Conference Championship Weekend [View all]
Commanders at Eagles
Bills at Chiefs (again)
The Eagles have a terrific running game and a stifling defense. Their passing game was almost non-existent against the Rams. In the snow, it didn't matter. Next week, who knows? It's virtually certain the Eagles won't turn the ball over five times like the Lions did. The Commanders will face the best defense in the NFL after carving up Detroit's depleted staff, but they just might be up to it. These are divisional foes who split their games this season. I'm not ready to even guess who's going to win this one.
Ah. Will this be the year that Josh Allen and the Bills finally get past Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City? The Chiefs haven't looked good in some time but they have an uncanny way of finding wins somehow. You have to give the coaching edge to Andy Reid, and I would say that the Chiefs have a kind of psychological edge, a mystique. If anything goes wrong for Buffalo at any point in the game, will they unravel? Facing a mighty legend can do that to you.
For these Chiefs are legendary. They are going into their seventh consecutive AFC championship game, an extraordinary achievement in any era but in today's parity-driven NFL it's nothing less than amazing. Also, yesterday Mahomes demonstrated some acting skill, flopping dramatically to ensure a penalty when really, none was deserved. The Bills have to overcome a lot to win this next game, but they do have one thing going for them: they are, hands down, a better football team right now. Will that be enough?