Bengals and Rams do what Browns could not

If there’s one thing we learned from Conference Championship Game Sunday — and in fact the entire NFL playoffs this season — it’s that you can never give up, no matter what.

The Cincinnati Bengals rallied from a 21-3 first-half deficit to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in overtime in the AFC to advance to the Super Bowl in two weeks, on Feb. 13.

They will play the Los Angeles Rams, who finally beat their nemesis, the San Francisco 49ers 20-17, in the NFC after coming back from a 17-7 deficit following three quarters.

Both winners did so with great quarterback play down the stretch and outstanding performances from their defenses.

No one expected great defense from the Bengals, and not many expected great quarterback play from the Rams’ Matthew Stanford, who had not done much in his career in big games.

The Rams overall, though, were built for this. No one is really surprised they’re still standing.

But no one at the beginning of the season expected the Bengals to be here. According to the so-called experts, their ceiling was just escaping the basement of the AFC North.

For them to win the division title, then their first two playoff games and finally to go into Arrowhead Stadium and come back from the dead to beat the Chiefs, the team everybody thought from the start of the season would get to the Super Bowl, is beyond comprehension.

The Browns can learn a lesson from this — a lesson they should have already known — and it is that making plays in the fourth quarter — on both sides of the ball — is what wins games in this league. In fact, it has been the formula for a long time.

The Browns did just opposite this season, and it’s why they finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs to be one of the NFL’s most disappointing teams.

Were you watching, General Manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski?

By Steve King