The Stage is Set
01/30/2023
By: Jeff Yoder
Eagles & Chiefs to Meet in Super Bowl LVII After Epic Championship Sunday
The stage is set! The NFC and AFC title games produced very different scoreboards, but it was entertaining theater throughout Championship Sunday. The Eagles buried the 49ers thanks to turnovers, penalties, injuries, and an all-out bloodbath at the Linc. Then, the Chiefs edged the Bengals in a thriller at Arrowhead that came down to a game-winning field goal. Two weeks of prep will lead us through storylines aplenty in Super Bowl LVII, but let’s recap Sunday first.
The NFC title game pitted the No. 1 offense (Eagles) against the No. 1 defense (49ers) in an epic melee at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, but it was all Eagles after the first quarter. Philly capitalized on two first-half turnovers and an elbow injury to 49ers QB Brock Purdy to grab a 21-7 halftime lead. San Francisco turned to their fourth quarterback of the season in Josh Johnson before he left with a concussion. Purdy returned out of necessity, but the birds had their foot on the gas in the ground game. San Francisco committed 11 back-breaking penalties for 81 yards, and the Eagles won the turnover battle (3-0) while rushing for 148 yards and 4 TDs. By comparison, the Niners had just 164 yards of total offense. Fly, Eagles, Fly.
Notable Stats
QB J. Hurts (PHI): 15/25, 160 total yards, 1 TD (rushing)
RB M. Sanders (PHI): 11 carries, 42 yards, 2 TDs
RB K. Gainwell (PHI): 16 touches, 74 yards
RB C. McCaffrey (SF): 19 touches, 106 yards, 1 TD
LB H. Reddick (PHI): 2 sacks, 1 FF, 1 fumble recovery
Go Deeper: Through two playoff games, the Eagles have outscored opponents 69-14. Philly is the first team in NFL postseason history to win back-to-back playoffs games while scoring 30-plus and holding their opponent under 10. They’re just the fifth team to win two playoff games by 21-plus points. Each of the previous four went on to win the Super Bowl. Additionally, the Eagles’ 39 rushing touchdowns is now the most by any team in NFL history.
AFC: Chiefs def. Bengals (23-20)
It was a different story in the nightcap at Arrowhead where the Chiefs and Bengals clashed for the second straight year in the AFC title game. Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City marched out to a 13-3 lead, but Joe Burrow and the Bengals made it 13-all in the third. Mahomes put another touchdown on the board (20-13) before an errand fumble that led to a short field and another game-tying score (20-20). It came down to the final minute before Cincinnati’s penalties forced a punt, and then the Mahomes magic began. Playing through a high-ankle sprain, Mahomes scrambled for a first-down at the Cincinnati 42, but a late push out of bounds by Bengals’ DE Joseph Ossai tacked on 15 yards to set up Harrison Butker from 45 yards — ball game. Kansas City is going back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years.
Notable Stats
QB P. Mahomes (KC): 29/43, 326 yards, 2 TDs
QB J. Burrow (CIN): 26/41, 270 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
WR M. Valdes-Scantling (KC): 6 receptions, 116 yards, 1 TD
TE T. Kelce (KC): 7 receptions, 78 yards, 1 TD
WR T. Higgins (CIN): 6 receptions, 83 yards, 1 TD
DT C. Jones (KC): 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 QB hits
Go Deeper: The Bengals and Chiefs have now scored 47 points each in both of the last two AFC Championships against each other — both decided by a late field goal. Mahomes (27) is the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win 10 playoff games. Mahomes will attempt to become just the fourth quarterback since 2000 to win multiple Super Bowls, joining Peyton Manning (2), Eli Manning (2), Ben Roethlisberger (2), and Tom Brady (7).
Super Bowl LVII
Eagles vs. Chiefs (Sun. Feb 12, 6:30 pm ET, FOX)
Super Bowl LVII has myriad of storylines, from Andy Reid facing his former team to Jason Kelce (Eagles) and Travis Kelce (Chiefs) becoming the first head-to-head brothers in Super Bowl history, and the Mahomes-Hurts storyline as the first-ever Super Bowl to feature two Black quarterbacks. We’ll have it all in the next two weeks. It’s Eagles-Chiefs for the Lombardi Trophy.
Additional Storylines
Yahoo! Sports: Eagles Defense Knocks Out Both 49ers QBs En Route to NFC Title
B/R: Patrick Mahomes Delivers Season-Defining Performance in Defeat of Bengals
CBS Sports: Super Bowl LVII Lookahead: Chiefs vs. Eagles Odds, Matchups & Early Prediction
Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images