the second half.

Led by all-everything DL Chris Jones and a rebuilt offensive line anchored by center Creed Humphrey, the Chiefs can play big boy football.

So can the Bengals. They didn’t merely upset Buffalo, 27-10, they grabbed the Bills by their mafia collar and delivered a physical beatdown. The Bengals held Buffalo, which boasts one of the league’s best running QBs in Josh Allen, to a paltry 63 yards rushing.

The Eagles dominated the Giants in every phase of the game in 38-7 Philly shellacking. New York was held to just 13 first downs and 227 yards in total offense. QB Daniel Jones, who looked like the second coming of, well, Allen in the team’s Wildcard round win over the Vikings, was held to 155 yards passing, no touchdowns, no interceptions and an 11.4 QBR.

San Francisco made Dallas QB Dak Prescott look like the rookie in its 19-12 bludgeoning of America’s Team. Prescott threw two picks and should have been intercepted a third time. 49ers rookie QB Brock Purdy played mistake-free football and continued to look like the coolest QB not named Joe Burrow.

Clearly, any of these four can win the Super Bowl.

Picking the Chiefs-Bengals game should be reserved for later in the week because so much depends on the health of Mahomes. He has played through a high-ankle sprain before. In 2019 he suffered one against the Jaguars and didn’t miss any time. He threw for 443 yards and four touchdowns (no picks) the next week in a 28-10 over the Raiders.

This most recent injury appears to be more serious than the one in 2019, although K.C. coach Andy Reid had a different opinion.

“I think this one isn’t quite as bad as that one,” Reid told reporters Monday. “I mean, they’re similar, sore, but not quite the same.”

 Mahomes briefly left the 2019 game to get his ankle taped. He threw for 378 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Mahomes missed the rest of the first quarter and most of the second quarter Saturday as Chad Henne led K.C. to a touchdown. Mahomes was clearly hobbled in the second half and finished with 195 yards passing and two scores.

“He’s worked hard in the treatment and is doing OK,” said Reid.

The Chiefs are scheduled to practice on Wednesday and all eyes will be watching to see if Mahomes takes the field. His mobility, and ability to make throws when a play breaks down, can demoralize a defense.

The NFC game appears to be a matchup of brute force. The Eagles offensive line is arguable the league’s best. They’ll have to be to neutralize the 49ers front seven, led by DE Nick Bosa. San Fran’s O-line will have to play its best game of the season against Philly’s vaunted Front Four.

Early pick: Bengals vs Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. We’ll pick against the spread later in the week.

 

 

 

 

 

author
Lenn Robbins
Sports Journalist
Hi, I'm Lenn Robbins, a long-time sportswriter who still holds the detention record at Bildersee Junior High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., where I was born and raised. I came out of the womb a Mets fan, was baptized a Knicks fans and through the power of TV, became a Cowboys fan, which explains why I'm in group therapy. The name of my fantasy football league team is Sexual Chocolate. Anyone who can explain the origin of said team name, please h
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