The Philadelphia Eagles will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on February 9th in a rematch of 2023’s big game.
The Eagles ran the Washington Commanders off the field by scoring 55 points, a record for the AFC/NFC Championship Game.
Later that day, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills fell to 0-4 against the Chiefs in the playoffs with a 32-29 loss in the AFC Championship.
Let’s look back at all the action from this weekend to see the biggest takeaways from the AFC Championship Game and the NFC Championship Game.
📰 Table Of Contents
The Bills are missing something
There’s no way around it: this was an absolutely devastating loss for Buffalo.
Despite taking a 22-21 lead in the third quarter, the Chiefs bounced back and scored 11 points in the fourth to defeat the Bills and win their third consecutive AFC Championship.
The sentiment around NFL circles coming into this game was that this was Buffalo’s best chance at a Super Bowl since Josh Allen was drafted in 2018. Even though Allen looked like the MVP of the league and earned Second-Team All-Pro honors, he still wasn’t quite good enough to beat KC.
The Bills need to go into this off-season and figure out how to get over the hump because Josh Allen is approaching 30.
The rushing attack doesn’t need to be revamped. Running back James Cook had 134 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on 16 total touches, good for 8.4 yards per catch/run. It’s not his fault that he didn’t get a touch on Buffalo’s last drive of the game.
There were some very questionable coaching decisions made yesterday, including bad two-point conversion playcalling and poor execution on third down (5/14). But the reality is that head coach Sean McDermott isn’t going anywhere. He has transformed the once laughable Bills into a perennial championship contender. No matter how much Buffalo fans kick and scream, McDermott is going to be the Bills’ head coach. Maybe a new offensive coordinator is the missing piece?
The defense failed to meet expectations. The Bills allowed 32 points in the AFC Championship after only giving up just 32 total points in the first two rounds of the playoffs. With that performance, Buffalo has allowed the Chiefs to score 139 points in the four postseason matchups between Mahomes and Allen (34.75 points per game).
There are many meaningful moves the Bills can make to help them win now. Trading or signing a true number-one wide receiver could be the right decision after Khalil Shakir emerged as Buffalo’s biggest receiving threat against KC with six catches for 46 yards. Acquiring an elite pass rusher that can wreck games, like Myles Garrett or Maxx Crosby, could be the thing the Bills need. Hell, maybe it’s time to break the bank for an all-time great defensive coordinator who can hold Patrick Mahomes to fewer than 34 points in the playoffs!
Either way, Buffalo needs to make one or two big acquisitions this off-season if they want to break the cycle and finally beat KC in the postseason.
The moment was not too big for Jayden Daniels
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels had arguably the best rookie season a quarterback has ever had.
He was named to the 2024 Pro Bowl and finished the regular season with the fourth-highest QBR in the league. He also set the rookie records for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a season (891) and the highest completion percentage by a QB to start in every game for his team (69%).
What’s more impressive is the fact that he elevated his performance in the playoffs. Following the Conference Championship Round, Daniels leads all postseason quarterbacks in passing yards, passing touchdowns, QBR, and rushing yards.
Though the Commanders lost to the Eagles on Sunday, I don’t think much blame can be put on Jayden Daniels’ shoulders. Sure, he threw an interception (his first since Week 17), but he also recorded 255 passing yards, two total touchdowns, and a team-high 48 rushing yards. He wasn’t perfect, but he played well enough to set his team up for success.
It’s not Daniels’ fault that three players fumbled the ball away. He certainly can’t be blamed for Washington’s defense allowing 229 rushing yards on 36 carries (good for 6.4 yards per attempt). Even rookie Eagles running back Will Shipley broke off a 57-yard run against the Commanders’ defense.
The future is incredibly bright for Jayden Daniels, who has looked like the best quarterback this postseason. With the former Heisman Trophy winner still on his rookie contract, Washington can use its cap flexibility to add some marquee names on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball if they want to make it back to the NFC Championship game before they have to sign Daniels to an extension.
It’s (sometimes) smart to pay running backs
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley looks like an MVP candidate in his first year in Philly. After rushing for 5,325 yards in his first six seasons with the Giants, Saquon has already accumulated 2,447 yards in 19 games with the Eagles.
It’s safe to say that Philly would not be playing in Super Bowl LIX without Barkley. He is averaging 159 scrimmage yards and over 1.5 total touchdowns in the Eagles’ three postseason contests. That level of production has been invaluable since Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts is only throwing for 168.3 yards per game.
With the immediate success of Saquon Barkley, and the Eagles making it back to the Super Bowl after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, Philly has shown that it is still in the best interest of teams to sign running backs to deals longer than one year.
Three of the five best rushing teams in the NFL this year paid running backs major money last off-season. The Baltimore Ravens signed Derrick Henry (second in rushing yards this season) to a two-year deal worth $16 million. The Green Bay Packers are paying Josh Jacobs (sixth in rushing yards this season) 48 million over four years. And, of course, Saquon (first in rushing yards this season) was signed to a three-year, $37.75 million deal.
With that in mind, this trend of signing running backs should only be done by teams in win-now situations.
If the New York Giants had re-signed Saquon Barkley, he would have made the offense better, but the Giants would still be a bottom-feeding team. The same goes for Josh Jacobs, who would have been misused by the 4-13 Las Vegas Raiders. If Derrick Herny were still a member of the Tennessee Titans, they might not be picking first overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, but they would be one of the ten worst teams in the league.
Signing a running back is a decision that should only be made by squads already contending for the playoffs. Teams like the Commanders, Broncos, and Chargers could all really benefit from signing a high-quality running back this off-season.
Simultaneously, if I were running the Chicago Bears, the Cleveland Browns, or the Raiders, then I would address the offensive line and edge rusher positions before dropping money or valuable draft capital on a running back.
The Chiefs will run the AFC for years
Similarly to Thanos, the Kansas City Chiefs are inevitable. Just as we saw the end of the Patriots’ dynasty, a new dynasty has emerged that could end up being better than New England’s.
With this AFC Championship win, Kansas City will be playing in its fifth Super Bowl over the last six years. Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Chiefs in the 2022 AFCCG to hand KC its only conference championship loss since the start of the 2019 season.
On February 9th, the Chiefs will play the Eagles with a shot at becoming the first franchise in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls. Unfortunately for NFL fans who are sick of seeing Kanas City win, the Chiefs are going to continue being this good for a long time, even if they don’t complete the three-peat.
Head coach Andy Reid signed a five-year contract extension last Spring, so it doesn’t sound like he’s going to put down his playsheet anytime soon. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is only 29 years old and is under contract with Kansas City for at least the next three seasons. All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones is signed to the Chiefs for at least another two years. Even defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo signed a recent contract extension.
The only player KC is really at risk of losing is tight end Travis Kelce, and that’s only because the 35-year-old might retire if the Chiefs win Super Bowl LIX. There is a chance he might not.
The core of the Kansas City Chiefs will mostly remain intact for at least another two or three seasons in all likelihood.
On top of that, KC has done a great job of drafting young talent. 2024 first-round pick Xavier Worthy led the Chiefs in receptions and receiving yards during the AFC Championship. 2022 draftees George Karlaftis, Trent McDuffie, and Isiah Pacheco have all made meaningful contributions to KC’s last three playoff runs.
Whether you like it or not, the Chiefs are the team to beat in the AFC every year, regardless of record or results from the previous year. Don’t expect that to change for a while.
