Championship Sunday began in South Philly at the Linc, with rookie phenom Jayden Daniels and the Commanders, hailing from the D.M.V., facing the Eagles’ star-studded roster. Washington entered red-hot after handedly beating the Detroit Lions, with Daniels dicing up the Aaron Glenn lead defense.
Philadelphia came into Sunday after defending their home field against Sean McVay’s Rams, with Saquon Barkley and the Eagles’ offensive line dominating L.A. for 205 rushing yards at 7.9 yards per carry.
The NFC Championship began with Washington orchestrating an 18-play, 7-minute drive, converting multiple 4th downs, including a crafty 5-yard scramble by Daniels. However, they had to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Zane Gonzales. Philadelphia and Saquan responded instantly, as the All-Pro broke a 60-yard touchdown run on their first play.
Washington’s momentum faltered when Dyami Brown fumbled on their next drive, setting up the Eagles in Commanders’ territory. From there, Philadelphia kept the ship steady, with the Eagles scoring a touchdown on 4 out of their 7 next offensive drives they had leading into the 4th.
Washington stayed competitive, trailing 34-23 entering the 4th quarter, but the Eagles exploded with three more touchdowns. The Commanders’ limped to the finish line, with their final drives ending with two turnovers on downs and an interception. Philadelphia secured a 55-23 victory, advancing to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
Championship weekend continued at a chilly Arrowhead Stadium, with the defending back-to-back Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Buffalo Bills. The Bills, led by MVP front-runner Josh Allen, arrived confident after defeating Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in the Divisional Round. The game came down to the wire, (no Baltimore pun intended) but the Bills ended up on top, buying their ticket to the Arrowhead invitational for the AFC Championship.
Buffalo’s offense sputtered early, punting the ball to K.C on their first drive. The Chiefs struck first with a 9-play, 90-yard drive capped by a 12-yard Kareem Hunt touchdown. Allen responded with a drive ending in a field goal, but the Chiefs’ momentum fell flat when Patrick Mahomes fumbled on their next drive, recovered by Bills’ defensive tackle Ed Oliver. The game then turned into a fist fight with both teams trading two touchdowns in the 2nd quarter, only for Buffalo to fail on the 2-point conversion attempt after the last touchdown of the half, with K.C still up 21-16.
The third quarter was pretty tame, with Buffalo scoring a touchdown near the 3 minute mark of the quarter, but, once again, they failed the 2-point attempt, giving them a slim lead of 22-21. The final quarter is where it really came close, with both teams trading touchdowns at first, after the Bills failed on a 4th down try, tying the game at 29-29.
Kansas City then went on a quick 2 minute drive to kick a field goal to give themselves a 3 point lead over the Bills. With their season and a chance at the Super Bowl on the line, the Buffalo Bills failed to pick up a first down on a dropped pass from Dalton Kincaid on a 4th & 5, ending their season right then and there on a cold Sunday night in Missouri.
Kansas City is on the fast track to cementing themselves in NFL history and completing something no one has ever done or, frankly, hasn’t really gotten close to. Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid, are making their cases for the G.O.A.T in their respective positions loud and clear for everyone to hear. Mahomes now leads his position all time in postseason passer rating, completion percentage, and winning percentage.
The Super Bowl 59 stage is now set, with the unorthodox yet successful coaching style of Nick Sirianni and the Saquon Barkley led Philadelphia Eagles, taking on the poster boys of winning and consistency in the NFL, the Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City Chiefs.
This matchup is nothing short of polarizing, with the Eagles having the chance to cement themselves among the few and greatest to ever do it, with the Chiefs even having the opportunity to do what those before them couldn’t, thus carving out their own spot in NFL history. These next two weeks leading up to the game are going to be brutal.
