Three weeks away from the Super Bowl and we are down to the final four NFL teams that will compete for their conference’s championship. After a very different year for the NFL, we get a great matchup for both conference championships.
For the NFC it will be the superstar-stacked San Francisco 49ers against the nothing to something Detroit Lions. On the other side, representing the AFC is the superhero story of Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens against the always playoff-reliable Kansas City Chiefs.
The NFC playoffs have been nothing but enjoyable. The conference kicked off with two huge upsets ending with the Cowboys and Eagles packing their bags for Cabo after the first round. In a time where the NFC is seen as the weaker conference, with quarterbacks that don’t have the hype and star power of the AFC, we finally saw a step up with close, nail-biting games. However, the 49er’s have been the best team, the favorites to win the NFC—and that hasn’t changed.
The Niners are going to have to answer some questions though, starting with the big news: will Deebo Samuel play on Sunday? This has a huge effect on the 49er’s team because—let’s be real—Brock Purdy needs his superstars around him to play well. If Samuel doesn’t play, then you’re running Christian McCaffrey into the ground (and McCaffrey is injury prone himself). A fully healthy 49er’s team is very dangerous though, as we’ve seen all year. With Nick Bosa leading the defense and having to be double-teamed, there’s room for some of the other defensive superstars to shine. Another question for San Francisco: how do you compete when you’re playing against America? All of America is Team Lions except the couple salty Green Bay Packer fans who are still reeling from their close loss.
The Detroit Lions have been an underdog often this season, and even after a great regular season, they’ve been doubted in the playoffs—especially when we learned Matthew Stafford was going to be making his comeback to Ford Field. However, Jared Goff took the pressure like the veteran he is, and rallied his team to victory. Jared Goff is a good quarterback who is very similar to Brock Purdy. He needs his superstars around him, like Amon-Ra St. Brown, who has absolutely broken out this season. Following right behind him is rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who has also been phenomenal. Then Aidan Hutchinson on defense leads a young unit that has been over-performing. After not winning a playoff game since 1991, America’s NFC team is looking to make it to the Super Bowl.
I think the most interesting part of this year’s final four is that the NFC teams are built completely differently than the AFC teams. The NFC championship will be a contest of check-downs and letting the non-quarterback superstars do the work. In the AFC championship, on the other hand, it’s going to be a battle of two great quarterbacks. They have great teams too, of course, but the signal callers are the real show.
One of these is Patrick Mahomes, who is the undisputed best quarterback in the NFL right now. This guy is the hardest to beat in the playoffs. We’re talking about a Kansas City team that is playing in their fifth consecutive AFC championship, all lead by Mahomes. Not only that, but he’s won three of his five AFC championships so far. It’s hard to bet against this guy, especially when Taylor Swift and Jason Kelce are cheering them on. However, once you move your focus past Mahomes, Travis Kelce is a Hall of Fame talent who becomes just as good as Mahomes when it’s playoff time. After that, there’s a huge drop off from the usual Kansas City chiefs’ team. On paper this team should not be a top four team, but I’m never betting against Mahomes.
America’s AFC team, the Baltimore Ravens, are the most rooted for team this playoff. The Ravens are led by their quarterback, Lamar Jackson, who is looking to have his second MVP season. This time he’s hoping to finally fulfill his draft day promise to win the Ravens a Super Bowl. After dealing with many injuries the past few years, he is finally at full strength to lead the best Ravens team we’ve seen in a long time. Helping him is another great rookie from this class, wide receiver Zay Flowers. This Ravens team seems to be unbeatable, especially after destroying the 49ers in the regular season 33-19. They easily beat the rookie of the year CJ Stroud and the Texans in the divisional round. If they perform at their full-strength Saturday, it could be too hard for Mahomes to win the game.
These Conference championship games are lining up to be great and fun to watch. There may be some favorites, but it’s anybody’s game to win.