The fate of Super Bowl LVII will be decided on Sunday, January 29 in the form of the NFC and AFC national championship titles.
The final four teams are battling for their division titles and spot in Super Bowl LVII. Coming from the AFC, the Cincinnati Bengals meet the Kansas City Chiefs at the Chiefs’ home stadium. Whoever wins will be crowned this year’s AFC Champion.
The teams battling for the NFC title are the Philadelphia Eagles vs. the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers are led by a rookie quarterback and Mr. Irrelevant (last pick of the NFL draft) on a mission to prove he’s anything but.
As for the Chiefs-Bengals game, young quarterback Joe Burrow, who was LSU’s star quarterback for two years and won the Heisman Trophy, has a 3-0 record against the Chiefs. That record includes last year’s AFC Championship.
Many fans have circulated messages highlighting the fact that Patrick Mahomes, the Chief’s QB who has a Super Bowl win under his belt, appears to have a kryptonite named Joe Burrow.
In the regular season, Cincinnati secured a 12-4 record and won the division title for the AFC North.
However, the Chiefs have played one more game than the Bengals and still lead the Bengals in terms of wins-losses. The Chiefs came out of the regular season with 14 wins and only 3 losses, one of those losses against the Bengals.
Much like the Bengals, the Chiefs won their division title for the AFC West
The Chiefs are already at a disadvantage for Sunday’s playoff game. Mahomes suffered a serious sprained ankle against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.
Although Mahomes keeps insisting to the press that he will be fine and is recovering much faster than expected, some fans fear this injury will only make him more likely to lose him to Burrow again. Other fans are excited, thinking the injury gave the Bengals the conference title.
Mr. Irrelevant, originally a third-string now starting rookie quarterback for the 49ers aka Brock Purdy, has started in 7 games and led the 49ers to wins in each.
With the starting quarterback and season-ending first backup suffering injuries, the team has turned to Purdy. He was forced to quit the game against the Dolphins when starter Jimmy Garoppolo went down.
The first game Purdy started was against seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, who is often referred to as “the GOAT” or “the greatest of all time.” And yet he won.
Many debate whether Purdy’s success is down to his talents or the team around him. When Purdy wins a Super Bowl, it becomes harder to argue that the last pick in the draft is the worst. Or at least a Super Bowl win could prove Purdy is a force to be reckoned with.
However, the team the 49ers have to beat is the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles’ record is 14-3, with two of those losses coming when the team’s quarterback Jalen Hurts was unable to play. Since 2001, the Eagles have made more NFC title game appearances than any other team in the NFL.
Many top NFL analysts are divided in their decisions about who they think will win the game. Like the pros, I’m divided. I hope to see the Bengals and 49ers in the Superbowl, but ultimately the only way to find out is by tuning in.
The game between the 49ers and the Eagles begins on Sunday, January 29 at 2:30 p.m. The Bengals vs the Chiefs follows them at 5:30 p.m.