Conference Championship (and Super Bowl) Picks
The clock is winding down to February 12 when millions of people will tune in to watch Super Bowl LVII in Glendale Arizona. Before then, however, are the Conference Championship games, two tightly contested matchups that are sure to bring surprises and drama on one team’s way to a Lombardi trophy. Here’s how it’ll go down!
Chiefs vs Bengals
In a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship, the Bengals will travel to Kansas City, hoping to repeat their upset. Most fans, as last season, were expecting the Bills and Cheifs to be playing this massive game, so much so that the NFL had already sold many tickets to a potential neutral site agreed upon after Damar Hamlin collapsed on Monday Night Football. After defeating the Bills last week, Joe Burrow clearly had one thing to say; “Better send those refunds”.
Déjà vu all over again. The Cheifs, meanwhile, scraped out a victory against Jacksonville last week, a closer game than expected, partly due to an ankle injury sustained by Patrick Mahomes. While Mahomes claims to be alright, it will undoubtedly be a factor coming into Sunday’s matchup. His mobility, one of his greatest strengths, will be severely limited. The Bengals are riding a serious wave of confidence, and they’ve proven they can beat KC in big games at Arrowhead.
The odds for this one have gone back and forth all week, with the Cheifs now favored by 1.5 points. The spread is a no-bet for this one, but jumping on the underdog Bengals is certainly a play. With a limited Mahomes and a Cincy defense that held Buffalo at bay last weekend, Joe Burrow is primed and ready to take his team to a second-straight Superbowl.
San Fran vs Philly (and the Big One)
Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, has shocked the football world by taking his San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship game. With George Kittle and a lockdown defense, the 49ers do have a good shot in this one. However, the Eagles have been dominant starting from the beginning of the season and continuing through the playoffs.
Frankly, the 49ers don’t stand a chance in this one. Vegas has the spread at 2.5, with Philly as unsurprising favorites. The spread is another no-bet, but the Eagles -150 is a decent play. This game is also going to be low scoring, especially if San Fran’s defense can hold up against the Eagles, as Vegas thinks it will. I would take the Eagles and under 46.5 points in this one.
Assuming these predictions are correct, then we will have a Cincy vs Philly Superbowl. Philly will most likely be favored to win, but it is hard to believe that Joe Burrow and the Bengals will alow a second straight Superbowl to slip through their fingers. A gutsy parlay might be Cincy and Philly to win this week, and then the Bengals to pull it off on February 12th.
There you have it! Some bold predictions, some obvious predictions. Either way, we’re in for a good few games this weekend, and the Superbowl is gearing up to be a doozy!
