The NFL conference championships are played by the four remaining teams in the NFL playoffs to determine the champions of the National Football Conference, the NFC, and the champions of the American Football Conference, the AFC. The winners of these two games would go on to play in the Super Bowl exactly two weeks later. At 3:00pm on Sunday, January 26 on FOX, the second seeded Philadelphia Eagles played against the sixth seeded Washington Commanders in the NFC championship. Coming into the playoffs, the Eagles were a huge favorite to win it all, led by a juggernaut offense consisting of Saquon Barkley, the best running back in the NFL, dual-threat quarterback Jalen Hurts, all-star wide receivers AJ Brown and Devonte Smith, topped off with an offensive line that ranks in the top three in the league every year. On the defensive end, the Eagles allowed the lowest amount of points in the NFL, with a balanced, punishing defensive core led by Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Darius Slay Jr. The Eagles cruised past the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams to the NFC title game, and were six point favorites with a 63% chance to win over the Commanders. Washington on the other hand, had to overcome a very difficult path, pulling off unprecedented upsets to knock off heavily favored teams such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and first seeded Detroit Lions. After going 4-13 in the previous season, the Commanders drafted quarterback Jayden Daniels in the first round, who brought a tremendous amount of spark and skill into the team through his incredible season, and is the hands down favorite to win Rookie of the Year. The Commanders’ offense also consisted of a few other all-stars, including running back Brian Robinson Jr, wide receiver Terry McLaurin, and tight end Zach Ertz, who aided Daniels into putting together an offense that was top five in the NFL in points per game. On the defensive end, the Commanders were led by aging, but still very proficient all stars including linebacker Bobby Wagner and cornerback Marshon Lattimore, but besides those two, Washington’s defense was lacking, finishing in the bottom half of the league. NFL fans everywhere were wondering whether the up-and-coming Commanders would crumble to the flawless Eagles, or if Daniels and crew could pull off another miracle. “I was thinking the Eagles were gonna win, but I thought it was gonna be a bit of a closer game, so I was surprised that it was such a blowout win,” explained Valon Iljazi, a junior at DHS and an avid NFL and New England Patriots fan.
The Commanders began with the ball, and came off to a good start. On their opening drive, Daniels and the Commanders meticulously converted several crucial third and fourth downs, eventually setting up for a 34-yard field goal from kicker Zane Gonzolez. The tables immediately turned, as on the Eagles’ first offensive snap, Saquon Barkley took off and broke away to the left side, blazing right past the defense for a 60-yard rushing touchdown. Only a few plays later, Commanders wide receiver Dyami Brown fumbled a completed pass that would be recovered by Eagles safety Reed Blankenship just inside Commanders territory. After a few quick passes from Hurts to receivers and tight end Dallas Goedert, Barkley ran to the right sideline for a four yard touchdown, and Washington was trailing 14-3 before they even realized it. Needing a big play to bring them back into the game, the Commanders faked a punt on 4th & 6 at their own 31 yard line, but managed to emerge successfully and pick up 23 yards. After being sacked and severely pressured into three straight incompletions, Washington kicked a 46-yard field goal. After Eagles kicker Jake Elliot missed a 54-yard field goal, the Commanders had their chance. Four plays later, Daniels threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to McLuarin, but his pass attempt on his point conversion try was broken up, leaving the Commanders only down by two points. At this point the Eagles began to really turn things into gear, with Hurts, Barkley, and crew methodically moving the ball downfield over twelve plays, capped off with a one yard QB sneak by Hurts for a touchdown. On the following kickoff, the Commanders’ returner Jeremy McNichols fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Philadelphia’s Kenneth Gainwell. The Eagles scored a touchdown very soon afterwards off of a four-yard pass from Hurts to AK Brown. Washington then squeaked in a 42-yard field goal as the first half came to a close, bringing the score to an Eagles lead of 27-15.
