The Divisional Playoffs are in the history books.
The Conference Championship Games are set. Both games are on Sunday, January 26, 2025.
NFC Title Game: (6) Washington Commanders at (2) Philadelphia Eagles (-5 1/2) at 3pm on FOX. The Eagles survived against the Rams in a blizzard to host the NFC Title Game for the second time in 3 years. The Commanders have thrived under first year head coach Dan Quinn and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. After going into Tampa Bay and winning the Wildcard game on the final play, the Commanders went into Detroit and shocked the top seed. Yet Tampa is warm weather and Detroit plays indoors. I the brutal Philadelphia cold, the advantage goes to the home team. These teams split the regular season series, both winning at home. The Commanders are in the NFC Title Game for the first time in 33 years when the 1991 team was known as the Redskins. Jalen Hurts is playing hurt, but Saquon Barkley is running wild. Barkley gashed the Rams for over 200 yards last week in the snow. Washington has shrugged off a lack of playoff experience, beating two more experienced teams. Yet the Eagles are a tougher test, especially in Philadelphia. This is the week that the fairy tale comes to an end. Cold weather means running the football, and the home crowd does matter in this game. The Eagles win close games rather than blowing teams out. Yet that will be enough to hold up the George Halas Trophy. Eagles win but fail to cover
AFC Title Game: (2) Buffalo Bills at (1) Kansas City Chiefs (-2) at 6:30pm on CBS. The Chiefs are in the AFC Title Game for the 7th straight year, and are hosting the AFC Title Game for the 6th time in those 7 years. The Chiefs are seeking football immortality. No team has ever won 3 straight Super Bowls. Walrus Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have been to 4 Super Bowls together, winning 3 including the last 2. The Bills have never won the Super Bowl. The Bills have beaten the Chiefs in the regular season the past couple of years, but have had less success in the playoffs. The Bills are the only team to beat the Chiefs this year not counting a regular season finale where the Chiefs rested their starters. Josh Allen plays well in the regular season but the Bills have lost home playoff games the last two years to Cincinnati and Kansas City, respectively. The Chiefs have the top defense in the NFL. The Chiefs win ugly, but they win. The Bills barely survived a home thriller last week against a very good Baltimore team. Both teams are relatively healthy. While cold weather will not intimidate Buffalo, Arrowhead is a tough place to play. The Chiefs are very beatable, but they just find ways to win. They will again hold the Lamar Hunt Trophy named after their late owner and founder. Chiefs cover