Four storylines to watch for Bills-Chiefs, Commanders-Eagles in AFC, NFC Championship Games

And then there were four.

The NFL’s conference championship Sunday is here, bringing matchups between the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC and the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC. The winners advance to Super Bowl LIX on February 9 in New Orleans.

The NFC Championship Game is at 3 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field, and the AFC Championship Game follows at 6:30 PM ET at Arrowhead Stadium.

There are no strangers between these four teams.

Washington and Philadelphia meet twice a year as members of the NFC East, and they split their games this season. The Eagles won the first meeting 26-18 in Week 11, then the Commanders turned the tables with a 36-33 win in Week 16.

But this is only the second playoff meeting between the teams. Washington beat Philadelphia 20-6 in the wild card round of the 1990 season.

The Chiefs and Bills have also met earlier this season, with Buffalo beating Kansas City 30-21 in Week 11. Since 2020, the Bills are 4-1 in the regular season against the Chiefs. However, Kansas City has won three straight playoff meetings against Buffalo, including last season’s 27-24 triumph in the divisional round. Kansas City also beat Buffalo 42–36 in the 2021 season’s divisional round and 38–24 in the 2020 season’s AFC Championship Game.

Here are four more top stories to follow on Sunday.

NFC: Commanders at Eagles

Jayden Daniels’ shot at Super Bowl history

Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels has delivered a rookie season for the ages. That success has carried over into the playoffs, where he has a rookie-high 46 completions along with 567 passing yards, four touchdown passes and no interceptions, which equates to a 116.2 passer rating. He also has 87 rushing yards in two playoff games.

Daniels has 14 wins in his young career. With another Sunday, he would surpass Ben Roethlisberger (with the 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers) for most wins by a rookie quarterback, postseason included. Daniels can also become the first rookie quarterback to win three postseason games and start a Super Bowl. Finally, he can join Tom Brady (2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Tony Eason (1985 New England Patriots), Eli Manning (2007 New York Giants), Aaron Rodgers (2010 Green Bay Packers) and Roethlisberger (2005 Steelers) as quarterbacks for to win three road games in one playoff game.

In his last meeting with Philadelphia, Daniels recorded 258 passing yards, five touchdown passes, two interceptions and 81 yards rushing. With the game on the line, Daniels directed a nine-play, 57-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder with six seconds left on the clock to lift the Commanders.

Daniels has directed five fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives (four in the regular season and one in the playoffs at Tampa Bay). The Commanders handily upset Detroit 45-31 in the divisional round last week behind 299 passing yards and two touchdown passes from Daniels. Can the dazzling rookie lead his team to another unlikely victory?

Eagles injury concerns

Almost everyone is beat up this time of year, but the Eagles are going to be nursing injuries at several key positions, and that could hamper their effectiveness against Washington.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a knee injury in last week’s division win over the Los Angeles Rams and had limited mobility in the latter stages of the game. Hurts averaged 42 rushing yards per game in the regular season and had 14 rushing touchdowns, many of them scored on the Eagles’ signature tush-push quarterback sneak play.

If Hurts’ mobility is reduced again Sunday, Philadelphia’s offense will lose a significant dimension. If so, look for the Eagles to lean even more heavily on running back Saquon Barkley, who has averaged 25.5 carries and 162 rushing yards per game in the playoffs. He also had two rushing touchdowns — a 62-yarder and a 78-yarder — against the Rams.

The running game is the only consistent element of Philadelphia’s offense. Big-play wide receiver AJ Brown has just three catches for 24 yards this postseason, while DeVonta Smith has just eight catches for 76 yards and no touchdowns.

Tight end Dallas Goedert has eight catches for 103 yards and a touchdown this postseason, but is nursing an ankle injury that caused him to miss practice time this week. He expects to play Sunday. Center Cam Jurgens is questionable with a back injury.

The Eagles also have a worrisome injury on the defensive side of the ball. Impressive rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell missed the majority of last week’s game with a shoulder injury. He expects to play Sunday, but his effectiveness may be limited depending on his range of motion and strength. Mitchell limited Washington’s leading pass-catcher Terry McLaurin to just one reception for 10 yards in Philadelphia’s win, but McLaurin had five catches for 60 yards and a touchdown in the rematch.

AFC: Bills at Chiefs

Josh Allen Can Bills Get Over Hump?

Allen has spent his entire career chasing Patrick Mahomes. As mentioned, he has outperformed his rival in the base game. But when the contests matter most, Allen has fallen short.

In last season’s divisional matchup, he completed 26 of 39 passes for just 186 yards and one touchdown, but scored two rushing touchdowns. Buffalo had just seven points in the second half and suffered a fumble in the fourth quarter that prevented a potential score. Allen and the Bills have had a full year to think about what they would have done differently as they now get another crack at Mahomes and the Chiefs.

Allen has done more with less in 2024 while directing an offense that ranked second in scoring in the regular season (30.9 points per game) despite not having a top-ranked No. 1 recipient. Against Baltimore last week, Allen was efficient, passing for 127 yards, completing 16 of 22 attempts and rushing for two touchdowns. He received support from a defense that forced three Ravens turnovers and running backs that combined for 127 rushing yards on top of Allen’s 20.

Allen and the Bills averaged 359.1 yards to Kansas City’s 327.6 and averaged eight more points per game. game than the Chiefs in the regular season. In the postseason, Buffalo’s offense has averaged 372 yards and 29 points in two games to Kansas City’s 212 yards and 23 points in one. Buffalo’s defense boasted a league-best plus-24 turnover differential in the regular season (Kansas City was plus-6) and has a plus-3 differential in the postseason.

Is this finally the year Allen gets his team over the hump?

The defense is important as the Chiefs’ eye on the Super Bowl returns

Kansas City finds itself one win away from a third straight Super Bowl appearance. Only three teams, the 1971-73 Dolphins, 1990-93 Bills (four consecutive appearances) and the 2016-18 Patriots, have accomplished such a feat. However, no one has won three consecutive Super Bowls.

Three other back-to-back Super Bowl champions (1992-93 Cowboys, 1988-89 49ers and 1974-75 Steelers) returned to the conference championship for a third consecutive season, but none reached the Super Bowl.

Mahomes is trying to join Tom Brady and John Elway by reaching the Super Bowl five times in his career. Of course, Brady did it 10 times, so Mahomes would have a ways to go to catch him in this category.

To return to the Super Bowl, Mahomes and the Chiefs offense may need an injection of life after producing a paltry 212 yards in last week’s 23-14 win over Houston. Third downs proved problematic for the Chiefs, who converted on just four of their 11 attempts.

Mahomes, who passed for just 177 yards and a touchdown last week, is looking for another receiver to emerge as a threat after tight end Travis Kelce broke out for 117 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. Xavier Worthy, Noah Gray and Kareem Hunt combined for just nine catches and 60 yards. Marquise Brown, DeAndre Hopkins and JuJu Smith-Schuster all went catchless on four combined targets.

Offensive struggles will intensify the pressure on a defense that limited Houston to just two touchdowns but allowed the Texans to convert 10 of 17 third downs and gain 336 yards. During the regular season, the Chiefs defense was among the stingiest in the league, holding opponents to just 19.2 points a game (fourth fewest).

That unit may need to deliver one of its most dominant performances yet to make it to New Orleans.

(Top photo by Josh Allen: Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)