The second half began with both teams punting after three and outs. Right after a 26-yard completion to Dallas Goedert, Hurts ran it himself to the left for a nine-yard touchdown. The Commanders responded soon after, with Daniels running it himself to the right sideline after eight plays for a touchdown, followed by a successful two point conversion pass, bringing the score to 34-23. From here the bloodbath by the Eagles would ensue. After a punt by Philideplhpia, Commanders running back Austin Ekeler fumbled the ball at the 50-yard line, to which after huge chunk plays by Brown and Barkley, Hurts would QB sneak into the end zone once again. Having to for it on 4th & 11, Daniels would get sacked by Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith Jr, resulting in a turnover on downs. Four plays later, Barkley ran in another touchdown from four yards out, bringing the score to a 48-23 lead for Philadelphia. After leading a good drive downfield, Daniels threw an interception into the end zone that would get picked off by Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell. A few plays later, Eagles backup running back Will Shipley took off down the left sideline for a 57-yard gain, and a few plays after that, ran two yards to score his first ever NFL touchdown, and bring the Eagles to 55 points, setting a new record for most points by a single team in a conference championship. The game ended with the Commanders turning the ball over on downs once again, bringing the final score to a profound Eagles win of 55-23.
The reason for the Eagles blowout win can easily be attributed to the Eagles’ dominant rushing attack that tormented the Commanders’ defense all game. Iljazi explained the key to Philadelphia’s win as, “Two words— Saquon Barkey.” Barkley put up 118 rushing yards while averaging 7.9 yards per carry to score three touchdowns, a statline unheard of in a playoff game. In addition, Jalen Hurts and Will Shipley combined for 93 yards rushing and ran in four touchdowns together, bringing a level of depth to the Eagles’ running game that no one can match. As for the Commanders, “Their run defense collapsed, and they turned the ball over way too many times,” Iljazi articulated. Between fumbles, interceptions, and turnovers on downs, the Commanders turned the ball over to the Eagles a total of six times, handing Philadelphia way too many scoring opportunities that they would repeatedly go on to capitalize off of. With all of this, the Eagles cruised their way into Super Bowl 59.
About a half an hour after the NFC championship wrapped up, the AFC championship would be played at 6:30pm on CBS between the first seeded Kansas City Chiefs and second seeded Buffalo Bills. The Kansas City Chiefs were coming off of back to back Super Bowl victories and were aspiring to be the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls. They pulled off many close wins during the regular season to manage a 15-2 record, tied for the best in the league, and coming into the game fully prepared to win after a controlling 23-14 win over the Houston Texans in the week prior. The Chiefs were trying to make history, and many projected that they would do so, being ranked the #1 favorite to win the Super Bowl all season long. Kansas City had an offense that was top twelve in points per game in the league, led by all-time great quarterback Patrick Mahomes, all time great tight end Travis Kelce, key running backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt, all-star wide receivers JuJu Smith-Shuster and DeAndre Hopkins, and a top three offensive line in the league. The Chiefs’ defense was even better and top five in the NFL in least points allowed, led by all-star defensive linemen Chris Jones and Tershawn Wharton, along with all-star cornerback Trent McDuffie. The Chiefs were favored by just one point, but ironically given only a 44% chance of winning against the Buffalo Bills, who many believed that it was finally their year. In four of the previous five years, the Buffalo has faced off against and lost to Kansas City in the playoffs, and it was expected that this could at least be the year that the Bills made it over the hump. The Bills have been battle-tested all year and were just coming off of a 27-25 thriller win over the Baltimore Ravens. The Bills were led by top three Josh Allen, their strong, dual-threat quarterback that has been one of the very best in the NFL his entire career, combined with all-star running back James Cook and all-star wide receiver Amari Cooper to create an offense that was top two in the NFL in points scored. Defensively, the Bills were top twelve in the league for giving up the least amount of points per game, led by defensive linemen Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips, alongside linebacker Matt Milano and cornerbacks Rasul Douglas and Taron Johnson. The question NFL fans everywhere were asking themselves was whether or not Buffalo would once and for all put their foot down and beat the Chiefs or if Kansas City would move on to become one game away from making history. “So I did think the Bills were gonna win but I was not really surprised when the Chiefs won because it feels like they do every year,” Iljazi pointed out.
