NFL Divisional Finals Preview and Predictions: By Kyle Balfour

NFL Conference Championship Preview:
By Stuart Tomlin

And then there were four.

One more game. A trip to the Super Bowl in the balance.

28 teams have come and gone, and we’re now left with the New England Patriots, the Jacksonville Jaguars (yes, I know, I’m surprised at this too), the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Minnesota Vikings. Lead by Quarterback greats such as Tom Brady…Blake…Bortles…Nick Foles (well, WOULD have been Carson Wentz)…and…Case Keenum (to be fair, he’s having a very good season.). After next week, we’ll know which two of these quarterbacks, and which two of these teams will be playing the Super Bowl. Let’s have a look at the four teams, and the two Conference Championship games, shall we?

THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP:

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
13-3, AFC East Champions, AFC 1^st Seed.

FFS, the Patriots are in the AFC Championship game for the seventh consecutive year. They’re probably going to the Super Bowl again, we’re probably never gonna hear the end of it again, so on, so forth, wash, rinse, rather, repeat. Every time we hear the phrase “It’s the end of the Dynasty” or “The Empire is Crumbling”, it only seems to make them stronger. After an opening day loss at home to the Kansas City Chiefs (remember when they were being tipped for the Super Bowl), the Patriots stumbled in the opening few games, putting away the Saints away from home, then struggling to beat the Houston Texans at home, then dropping a game to the Panthers at home the following week. Then they rattled off eight wins in a row, four on either side of their bye. After dropping a surprising loss in Miami, in which the phrase “the end of the Dynasty” came up YET AGAIN, the Empire went and beat the Steelers in a shocking game, where the Steelers were intercepted on the God Damn Goal Line. A team throwing a crucial interception on the goalline against the Patriots, where have I heard that before? That game pretty much sealed the number one spot for the Pats, as two wins over the Bills and Jets concluded their regular season. After a bye, and a comfortable win against the Titans in the playoffs, the New England Patriots once again host the AFC Championship at the Death Star.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS:
10-6, AFC South Champions, AFC 3^rd Seed

Yes, you are reading that correctly. The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the AFC Championship Game. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who were 3-13 last season, those Jacksonville Jaguars, are in the AFC Championship Game. A massive turnaround prompted by a coaching change with Gus Bradley being replaced by Doug Marrone, Tom Coughlin, two time Super Bowl head winning coach with the Giants, being brought in as Executive Vice President of Football Relations, a defence that had been built for years through repetitive high draft picks that had been threatening to break through for years and finally did, earning the still cringey as anything nickname “Sacksonville”, a punishing running game led by rookie Leonard Fournette and a game plan designed to play to Quarterback Blake Bortles’ strengths and mask his shortcomings. The Jaguars took a bit of time to get going, with impressive wins in London against the Baltimore Ravens (44-7), and the Steelers IN Pittsburgh (30-7), were being stymied by losses against the Titans and the Jets. A shutout win in Indianapolis, which I thankfully missed watching live due to being at Rams against Cardinals at Twickenham (Another shutout game, for the record), and impressive wins against the Seahawks, Colts (again, cheers lads) and the Texans. The Jaguars did finish off with two losses having clinched the AFC South Title for the first time. In the postseason, the Jaguars struggled to put away the Bills in a low-scoring game, and most people had them to lose to the Steelers. They did not lose to the Steelers. The Jaguars raced out to a lead, and while threatening to blow the game on more than one occasion, kept scoring touchdowns to extend the lead, then scored a field goal, and despite the least celebrated touchdown in Pittsburgh history with one second left, the Jaguars won by said field goal. Now, they head to Foxborough.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS v. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARSGillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

So this tiny borough in Massachusetts once again hosts the AFC Championship for the third time in four years. The Jaguars are here for the first time since 1999. The Jaguars are on the precipice of their first ever Super Bowl. We could actually get Blake Bortles playing in the Super Bowl. In what could be absolutely huge news, Tom Brady suffered a slight hand injury in Wednesday practice, meaning we *could* get Brian Hoyer vs. Blake Bortles in the AFC Championship. Holy fucking shit. More than likely though, Brady will play, Brady will probably be fine. Assuming Brady does play, it’s the Patriots and their offence that’s getting guys back at exactly the right time, against a Jacksonville defence that has been topping defensive categories all season long. This is a genuinely interesting game, and part of me is close to tipping the Jags. But Brady is Brady, and it’s at the Death Star. The Patriots have been here before. Many times. This Jags team has not. That’ll be the difference. Patriots.

THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP:

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
13-3, NFC East Champions, NFC 1^st Seed

The now-Nick Foles led Philadelphia Eagles were having probably the best Eagles season since their last Super Bowl appearance in 2004. Carson Wentz was playing at an MVP level, Alshon Jeffrey and the WR Corps were playing fantastic football, the running game with Blount, Corey Clement playing brilliantly, and the Eagles also traded for London-born Jay Ajayi (to give him his full Sky Sports name. The Eagles are in London next season. Expect to hear even more of that.) midway through the season. Defensively, the Eagles have been superb this year. The Eagles went 10-1, after losing their second game to the Chiefs, won nine games straight. A 61-yard field goal win over the Giants showed you the form of the Eagles this year, and made a lot of us (including me) think this was their year to win it all. Then, following a defeat to the Seahawks and during a win over the Los Angeles Rams away from home, Carson Wentz went down with a season ending ACL injury, in a perfect example of the 2017 Season – injury plagued taking the stars of the league down once again. An absolute sickener for the Eagles, and they struggled against the Giants the following week, and played potentially the worst game of football in history against the Cowboys. A lot of pundits and fans predicted the Eagles to be “One and Done” without Wentz. But, it did not come to pass, and in a final drive stand, the Eagles’ defence held off Matt Ryan and the Falcons, sending the reigning NFC Champions home and securing the NFC Championship Game to be held in Philadelphia. Now, the Eagles, having lost their MVP-level Quarterback, are on the verge of returning to the Super Bowl for the first time in thirteen years.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS
13-3, NFC North Champions, NFC 2^nd Seed

To get to the Super Bowl, the Eagles are going to have to get past the Vikings, the NFC North Champions, and the hosts of this year’s Super Bowl. The Vikings have already made history this season. They were the first Super Bowl hosts to host a Divisional Round game. They are the first Super Bowl hosts to make it to a Conference Championship game in the NFC or the AFC. And if they beat the Eagles on Sunday...they’ll be the first host of the Super Bowl to play in the Super Bowl at their own stadium. The Vikings opened up their season by beating the New Orleans Saints at home, in Adrian Peterson’s return to Minnesota. Doesn’t that feel a long time ago? After a 2-2 start, the Vikings would only lose one more game in the regular season (against the Panthers in Carolina). Having lost Sam Bradford in that opening game against the Saints, Case Keenum stepped up and led the Vikings to an incredible 13-3 record, playing the absolute best season of his career without a shadow of a doubt. Adam Thielen has gone from undrafted free agent to Vikings hero. This incarnation of the Vikings defence is the best defence they’ve had since The Purple People Eaters. After Aaron Rodgers’ injury in the game with the Vikings and Packers at US Bank, the division was wide open for the Vikes. They shutout the Packers at Lambeau, marking their first shutout since 1993 (14-0 over the Lions), and for the first time over the Packers since 1971. The Vikings in the playoffs hosted the Saints, who were on a hot run. The Vikings rushed out to a 17-0 lead, but started to struggle in the second half as the Saints pegged them back. In a game that saw three lead changes in the last 90 seconds and four in the last five minutes, the Saints kicked a field goal with 25 seconds left that they thought won them the game. In the most incredible moment of the season, Case Keenum led the Vikings on an 80-yard, two play drive that saw him throw an incredible touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs, which earned them both the right to never have to buy a drink in Minnesota ever again, and more importantly (well, just as importantly), a place in the NFC Championship, thanks to the Minnesota Miracle.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES v. MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennslyvania

This is a genuinely hard game to predict what will happen. Anything could happen, really. The Eagles have been incredibly difficult to beat at home this season – they are 8-1 at home this season, including the playoffs, and a meaningless final day game against the Cowboys is their only loss this season at the Linc – and if Carson Wentz was playing, I’d probably be picking the Eagles. But, it’s not Wentz, it’s Nick Foles, and while he managed the game well enough against the Falcons, the Vikings defence is a different animal entirely, and one I don’t think he can conquer. History is on the line for the Vikings, and I’m backing them to make their first Super Bowl since Super Bowl XI…forty one years ago. If they do make it, this one will mean more to them than the other four combined. Vikings.

Will the Patriots make it to their tenth Super Bowl? Or will the Jaguars make it for the very first time?

Will the Eagles make it back for the first time in thirteen years? Or will the Vikings become the first hosts to ever play in their own Super Bowl?

History is at hand.

And we might be out, but as always, Go Colts.