I spent the week previewing the four remaining teams, publishing full player rankings yesterday. Those are the formal expectations for the games and players, which usually hew fairly close to the oddsmakers numbers. In general, anticipating a 7-point Kansas City win and a 3-4 point Rams win.

But will those results actually happen? The games aren't played on paper, and things like emotion, momentum and of course turnovers will doubtless play a huge role. This is illustrated by the fact that Cincinnati actually beat Kansas City just four weeks ago, and the 49ers beat the Rams in both meetings this season. So yeah, the projections and the oddsmakers expectations are in direct opposition to what actually happened in the recent meetings.

So here's a broader look at what I expect to happen in the two games; feel free to let me know where you think I've gone wrong.

Cincinnati at Kansas City: Both offenses are really good. Quarterbacks performing at an elite level, difference-making receivers on both sides, offenses clicking. I think the general feeling is that whereas this is Joe Burrow's first postseason and second NFL season -- less than that if you consider he was injured for a good chunk of last year -- Patrick Mahomes has been here before, three times previously. The stage might be a bit big for the Bengals; at the very least, it's new. Not the case for Kansas City.

The other element is that Kansas City just faced a better Buffalo defense, and a quarterback and offense that played close to flawlessly, and came out on top. Cincinnati got to this point with last-second wins over a Raiders team that was a little fortunate to sneak into the playoffs and a Titans team that was a pretty shaky No. 1 seed. Level of difficulty goes way up here. Their defense has some talent, but pretty much no chance they'll be holding Patrick Mahomes to the 16-19 total points that Las Vegas and Tennessee finished with.

So how is Cincinnati going to win this game? Well, maybe they'll run a lot. Control the clock, keep Kansas City's offense on the sideline, and score touchdowns whenever they have the ball. Do that, and maybe they win a last-team-to-possess-the-ball type of game. Alternately, their defense can force some turnovers, particularly fumbles. Counting on Mahomes to throw a bunch of interceptions is unreasonable, but maybe they blow up Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon with some big hits, getting some short fields and creating situations where they can string 14-17 points together in a row (a score, a turnover, another score). These things happen.

But seeing what Kansas City was able to in the second half against Buffalo -- score quickly and often -- I can't see that being much different. I think Cincinnati's offense will be fine, but keeping in mind that Joe Burrow was sacked 9 times last week, it's easier to see Kansas City getting a couple of key stops and perhaps takeaways. I expect Kansas City to score in the 30s, perhaps the mid-30s, and advance to another Super Bowl. I'm not sure what the Bengals will be able to do to stop it from happening.

San Francisco at L.A. Rams: The difficulty with being confident the Rams win this game is that the only area they're clearly, unequivocally better is at quarterback, and Matthew Stafford just happened to lead the league in interceptions, including throwing 2 in each of his games against the 49ers. Indeed, the Rams absolutely dominated the Bucs for more than a half last week, yet STILL made enough miscues along the way that Tampa Bay was able to tie the game in the final minute. How confident are we supposed to be in a Rams team that got swept by San Francisco during the season and nearly choked away a game they dominated against the Super Bowl champs?

We know San Francisco has the better running game. The defenses are similar; both are capable of making some big plays in terms of sacks and takeaways, either producing or leading to points. Both teams have elite, difference-making No. 1 wideouts. The Rams are definitely better at No. 2 wideout with Odell Beckham, but the 49ers are better at tight end with George Kittle. Homefield advantage doesn't seem to mean much, especially since there will be plenty of San Francisco fans finding a way to get tickets to this game.

So I think we have to come back to the quarterback issue to decide this one. I've seen some talk online about how Jimmy Garoppolo is being underestimated and unfairly criticized, given that he's got San Francisco here for the second time in three years. Well, poppycock. Garoppolo didn't produce a touchdown at Green Bay last week. He took points off the board with a horrific red-zone interception. He's along for the ride with this team, and if his own coaching staff had the slightest inkling he'd be quarterbacking this team in the NFC Championship Game, they wouldn't have used three first-round picks to draft his replacement 10 months ago.

Garoppolo had a stretch this season where he played very well. After a rough start to the season, during which Trey Lance hovered and indeed got some work and even a start, Garoppolo provided solid quarterback play as the team went 6-2 and moved into playoff contention. Good stuff, Jimmy G. But in the last four games he's thrown 2 TDs and 6 interceptions. He was the main reason why the Dallas game was close at all -- San Francisco dominated that game and should have secured it long before Dak Prescott's inane quarterback draw in the final seconds -- and was fortunate his defense and special teams played so well at Green Bay.

Can San Francisco win? Yes. Matthew Stafford turns it over too often, and so did other Rams last week. Cam Akers losing two fumbles has to be in his head a little bit, and Sony Michel is a really marginal running back; has been all along. All the pressure is on Los Angeles, while San Francisco is cruising along with confidence, believing in this team of destiny thing. A Stafford Pick Six or a costly Rams fumble; these are scenarios that no one would be surprised by.

But I'm sticking with the Rams winning this game, strictly because I don't see San Francisco’s offense making enough plays. They've got Deebo Samuel, a clutch kicker, and a wizard on the sidelines in Kyle Shanahan. There's a chance, and not just a slim one, that that's enough for them to win this game something like 23-20. But I'm expecting the Rams to win by 4-6 points, and set up what should be a pretty awesome Super Bowl slugfest. We'll see, but that's where my money would be.

Enjoy the games.