It all comes down to this: Championship Sunday.
For me, it’s a chance to get even in my postseason picks against the spread here at FrontPageBets.
But, more importantly, for the four teams playing, it’s a chance to get to Super Bowl LVII.
And for the first time in a long time, the AFC and NFC championship games are about as evenly matched as you can get.
It’s hard to find extreme advantages on either side of the ball for either team that elevates one over the other.
The Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs are exciting, well-coached teams with two of the best quarterbacks – as well as playmakers – in not only the AFC, but the league.
The San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles aren’t always flashy, but have really, really good young quarterbacks and stout defenses. It’ll come down to scheme in this NFC title bout and which QB makes the fewest mistakes.
Both games should live up to the hype as these will be the first championship games in 25 years to both have spreads under 3 points.
Buckle. Up.
Now, on to the picks!
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings and subject to change)
Bengals vs. Chiefs prediction
Even if Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is 100% healthy, can they still beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game?
Honestly?
Well, they haven’t been able to the last three times they’ve played, including in last year’s conference title game, where the Bengals won 27-24 in overtime.
Mahomes will play Sunday after suffering a high-ankle sprain in the first quarter of last week’s Divisional Round playoff win over the Jacksonville Jaguars – and by the brief glimpse of some practice video, he seems good to go.
But so is Joe Burrow.
The Cincinnati quarterback has owned Kansas City, which has been the best AFC team the last five years – as evident by the Chiefs’ fifth consecutive appearance in the conference championship.
Burrow is lights-out in the playoffs. In six career postseason games, the third-year QB is 5-1. His lone loss was in last year’s Super Bowl.
Burrow’s playoff stat line looks like this: 1,556 passing yards and eight touchdowns against just two interceptions and a 68.1 completion percentage.
FrontPageBets takes a look at three wagers to watch in the NFC title game between Cincinnati and Kansas City.
Mahomes is no slouch either. His postseason record is 9-3, including two Super Bowl appearances and one win in Super Bowl LIV. He’s thrown for 3,576 playoff yards and 30 touchdowns.
To say this is an epic, must-see quarterback matchup is an understatement.
But let’s get down to brass tacks.
Burrow and the Bengals just show up when it matters most. It’s one of the great intangibles in sports. And Burrow’s got it.
You can’t always see it in the stat lines or the records, but it’s there. And if you’re watching, you see it – time and again.
That’s the biggest reason why we’re going with the Bengals.
Sure, we can talk about Cincinnati’s offensive line woes or Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce’s one-for-the-record-book season or even the Bengals’ 10-game winning streak.
But this one is about Burrow. Just like it was last year. He’ll be the difference-maker.
- When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29; CBS
- Spread: Chiefs -1 (-110); Bengals +1 (-110)
- Money line: Chiefs -115; Bengals -105
- Over/Under: 47.5 (-110)
- The pick: Bengals, 28-26
49ers vs. Eagles prediction
The 49ers are making their third NFC Championship Game appearance in the last four years, including two in a row.
The Eagles haven’t been in the conference title game since they won Super Bowl LII in the 2017 season.
Since 2019, the 49ers have a 6-2 postseason record, but are 7-1 against the spread.
Philly is currently a 2.5-point favorite Sunday.
This game is also not so much about stats as it is about scheme.
The Kyle Shanahan-run 49ers’ offense is just brilliant, utilizing its playmakers in space and getting them the ball at the right time to stay on time. And rookie quarterback Brock Purdy hasn’t missed a beat since stepping in seven games ago.
FrontPageBets takes a look at three wagers to watch in Sunday's NFC title game between San Francisco and Philadelphia.
San Francisco is on a 12-game winning streak and that’s not by accident. And it’s also not all Purdy and his playmakers like Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey. It’s that defense.
San Francisco’s defense led the league, giving up just 16.3 points per game during the regular season. In its two postseason games, the defense is giving up 17.5 points.
The Eagles know what it’s like to be tested, and quarterback Jalen Hurts has proven he can not only survive the fire, he can thrive in it.
Philly goes how Hurts goes. In the two games Hurts didn’t play because of a shoulder injury, the Eagles lost them both.
With Hurts in the lineup, the Eagles are 15-1, including the playoffs. Hurts doesn’t do it all himself, though. It’s the way he’s used in the offense, especially the running game, that creates the opportunities for Philadelphia to be so dominant.
And the Eagles defense can get after the quarterback, leading the NFL with 70 sacks during the regular season, which was 15 more than the second-best defense. In last week’s Divisional Round win over the New York Giants, the Eagles had five sacks.
This will be the first game Purdy’s faced a pass rush like that.
Shanahan, though, will be ready for it. And that’ll be the difference.
- When: 3 p.m. Sunday; FOX
- Spread: Eagles -2.5 (-110); 49ers +2.5 (-110)
- Money line: Eagles -145; 49ers +125
- Over/Under: 46.5 (-110)
- The pick: 49ers, 24-21
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Mike Szvetitz is the General Manager and Content Director for FrontPageBets.com. Szvetitz is a 22-year veteran reporter and editor, including serving 17 years as a sports editor in Florida, Alabama and Virginia, covering everything from preps to pros. His "View From The Lazy Boy" column won multiple state and national awards. He can be reached at mszvetitz@timesdispatch.com.
