The officials have been a problem all year in the NFL, so we shouldn’t be surprised to see bad officiating impact playoff games and possible the Super Bowl. The controversial play in this game involved an early whistle on a Bengals touchdown. That call helped the Bengals get their first playoff win since 1991 with a 26-19 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Joe Burrow led the way, completing 24 of 34 passes for 244 yards and two touchdown passes – one to tight end C.J. Uzomah and receiver Tyler Boyd. Burrow played like a seasoned veteran, which is what we’ve all come to expect from this talented quarterback. Meanwhile, Derek Carr had plenty of chances throughout the game and in the fourth quarter, but he couldn’t make the plays when needed. Carr is a solid quarterback, but he showed again that he’s not among the elite passers in the NFL.

The NFL playoffs kick off today with the Las Vegas Raiders visiting Cincinnati in the opening game. Playoff weekend extends through Monday night as the NFL pushes to continue its dominance on television and maximize ratings.

As we start the payoffs, NFL futures have the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs as the favorites to meet in the Super Bowl as you can see above. Both teams are playing great football and a matchup of these two squads would probably give us a great Super Bowl, though we all know the NFL playoffs rarely work out that way. This is what makes the NFL great.

Here’s a quick look at the NFL lines for the playoff games:

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