And then there were four

I have made it a tradition in this blog to make my prediction for who I think will win the Super Bowl after the championship games have been played.  But I thought I would do something new this year: I will make my prediction as to which two teams will win the upcoming championship games on Sunday.  I will probably still make my annual prediction regarding the Super Bowl winner, but that remains to be seen.  So here I go:

AFC championship game: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are attempting to do something that is very difficult for an NFL team to do, historically speaking.  They are attempting to win back-to-back Super Bowls (by the way, the last team to do this feat was the New England Patriots back in 2003 and 2004).  When you are the world champions, you get hit with the best shot from every opponent, regardless of their record.  They want to beat the best.  And yet, despite all this, New England just continues to churn out win after win this year.  I predict that the Pats are the best team in the AFC and will show it on Sunday.  However, if there is a team that can dethrone the champs it is the Jaguars.  Nobody has given them a chance the entire postseason, but here they are in the AFC championship game.  The Jaguars ‘us against the world’ mentality (plus that tough defense and potent offense) could be enough to pull off the upset. 

NFC championship game: Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The Super Bowl is being played in Minnesota this year; the Vikings are attempting to earn a trip to the Super Bowl and essentially play a home game (something that has never been done in the Super Bowl era).  And after watching the ending of that Saints/Vikings game they have a good shot at doing just that.  Case Keenum’s touchdown to Stefon Diggs on the last play of the game was one of the most improbable, unlikely, and breathtaking conclusions to a playoff game in recent memory; I think the momentum of that finish will propel the Vikings.  I predict that the Vikings will win the game on Sunday.  Once again, however, despite a lot of success this year, the Eagles have somehow had to play the underdog role in the postseason.  They weren’t favored to win against the Falcons, and I may be wrong here, but I don’t think they are favored to win against the Vikings.  The Eagles are a very good team who just could punch their ticket to the Super Bowl after all.

Kevin