NFL: Conference Championship Sunday Preview
Today we learn the winners of the NFC and AFC and just who will be taking part in the showdown, in Atlanta, that is Superbowl LIII.
The New Orleans Saints host the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game and the Kansas City Chiefs host the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game.
First up it’s the Saints taking on the West Coasts LA Rams in the Superdome. Drew Brees and co will look to take the New Orleans franchise to its first Superbowl since 2010. After an arguably MVP season from Brees, the Saints finished the season with the best record in the NFL to grab the number one seed in the post season. They overcame last years Superbowl Champions the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional round to carry on their record of being unbeaten at the Superdome in the playoffs and advance to the Conference Championship game. With Pro Bowl WR Michael Thomas and the duel threat of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram in the backfield, and not to mention the versatile Taysom Hill, Brees has all the options and this offence, combined with Sean Payton aggressive play calling, is one to be taken very seriously. The LA Rams come into this one on the back of a stellar season, with all of Sean McVey’s pieces coming together to create one scary team. With the likes of Jared Goff, Brandin Cooks and Todd Gurley III in the offence and Aaron Donald, Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters in the defence this team is balanced and damn good on all fronts. On the back of McVey and Goff’s first ever playoff win against the Dallas Cowboys in California, the Rams travel to Louisiana to test the Saints inconsistent defence. These two juggernauts have a hell of a game on their hands, this one could go all the way.
In the second matchup of the day, the ever-present Patriots travel to Arrowhead to face the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. The Chiefs led by the other MVP candidate, Patrick Mahomes look to get themselves the Superbowl and win their first Championship since 1966. After a brilliant season that included several no-look passes from Mahomes, the Chiefs broke their Arrowhead playoff hoodoo by beating the Indianapolis Colts in the Divisional round. With the fastest WR in the game in Tyreek Hill and the most consistent TE in Travis Kelce, the Chiefs offence is stacked, Andy Reid is an attacking genius and Mahomes can pull off everything he asks for. The Patriots have had an up and down season but now is when the Patriots become the Patriots. Arriving at their eighth straight Conference Championship game, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have the playoffs sorted and they know how to make this team turn up when it needs to. The Patriots blew out the Los Angeles Chargers in the Divisional round and the normally P.G. Brady let some of his emotions show after the win. No matter what you do you can never rule this team out. In the Regular Season this fixture resulted in a 43-40 win for the Patriots at Foxborough, so you know this game is billed for the big score.
Both these games will go to the wire and there will be a lot of offensive talent on display but it’s the defence that will really be the way to win, one big stop and it can send you too the Superbowl. With all that considered I believe it will be a Patriots vs Saints Superbowl this year. Brady has just been too good in the playoffs that I cannot rule him out and I mean its Tom Brady, for the Saints, this is the best chance they have got for a Championship in a long time and the Superdome is a fortress, they’re going to the Superbowl.
Here’s the link to the NFL’s preview show of Championship Sunday - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg4y3GZf8to
The NFC Championship game kicks off at 3:05 PM ET and 8:05 PM GMT with AFC Championship game kicking off at 6:40 PM ET and 11:40 PM GMT.
