NFC/AFC Championship Game Predictions
The NFC and AFC Championship games are taking place Sunday and the winners will advance to Super Bowl LIV.
Though the Houston Texans came up short in their pursuit to claim their first Super Bowl appereance with a loss last Sunday in the AFC Divisional Round, the NFL has moved ahead. Sunday is the NFC and AFC Championship Games with the winners advancing to the Super Bowl.
The AFC Championship game is very interesting for the Texans because they were defeated by both the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans this season, but on the other hand, the Texans also defeated both the Chiefs and Titans during the regular season.
Also for the Texans, remember, Titans’ head coach is Mike Vrabel used to be a defensive coordinator for the Texans before he went to Tennessee, so there is another tie-in for the Texans in the AFC Championship Game.
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Even last weekend the Texans had a 24-0 lead against the Chiefs in the second quarter, but that all turned into disaster for the AFC South champions, and now the Texans are watching the AFC Championship game instead of playing in it. Also know the Texans will be facing three of the teams playing today next season in the Titans, Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers in 2020.
Sunday in the NFL isn’t about the Texans though, but about two games between the Titans at the Chiefs, and the Packers at the San Francisco 49ers.
These four teams are very deserving in playing for their respective conference championships, and here are some predictions for the each game on Sunday:
AFC Championship
• With the way the Tennessee Titans run the football, not only will Derrick Henry carry the football a lot on Sunday, he will be the reason the Titans stay in this game. Henry will rush for 130 yards and score two touchdowns. Henry is on a tear with recent games of 211 yards (32 carries), 182 yards (34 carries), and most recently against the Baltimore Ravens Henry had 195 yards on 30 carries.
• That said, the Titans won’t stop the offense of the Chiefs. Last Sunday nothing seemed to put a dent in the Kansas City confidence, even if they trail early, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is just too tough in these big games. Mahomes will pass for over 300 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions against KC.
• Back to the Tennessee offense, they will control the time of possession in this game with the aforementioned running game of Henry. That is the reason alone the touchdown passing numbers of Mahomes will be a little down compared to previous outings, not because of his overall skills, but because of time of possession for the Chiefs.
• The defense of the Chiefs will take advantage of the few passes the Titans will take in this game, because the KC secondary is tough to stop. It is doubtful Ryan Tannehill will be able catch the Chiefs off-guard with his passing, with the seconday having the advantage against Tannehill.
• Final Score Prediction: The AFC South has the Titans in the AFC Championship game, and the Titans have proved they aren’t to be overlooked. After seeing the Chiefs play this year they won’t be overlooking the Titans in this game, but Mahomes and the Chiefs will be just too strong overall in this game, leading to a 28-21 win at Arrowhead Stadium.
NFC Championship Game
• This NFC Championship game features two strong quarterbacks between Jimmy Garoppolo of the 49ers and Aaron Rodgers of the Packers, meaning the NFC CHampionship will be very exciting to watch no matter who you want to win this game.
During the regular season the 49ers had the second ranked overall defense as they allowed 281.8 yards per game. The Packers had the 18th ranked defense in the league after allowing 352.6 yards per game, which held the 49ers offense in this game. The prediction for this game is Garoppolo outplays Rodgers, and that will catch some off-guard.
• The matchup that could decide this game is Packers left tackle Bryan Bulaga and how he handles the pass rush of edge rusher Nick Bosa. They are both two of the best at their respective positions which is always exciting to watched. Ultimately the deciding factor in this game is whether Rodgers can gain any momentum in this game against the 49ers defense.
Though both will win at times in this battle, the upper hand will go to Bosa, as he’ll gain two sacks — had nine in the regular season — for the second straight week as Bosa had two sacks against the Minnesota Vikings last weekend in the playoffs.
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• Final Game Prediction: From a quick eye test the 49ers are the better overall team, but this will come down to the fourth quarter where the 49ers will win the game by a 35-24 final score.