Football fans, there are just three games left in the season. It’s hard to believe that we’re almost at the end of another season, but we have two great games this weekend to keep us entertained.
NFC Championship: San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles
This game is giving very much battle of the titans. Easily the two best teams in the NFC, these two teams are very similar. Both have very physical defenses that make opposing quarterbacks’ lives hell for the entire game and both have running games that can wear teams down.
We’ve all been waiting for Brock Purdy to come back down to earth, but all he does is continue to win. This will be the rookie’s most significant test on the biggest stage in a very hostile environment. No pressure right? History is certainly not on his side with the four other rookie starting quarterbacks going 0 for 4 in the championship round.
Kyle Shanahan will try and take as much pressure off of Purdy and put it on their All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey. If you were to point out a weakness in the Eagles’ defense it would be defending the run. Look for San Francisco to try and establish the run game early, something they did not do last weekend. The last thing the 49ers want is to have to match touchdowns with an Eagles offense that boasts AJ Brown and Devonta Smith led by Jalen Hurts who is a weapon by himself.
If anyone was worried about Jalen Hurts’ shoulder, he proved they shouldn’t be in Philadelphia’s dominant win over the New York Giants. When healthy, Hurts is an MVP candidate. This season, the Eagles are 15-1 when Hurts starts a game. It’s hard to bet against Philadelphia after seeing them last weekend.
AFC Championship: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain against the Jaguars and made his return to practice today. He said he was “feeling good”. It will be interesting to see just how limited Mahomes’ mobility is on the field. He was able to return to the game last week, but he was severely limited. We’ve seen Mahomes play through injury in Super Bowl 55 and Kansas City lost 31-9 to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He should be feeling better, but don’t expect the Bengals to take sympathy on the quarterback standing in their way of returning to the Super Bowl. On the bright side, he’s still throwing to the best tight end in football in Travis Kelce so it’s not like they can’t score.
The Bengals are coming off their most impressive win. Many thought with sixty percent of their offensive line sidelined, the Bills would have a field day getting to Joe Burrow. Instead, Burrow was comfortable in the pocket and Joe Mixon had a big day with 105 yards and a touchdown. Mixon did not play in Cincinnati’s win against Kansas City this season. Kansas City’s defense is much better at rushing the passer and will do everything to make Burrow’s day as troublesome as possible.
The Bengals have beaten Kansas City in their last three matchups including last year’s AFC Championship game. This is quite the rivalry in the making and both teams seem to be embracing it.
