The two biggest games of the NFL season thus far went down last Sunday. The Eagles faced off against the 49ers and the Chiefs matched up against the Bengals for a trip to Arizona and a spot in the Super Bowl. I'm here to give you my thoughts on these two games and how the winning teams look going into the big game.
Philadelphia Eagles: 31 - San Francisco 49ers: 7
Starting off with the NFC championship game, the 49ers really had no chance to win this game. I don't think I've ever seen a more unlucky string of injuries than I did with the 49ers in this game. Nick Bosa got banged up, Fred Warner got hurt, and most importantly the two quarterbacks they had on the roster got hurt. Brock Purdy, who was already the third stringer, went out pretty early in the game with an elbow injury which brought in Josh Johnson who eventually went out with a concussion. There came a time when the 49ers offense was relying on trick plays because they quite literally didn't have a QB who could throw the ball. Purdy came back in but couldn't lift his arm up. Outside of that this game was a battle between an immovable object (Eagles o-line) vs an unstoppable force (49ers defense). The Eagles ran a bunch of read option with Jalen Hurts, which usually works for them considering they've had the best rushing offense in the NFL throughout the year. The 49ers, on the other hand, have been the best at preventing that all year, but they really had no shot in this one. They were completely gassed towards the end because they couldn't get off the field due to the offense's lack of ability to move the ball. I don't think the Eagles played as well as the score suggests though. They benefited from a tired 49ers defense and good field position, but the o-line did look phenomenal as always even with Lane Johnson being hurt. The Eagles front 7 (especially Haason Reddick) is just otherworldly and dominated throughout the game. You can't really take too much away from this game due to the issues the 49ers were facing, but I do think the Eagles would have won even if San Fran was healthy. The Eagles have been the best team in the NFL throughout the season and I feel no different about that after this game. Looking at the 49ers going forward they've got some interesting decisions to make especially at QB. Jimmy G is a free agent and is likely gone so that leaves you to choose between Trey Lance and Brock Purdy. I'd go with Lance, mostly because I think he's got wild potential and they picked him 3rd overall. QB is clearly what's holding them back from being truly dominant and I think Lance gives you a better shot than Purdy does in the long run.
pc: Matt Slocum/AP
Kansas City Chiefs: 23 - Cincinnati Bengals: 20
Alright, time for the game that was actually entertaining. The Chiefs finally beat their boogeyman and put an end to the "Burrowhead" talk along with the countless other comments the Bengals fans, players, and Cincinnati elected officials had to say. The Chiefs came into this game with Pat Mahomes playing on a high ankle sprain, and despite that he was still able to make throws while clearly being in pain and limping off the field occasionally. The Bengals death sentence in this game was their O-line and the Chiefs d-line, specifically Chris Jones. The Bengals came into the game missing three starters on the line facing one of the best pass rushers in the league and that went about as well as you'd expect. The Chiefs sacked Burrow five times and were getting pressure at will, but I do think Burrow played okay in spite of that. He made some big plays alongside Tee Higgens and Ja'Marr Chase that shifted the tide of the game. Outside of the front 7, I thought the Chiefs secondary played very well. There were some occasional mistakes and times where Ja'Marr Chase was just better than the two guys covering him. All of the corners for the Chiefs were rookies after L'Jarius Sneed went down in the first, and they held one of the best passing attacks in the league to 20 points and one passing touchdown. As far as the Chiefs offense goes, they couldn't run the ball at all and 3 of the top 4 receiving targets went out with injuries at various points throughout the game, but they still managed to move the ball through the air fairly well. MVS really stepped up late in the game too. Kelce was getting doubled and MVS was the only other receiver that has regularly started for the Chiefs on the field, and he really saved some drives by getting open down field towards the end. Despite the injuries to the offense, the Chiefs still managed to pull out a win at the very end. The Bengals Super Bowl window is still very much open but it will start to get tighter and tougher. Burrow's about to get paid a record setting contract, Tee Higgins is ready for a new contract, and a Ja'Marr Chase contract negotiation is looming in the future. Some pieces on the defense like Jessie Bates, Von Bell, and DJ Reader may be casualties of the salary cap but as long as they keep their big 3 together they'll always have a shot.
pc: Charlie Riedel/AP
Super Bowl LVII Preview
The Kelce Bowl, the 2 one seeds from their respective conferences match up to decide a champion. On paper, the Eagles have the pretty clear edge based on rosters. As I stated previously, the Chiefs have 3 healthy wide receivers as of today, missing their best corner in L'Jarius Sneed with a concussion, and Mahomes still has an injured ankle. The big thing for KC is to get healthy, Sneed will be back more than likely, and I'd imagine Juju and Kadarius Toney will be back, and maybe Hardman finally gets healthy. The big question is Mahomes, if he looks how he did against the Bengals I don't love KC's odds against Philly. He needs that scramble and rushing ability that just wasn't there against Cincy. The Eagles defense is ridiculously stacked, they have four players with 11+ sacks and that matched up against the Chiefs tackles is not what you want to see if you're a Chiefs fan. Along with the pass rush, the secondary includes three pro-bowl caliber guys. The Eagles posses the best o-line in the league and have been able to run the ball against everyone and I don't see the Chiefs run defense being the one to stop them. As lopsided as that may sound in favor of the Eagles, the Chiefs have a very good shot at winning. The way the Commanders won (only team to beat the Eagles with Jalen Hurts) was keeping the ball on the ground and dominating the time of possession. The Eagles "weak spot" is the run defense, and the Chiefs have shown the ability to run the ball effectively throughout points of the year with Pacheco and McKinnon. But the great equalizer in this game is Patrick Mahomes. He's virtually unstoppable and with the given time to rest and heal his ankle I'd imagine he'll be able to move around come game time. The best path to win for the Chiefs is for Mahomes to go nuclear and score 45 points and just outpace the Eagles. If they can force the Eagles to pass and stay away from the run game I like their odds. The Chiefs offense will be by far the biggest test the Eagles defense has faced all year, and as great as Hurts has been this year the fear of the run game is what opens up the passing game. All in all, this game should be fantastic and as a Chiefs fan I'm clearly pulling for them but I do really like most of the players on the Eagles, so it won't hurt me too bad to see them win another ring.
pc: via Fansided