Welcome to part 3 of my 2022-23 NFL playoff predictions! Three for four on my Divisional picks, a major improvement after incorrectly predicting them all last year. And now, let's get into the Championship predictions.
Only four remain, and there are now four possible Super Bowl LVII match-ups:
Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Cincinnati Bengals vs. San Francisco 49ers
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Philadelphia Eagles
But which match-up will it be?
Let's find out.
AFC
#1 Kansas City Chiefs vs. #3 Cincinnati Bengals
Rematch? Rematch.
Last year's AFC Championship match is now this year's AFC Championship match. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are back once again, but this time they are the underdogs. An ankle injury sustained by Mahomes during the Chiefs and Jaguars game has ignited fears among the Chiefs. If Patrick Mahomes is not at 100%, can the Chiefs survive sixty minutes against a relentless Bengals team? Chad Henne drove for a touchdown against the Jaguars, but whether he could sustain an entire game if Mahomes were to exit is a major unknown. The Chiefs need their one-two punch of Mahomes and Kelce more than ever, because the Bengals are even more dangerous than last year.
Here's a Bengals team that has forgotten how to lose. Their last defeat? October 31 against the Browns. Since then, the Bengals have fought their way through everything thrown at them. And they have endured through the playoffs so far. First, they used a record-setting fumble to neutralize the Ravens. Next, they stormed in Buffalo during a snowstorm and crushed the hopes and dreams of all Bills. The battle in Buffalo was never in doubt. Joe Burrow led the team to a fast 14-0 start and never looked back.
The Bengals hunger for their first Super Bowl victory, and the Chiefs will not stop the quest.
Prediction: Bengals win, 28-24.
Result: Chiefs win, 23-20.
Comments after the game:
The quest was stopped.
NFC
#1 Philadelphia Eagles vs. #2 San Francisco 49ers
Behold, the titans of the NFC.
Two powerhouse teams finally meet in the pivotal battle to see who gets a ticket to the Super Bowl.
On one side, you have Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, who are fresh off the total annihilation of the New York Giants. The Eagles stepped on the gas and never looked back, touchdown after touchdown and easily earning a spot in the NFC Championship. Hurts is back up to full strength, and the air attack will be a major threat to the 49ers.
On the other side, you have the Bengals of the NFC: the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers have not lost since October 23, when they were routed by the Chiefs. Brock Purdy is the savior for the 49ers, the hero who has helped them to non-stop victory. Defense has been the 49ers greatest strength this season, allowing a league-best of only 277 points in the regular season. Defense wins championships.
But can the 49ers offense outperform the even more relentless Eagles offense?
Prepare for war.
Prediction: Eagles win, 38-35.
Result: Eagles win, 31-7.
Comments after the game:
We prepared for war but instead received a lopsided and ugly bloodbath.
The 49ers traveled to Philadelphia and expected to ground the Eagles with their heroic quarterback and brick wall of a defense. Instead, the people of San Francisco discovered what Lincoln Financial Field really was: a 49ers infirmary.
All the 49ers momentum from three months of non-stop wins came to a thundering end today, and it all ended the moment Brock Purdy left the game early with an elbow injury. Josh Johnson entered, but he too left after suffering a concussion. Purdy returned but barely made any further passes. With the 49ers air attack immobilized, the running game was their only futile hope. All those wins, all that momentum, all that work, all destroyed with quarterback injuries.
But the 49ers were truly decimated by the penalty flag. The 49ers defense stood tall for much of the game, but many foolish and costly penalties on their part merely accelerated their descent into defeat. The frustration culminated in a brawl late in the fourth quarter that saw Trent Williams and K'Von Wallace disqualified from the game.
Kyle Shanahan didn't even a fourth quarter lead, and it still ended in disaster for his team. What a catastrophic ending for such a loaded 49ers squad.
The Eagles, meanwhile, advance to Super Bowl LVII!
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