Eagles and Commanders Will Play for NFC Title; Bills and Chiefs in AFC Championship

The Washington Commanders have gotten hot at the right time, and despite the presence of three NFC North teams at the start of the playoffs, it will be two East teams that will meet for the NFC title.

The Commanders have made a remarkable turnaround. In 2023, they were 4-13, but under new coach Dan Quinn and sensational rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, they finished 12-5 in the regular season (second in the NFC East) then beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Their next task was to beat NFC #1 seed Detroit; the Lions had finished 15-2 and were one of three NFC North teams to make the playoffs.

No problem. Daniels passed for 299 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, and the Washington defense intercepted Lions’ QB Jared Goff three times to stun Detroit 45-31. It was the seventh straight win for the Commanders, who advance to the NFC Championship for the first time since 1991. Their opponent in that game was the Detroit Lions. Washington went on to win the Super Bowl that year.

Washington’s opponent in this edition of the NFC Championship game is a familiar one in their NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia hosted the Los Angeles Rams in their Divisional Round playoff. This was a tight one, with the last three quarters played in a snowstorm, before the Eagles pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 28-22 victory. Saquon Barkley had another monster game, rushing for 205 yards and two touchdowns while QB Jalen Hurts rushed for 70 yards, including a 44 yard touchdown run. The Rams defense sacked Hurts seven times including once for a safety, and L.A. QB Matthew Stafford threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns. But the Rams fumbled twice in the fourth quarter, which led to a pair of Eagles’ field goals. Philadelphia will host the NFC Championship for the second time in three years. The Commanders and Eagles split their two regular season games this season, each winning at home.

Link to Highlights

Over in the AFC, the top seeded Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Houston Texans. The Chiefs led 13-12 at the end of the third quarter, but then pulled away in the fourth for a 23-14 victory. The Texans held Kansas City to just 50 rushing yards and 212 total yards while rushing for 149 themselves, and while Houston QB C.J. Stroud passed for 245 yards, he was sacked eight times and did not throw a touchdown pass.

Kansas City will host the Buffalo Bills for the AFC Championship. The Bills hosted the Baltimore Ravens in their playoff game and this one went down to the wire. Buffalo led 21-10 at the half, but the Ravens scored a field goal and a touchdown (with a missed two point conversion attempt) to make it 21-19 going into the third quarter. Buffalo’s Tyler Bass hit a pair of field goals in the fourth, and it was 27-19 with 3:29 left. But Baltimore wasn’t finished, and QB Lamar Jackson engineered an eight play, 88 yard touchdown drive ending in a 24 yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely that made it 27-25 with 1:33 left. But normally sure handed tight end Mark Andrews dropped what would have been a game tying two point conversion pass from Jackson and the Bills held on to win.

The Bills will try to avenge Divisional Round playoff losses to the Chiefs in 2021 and 2023, as well as an AFC Championship game loss to Kansas City in 2020. The Bills also lost to the Chiefs in the regular season in November.