The divisional rounds of the playoffs have certainly settled some stories about who the best team in the NFL is after an exciting weekend of games. There are 4 best teams to play in.
The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants to prove they’re still one of the best teams in the league and a Super Bowl contender all season long. Philadelphia will host the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers. The San Francisco 49ers won a showdown with the Dallas Cowboys to set up the conference with a matchup for the top two seeds.
The AFC Championship Game is expected to see a rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals and is sure to be one of the best games of the season. Patrick Mahomes put in a strong performance to help the Chiefs overtake the Jacksonville Jaguars with an ankle sprain, and Joe Burrow swept the Bengals over the Buffalo Bills in snowy Buffalo.
All the timers are in place for the conference championship weekend. This is an early primer on what’s coming next week.
All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook
NFC championship game
(2) Philadelphia Eagles (1) San Francisco 49ers
when: Sunday, January 29, 3:00 p.m.
tv set: Fox | Fox stream: Hubo TV
line: Eagles -2, O/U 45.5
The 49ers and Eagles are young in the playoffs, with Philadelphia and San Francisco only meeting in the postseason once (the 49ers won 14-0 in the 1996 NFC Wild Card Round). Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy, both starting quarterbacks in the game, are yet to be born. Hearts (24 years, 175 days) and Purdy (23 years, 33 days) will be the youngest matchups in NFC Championship Game history.
Purdy is the fourth quarterback drafted (or undrafted) after the sixth round to reach the conference championship in his first season as a starter. The 49ers are in his 18th conference his championship game, the most in NFL history (his third in the past four years). They are the only NFC team that has never played for Philadelphia in a touring playoff game.
Hurts became the youngest quarterback in Eagles history to reach a conference championship game, breaking Donovan McNabb’s record in 2001. It was his seventh appearance in a conference championship game for the Eagles since 2000, the most in the NFC and the most in the New England behind his Patriots. in the NFL. The Eagles are seeking his second Super Bowl appearance in the past six seasons, the fourth in franchise history.
The Eagles finished with the top offense in the NFC in points and yards per game, and the 49ers finished with the top defense in points and yards per game in the NFC. The game sets the stage for a thriller in Philadelphia and definitely anchors the age-old attack-versus-defense debate.
AFC Championship Game
(4) Cincinnati Bengals (1) Kansas City Chiefs
when: Sunday, January 29 at 6:30 PM ET
tv set: CBS | stream: Paramount+
line: Chief -1.5, O/U 47.5
A rematch of last year’s AFC title match between the Chiefs and Bengals is already worth the hype. Add Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow to the mix, and NFL fans could embrace another classic, especially with Mahomes playing through a sprained ankle.
Mahomes hasn’t beaten the Bengals since Burrow became the starting quarterback. Over the past two seasons, he went 0-3 against him. That includes his AFC Championship Game last year, when Kansas City took a 21-10 lead in the second quarter and lost 27-24. with time. Each of these matches was decided by his exact three points, and Cincinnati beat Kansas City in the fourth quarter, where he beat Kansas City, 26-6, and went to overtime in these games.
Mahomes is the only quarterback to start five consecutive conference championship games, joining Tom Brady (8 straight) and Ken Stabler (5 straight). He is also the only quarterback to have led the team to his fifth conference his championship his game before turning 30.
The Bengals are looking to become the first team to reach back-to-back Super Bowls without being among the top two seeds in either season since seeding began in 1975. Joe Burrow could start his two Super Bowls in his first three of his seasons as Russell Wilson’s quarterback. Burrow is 5-1 in his playoff career and 3-0 in trips (the Bengals have never won a postseason road game before Burrow). Cincinnati has never lost his AFC Championship game and in franchise history he has gone 3-0.
Mahomes vs. Barrow IV should be a classic regardless of how Chiefs quarterbacks handle ankle sprains.
