The Chiefs defeated the Bulls to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LIX.
The Chiefs defeated the Bulls once again to advance to Super Bowl LIX.
Seriously game
Eagles-Chief.
The matchup for Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans is officially set, as the NFL wraps up its conference championship weekend, and Kansas City attempts to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls. is doing
Philadelphia defeated the Washington Commanders 55-23 to secure their fifth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. And as the Eagles have done all season, they relied on All-Pro running back Saquon Barkley to return to power early in the game.
In the AFC title game, the Chiefs withstood a late Bulls charge, as Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnolo forced Josh Allen to throw a fourth down that fell incomplete and sealed the game.
Here are the winners and losers of the NFL’s conference championship games.
The winners
Patrick Mahomes’ legs.
It’s clear that Chiefs coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy saw a matchup in exploiting the running ability of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who posted a season-high 11 carries for 43 yards and two touchdowns — also a Season high.
The Chiefs dialed up a series of runs designed for Mahomes on the rollout, many of them key plays on third down and in the red zone. By faking the option handoff, Kansas City got to defend Buffalo, and then Mahomes used his vision to rush into open space. That was most evident on Kansas City’s final touchdown of the game, a 10-yard rollout that gave the Chiefs a seven-point lead early in the fourth.
Flee ground and pound
While the Chiefs have a strong defense — they ranked eighth in the regular season — the Eagles are on another level. After rushing for 229 against the Commanders, Philadelphia is now averaging 227.7 rushing yards per game in the postseason. He has also scored 10 rushing touchdowns after dropping seven to Washington. Four of those scores went for more than 40 yards.
In the playoffs, Saquon Barkley has rushed the ball 66 times for 442 yards and five touchdowns.
The Chiefs take control again.
In the 12 games so far in the postseason, all but one of the winning teams has won the turnover battle: the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. In fact, 10 of the 12 winners this postseason played turnover-free football. Winning teams in the 2024 playoffs have had a collective turnover margin of +18.
Yet Kansas City has now won 17 consecutive games, including 12 counting the playoffs this season. There is no team better in situational football than the Chiefs, no team more clutch, no team whose tactics and play calls seem to frustrate opponents with more frequency.
The Eagles (finally) get AJ Brown and the passing game.
Entering Sunday, Eagles receiver AJ Brown was getting more press for the book he read on the bench than his on-field production. He had caught just three passes in Philadelphia’s last two playoff games. Against the Commanders, he caught six receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown.
This was the subject of the Philadelphia equilibrium approach. In the Eagles’ first two playoff victories, Jalen Hurts threw for 131 and 128 yards. Against Washington, Hurts threw for 246. It was an encouraging sign for Philly’s passing game, even though the bulk of those yards — 226 of them (or 91.9%) — went to just three targets: Brown, tight end Dallas Goedert and receiver Devonta Smith.
Steve Spagnuolo has a plan.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnolo is widely regarded as one of the top assistants in the NFL, and his work in the playoffs consistently confirms that. Against the Bills, Spagnolo seemed to have answers for most things the Bills threw at the Chiefs.
For example, Spagnuolo understood Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen’s tendency to run behind his left guard on quarterback sneaks, and Spagnuolo filled that spot with some of Kansas City’s top defenders. Buffalo never seemed comfortable in low-yardage situations. And then, although it’s well known that Spagnuolo likes to blitz on third and fourth down, he made a complicated save that disguised a corner blitz for the very end of the game on fourth-and-5 with two minutes left. Deployed with left to play. Allen had to backpedal and offer a prayer that bounced off Dalton Kincaid’s stiff hands.
The losers
The business ruined Washington’s hopes.
For most of the season, Washington protected the ball, ranking eighth in sacks (17). When they needed it most, however, the Commanders coughed up the ball. Washington turned the ball over four times, and Philadelphia scored 28 of those points. In fact, if you value turnovers over turnovers — which don’t officially count as turnovers — early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles actually scored 35 points off “giveaways.”
The Bills still couldn’t get past the Kansas City barrier in the playoffs.
Buffalo is now 0-4 against the Chiefs in the playoffs during the Patrick Mahomes-Josh Allen era. Allen became the first quarterback in NFL history to lose four playoff starts against another quarterback. Sean McDermott became the first coach to do so with another head coach.
Against Kansas City, the Bulls played mostly good, balanced football. They didn’t commit a single turnover. He scored touchdowns on all three trips to the red zone. Allen played very well, going 22-of-34 for 237 yards with two touchdowns and adding 39 rushing yards. Yet Buffalo needed him to do more as a runner, and against elite teams like the Chiefs, it takes a perfect game to win.
Commanders can’t stop an avalanche of Eagles
After Terry McLaren failed with a 36-yard touchdown reception midway through the second quarter, Washington missed its two-point conversion attempt. The score was 14-12, the Eagles holding a small lead.
The Commanders would be outscored 41-11 the rest of the way. On the first four drives of the game, Washington put up 173 yards. In the last eight, the number was just 187.
