Expect the Eagles and Bengals to face off in the Super Bowl

In the first game of the weekend, we saw the Jacksonville Jaguars face off against the Kansas City Chiefs, who had the AFC’s first-round bye.

The Jaguars came back from a 27-0 deficit to upset the Chargers in one of the biggest comebacks in NFL playoff history in the previous round.However, they ran out of that magic in this round. Despite an ankle injury to Patrick Mahomes early in the game, the Chiefs were able to power through and beat the Jags 27-20. Kansas City was heavily favored in this game, and no one expected the Jaguars to make the playoffs at the beginning of the season.

The second game of the playoffs featured the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles, who had the NFC’s first-round bye. The Giants, who were not expected to make the playoffs at the beginning of the season, were able to find their way to be the sixth seed in the NFC. They traveled to Minnesota in the Wild Card round and upset the three-seed Vikings 31-24.

With the Giants rolling, the Eagles finishing the season poorly and quarterback Jalen Hurts’s shoulder injury, many people thought the Giants might be able to pull out another upset win. However, there were no signs of success all throughout the game as the Eagles stomped on the Giants 38-7.

The third game of the weekend included the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills. This game was arguably the best matchup of the Divisional Round. The reigning AFC Champs, the Bengals, headed to Buffalo to face a Super Bowl favorite that has been through so much this season with snowstorms, injuries and the scary Damar Hamlin situation that occurred against the Bengals earlier in the year. However, the Bengals came into Buffalo, took the game and never gave it back. In a snowy affair, Joe Burrow and the Bengals took care of the high-powered Bills 27-10 to earn themselves a trip to Kansas City for a rematch of the 2022 AFC Championship.

Lastly, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to San Francisco to renew a historic playoff rivalry dating back to the Joe Montana days. The Cowboys have had one of the best offenses all year and a much-improved defense led by Micah Parsons. This showed in their Wild Card game against the Bucs as they handed Tom Brady the worst playoff loss of his career. On the other hand, the Niners are considered the hottest team in all of football, with seventh-round rookie quarterback Brock Purdy leading the way.

This game was arguably the closest of them all, as it turned out to be a defensive slugfest. However, we saw Dallas continue to fall short in the playoffs and ultimately choke the game, losing 19-12. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, coming off one of the best performances of his career, threw two interceptions against the Niners. The Cowboys struggled to manage the clock well at the end. This also included a ridiculous last-play attempt that did not have any chance whatsoever. In the NFC Championship, the 49ers are now slated to face off against the Eagles in Philadelphia, arguably the toughest environment to play in.

These are likely two of the best teams on paper from top to bottom in the NFL. I expect a lot of running the football with defenses controlling the game. I expect it to be quite the slugfest as we saw in the Niners-Cowboys matchup; however, there may be a chance for the offenses on both sides to break through and compete in a shootout-type game.

To me, the Eagles seem to be destined to come out of the NFC, and I do not see them losing at home in that type of environment. I’ll go with the Eagles to make the Super Bowl, but do not fully count out San Francisco. In the AFC Championship, the Bengals and Chiefs will play each other in the AFC Championship for the second straight year in Kansas City on Sunday, Jan. 29.

Last year, we saw the Bengals shock the world and put themselves on the map by beating Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, but fell to the Rams in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs, on the other hand, have proved to maintain dominance despite the loss of Tyreek Hill this past offseason. I am a bit concerned about Mahomes’s mobility with his high ankle sprain, but I expect him to play just fine.

After watching the Bills lose to the Bengals in that kind of fashion, I really do believe the Bengals are going to win this game despite injuries to the offensive line. Cincy’s offensive line held up well against Buffalo, but they will likely face a tougher pass rush this week against Kansas City. Expect a great game that could go either way, but I will ride with Joe Burrow and the Bengals for this one.