After a lousy weekend of football to open the NFL playoffs, the last two weekends have been sensational. Here are five other weekend headlines on the weekend of the Conference Championships, excluding the retirement of Tom Brady, which we already reported on Sunday.
5) Giants name Brian Daboll head coach.
The New York Giants continued their busy offseason off-field moves as they named Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as their new head coach. Daboll was hired by newly-appointed general manager Joe Schoen. Earlier in the offseason, the Giants fired Joe Judge.
4) Raiders name Dave Ziegler general manager and Josh McDaniels head coach.
The Las Vegas Raiders went to New England to get their new head coach and general manager. Dave Ziegler had been the Patriots director of player personnel, while Josh McDaniels had been the Patriots offensive co-ordinator. Las Vegas made a change to their head coach and general manager despite making the playoffs this season.
3) Antonio Brown’s glove is up for auction.
The famous glove Antonio Brown threw into the stands when he walked off the football field while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the New York Jets on January 2 is now up for auction according to Jenna Laine of ESPN. The initial bid was $81, and it is now up to $310. Interested participants can bid on Brown’s glove through to February 12.
2) The Rams win the NFC Championship.
For the second straight year, the team that is hosting the Super Bowl is in the Super Bowl. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 on a field goal by Matt Gay with 1:46 left in the fourth quarter. The Rams are not only hosting the Super Bowl, but were the first team in NFL history to host the Super Bowl and Conference Championship in the same season. A major reason for the Rams win was because of an interception by safety Jordan Fuller late in the game. As it was accurately reported by Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated, the pass by 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was “a crucial mistake” and “ugly.” It was definitely a low percentage pass on a play where Garoppolo should have taken the sack and not made the pass attempt. Last year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in their home stadium as they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9.
1) The Bengals win the AFC Championship.
For the first time ever, a first overall pick in the NFL draft is taking his team to the Super Bowl in only his second NFL season. That is what Joe Burrow accomplished on Sunday in a 27-24 Cincinnati win over the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime. Burrow completed 23 of 38 passes for 250 yards and one interception. The Bengals top receiver was Tee Higgins, who had six catches for 103 yards. Even though Cincinnati won in overtime on a field goal by Evan McPherson, the reason why McPherson had a field goal attempt is because Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a pass attempt picked off by Vonn Bell in the extra period. It will go down as one of the most famous plays in Bengals history.
