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In two evenly matched games, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles will try to outwit the 49ers' defense before Patrick Mahomes attempts to reverse his losing streak against the Bengals.
San Francisco 49ers take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game and the Kansas City Chiefs led by Patrick Mahomes are up against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC championship game. All four teams vying for a place in the Super Bowl.
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The matchups in this season’s conference championships are not just close, they are very close. The teams in both games are so evenly matched that the point spreads for the AFC and NFC championship games are each less than a field goal.
San Francisco 49ers vs Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles have been the NFC’s best team from the very start of the season and have just one more obstacle in front of them to get back to the Super Bowl. It is Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers.
While the Eagles looked unstoppable on Saturday night against the Giants, they are getting a very different challenge this week against a 49ers team that is not only coming into the game on a scorching run but also has very few weaknesses anywhere on its roster.
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The one weakness the Eagles might be able to exploit: San Francisco’s difficulty against running quarterbacks. Including the playoffs, the 49ers rank 19th in the league in success rate against quarterback runs. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is one of the best running quarterbacks in the league after accounting for 760 yards on the ground during the regular season.
This will be another significant test for 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy as he looks to continue his improbable run going from Mr. Irrelevant to potential Super Bowl starting quarterback. The 49ers are still undefeated in Purdy’s starts, while Sunday will be the first time they have been underdogs in any of those games.
Prediction - Eagles win
Cincinnati Bengals vs Kansas City Chiefs
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The Cincinnati Bengals are one game away from a return trip to the Super Bowl, and for the second year in a row, it is the Kansas City Chiefs standing in their way. This time the Bengals are not going in as underdogs and despite playing at the home of the Chiefs, they are slight favourites.
This is the first time since the 2017 NFC Championship Game that the home team has been an underdog going into a conference championship game. There are a couple of factors pushing the belief in the Bengals. For starters, they have looked like the NFL’s best team since starting the year 0-2 and are on a 14-2 run since then. That includes winning 10 consecutive games, including a dominant performance last weekend against Buffalo.
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They have also won three consecutive games against the Chiefs dating back to last season. The other major factor is the status of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his ankle. Even though he was able to return to Saturday’s game against Jacksonville for the second half, he did not look to be 100 percent and will be dealing with a high ankle sprain into Sunday.
That could seriously limit his ability to avoid the rush and extend plays. Mahomes was only sacked on 11.4 percent of his pressured dropbacks this season, the lowest mark of the 34 qualified quarterbacks in the NFL. His ability to extend plays is a big part of the Chiefs’ offense, and if that is limited against a fierce Bengals defense, it could cause problems.
The big challenge for the Chiefs' defense will be stopping the Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase connection. Over the past two postseasons, Chase leads all pass catchers in receiving yards (513) and has caught 24 passes that have resulted in either a touchdown or a first down, tied with Kansas City’s Travis Kelce for the most during that stretch.
He has also dominated against the Chiefs in their last three meetings, catching 24 passes on 29 targets for 417 yards and four touchdowns.
Prediction - Chiefs win
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