PUEBLO, Colo. – The 2022 PBR Team Series Championship is days away, and PBR.com will be taking a look at each of the first-round matchups taking place inside T-Mobile Arena Friday night in Las Vegas.

The playoffs are the same five-on-five, head-to-head format fans saw during the regular season. Two teams will be eliminated from the PBR Team Series Championship each day. The first two rounds of competition will feature a “Last Chance” playoff game for teams who lost their first game earlier in the night.

RELATED: Check out the full Championship Bracket

Today, let’s take a look at Carolina vs. Kansas City.

No. 4 Carolina Cowboys (15-13) vs. No. 7 Kansas City Outlaws (12-16) | Friday | 11 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

Game Competition Rides: Carolina (55) | Kansas City (48) Riding Percentage: Carolina (39.29%) | Kansas City (34.29%) Average Score Per Game: Carolina (169.71) | Kansas City (145.35) Rides Per Game: Carolina (1.96) | Kansas City (1.71)

Season series tied at 2-2

Aug. 12: Kansas City (W) 165.75-0 Aug. 26: Carolina (W) 173-84.75 Sept. 17: Carolina (W) 84.5-83.25 Oct. 7: Kansas City (W) 253-175.25

The season series between Carolina and Kansas City featured a lot of simplicity. There were no walk-off wins and plenty of games in which coaches J.W. Hart and Jerome Davis likely felt their teams had more to offer. In fact, the first three games of the series were essentially won via one ride for each team, as the first two games had Kansas City and Carolina tack on another ride after they had already clinched the victory with one score.  

The last game on Oct. 7 will likely remind the Outlaws that anything is possible come Las Vegas. Kansas City smacked Carolina around in that game with one of its best performances of the year, which came days after the team traded away first-round draft pick Dalton Kasel. Kansas City has seemed to rally around each other since then, winning three straight before dropping its final three games of the regular season.

MVP: Carolina (Daylon Swearingen) | Kansas City (Marcus Mast)

Carolina has been living off the riches of its draft-day trade for Daylon Swearingen. Now, the Cowboys will look to their stoic leader to help calm the waters of a late-season slump that saw the Cowboys drop from atop the PBR Team Series standings to No. 4 by losing six of their final eight games.

Swearingen finished second in the MVP race (17-for-28) and had the second-most rides in the league from the closer’s role (11). However, his greatest strength may be his persona. Swearingen is a man of few words who has let his riding do the talking all season. He doesn’t care what bull coach Davis asks him to ride. Swearingen just wants to ride and help his team win, which is why he became frustrated when Carolina let him rest some minor injuries during the season’s final games.

Mast seemed to be growing into a leader for Kansas City even before the Kasel trade. When Kasel was out of competition because of injuries, Mast stepped into a leadership role for a team who frequently had multiple teenagers in its early-season starting lineup. Mast’s decision to lose more than 20 pounds to earn a free agent roster spot with the Outlaws was music to Hart’s ears, and his amazing turnaround as a Kansas City Outlaw must be that much sweeter. Previously a career 20% bull rider on the premier series, Mast finished the regular season 16-for-31 (51.61%).

X-Factor: Carolina (Cooper Davis) | Kansas City (Rafael Henrique Dos Santos)

Cooper Davis missed the first half of the season recovering from two left shoulder surgeries, but he has returned in true World Champion fashion. Davis might have won the $50,000 league MVP title if he had been healthy for the entire year. He went 11-for-14 (78.57%), and that riding percentage would have challenged Jose Vitor Leme for the MVP title. Davis (right-handed bull rider) and Swearingen (left-handed) give Carolina the most powerful and balanced one-two punch in the league.

Rafael Henrique Dos Santos is 8-for-21 (38.09%) and has the ability to score in the high 80s. A big ride from Santos could go a long way if this game becomes a low-scoring, affair similar to the regular-season season series. 

Also keep an eye out for Kyler Oliver. Oliver's PBR Team Series debut has been a wash. He missed the first quarter of the season recovering from a broken neck sustained in April during the Unleash The Beast, and then he struggled (2-for-11) in his return to action. Oliver then broke his left collarbone in two different places during a practice session at Hart’s ranch the first week of October, ending his regular season. It was originally believed Oliver might not be cleared in time for Vegas, but he told PBR.com he has been given the green light. If Hart believes Oliver is ready, he could be a huge asset for the Outlaws against Carolina. 

Young Gun to Watch: Carolina (Mason Taylor) | Kansas City (Bob Mitchell)

With his four trips to the PBR World Finals, Mason Taylor may not really qualify as a young gun, but he is still only 22 years old and the youngest rider in Carolina’s starting lineup. Taylor was one of the individuals who struggled down the stretch for Carolina, bucking off eight of his final 11 bulls. Before that, Taylor, who is still second on Carolina with 13 qualified rides, was in the midst of the MVP race and ranked third in the league. Taylor led the team with 30 appearances during the PBR Team Series. 

Bob Mitchell is second on the Outlaws with a 9-for-24 (37.5%) showing this season. Last weekend, the 2022 Rookie of the Year went 1-for-2 at the PBR Challenger Series regular-season finale in Evansville, Indiana. Mitchell is 2-for-3 against Carolina, and the Outlaws will likely need him to step up in a big way against the Cowboys.

Outlook: Carolina could be the sleeping dragon at the PBR Team Series Championship. The Cowboys may arrive in Vegas spitting fire after going a league-worst 1-5 in October. There is no doubt Carolina has one of the most talented and balanced rosters, but the question is: which team will show up in Las Vegas? Was this two-week break just what the team needed? Carolina has superstar talent and should be considered one of the heavy contenders in Vegas. Despite their inconsistencies, Carolina’s 55 qualified rides in game competition is second-most in the league behind Arizona (57).

Kansas City, meanwhile, is a near-polar opposite team. Kansas City is a lunch-pail, hard-hat-wearing, no-B.S. team. The Outlaws could have superstars in the making, and the PBR Team Series Championship could be their first chance to write their story. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, though, is the only rider on the Kansas City event roster with an 8-second ride inside T-Mobile Arena. Regardless, Kansas City does not care about how many World Champions are on Carolina’s roster or any perceived lack of experience. That will not stop them from attempting to ride every bull on Friday night.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photos courtesy of Bull Stock Media