NFL 2024-25 (Conference Championships)

Out of the four possible Super Bowl matchups, there's one that most of America very much wants to see and one that the majority of the country very much doesn't.  Although I personally wouldn't really mind seeing a rematch of that excellent Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl from two years ago, I understand why that's No. 4 on the list for most people.  There's Chiefs fatigue and the Commanders are the feel good story, so it makes sense that Buffalo-Washington is the preferred option for most.

A Buffalo-Philadelphia Super Bowl would also be cool, though.  If the Bills win, they'll make their fifth Super Bowl appearance.  All five would be against NFC East teams.  And, if they were to play the Eagles, they'd have completed the NFC East cycle in the Super Bowl, making them the first team to have played against an entire division in the Super Bowl.

Washington is already joining an exclusive club.  They've already played both the Cowboys and Giants in NFC Championship Games.  Now they complete their run through the division.  They're the first NFC team and just the third team in the NFL to have played each of their current division rivals in the Conference Championship Game.  The Dolphins and Raiders have both faced all four of their pre-2002 realignment division rivals in the AFL/AFC Championship Game, but no NFC team has faced all of its current or former division foes until now.

And the Commanders' success is driving their former owner crazy.  ESPN.com had an article this morning talking about how bitter Dan Snyder is, especially since he didn't want to sell and was forced out.  It's amazing what a difference good ownership, competent management and a positive work environment can make!

It's also amazing what's been going on in Kansas City over the past seven years.  We went from the Patriots playing in eight straight AFC Championship Games to the Chiefs playing in seven straight.  Who would've thought when they met for the right to go to Super Bowl LIII that it would be two dynasties converging?  The end of New England's and the start of Kansas City's.

Kansas City, of course, has a chance to become the first team since those Patriots to play in three consecutive Super Bowls.  It would also be their fifth in six years, which no team has ever done.  And the storyline all season has been their pursuit of an unprecedented third straight championship.  It's also nuts to think that the AFC Championship Game had never been in Kansas City prior to the 2018 season.  Now, the Chiefs are hosting it for the sixth time in seven years.

Of course, as much as America doesn't like the Chiefs, they've also been wanting the Chiefs-Bills matchup.  They've played some classics over the years, including that 2021 Divisional Playoff when Buffalo blew a three-point lead with 14 seconds left, then lost in overtime.  That game prompted the (unnecessary) rule change that guarantees both teams a possession no matter what in playoff overtime.  So, for the people who want the Chiefs to lose and the Bills to win, Buffalo beating Kansas City would be the ideal outcome.

Buffalo is meeting Kansas City in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.  The Chiefs have won the previous three.  Yet the Bills have won the regular season matchup between the two in each of the past two seasons.  As for Washington and Philadelphia, they split this season, with the home team winning each.  So, while both home teams are understandably favored, seeing both road teams win isn't a crazy thought.  Or both home teams winning.  Or one and one.  Basically, I can see any of the four possible Super Bowl matchups happening.

NFC: Commanders (14-5) at Eagles (16-3): Philadelphia-This postseason has been a coming out party for Jayden Daniels & Co.  After beating Tampa Bay at literally the last second, the Commanders went into Detroit last week and moved the ball at will.  The Lions could not stop them.  It looked like a completely different defense than the one that had shut Minnesota down to clinch the 1-seed two weeks earlier.  Of course, Washington's defense didn't really stop Detroit that much, either.  But the Commanders took advantage of Lions turnovers and didn't make mistakes themselves, which allowed them to pull the upset.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, has had a pretty foolproof offensive strategy that they've utilized all season.  Just let Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley loose.  That's what they did against the Rams, and they were rewarded with big plays.  That Eagles defense doesn't get enough credit, either.  They've only given up more than 23 points twice all season...and those were two of their three losses.  So, don't expect the Commanders to run wild like they did in Detroit.

There's an important detail about the NFC Championship Game that could be an X factor.  It's outdoors.  Washington's playoff run has gone through Tampa (warm weather) and Detroit (indoors).  The Eagles have played both of their playoff games at home in the elements (it snowed for most of the Rams game).  It obviously gets cold in Washington, too (hence the Inauguration being moved indoors), but the weather in Philadelphia may do something that the Lions couldn't...shut down the Commanders offense.  If that happens, the Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl.

AFC: Bills (15-4) at Chiefs (16-2): Buffalo-Josh Allen has shown over the course of the Bills' first two playoff games why he's an MVP finalist.  He was masterful against Denver, then won the head-to-head matchup with Lamar Jackson.  Allen has also done the most important thing any quarterback can do.  He's taken care of the football.  The Bills are yet to commit a turnover in the postseason.  As a result, they're in the AFC Championship Game for the first time in four years.

As much as the Chiefs haters don't want to hear this, they're playing their best football of the season right now.  The complaints about the officiating in their games (some of which is justified) reached a fever pitch after their victory against the Texans last week, and, I think, because of that, there isn't a proper appreciation for what Kansas City has been able to accomplish.  This season, especially, has been all about the defense.  Complain about Mahomes and Kelce all you want.  The defense is the reason the Chiefs are 16-2.

One of the craziest stats in the NFL this season is that there are only three teams who haven't scored 30 points in a game.  Kansas City is one of those teams.  Yet they're a win away from another Super Bowl.  So, for all the offensive firepower the Bills and Chiefs have, I actually think we'll have a defensive battle on our hands.  One of the quarterbacks will win it in the end, though.  And I just have a feeling that quarterback will be Josh Allen.

Last Week: 2-2
Playoffs: 7-3
Overall: 184-98