Oh man.
We can’t seem to go a week without one big shocker of a game. But that’s what the playoffs are all about. We’ve had some great stories to close out the year, and now we’re almost at the finale.
Looks like the Vikings won’t #BringItHome after all. No history-making home team in the Super Bowl this year. Ah well… maybe one day. Seems we can’t dismiss the Eagles anymore!
And the AFC Championship didn’t disappoint either. The Jags gave the Patriots a real fight, but in this conference everything has turned out as predicted. (Also, there’s no way Tom Brady is actually 40 years old.)
But now we have our Super Bowl contenders. It’ll be a Pats-Eagles matchup in the #BoldNorth.
And if you didn’t see it, here’s John Malkovich providing fans with some much-needed hype in a teaser for the AFC game. It’s pretty chilling.
The NFL’s David vs. the NFL’s Goliath, for the right to play in the Super Bowl.
Our tease for @Jaguars–@Patriots featuring @JohnMalkovich will get you AMPED for the AFC Championship Game on CBS. pic.twitter.com/DYClwgcTAW
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) January 21, 2018
The AFC
Did you feel like you were waiting for the hammer to drop like the whole time you were watching the Jaguars game on Sunday? Yeah, us too.
When they knocked off the Steelers, we might’ve rolled our eyes at this Jags-Pats matchup because we all knew what would happen. That the Patriots were going to come out on top. That the Jaguars just didn’t quite have what it took to knock them off. But this game was way more exciting than any of us had planned. Even Tom Brady, it seems.
The ironclad Jaguars defense stayed true to its reputation for most of the game, holding the Patriots to 10 points for three quarters. What more could you really ask of them? Blake Bortles was awesome early on, Gronk suffered a concussion and sat out for the second half, and Tom Brady (with those possibly-magic-quick-healing-stitches in his throwing hand) was made a tad bit uncomfortable.
The Jags were leading 20-10 with only 12 minutes left on the clock. But as we all know, that’s plenty of time for the unaging mythical creature that is Tom Brady. Jacksonville’s offense floundered and the Pats took advantage of their possessions with a pair of touchdowns to take the lead and win the game.
The injured-but-totally-not-really-injured Brady looks like he’s gonna be just fine for the Super Bowl. Are you surprised?
The Patriots are now heading to the Super Bowl for the tenth time (!!!). No other NFL team has ever been more than eight times. You can expect the masses and neutral football fans to pull for the Eagles. Expect Patriots fans to be as insufferable as usual.
The NFC
Let’s hope the manufacturer of those dog masks is ready to churn ‘em out!
If last week was a dream for the Vikings, this week was a nightmare. The underdog Eagles pulled it off and they’re headed to the ‘ship.
All those sports experts out there ragging on the Eagles up until now have now analyzed this game with one explanation: Philly shut down everything that the Vikings were good at. Minnesota’s typically imposing defense broke down and allowed the more aggressive Eagles to score 24 points in the first half alone. No one saw this coming… except maybe Eagles fans.
The oft-demeaned, second-string quarterback Nick Foles threw two touchdowns of over 40 yards each, racking up 352 yards on Sunday night, while Case Keenum chose the same night to commit two interceptions and a fumble. But at the end of the day, the Vikings’ top-ranked defense just gave up way too many yards. 456 to be exact.
Well, we can’t write off the Eagles anymore. They’re going to Minneapolis. Hopefully that “nobody believes in us” fuel won’t run out before they get there.
During the fourth quarter, Eagles fans began to chant, “We want Brady.” And that’s exactly what they’ll get.
Updated Super Bowl Odds
And then there were two. Neither is a home team. Both are used to playing in chilly weather (though of course the Super Bowl is indoors). One of them has Tom Brady. The other has rubber dog masks.
Both have two weeks to prepare.
But hey, with Brady and Nick Foles going head to head, at least we can keep this whole “David vs. Goliath” analogy going!
If the Patriots win, this will be Brady’s sixth Super Bowl victory. Words like “dynasty” are being casually thrown around in New England. The Eagles have never won a Super Bowl. In fact, the last time they went to one was in 2004… when they lost… to the Patriots.
The line has opened with the Pats as a 6-point favorite, but experts think that’s a little high and expect it to move. Still, the Eagles are the biggest underdogs in the Super Bowl since 2009. But they dig that, right?
| Team | Odds |
| Patriots | -225 |
| Eagles | +185 |
This outcome, whether you’re a fan of it or not, brings good news for folks hoping to attend a Patriots-Eagles Super Bowl, and in more ways than one. Prices for Super Bowl tickets are likely to come down – way down.
Get yours here.
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