Buffalo began with the ball but after a short rush and Allen’s first two passes nearly intercepted, the Bills immediately punted. On their first drive Mahomes easily moved the ball downfield, with one play being a 31-yard pass to Smith-Shuster, to which Kareem Hunt would run twelve yards to the left side a few plays later for a Chiefs touchdown. The Bills would then convert on third down twice to get in range for a 53-yard field goal from kicker Tyler Bass, and after driving downfield on his next drive to the Bills 23-yard line, Mahomes fumbled the snap, and it was recovered by Ed Oliver. After driving to the Kansas City 30-yard line, the Bills were faced with a 3rd & 13. Allen found Shakir with a dart right over the middle of the field for a 24-yard gain, which was followed by a six-yard touchdown run to the left end by James Cook, bringing the Buffalo ahead 10-7. The Chiefs immediately responded, with Mahomes leading a methodical eleven play drive compiled by strong completions to receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Xavier Worthy, to which the latter would catch the eleven yard touchdown pass to put the Chiefs back out front. After three straight incompletions from Allen, the Bills punted, and after a 41-yard return by Kansas City punt returner Nikko Remigio, Mahomes and the Chiefs were left with great field position. A few plays after a great 26-yard pass deep down the right sideline from Mahomes to Worthy, Mahomes scrambled to the pylon for a one-yard touchdown rush, extending the Chief’s lead. Right before halftime on the following drive, Allen bombed a 34-yard touchdown deep down the left sideline to Bills receiver Mack Collins. Buffalo elected to go for two, but failed to convert on a jet sweep to receiver Curtis Samuel leading the score to a Kansas City lead of 21-16 at halftime.
During the first drive of the second half, the Chiefs had a crucial 3rd & 6 at Buffalo’s 37-yard line. On this play Bills linebacker Matt Milano would let out a significant sack on Mahomes, knocking the Chiefs out of field goal range and forcing them to punt the ball. The next possession for the Bills saw lots of running the ball to James Cook, including a three-yard QB sneak by Allen on 4th & 1 and a final one-yard touchdown rush up the middle on 4th & Goal, giving the Bills a 22-21 lead after Allen was sacked on their two point conversion attempt. The Chiefs punted after back to back incompletions from Mahomes, after Allen once again converted on 4th & 1 with a QB sneak. Four plays later, the Bills faced the same situation, this time at the Kansas City 41-yard line. Buffalo even tried the same QB sneak once again, but this time around, the Chiefs held their ground strong and denied Allen and the Bills on this third try. Now, with a chance to reclaim their lead, Mahomes threw a short pass over the middle to JuJu Smith-Shuster, who evaded defenders and took off through the middle of the field for 29 yards. After two more good-sized rushes from Kareem Hunt, Mahomes took off to the right pylon for a cinematic 10-yard rushing touchdown. Kansas City chose to go for the two point attempt and converted off of a pass from Mahomes to wide receiver Justin Watson to take a 29-22 lead in the fourth quarter. It seemed as if history would repeat itself once again, and that the Chiefs would barely emerge victorious over the Bills. Buffalo was not done yet though, with James Cook taking off for 23 yards after catching a dump off pass, and a 32-yard deep shot over the middle to Mike Collins to get to the Kansas City four-yard line. For the next three plays the Bills could not move the ball a single yard and faced 4th and Goal. If they could not get a touchdown, the game would be over. Allen threw a bullet to the right side of the endzone to Curtis Samuel for a four-yard touchdown catch, and the game was tied up once again, now 29-29. Mahomes and the Chiefs saw themselves in a very familiar position: late in a close playoff with the ball ready to pull off the drive of the game. Kansas City would do exactly that. For eight plays the Chiefs calmly and precisely ran and threw the ball in medium-sized increments, one after the other to make it to the Buffalo ten-yard line. Mahomes was sacked for seven yards on 1st and Goal in a crucial effort by defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. After two more incompletions, the Chiefs settled for a 35-yard field goal from all-star kicker Harrison Butker, to give them a 32-29 lead with three and a half minutes to play. Now, Josh Allen had his destiny in his hands, with his chance to at last overcome Mahomes and the Chiefs right in his hands. After picking up only a single first down, the Bills had the ball at their own 47-yard line, with a 4th & 5 attempt coming up due to back to back incompletions to Shakir and Samuel. In a last-ditch effort with under two minutes remaining, Allen ran over to his right evading the strong pass rush coming from Kansas City defensive linemen Chris Jones and Tershawn Wharton, and while fading away before getting sacked, fired a deep ball to the right side of the field aimed at tight end Dalton Kincaid. The pass came up and barely short, and hit the ground just a couple of yards in front of Kincaid, in a diving effort to run back toward the ball. With this turnover on downs, the Chiefs’ defense pulled through right when they needed a stop the most, and so their offense got the ball back and ran out the clock to hang on to a 32-29 thriller victory.
