The Chiefs and Eagles find themselves the last two teams left in the NFL after another historic season in the books. The NFL Playoffs started on Jan. 11 when only 14 teams remained. To begin the playoffs, the Texans took care of the Chargers who surprisingly finished the year 11-6 under their first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. Later, the Ravens unsurprisingly beat the Steelers who came into the game having lost four in a row. The next day, the Bills took care of business against the seven-seed Broncos who barely made the playoffs and came into the game happy to still be in. With all those games being finished, the American Football Conference ( AFC ) Divisional Round was set and would have the Texans at the Chiefs and the Ravens at the Bills.
Meanwhile, in the National Football Conference ( NFC ), the Eagles held on to beat the Packers 22-10 and avoid an upset that the Packers were able to complete last year against the Cowboys where they stunned Dallas and won 48-32 to become the first seven-seed to win a playoff game. Later in the day, the Commanders were the first road team to win a playoff game beating Tampa Bay on a game-winning doinked field goal on the last play to send them to the NFC Divisional Round. The day ended with the Vikings who finished 14-3 but still being the five seed because of their loss to Detroit, and the Rams who finished the year 10-7 but had high hopes for a surprise playoff run. Because of wildfires in Los Angeles, the game was moved to Arizona; however, the Rams still played like they were the home team, winning the game 31-9. The Divisional Round was set and would have the Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels at Detroit to face the red-hot 15-2 Lions and the Rams traveling to Philadelphia to face the Eagles. With only eight teams left, the NFL Playoffs guaranteed more great football to come.
On Jan. 18, to start the NFL Divisional Round, the Chiefs hosted the Texans with the Chiefs holding on to win the game 23-14 to advance to their seventh straight AFC Championship game. Later in the day, the Commanders were trying to pull off another road playoff win against Jared Goff and the Lions. With two of the most aggressive teams in the NFL, most people expected the game to be high scoring and indeed it was. The Lions got off to a slow start and found themselves down at halftime 31-21 but to start the second half Detroit was able to get a stop and then score a touchdown to make the score 31-28. But the Commander’s offense couldn’t be stopped as the Lion’s defense, facing constant injuries, couldn’t hold over Washington. Jared Goff went on to throw three interceptions and only completed 58% of his passes. With miscues all across the game, the Commanders were able to stun the Lions to move on to the NFC Championship Game.
The next day, the Chiefs and Commanders were awaiting the winners of the other two games to see who they would play for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. The first game was between the Rams and the Eagles in Philadelphia. In freezing cold temperatures, the Rams stayed with the Eagles the whole game until the Eagles scored 12 straight points in the fourth quarter to pull ahead 28-15. The Rams responded with a touchdown to cut the lead to 28-22 and were able to get a stop and get the ball back. With a chance to go on a game-winning drive the Rams were hopeful for a late-game rally, but their quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t have enough in the tank as they got stopped just short of scoring a touchdown as they would go on to lose the game. Later in the day, the Bills played the Ravens which was in most people’s opinions the best game of the Divisional Round. After losing 35-10 earlier in the year, the Bills took a 21-10 lead at halftime. The Ravens were able to cut the lead to two in the third quarter. Late in the game with the score being 27-19 the Ravens were able to score a touchdown to make it 27-25 but failed on the two-point conversion and ended up losing to send the Bills to the AFC Championship game.
Heading into the AFC and NFC Championship games, four teams all met but on very different paths. The Chiefs finished the year tied with the best record in the NFL at 15-2 and have won three Super Bowls since 2020. The Bills meanwhile have never won a Super Bowl after losing four straight from 1991-1994. The Eagles would be looking to return to the Super Bowl after losing to the Chiefs in a heartbreaking loss in 2023 while the Commanders could become the first team in NFL history to start a rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl. The Commanders also haven’t been to the Super Bowl since 1992 and were looking to surprise people to continue their cinderella run to the big game.
With only four teams left, every game and play seemed to mean a little bit more heading into the final weeks of the season. To begin the Conference Championship games, the Commanders would travel to play the Eagles and try to win their third straight road playoff game. Since both teams were in the same division, they already played each other twice in the regular season with each team winning once. Going into the game the Commanders knew it would be hard to stop Saquon Barkley who was one of the top running backs in the NFL, especially because the Commanders also had one of the worst run defenses in the league and had trouble stopping Lions running back Jahymr Gibbs and Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving. But in both games, the Commanders were able to not turn over the ball and control time of possession which led them to win even though the Buccaneers and Lions finished their games with more rushing yards against the Commanders. But against the Eagles, everything cracked with the Commanders turning the ball over four times. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley ran the ball 15 times, averaging 7.9 yards per carry with three touchdowns. The Commanders stayed in the game but couldn’t catch up as the Eagles exploded in the fourth quarter with three straight touchdowns to go on and win 55-23 to send Philadelphia to their second Super Bowl in three years.
Later in the day at Arrowhead Stadium, the AFC Championship Game took place between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. Even though the Chiefs and Bills aren’t in the same division, the game has been a historic rivalry because of the way both teams have dominated the game. Back in 2021 in the AFC Conference Championship Game, the Chiefs defeated the Bills 38-24, then the next year in the Divisional Round the Chiefs hung on and won 42-36 in overtime with the Bills never getting a chance to tie. After the game, the NFL decided to change the rule so that in the NFL Playoffs both teams would get a chance to have the ball in overtime. Then last year the Chiefs beat the Bills again 27-24 in another close playoff game that went back and forth. This year the Bills were hopeful they could finally break through and beat Kansas City.
The game started with the Chiefs getting up quickly 21-10. The Bills were able to respond and right before halftime, a 34-yard pass from Josh Allen to Mack Hollins cut the lead to 21-16. After a failed two-point conversion attempt, the score remained the same. In the third quarter, the Bills took a 22-21 lead thanks to their running back James Cook, but another failed two-point conversion attempt kept the score a one-point game. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were able to find magic once again and retake the lead 29-22 before the Bills responded with a touchdown of their own to tie the game. After a 35-yard field goal from Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, the Chiefs found themselves up 32-29 with 3:33 to go. Josh Allen had the chance to finally beat Patrick Mahomes in a playoff game, but the Bills got stopped on their next drive, turning the ball over on downs and giving it back to the Chiefs. The Chiefs were able to pick up a first down and run the clock out to win yet another close playoff game to advance to the Super Bowl for the third straight season.
Super Bowl LIX will occur on Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans in a rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. Because it’s an odd-numbered year, the Eagles will be the home team since they are in the NFC. The Chiefs will have a chance for their third straight Super Bowl while the Eagles will be looking to get revenge on the Chiefs after losing to them just two years ago. No matter how the game ends up, it’s been another great season around the NFL.
