Championship Weekend Picks

Welcome to the proverbial Final Four. Championship Sunday is finally upon us, and we might have gotten the best possible matchups in recent memory. Quarterback-wise, I don’t think that’s deniable. But all around, these four teams have been amazing, and these games have all the hype in the world behind them. We can only hope and pray that they live up to it. I cannot wait to see each of these games, and I personally think that any possible Super Bowl LV matchup we get after today will be spectacular. In any case, these championship games should be incredible. I went 2-2 in the Divisional Round, bringing my season total to 156-77-1. With just 3 games left this season, let’s get into today’s picks:

Packers 31-20 Buccaneers

Sunday, 3:05 PM, FOX

Of the two championship games, this one feels the easiest to pick. I’ve been very high on Tampa all season long, but this task might be a little too tall for them. There is no denying that they deserve to be here, especially after dominating the Saints in the second half of their Divisional Round game last week. Their reward for that is facing the best team in the NFL right now. Green Bay is playing incredible football, and they really have been all season long. They’ve largely been in the shadow of the Chiefs, but right now, I don’t think anyone would argue that they’re the better team. While the Packers did lose to this Bucs team early in the season, that was a very long time ago, and both of these teams have had completely different trajectories to get to this rematch. Tampa has been very up and down, but they are extremely hot at the right time. QB Tom Brady has been playing very well, and while he didn’t have the flashiest performance against New Orleans, he is making all the plays to win his team games. However, no QB is playing better than the #12 on the other side of the field. Aaron Rodgers is playing perhaps the best football of his life, and is a lock to win this year’s MVP. He had an amazing game against the Rams vaunted defense last week, and is showing no signs of slowing down. The Bucs have a nice D of their own, but it will take a miracle to stop Rodgers and the plethora of offensive weapons, namely WR Davante Adams. The two have been the single most dynamic duo we have seen in a long time in the NFL, and I fully expect another big performance. I think the Bucs can keep this game close for a while, but they’re bound to just run out of gas at some point. Green Bay’s defense will make some plays to shut down Brady and company and put their offense in a position to win it. The Packers will pull away late thanks to some Aaron Rodgers heroics and book their ticket to Super Bowl LV.

Chiefs 27-23 Bills

Sunday, 6:40 PM, CBS

This one is a little harder to pick. I think this game is going to be special, as these two teams have clearly been the best 2 teams in the AFC for the better part of the season. Like the NFC title game, this is a rematch from earlier in the season, where the Chiefs ran all over the Bills in a bad weather game for an easy win. But Buffalo is an entirely different team now, and has been one of the hottest teams in football for over a month now. That was, until the playoffs. They struggled to beat the 7 seed Colts in the Wild Card game, and needed some defensive heroics and missed kicks to beat the Ravens last week. I do think they absolutely deserved to win both of those games, but it hasn’t exactly been easy. It certainly wasn’t easy for the Chiefs last week either, as QB Patrick Mahomes had to leave the game due to a concussion, and backup Chad Henne had to go and win it late. Mahomes is cleared and ready to go for this game, and should be close to full strength. In the time he played last week, he looked great, leading the offense to scoring drive after scoring drive, and really shaking off the rust from late in the regular season. Now, they’re getting RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire back from injury, and will be at full strength for this huge game. If you know me, you know how much I value running games in the postseason, and that’s one of the main reasons I’m picking the Chiefs in this game. The Bills cannot run the football. I think they’ve given up on it completely. They just rely on QB Josh Allen to make every throw, which has worked for them so far, especially when he’s throwing to WR Stefon Diggs, but the brakes have to come off at some point. Kansas City is simply more sound in every single area, both offensively and defensively. I also think they’re just more prepared for this moment, as this is their 3rd straight AFC Championship Game, whereas this is the Bills’ first in 27 years. I think Buffalo will fight their tails off in this game, and certainly give the Chiefs a run for their money. But without a running game being on the road in the biggest game in decades, I just can’t put my faith in them to step up and win it. I think the Chiefs defense will make the key plays late to send this team to its second consecutive Super Bowl.