SPORTS
East Oregonian
B4
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Saints-Rams NFC title game a clash of like-minded coaches
N F C C H A M P I O N S H I P
Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints
Sun. • 12:05 p.m. • FOX
13-3 Regular 13-3
1-0 Postseason 1-0
Total yards (avg.): 421.1
Pass
Rush
281.7
234.6
OFFENSE
Total yards (avg.): 379.2
Pass
Rush
139.4
252.6
233.6
Postseason: 420.0
Postseason: 459.0
273.0
186.0
308.0
126.6
132.2
283.0
238.0
137.0
DEFENSE
Yards allowed (avg.): 358.6
Pass
Rush
236.2
192.4
122.2
Pass
Rush
268.9
227.3
80.2
Postseason: 250.0
Postseason: 308.0
258.0
278.0
Yards allowed (avg.): 349.1
50.0
32.9 Points for
24.0 Pts. allowed
201.0
195.0
49.0
SCORING
(PPG)
Postseason
28.6
31.5 Points for
22.1 Pts. allowed
Postseason
30.0
20.0
22.0
14.0
SOURCE: National Football League
By BRETT MARTEL
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — One
way or another, the NFC
Championship between the
Los Angeles Rams and New
Orleans Saints will be won
by a coach named Sean —
with an Irish surname —
who designs and calls plays
for one of the most innova-
tive and productive offenses
in the NFL.
The ties between the
Saints’ Sean Payton and the
Rams’ Sean McVay go well
beyond a shared name.
“We both cut our teeth
in this league under Jon
Gruden,” Payton said. “That
(Rams) staff — there’s a ton
of guys that we’re friendly
with and that we know on
that staff. Guys who we have
worked with, and Sean and I
have a real good relationship.
He is an engaging guy, a fun
guy to be around.”
AP Photo/File
At left, in an Aug. 9, 2018, fi le photo, New Orleans Saints
head coach Sean Payton watches from the sideline during
the fi rst half of an NFL preseason football game against the
Jacksonville Jaguars, in Jacksonville, Fla. At right, in a Nov.
19, 2018, fi le photo, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean
McVay watches on the sideline during an NFL football game
against the Kansas City Chiefs, in Los Angeles.
Gruden, the current
Oakland Raiders coach,
was the offensive coordi-
nator with the Eagles in 1997
when Payton was hired as
quarterbacks coach. In 2008,
Gruden was the head coach
in Tampa Bay when he hired
McVay as a receivers coach.
During the past two
seasons Payton and McVay
have each led their teams to
the playoffs with one of the
best offenses in football,
thanks in part to elite quar-
terbacks — Drew Brees
with New Orleans (14-3) and
Jared Goff of Los Angeles
(14-3).
Both
coaches
have
acknowledged they watch
each other’s offensive fi lm
nearly every week — not
just because of the possi-
bility of playing against one
another; they’re looking for
good ideas.
And then there are some
connections on the roster
and coaching staff. One of
the Rams’ top receivers,
Brandin
Cooks,
was
Payton’s fi rst-round draft
choice in 2014. Los Angeles’
running game coordinator
is Aaron Kromer, a former
running backs and offensive
line coach under Payton,
including on the 2009 Super
Bowl-winning squad.
Players on both teams
praise their coach’s intan-
gible feel for how a game is
developing.
Saints Pro Bowl left tackle
Terron Armstead extoled
Payton’s “fearlessness” in
his play calling and said the
coach has “so much believe
and confi dence in us and the
system that we can go out
and make a play no matter
the down and distance.”
Chiefs’ bandwagon rolling into mighty Patriots at Arrowhead
By DAVE SKRETTA
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —
It seems football fans every-
where are suddenly on the
Kansas City Chiefs’ band-
wagon, enthralled by their
record-setting young quarter-
back and exciting playmakers
and hopeful their amiable old
coach can fi nally win the big
one.
Then again, maybe they’re
just fans of anybody facing
New England.
The Patriots have domi-
nated the AFC for nearly two
decades, and the coach-quar-
terback combination of Bill
Belichick and Tom Brady
will be playing in an eighth
consecutive
conference
title game Sunday night
when New England visits
the Chiefs at frigid, hostile
Arrowhead Stadium.
But whereas Brady & Co.
once instilled awe in their
opponents, the Chiefs view
their showdown as an oppor-
tunity for Patrick Mahomes
AP Photo/File
At left, in a Sept. 23, 2018, fi le photo, New England Patriots
quarterback Tom Brady throws during a game against the Detroit
Lions, in Detroit. At right, in an Oct. 7, 2018, fi le photo, Kansas
City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws a pass during a
game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, in Kansas City, Mo.
to take the baton as the
league’s best quarterback
and for Kansas City, seeking
its fi rst Super Bowl appear-
ance in 49 years, to surpass
the Patriots as the NFL’s “it”
team.
“It’ll be huge,” Mahomes
said. “When I got here, the
goal was to win the AFC
championship and get to the
Super Bowl, and win that. To
do that early in my career, it
would be a huge thing.”
There aren’t two more
dichotomous teams than the
Patriots and Chiefs.
New England has won
fi ve Super Bowls during the
Belichick-Brady era, setting
all kinds of records along
the way. The cruel effi ciency
with which they’ve sliced up
the AFC has made them the
bane of fans everywhere, but
New England and given them
the kind of unbeatable aura
that accompanied the New
York Yankees teams of Derek
Jeter and the Chicago Bulls
teams of Michael Jordan.
It’s not just petty jealousy,
though. Many fans have been
turned off by Defl ategate,
Spygate and other instances
over the years that have
saddled the Patriots with a
rather unsavory reputation.
Brady
has
mostly
shrugged it off. So has Beli-
chick, who almost seems to
embrace the villain role.
“I don’t think about it too
much, what people might
say or think,” said Brady,
whose team is a rare playoff
underdog Sunday. “I know
we’re playing against a very
good football team. They’re
the fi rst seed for a reason.
They’ve had a great season
and we’re going to have to go
into a really tough environ-
ment and play our best foot-
ball, and it’s a great opportu-
nity for us.”
AFC C H A M P I O N S H I P
New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs
Sun. • 3:40 p.m. • CBS
11-5 Regular 12-4
1-0 Postseason 1-0
Total yards (avg.): 393.4
Pass
Rush
224.6 266.1
OFFENSE
Total yards (avg.): 425.6
Pass
Rush
127.3
Postseason: 498.0
144.5 343.0
309.7
276.1
155.0
115.9
118.1
Postseason: 433.0
253.0
180.0
337.0
101.0
DEFENSE
Yards allowed (avg.): 359.1
Pass
Rush
251.2
273.4
246.4 116.2 112.7
Postseason: 335.0
316.0
27.2 Points for
20.3 Pts. allowed
Yards allowed (avg.): 405.5
Pass
19.0
Rush
114.8
132.1
Postseason: 266.0
179.0
87.0
202.0
SCORING
(PPG)
35.3 Points for
26.3 Pts. allowed
Postseason
41.0
28.0
Postseason
31.0
13.0
SOURCE: National Football League
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