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Championship Sunday Recap

By Matt Quinn

 

We have our Super Bowl 59 matchup. Despite what many people outside of Kansas City and Philadelphia may have wanted, The Chiefs and Eagles will meet again in a rematch of Super Bowl 57 just two years ago. That game began the quest for the three-peat for the Chiefs so it’s somewhat fitting that they meet again for the chance to clinch the three-peat. But there will be plenty of time to preview all the storylines and matchups to watch with that game. For now, let’s take a look at how it all got to this point, starting with the NFC Championship Game.

 

 

Eagles- 55, Commanders- 23

 

This was just total domination from the start for the Eagles. Though the game started with the Commanders converting some big third downs and driving down the field before ultimately kicking a field goal, the Eagles established themselves quickly on the offensive side. The very first offensive play was a toss to Saquon Barkley who happily took it 60 yards for a touchdown, bouncing off of some pretty awful tackling on his way to the end zone. From that point, the Eagles were off. Saquon also scored on his second touch of the game, giving him a crazy statline of 2 carries for 64 yards and 2 TDs. Saquon would finish with 118 yards and 3 touchdowns overall and was clearly the biggest reason for their success on offense. Jalen Hurts had himself a terrific game also. He finished with just under 250 yards passing and one passing touchdown but also added 3 more rushing touchdowns. The Eagles had a total of seven, that’s right, seven total rushing touchdowns. An absolutely insane number for any game, let alone a playoff game. On the other side, Jayden Daniels was by no means bad in this game. He had 255 yards passing, 48 yards rushing and 2 total touchdowns. It was the inability of the defense to get off the field for the entire game and untimely penalties that did them in. The Eagles now move on to their second Super Bowl in three years and with the offense and defense collectively playing tremendous football, they have a great shot at capturing their second Super Bowl title in franchise history.

 

 

Chiefs- 32, Bills- 29

 

Oh Buffalo. It seems like they will never overcome this monkey on their back that is the Kansas City Chiefs. Once again, this matchup lived up to the hype. The Chiefs did build a first half lead of 21-10 but the Bills just kept coming back. Josh Allen was good again also, finishing with 237 yards and two touchdowns. Included in those stats were some absolute darts to Mack Hollins and Curtis Samuel for touchdowns. The ground game really began to take control in the third quarter for the Bills. James Cook was incredibly effective and also had two touchdowns, including an absolutely ludicrous effort to get into the end zone to give the Bills a lead late in the 3rd quarter. This game was deep with playoff atmosphere. Every play seemed like it was the most important play of the game. But the actual most important play of the game, or at least the turning point in the game came early in the 4th quarter. The Bills had a 22-21 lead and were driving down the field using a methodical and physical run game. It seemed like all the momentum was on their side until a 4th and 1 from the Chiefs 41-yard line. The Bills ran a QB sneak with Josh Allen and the initial push appeared to be enough to give them the first down. The ball was marked short after some confusion from the side judges, one coming in and marking it short while the other ref seemed to have ball right at the first down line. The play was reviewed and it ultimately stood as called and the Bills would have to give it back to the Chiefs. Mahomes then proceeded to go right down the field and score on a ten yard scramble. They converted the 2-point conversion and took the lead 29-22. The Bills did come right back and tie it before Harrison Butker gave the Chiefs the lead that they would not relinquish. The Bills had one last chance at the end of the game but failed on a 4th and 5 where Josh Allen was immediately pressured and forced to throw it up, but it was ultimately dropped by Dalton Kincaid and that was that. The Chiefs have now won the AFC Title in 5 of the last 7 seasons and now three times in a row. Of all the other teams in NFL history to have a shot at a three-peat, they are the first team to actually make it back to the Super Bowl in that third year. Patrick Mahomes has now played in an AFC Championship game in each of his seven years as a starter, has five AFC titles, and now has a chance to win his 4th Super Bowl. All before turning 30. At the rate he is going, he could potentially blow right by Tom Brady for most Super Bowl titles. And he could do it all before even turning 35. It’s an absolutely ridiculous rate in which he is going and I don’t know how you bet against him in two weeks. Sure the Eagles have Saquon Barkley who has been tremendous, but they don’t have PAtrick Mahomes and as is always the case, that’s what matters most.