NFL playoff picks, predictions: Bengals beat Chiefs again, 49ers beat Eagles in championship game

The weekend of the NFL Championship is here. Three of the four participating teams have a goal of reaching Super Bowl 57 on February 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

San Francisco will face Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game in Fox’s early 3:00 p.m. matchup.

The Eagles defeated the New York Giants, 38-7, in the NFC Division Playoffs. Philadelphia will be competing in his NFC Championship for the eighth time. It will be his first under second-year coach Nick Sirianni. Jalen Hurts threw his two sets of his TDs and added another rushing TD despite playing with a shoulder injury.

The 49ers beat the Cowboys 19-12 in the NFC Division Championship, making their 18th appearance in the NFC Championship Game. This is his third NFC title in his four years for Kyle Shanahan, who has an impressive run in rookie quarterback block his Purdy and Nick Bosa-led defense.

More NFL Playoffs: AFC & NFC Bracket | TV Schedule | Super Bowl Picks

Kansas City will host Cincinnati in the AFC Championship Game at 6:30 p.m. on CBS in a rematch of last year’s 27-27 Thriller at Arrowhead Stadium.

After beating Jacksonville 27–20 in the AFC Division Playoffs, the Chiefs reached the AFC Championship for the fifth straight season with the combination of coach Andy Reed and quarterback Patrick Mahomes II. Mahomes suffered his ankle sprain in the win and it is his one of the most talked about storylines leading up to the showdown with the Bengals. Travis Kelce has a phenomenal effort with 14 catches and his two TDs for 98 yards.

Cincinnati is looking for back-to-back AFC championships under Zach Taylor. The Bengals have his impressive 27-17 victory over Buffalo. Joe Burrow is now 5-1 in the postseason and the defense has made the difference during his 10-game winning streak. Additionally, Cincinnati has beaten Kansas City his three times in the last two seasons.

Here are the results for this season:

• play off: 9-1
• last week: 4-0
• Regular season: 174-96-2

Here are the AFC and NFC championship games selected by Sporting News (odds provided by BetMGM):

Power Rankings: 3 Reasons The Chiefs, 49ers, Eagles, Bengals Will Win Super Bowl 57 (or Not)

NFL Picks, Championship Game Predictions

• Philadelphia Eagles’ San Francisco 49ers (-1.5)

Sunday, 3pm Fox

Despite both sides’ rich playoff histories, these teams have never faced each other in an NFC Championship Game. The Eagles and he 49ers met in Week 2 of his 2021 season when San Francisco won his 17-11 victory. It was Hearts’ second start.

How do the Eagles attack the 49ers in a running game and how much does Hart matter? is a big key to Hearts have taken 38 sacks this season and are up against an aggressive pass rush led by Bosa, who has amassed 18.5 sacks this season. Bossa is also good enough to track the run. Miles Saunders and Boston Scott should be factors in setting up Hearts in the running game.

The 49ers’ running game is just as important in this game against Christian McCaffrey and Eli Mitchell. Especially Purdy’s rookie quarterback, who took two sacks against Dallas’ aggressive pass his rush. The Eagles recorded his record 70 sacks in the regular season, and Herson Reddick recorded his 16 sacks in the regular season, against the Giants he recorded 1.5 sacks.

Don’t bargain on either team’s passing attack. Hearts have his three favorite targets in AJ Brown, Devonta his Smith and Dallas Gowdart. Hearts were phenomenal in that group with 14 TDs, 4 interceptions and a quarterback rating of 103.9. The matchup between Goeddert and his 49ers linebacker Fred Warner is especially noteworthy. Warner is one of the best cover linebackers in the game.

Purdy has Deevo Samuel, Brandon Ayuk and tight end George Kittle. Safety CJ Gardner-Johnson is his X-factor on the back end. He recorded six interceptions this season. Kittle is definitely Purdy’s favorite target. Can the Eagles take him away?Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and he 49ers defensive coordinator Demeco Ryans are auditioning for head coaching jobs.

Our guess is that the 49ers, with their recent experience, will find a way in an instant classic that comes down to Robbie Gould’s game-winning field goal.

select: 49ers 27, Eagles 24

• Kansas City Chiefs’ Cincinnati Bengals (-1.5)

Sunday, 6:30 p.m. CBS

An MRI confirmed Mahomes had a severe ankle sprain. He averaged 252.3 passing yards with 6 TDs and 2 interceptions in the loss.

Kelse will get their share of the win in the middle of the field, but against a solid defense led by defensive coordinator Lou Anarmo, the Chiefs need to do more than that. Will Kansas City receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdez-Scantling contribute on the outside? Will the Chiefs survive a running game averaging 6.0 yards per carry with those three losses? Isaiah Pacheco and Jerrick McKinnon may succeed in taking the pressure off Mahomes, but Reid can’t let it go.

Cincinnati sees no reason not to be aggressive from the start. Because the Chiefs haven’t proven they can stop Barrow, who completed 72.2% of his passes while averaging 327.3 ypg. In those wins, he had 8 TDs and 1 interception. For Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnolo, that means pressure from Chris Jones and Frank Clark against the Bengals’ offensive line, which has been reworked due to injuries. If so, Burrow would have a downfield choice between Jammer Chase, Tee Higgins and Hayden Hurst. If Joe Mixon can average 5.0 yards per carry, the Bengals are in business.

These last three matchups were decided by three points each, with the Bengals outscoring the Chiefs 47-24 in those games. Anarmo’s late adjustments are on point again. It’s hard to pick Mahomes without seeing how far he can move on offense, but the safer bet is to keep trusting Burrow, who continues to show fear in road playoff games. seals two consecutive Super Bowl trips.

select: Bengals 29 Chiefs 28