🏈 Deja Vu

January 23, 2023

Good morning BTP family! Hope everyone had an amazing weekend! We had ourselves another action-packed NFL playoff weekend. Patrick Mahomes took down the Jaguars on one leg, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles rolled over the NY Giants, Joe Burrow and the Bengals dominated the Buffalo Bills, and the 49ers defense shuts down the Cowboys in last night's victory. We now have ourselves a battle of the young QB's in the NFC, and an AFC Championship rematch between Joe Burrow & Patrick Mahomes. It should be another amazing Sunday next weekend!

In today's rendition of BTP we take a look back at Joe Burrow’s dominating performance, Patrick Mahomes' status regarding his ankle injury, and the Memphis Grizzlies & Shannon Sharpe go at it!

Start your week off here!

DOMINATION

Joe Burrow Dominates Bills, Sends Bengals to AFC Championship

The Cincinnati Bengals keep on proving people wrong. After Sunday’s 27-10 win over the Buffalo Bills, the defending AFC champs are now heading back to Arrowhead to play the Kansas City Chiefs for the second straight year.

The Bengals’ 17-point road win was one of their most convincing wins all year. They held the Bills to a season-low 10 points which was Cincinnati’s second-fewest points allowed in postseason franchise history. The Bengals started off hot with a 14-0 lead early and never looked back. Joe Burrow played a huge role in the victory as he finished the day 23 for 36 passing for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Joe Mixon also dominated the backfield after he tallied 20 carries for 105 total yards.

After the game Ja’Marr Chase said, "We knew what we were capable of. I mean, look at the first game. We knew what we were capable of from the jump. We were just excited to play those guys.” Cincinnati will look to keep up the momentum on the road yet again against the Chiefs. With Patrick Mahomes’ ankle still in question, back-to-back Super Bowls for the Bengals is starting to look more and more probable by the second.

INJURY BUG

Patrick Mahomes Injures Ankle in Victory, "Vows" to Play

Say what you want about Patrick Mahomes; that dude is tough. In the first quarter of Saturday’s divisional-round game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain when Jags’ edge-rusher Arden Key rolled up on his right ankle. Mahomes, despite visibly limping and in pain, finished the drive, briefly left to get X-rays, and triumphantly returned for the second half.

In Mahomes’ absence, veteran backup QB Chad Henne performed admirably, leading the Chiefs on a much-needed 12-play 98-yard touchdown drive. It’s unlikely however, the Chiefs eke out this win if Mahomes doesn’t miraculously return for the second half, but he did and the Chiefs will now be playing in their fifth straight AFC Championship Game, where the Cincinnati Bengals await them.

This might be Mahomes’ biggest test yet, as Joe Burrow and the Bengals have been this team’s kryptonite. The Bengals have won their last three matchups against the Chiefs, including last year’s AFC Championship Game, where the Chiefs blew an 18-point lead. Unfortunately, for the Chiefs, getting redemption might be easier said than done, as high ankle sprains, especially in a sport like football, are notoriously painful and difficult to come back from.

In the NFL, the recovery time for a high ankle sprain usually ranges from four to six weeks, but according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Mahomes has vowed he’s “good to go” for next week’s AFC Championship Game. It remains to be seen if Mahomes can really push through such an injury or to what degree it will affect him, but the one thing we know for sure is that he’s going to try.

BUTTING HEADS

Shannon Sharpe & Grizzlies Go at it

If there’s one lesson to take away from Friday night’s Grizzlies-Lakers game, it’s that you shouldn’t mess with Shannon Sharpe. Sharpe was in rare form Friday night as he engaged in a shouting match that nearly turned physical with several Grizzlies players, including Steven Adams, Dillon Brooks, Ja Morant, and even Morant’s father, Tee Morant.

What we know: According to Sharpe, the incident began after he chirped Dillon Brooks, saying he was too small to guard LeBron. Sharpe is famously a big LeBron guy, or at least, it’s a major part of his persona on “Undisputed.” Brooks took offense to Sharpe’s comments, cursed at Sharpe, who cursed back, and the next thing you know, Brooks’ teammates joined the fray, and the referees and security had to break it up. Ultimately, Sharpe was escorted away from the game during halftime before returning for the third quarter.

Is the beef squashed? Probably not. Sharpe and Tee Morant seemed to be cool as they were spotted shaking hands and hugging at the end of the third quarter, but Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks were clearly still bothered by the incident. Brooks, in particular, had some choice words in his post-game press conference for Sharpe.

Brooks went on to call Sharpe a “blogger” and “pedestrian,” leading some people to wonder if Brooks was just being deliberately condescending or if he actually didn’t know who Sharpe was. Sharpe may be best known nowadays for his role in the sports media, but he was as prolific an NFL talent as they come in his playing days. When Sharpe retired after a 14-year NFL career, he did so as a three-time champion and the all-time leader in catches, yards, and touchdowns by a tight end.