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The NFL playoffs are down to the Final Four quarterbacks.
What a doubleheader Sunday for the right to reach Super Bowl LVII. And the quarterback battle in each game will determine who gets to Phoenix. You can forget all the other players on both sides of the ball. It’s up to the QBs.
The Eagles have been the best team in pro football over the season and are playing at home against the 49ers in Mr. Underrated versus Cinderella.
Jalen Hurts has not gotten the credit he deserves for taking Philly to a 14-3 record, the top seed in the NFC and crushing the Giants in the conference round. Granted, Hurts is barely among the top ten signal callers in statistical quarterback categories. The Eagles are the No. 15 team in passing, but that’s because they are the third-best rushing team. All Hurts seems to do is win.
His opponent is Brock Purdy, who was the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft and started the season as the 49ers’ unknown third-string quarterback. Now he is undefeated in his seven starts and one win away from becoming the first rookie QB to go to the Super Bowl, let alone win it. He’s become America’s darling with millions rooting for him, but the moment will be too big for him.
All four rookies who have started conference championship games have lost, and the ferocious Eagles defense will make Purdy the fifth. Too bad, but there is always next year for the kid who has shed the tag of Mr. Irrelevant.
The Bengals vow to return to and win the Super Bowl. They have a three-game winning streak over the Chiefs, with Joe Burrow outplaying Patrick Mahomes in all three victories, including last year’s AFC title game.
Mahomes will try to play with a high ankle sprain that could affect mobility, the key to his brilliance. Normally, the Chiefs would win this game at home, but Cincinnati’s Joe Cool is just too good for a handicapped opponent.
Burrow outplayed Mahomes in last year’s AFC Championship on the same field in Kansas City, but while he is the No. 5 rated QB in the NFL behind the No. 1 Mahomes, his experience and confidence against a hobbled opponent will be a huge advantage and the Bengals will do it again.
Burrow is this generation’s Joe Namath, whose nickname was Broadway Joe when he played for the Jets and led them to a Super Bowl upset over the Baltimore Colts. While Namath had knee problems that shortened his career, Burrow has recovered completely from an ACL tear as a rookie.
Joe Cool and his talented wide receivers will advance to take on the underrated Hurts in two weeks in what should be a great Super Bowl.
Enjoy the games and the Final Four of pro football.
Featured image via The Sporting News
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