The AFC and NFC Championships are set: The San Francisco 49ers will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia for the NFC Championship game at 1pm MST Sunday, and the Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs at 4:30 pm MST. The winners of the two games will then face off in the Super Bowl on February 12th.
Before we discuss these upcoming matches, let’s look at how each team got here. The 49ers defeated the Cowboys last Sunday 19-12. Their defense, arguably the best in the NFL, made life difficult for Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. Prescott threw two interceptions, and both offenses only scored one touchdown each. The Eagles destroyed the New York Giants 38-7 on Saturday, with quarterback Jalen Hurts putting on an absolute clinic, completing 16 out of 24 pass attempts and throwing for two scores, and running for another..
The Chiefs, led by a slightly injured Patrick Mahomes, pulled out a divisional round win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, defeating them 27-20. Mahomes injured his ankle early in the game, and was taken to the locker room. Backup QB Chad Henne led a 90+ yard touchdown drive in Mahomes’ absense. Mahomes would then return after halftime to throw his second touchdown and secure victory for the Chiefs.
The Cincinnati Bengals took on the Buffalo Bills, in a rematch of the no-contest regular season game a couple weeks ago. It was a snowy day in Buffalo and the Bills looked out of sorts. Despite playing on the road, the Bengals dominated the entire game. Ja’Marr Chase and Hayden Hurst caught touchdown passes from quarterback Joe Burrow, and Joe Mixon rushed for one more score, allowing the Bengals to easily claim victory 27-10.
The NFC Championship is a very interesting matchup this year, with two of the most high powered offenses and defenses facing off. Predicting a game like this is always hard, but despite the win, the 49ers did not look like their usual selves on offense on Sunday against the Cowboys. Rookie QB Brock Purdy didn’t have any touchdowns, and only running back Christian McCaffrey found the end zone. They will need to play their best football on Sunday to match a red-hot Philadelphia team, who is many people’s Super Bowl favorite.
The AFC Championship is a rematch of last year’s game, where the Bengals beat the Chiefs 27-24 in a thrilling overtime game. Both teams are on a hot streak; the Bengals have not lost a single game since October, and the Chiefs have won their last five. Their last loss? A 27-24 defeat to guess who — the Bengals. You can bet the Chiefs are angry, and have something to prove, as this Cincinnati team has proven to be their kryptonite. No matter what result, these matchups will surely provide a very interesting and exciting finale to the NFL season.

Ben’s Picks: …
AFC Championship: Bengals 31 – Chiefs 28

NFC Championship: Eagles 34 – 49ers 24

SUPER BOWL: Bengals 21 – Eagles 13