NFC Championship
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles
AFC Championship
Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs
While I had season-long visions and hopes that the Minnesota Vikings would be part of the final four fun, these are the four best teams in the league. It’s also an evenly matched final four as serious arguments can be made for each to be the last team standing.
Some Divisional Thoughts:
Chiefs 27
Jaguars 20
It’s incredible that the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs are going to their fifth consecutive AFC Championship game. The Chiefs would’ve had an easier path if Mahomes hadn’t suffered a high ankle sprain against the Jaguars. He warriored his way through this game and I’m sure he’ll do the same moving forward. The Chiefs hopes for another Super Bowl rest on that ankle.
The Jaguars are going to be a problem. The AFC boasts a load of brilliant and potentially brilliant quarterbacks. Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow top the group. Justin Herbert has the outrageous talent and potential to join those elite three. Some already have him in that group. I might have Trevor Lawrence already ahead of Herbert. Lawrence has won more and he’s won more with less talent around him. Granted, the Chargers have been so injury-plagued recently that they’ve rarely had all of their talent on the field at the same time. I just think that the Jaguars with Lawrence are on the verge of joining the Chiefs, Bengals, and Bills at the top of the AFC.
Eagles 38
Giants 7
I heard some rumblings before this game that the Giants might give the Eagles some problems. Those doing the rumbling thought that the Giants looked so damn good in the Wild Card round against the Vikings. Well, the Vikings defense is terrible. The Giants did what they wanted on offense and they still had to survive a final, potentially game-winning drive to beat the Vikings. At best, the Giants are a mediocre team. The Eagles blowout of the Giants was more expected than a surprise. Now, the same people that propped up the Giants for slicing up the Vikings are building up the Eagles as an unstoppable force for beating up a mediocre Giants team. The Jalen Hurts-led Eagles haven’t played a worthy opponent in months. They haven’t played a team like the 49ers this season.
Bengals 27
Bills 10
The Bengals looked great. The Bills looked worn out. The Bengals are peaking at the right time. Perhaps they struggled a bit against the Baltimore Ravens last week. That can happen against a rugged division opponent. The Bengals didn’t seem to struggle at all against the Bills.
Joe Burrow is just different. I can’t believe that this is only his third season in the league. And his first season was cut short by a knee injury. He plays like a seasoned 10-year veteran. Burrow and the Bengals are looking to beat the Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs for the fourth consecutive time.
Cowboys 19
49ers 12
The Cowboys might be the dumbest good team I’ve ever seen. The mistakes they made in the final few minutes of the game should’ve been drilled out of them in training camp. Or high school. Their final gadget play was ridiculous. I get that trick plays can look horrible when the defense is on to it but this play was doomed before it even got started. The Cowboys lined up in their wild formation with running back Ezekiel Elliott at center and and everyone else split to either sideline. The 49ers called timeout to talk about how to handle it. When the teams return to the field, the Cowboys stuck to their wild formation. It was so damn clear that Elliott was going to get a lateral. Why else would a team line up one of their best ball carriers as an ineligible receiver if he wasn’t going to be part of the play in some way? The 49ers immediately flattened Elliott and took him out of the play. KaVontae Turpin caught Dak Prescott’s short pass over the middle but Elliott wasn’t in place to receive the lateral. He was flat on his back. The objective was obvious. The play was stupid. The Cowboys deserved to lose simply because of it. They are in serious need of a football clinic.
Down the stretch of this season and into the playoffs, the Bengals and 49ers have been playing their best football. If that continues, it’ll set up the third Bengals-49ers Super Bowl.
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