On. Jan. 26, the 59th Super Bowl’s opposing teams were decided after the NFC and AFC Championship games. The Philadelphia Eagles won the NFC Championship 55–23 against the Washington Commanders, and the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC Championship 32–29 against the Buffalo Bills.
Eagles vs. Commanders
Philadelphia hosted the NFC Championship game for the second time in three years. The Eagles earned the No. 2 seed and were granted home field advantage after the No. 1-seeded Detroit Lions lost to the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round 45–31.
The Eagles would now face the Commanders for their late-game heroics throughout the season. Philly was led by running back Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 2005 yards in the regular season and earned a finalist spot for the MVP trophy. The Eagles ended the regular season with a 14–3 record, with one of those losses coming from the Commanders.
The Commanders received a wildcard spot after a 12–5 record for the season. Throughout the regular season, Washington won eight 1-score games. At the start of the season, Washington selected quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft. As a rookie, Daniels guided his team to the NFC Championship game.
The Commanders received the ball first and made a field goal on their first drive. The Eagles’ Saquon Barkley then scored a 60-yard touchdown run and didn’t stop from there. Saquon ran the ball 15 times for a total of 118 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Jalen Hurts also rushed for three touchdowns as the Eagles ended the Commanders’ Cinderella story of a season with a 55–23 win.
Chiefs vs. Bills
The reigning back-to-back champion Kansas City Chiefs faced off against one of their most familiar foes, the Buffalo Bills, for the AFC Championship. The two franchise quarterbacks, Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, were both drafted in 2018.
Allen has faced Mahomes five times in regular season games with a record of 4–1, but during the postseason, Mahomes beat Allen 3–0 in the three games they met. Now, Allen’s had a stellar season, earning an MVP finalist position and leading the Bills to the No. 2 seed in the AFC Playoffs with a record of 13–4.
Kansas City held a season record of 15–2, with one of those losses coming at the hands of the Bills. This was a revenge game for both sides: revenge for the Chiefs, whose perfect season was ended on Nov. 18 by Buffalo, but also for Allen, who was looking for his first victory against the Chiefs in the playoffs.
The Chiefs struck first with a nine-play, 90-yard drive ending with a rushing touchdown from Kareem Hunt. Buffalo then drove down the field to get on the scoreboard with a 53-yard field goal from kicker Tyler Bass. Kansas City drove down the length of the field only for Mahomes to fumble the ball at Buffalo’s 28-yard line, where the Bills recovered the ball. Hope glimmered in the Bills’ eyes as they developed an impressive drive ending with James Cook rushing for a 6-yard touchdown to obtain a 10–7 lead.
One thing to know is that Kansas City does not back down. With the offense and defense stepping up, the Chiefs put together two drives for two touchdowns and had a 21–10 lead with only 1:55 left in the second quarter. Allen used that time wisely, connecting with wide receiver Mack Hollins on a 34-yard-touchdown right before halftime.
The Bills then took a 22–21 lead in the second half, and the Chiefs answered with a 29–22 lead. The Bills tied the game up but let the Chiefs drive down the field for the go ahead field goal to win the game. Mahomes moved to 4–0 versus Allen in the playoffs and now moved on to the Super Bowl to try and achieve a three-peat.
The Philadelphia Eagles will face the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans, at Caesars Superdome for the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 at 4:30 p.m.