They Played Their Game And It Paid Off

The third time was the charm for the Philadelphia Eagles as they played their division rivals, the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game. The season series was split between the two with the Commanders winning their last matchup in a come from behind victory. For the Eagles in this game they made Washington play a one dimensional style with their running game becoming almost non-existent. They totaled 99 yards rushing when they had double that in their previous game against Detroit. Turnovers didn’t help the Commanders either as QB Jayden Daniels threw one interception and three different players fumbled the ball. With those four turnovers the Eagles scored 28 points off of them. That is what made the ultimate difference in this game. QB Jalen Hurts was efficient and ran for three touchdowns with RB Saquon Barkley running for another three in the process. The defense became the catalyst for what the offense needed to do for the Eagles. That should be encouraging as they head into their fifth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

One Step Closer To The 3-Peat

In the previous dynasty of the NFL, the New England Patriots went to 13 AFC Championship games and 9 Super Bowls in a 20-year period with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady together. In a 7-year stretch with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs have played in 7 AFC Championship games and soon to be 5 Super Bowls. The Chiefs played a familiar foe in the Buffalo Bills who defeated them earlier in the regular season when the Chiefs were still undefeated at the time. Buffalo had to play a perfect game, but didn’t in the end when they needed to convert a crucial fourth down to keep a drive going into Kansas City’s territory. RB James Cook only touched the ball 16 times (13 rushes, 3 catches) which is far too low for how important he has been for them this season. He did score two touchdowns on the ground for the Bills. Kansas City did what they always do in one possession games and that is move the ball methodically and capitalize on mismatches. WR Xavier Worthy was a mismatch for Buffalo and his speed was no match for their secondary. QB Patrick Mahomes threw one touchdown pass to Worthy, but also added two touchdowns on the ground to counter what QB Josh Allen was doing for the Bills. Even RB Kareem Hunt played his best game of the season with 64 rushing yards and an opening drive touchdown for the Chiefs. Head coach Andy Reid is putting himself in a rare class with the likes of Bill Belichick going for his fourth Super Bowl title since coming to Kansas City. This latest run being a possible three-peat which has never been seen in the NFL since the Green Bay Packers from 1965-67. Green Bay winning the last NFL Championship and the first two Super Bowls in those respective seasons. With that said it has been an impressive run for the Chiefs even with doubts about how a ‘fix’ has been put in to ensure it got to this point. Let’s just hope this upcoming matchup doesn’t end like the last one did between the Eagles and the Chiefs in Super Bowl 57.