The 2-time defending Tremendous Bowl champions will play subsequent weekend. And so they’ll get to face a crew they’ve knocked out of the playoffs three of the final 4 years. The NFL’s Ultimate 4 may also characteristic a attainable MVP (Payments quarterback Josh Allen), the possible NFL Offensive Rookie of the 12 months (Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels), and a 2,000-yard working again (Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley) who must be the NFL’s Offensive Participant of the 12 months.
In different phrases, the convention championship subsequent Sunday will probably be loaded, with three of the perfect groups within the NFL (the Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills), and maybe probably the most stunning and thrilling crew and finest story (the Washington Commanders). It ought to make for thrilling doubleheader subsequent Sunday, and perhaps an excellent higher Tremendous Bowl LIX two weeks after that.
Here is a take a look at the matchups within the two star-studded convention championship video games:
NFC
6. Washington Commanders at 2. Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles have had their eyes on this sport and extra since they fell aside on the finish of final season. This has been their purpose for each transfer they made within the offseason. They felt it was inevitable from the second they knew working again Saquon Barkley was on board.
So that they anticipated to be right here. The NFL anticipated them to be right here. It felt like their future.
However the Washington Commanders? No one noticed them coming — or not less than no one however them.
The upstart Commanders are the celebration crashers on this Ultimate 4, which is a becoming description as a result of this entire season has felt like a celebration for them. They have been celebrating every little thing since Josh Harris purchased the crew from Dan Snyder, then employed common supervisor Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn, and drafted quarterback Jayden Daniels.
All the things this franchise has touched within the final 12 months has turned to absolute gold.
It was clear all season lengthy that that they had constructed a robust basis and that the way forward for Washington soccer was lastly shiny. However nobody thought the long run may really be now. How can anybody deny that anymore, although, after what they did towards the Detroit Lions on Saturday evening? Daniels grew to become the primary rookie quarterback in NFL historical past to high 275 passing yards (299) and 50 speeding yards (51) in a playoff sport. He additionally helped the Commanders’ offense roll to 481 yards whereas their protection pressured 5 turnovers in a 45-31 divisional spherical win.,
The younger crew from D.C. looks like they’ll beat anybody proper now. And so they could be proper.
However the Eagles could be their largest check of all for this younger crew. Daniels does not look too massive for the second. And he’ll certainly keep in mind his five-touchdown efficiency once they beat the Eagles in Washington 36-33 on Dec. 22. However he’s working towards historical past as a result of no quarterback has ever led his crew to a Tremendous Bowl in his rookie 12 months.
And to do it, he might have to hold a protection that could possibly be notably weak to the Eagles’ model of offense. The Commanders ranked thirtieth in run protection within the common season, giving up 137.5 yards per sport on the bottom. And so they have not precisely fastened that situation within the playoffs. They gave up 201 speeding yards in Detroit on Saturday evening.
The Commanders additionally could not cease Barkley in both of their common season matchups. He ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns within the first sport (a 26-18 Eagles win in Philadelphia) and 150 yards and two touchdowns within the second. And naturally, he is pink sizzling proper now, coming off his record 205-yard performance on Sunday in a 28-22 win over the Rams.
The Eagles are additionally 14-1 for the reason that begin of October, with their solely loss coming in that sport in Washington. However the Commanders are sizzling too, using a seven-game profitable streak into their first convention championship in 33 years. So perhaps the primary all-NFC East NFC Championship Recreation for the reason that then-Washington Redskins misplaced to the New York Giants within the 1986 season was utterly sudden.
However the way in which these groups have been taking part in, perhaps it should not have been a shock in any respect.
AFC
2. Buffalo Payments at 1. Kansas Metropolis Chiefs
That is the sport the Buffalo Payments have wished all alongside.
Of their quest for his or her first Tremendous Bowl look for the reason that 1994 season and their first championship ever, they all the time knew they’d need to get by means of the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs to get it. The Chiefs have change into the Payments’ nemesis, having knocked them out of the playoffs in three of the previous 4 seasons.
They’re the thorn in Bufflao’s aspect and the massive impediment the Payments knew they’d need to climb.
So once they managed to carry off the Baltimore Ravens 27-25 on Sunday — due to a dropped two-point conversion with 1:33 to go by Ravens tight finish Mark Andrews — the Payments lastly acquired what they’ve all the time wished. They’ve an opportunity to exorcise their demons for actual. They acquired a measure of satisfaction by beating the Chiefs 30-21 through the common season, however that was in Buffalo and it was again in mid-November. This will probably be in entrance of the Chiefs dwelling followers with every little thing on the road.
The Payments are actually sturdy sufficient to lastly beat them. Quarterback Josh Allen has performed like an MVP all season lengthy and threw for 262 yards and ran for 55 extra in that sport towards the Chiefs. And the Payments protection saved Patrick Mahomes in examine, holding him to 196 passing yards (albeit with three landing passes) and selecting him off twice.
The larger query is concerning the Payments’ psychological toughness and whether or not the Chiefs are simply of their heads at this level. No NFL crew is extra battle-tested than the Chiefs, they usually proved that every one season lengthy by profitable 11 one-score video games. They know easy methods to win the shut ones, they usually know easy methods to beat the perfect groups within the postseason.
However do the Payments? They will discover out.
Nonetheless, as examined because the Chiefs are — they usually’re not simply the two-time defending champs, they’ve additionally received the AFC 4 occasions within the final 5 years — there may be positively a way that regardless of their gaudy report they’re extra weak this season than they’ve been at any time throughout their dynasty. The draw back of profitable all these shut video games is that numerous them had been loads nearer than they need to have been.
However are they actually weak? Effectively, the Chiefs did not precisely cruise previous the Texans within the divisional spherical on Saturday. They received 23-14, so it wasn’t technically a one-score sport, although their lead did not develop to 9 till they took an intentional security with 11 seconds remaining. So in nearly each method, this was no completely different than the 11 one-score video games they received through the common season. The Texans had been even solely down one level because the fourth quarter started.
And truly, in some methods this was much more of a battle for the Chiefs. That they had simply 212 yards of offense — by far their worst output of the season in case you do not rely once they rested all their starters in Week 18. And solely 50 of these yards got here on the bottom.
In the meantime, the Payments beat a robust and harmful Baltimore Ravens crew within the divisional spherical — a crew with the possible MVP in quarterback Lamar Jackson and the second most-dangerous working again within the NFL in Derrick Henry. Each of them had fairly mediocre video games for them. After all, so did Allen (who threw for simply 127 yards and ran for under 20). It isn’t a very good signal that the Payments offense was held below 300 yards.
Perhaps none of that may matter on Sunday, although, in what is definitely a heavyweight matchup. In some ways, these two groups have been making ready for one another since method again within the offseason. And so they have felt like they have been on a collision course with one another all 12 months.
Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports activities. He spent the earlier six years overlaying the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and earlier than that, 16 years overlaying the Giants and the NFL for the New York Each day Information. Comply with him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
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