The Super Bowl LVII is in just a couple weeks, and the teams competing for the NFC and AFC championship games have been finalized.
The conference championship games will be played on January 29, 2023, starting with the NFC championship game at 3:00 with the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. The AFC championship follows at 6:30 with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs. The winner of these games will then move on to the 2023 Super Bowl in February.
These games will not be one to miss and will be two tough matchups.
What I predict will go down:
NFC Championship: Eagles vs 49ers
Jalen Hurts can throw, run, and do whatever needs to be done for the Eagles’ offense to succeed on the field as a quarterback. According to Nick Shook, NFL writer, “Hurts owns the best win-loss record (13-1) of any starting quarterback in the NFL, and stands within the top three in passing yards per attempt, touchdown-to-interception ratio, passer rating and rushing touchdowns.”
However, Hurts has been dealing with a right shoulder injury that set him back two games prior to their win over the New York Giants. As long as Hurts is playing like the star player that he is and his shoulder isn’t bothering him, then the Eagles will be able to pull away with a win over San Francisco for the championship title.
The coolness and confidence from Philadelphia contributes to the winning attitude that has helped the Eagles this far into the season and led them to the conference championships. If the Eagles can keep up this act, the conference championship will be theirs to claim for the season.
AFC Championship: Bengals vs Chiefs
Joe Burrow is cool, calm, and collected when on the field. This also includes the coaching staff who has become used to victories and making the right moves with their players. This confidence is coming from experience. Last year Burrow and the Bengals defeated Kansas City in the AFC championship but then lost in the Super Bowl. Nick Shook from the NFL writes, “They know how they lost in the end, so now they can figure out how to keep winning.” This could disrupt Kansas City’s momentum during the championship game especially with Patrick Mahomes’ recent ankle injury.
Patrick Mahomes is a top playmaker and could prove to be a challenge for the Bengals when he works seamlessly with his offensive line. He also has more playoff experience than Burrow, but that experience does not help when Mahomes chooses not to run the ball himself and depends heavily on his receivers during their plays. His new ankle injury could prove to be a major problem for this reason because he will not be able to exit his pocket to successfully pass or run the ball.
The last three matchups between Kansas City and Cincinnati have resulted in a Cincinnati win. The experience and confidence from the Bengals staff and Joe Burrow have led the team this far and will lead them to victory during the game.
