By Lucas Camacho
After a long and hard-fought NFL season, we are finally down to just two teams. It has been a long road, but for these two teams…the Super Bowl and a chance at eternal glory is in sight. Let’s quickly recap Sunday’s conference championship games.
COMMANDERS 23 – EAGLES 55
Ouch…this was a massive fall back to Earth for the rookie Jayden Daniels and the Commanders. After peaking down the stretch, they watched their Super Bowl hopes dashed almost immediately from the start, as they fell to Saquon Barkley and the high-flying Eagles. Daniels put up a good fight in his duel with veteran quarterback Jalen Hurts. Daniels threw for 255 yards, a touchdown, and an interception by completing 29 of his 48 passes. Hurts may not have thrown an interception, but he still lost the duel to Daniels by throwing for only 246 yards and a touchdown by completing 20 of his 28 passes. However, Hurts and the Eagles did all of their damage on the ground. MVP candidate Saquon Barkley led the way with 118 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Overall, the Eagles scored 7 rushing touchdowns…ripping the Commanders’ defense to shreds and sending them home.
So, where do the Commanders go from here? Clearly their rebuild is WAY ahead of schedule with Jayden Daniels being a favorite for offensive Rookie of the Year. Clearly, as shown from this game, the defense is something they need to work on now. The trade for Marshon Lattimore was a good start, but his issues with his hamstrings are something to watch. They may need another corner to help Lattimore, and maybe another pass rusher to help get at the cornerback. But clearly, the biggest Achilles heel is their run defense. Yes, Barkley is really good, but the Commanders didn’t have a very good run defense in the first place. Of course, if they really want to give their offense and Daniels a hand…Tee Higgins looks tempting if the Bengals don’t resign him or if another team like the Chargers don’t grab him first.
BILLS 29 – CHIEFS 32
I’m not sure what team this was, but this didn’t look like the mighty Bills we saw all season. But, once again, the Bills fell to the Chiefs in the playoffs…a repeat of a playoff nightmare no one wanted to see except fans of the Chiefs. It’s becoming just customary at this point: no matter what happens in the season, the Chiefs just waltz into the Super Bowl while the rest of the league seems powerless or just doesn’t want to stop them. That being said, it was a good game, and the Bills definitely didn’t go down without a fight. MVP candidate Josh Allen had a down game, which is saying something because he still threw for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the end, it was a replay that decided the game and sent the Bills home without a Super Bowl…again (proving once again that the ghost of Scott Norwood is alive and well…).
So, what can the Bills do to finally vanquish their playoff demons? Look, as great as the Bills offense is…this game shows their defense is their only remaining Achilles heel. The unit has underperformed at times, forcing their offense to overperform against teams like the Lions. Von Miller isn’t the spring chicken he once was when he helped both Peyton Manning and Matthew Stafford become Super Bowl champions. So, an upgrade at edge rusher may be in the Bills’ future. There is also a little concern about kicker Tyler Bass. Yes, he made all of his kicks in this game, but he did miss 17.2% of his field goal attempts, which is a career high for him. The only problem is replacing him with many kickers like Justin Tucker showing their age. No matter how the Bills decide to move on from this latest playoff tragedy, the defense has to be a priority this offseason. Fortunately, this NFL Draft class is loaded with plenty of useful players at defense (Georgia’s Mykel Williams for example).
SUPER BOWL PREVIEW
Now that we’ve briefly recapped the games and talked a little offseason…let’s look ahead to the Super Bowl. Considering their luck this season, we shouldn’t be surprised that the Chiefs are back to defend their title for a second time. This matchup is a rematch of the 2023 Super Bowl as the Chiefs once again face the Eagles. This is definitely a different Eagles team they faced back then, and it is certainly not the same Eagles team that had one of the most unexplainable collapses in recent history.
The betting favorite as of this writing is probably the Chiefs. No surprise as everything has gone their way, obviously with a little controversy considering refereeing calls in their favor. But there is no denying that their offense have shown more signs of life down the stretch. Close games are clearly going to favor the Chiefs with a mentality that they are going to win. It’s a mind games tactic dating back to the Soviet Union’s vaunted hockey team that dominated until their upset at the hands of the Americans in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Patrick Mahomes and company have been here before and they know how to win, and they know the taste of victory. But this might be a different kind of test they will face in this Super Bowl.
As stated, the Eagles’ fortunes have turned in their favor since their early playoff exit last year. The addition of Saquon Barkley, a rival for both Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson for the MVP award, has supercharged this offense into an effective scoring machine. Obviously, their passing game is a little shaky, but that may not matter here. The Chiefs have built a stingy passing defense, but their run defense is vulnerable. We’ve already seen Barkley shred teams who had better run defenses than the Chiefs. Combined with their solid defense, the Eagles have emerged as a legitimate threat to the Chiefs’ hopes of a three-peat.
In the end, this Super Bowl will come down to two players: Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley. The Chiefs need to find a way to slow him down. If that monster breaks loose…well, we saw what he did to the Commanders and Rams. But also, the Chiefs need to focus on protecting Mahomes. The Eagles have a much better defense than both the Bills and the Texans. The Chiefs may have the better drive for winning, but the Eagles have a better team. I won’t be surprised if the Chiefs find a way to once again win and become the first three-peat dynasty in NFL history. But…I wouldn’t plan a parade just yet…if Jalen Hurts and the Eagles have anything to say about it, as they look to take back the Super Bowl trophy they believe belongs to them…
IN OTHER SPORTS NEWS
Besides football, the other big news to come recently that didn’t involve the Dodgers gobbling up free agents left and right actually comes from the WNBA. A blockbuster trade happened as the AFC Championship was winding down between the Las Vegas Aces, Seattle Storm, and the hometown Los Angeles Sparks. The Aces acquired guard Jewell Loyd from the Storm while sending guard Kelsey Plum to the Sparks. The Storm would be getting the Sparks’ pick in this year’s draft, the No. 2 pick, and forward Li Yueru. The Storm also gets the Aces’ first round pick for next year’s draft. The Aces will be getting the No. 13 pick in this year’s draft from the Sparks. Finally, the Sparks get the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft and a second round pick next year from Seattle. What this means for the hometown Sparks is they have a capable guard to star alongside All Star Dearica Hamby and rising stars Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson. With new coach Lynne Roberts at the helm, the Sparks look to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020…since, as I mentioned in a previous article, they and the rest of the LA based teams are on the spot to do more in light of the Dodgers’ recent World Series success.
