Another year of NFL Conference Championships is in the books. Let’s take a moment to break down both games, before moving forward to look at this year’s Super Bowl matchup.
The first game saw rookie quarterback phenom, Jayden Daniels, leading the Washington Commanders into the home of their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles. To the credit of the Commanders’ offense, they held on for dear life, but there’s only so much you can do when your defense allows for 55 points to be scored against you.
The Commanders struck first with a 34-yard field goal from Zane Gonzalez. Philadelphia responded with back-to-back touchdown runs from Saquon Barkley, the first going for 60 yards.
In the second quarter, the Commanders put up another field goal, followed by a touchdown pass of their own to Terry McLaurin. However, their momentum was stopped when they failed to convert a game-tying two-point conversion attempt. In the last two minutes before halftime, the Eagles managed to score two more touchdowns, giving them a 15-point lead. Gonzalez was able to kick a last-second field goal for the Commanders, making the score 27-15 at halftime.
The second half was even more one-sided than the first. Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts, ran for another touchdown to go up by 19 points. In a desperate last gasp, the Commanders responded with one last touchdown run of their own, before they seemingly accepted their fate in the fourth quarter.
Philadelphia scored three more touchdowns, going up 55-23 by the end. After a year away, the Eagles have found themselves in the Super Bowl once again, only this time they have one of the most dangerous weapons in the league, Saquon Barkley, running for them.
In the AFC, things went about as predictably as one could guess. Josh Allen kept the Buffalo Bills in the game until the end, but they just couldn’t get the job done. To nobody’s surprise, the Kansas City Chiefs are going back to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs struck first with a rushing touchdown to open up the game. The Bills’ kicker, Tyler Bass, answered by nailing a 53-yard field goal.
In the second quarter, the Bills took the lead with a rushing touchdown from James Cook. The Chiefs responded with back-to-back touchdowns to go up by 11 points. However, the Bills scored one more touchdown with less than a minute before halftime, making the score 21-16.
James Cook gave Buffalo the lead back with a third-quarter touchdown, but a second failed two-point conversion is a mistake the Bills couldn’t afford to make in a game like this.
In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs retook the lead with a touchdown run from Patrick Mahomes, as well as a successful two-point conversion to put them up by seven. With six minutes left, the Bills tied the game with a touchdown of their own. However, the Chiefs were able to drain out the clock, score another field goal for the lead, and hold the Bills offense for long enough to end the game. The final score was 32-29.
The Super Bowl will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 in New Orleans, LA, featuring a halftime show by Kendrick Lamar, accompanied by SZA.
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Leff.