The Chiefs’ triumph over the Bills once again can be attributed to the excellent job that Kansas City did in taking care of the ball throughout the entire game and never handing over good field position to the Bills. The Chiefs only had one turnover which was from the fumble by Mahomes in the first quarter, but even then Kansas City gave Buffalo the ball at their own 28-yard line. The Chiefs played to their reputation as an experienced, intelligent playoff team that limits its errors and plays almost stoically in the most crucial moments of the game. “I think they just took care of the ball well and limited their turnovers,” Iljazi added. While the Chiefs made the plays late in the game offensively, Buffalo simply could not, failing two crucial fourth downs in the fourth quarter. One of these turnovers led to Kansas City reclaiming their lead when Buffalo could have put the game away with a touchdown. This was off of the failed QB sneak. The other turnover on downs was on the Bills’ final drive when Allen’s prayer downfield came up short, giving the ball back to the Chiefs to run the clock out. “I think that what went wrong on the Bills’ end was their fourth down conversions late in the game. They just were not efficient on fourth down when it mattered most and kept giving the ball back to the Chiefs way too many times when they could not afford to,” Iljazi elaborated. Turnovers like these were done by the Bills in the worst times imaginable, and never happened to the Chiefs at all. In close games played by two great teams as we just saw, every play truly does make a difference. Simply put, the Chiefs being the gritty team they are that knows how to win always took advantage of the Bills’ late miscues, and so the Chiefs continued their reign of dominance over the Bills in the playoffs.
Super Bowl 59 will take place on Sunday, February 9, 2025, at 6:30pm on FOX. The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch of Super Bowl 57 just two years prior. In one of the most dramatic, high-scoring, and back and forth Super Bowls in history, the Chiefs converted a field goal in the last minute of the game to pull off a 38-35 victory in Super Bowl 57. The following year, the Chiefs would beat the San Francisco 49ers in a 25-22 spectacle, the second Super Bowl in history to be so down to the wire that it went to overtime after being tied up at 22-22 at the end of regulation. With Kansas City now chasing history, it seems like this Super Bowl will once again be a narrow-margin showdown of two of the greatest offenses and defenses in the NFL. This time around however, the Chiefs seem to be facing their greatest opponent they have ever seen in the Super Bowl, and that if they were to lose in the big game, this would be the year for it. ESPN Bet has the Chiefs favored to win by just a single point as the spread for the game, with the total points projection among both teams combined being 48.5, and yet the ESPN Official Analytics give Philadelphia a 56% chance to knock Kansas City off of the pedestal they have had for nearly three years. “I want the Philadelphia Eagles to win and I think they will win because of Saquon Barkley,” Iljazi declared. Will Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, and the Philadelphia Eagles finally get their sweet revenge, or will Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs meet their destiny and make history forever? No one truly knows, for anything can happen, and the games are always dramatic and are filled with captivating moments, electrifying touchdowns, physical defensive stops, and fantastic finishes. All of this is what makes the Super Bowl the biggest annual sporting event in the world. Every Super Bowl is remembered by all fans for the rest of their lives, and Super Bowl 59 will be no different.
