NFC and AFC Conference Championship Game Picks

Jan 26, 2023 - 1:47 PM

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Our picks are in for the Championship games of the 2023 NFL playoffs!

Bleeding Green Nation staff members are here to predict the winners of every game on the schedule. We’ll tally the results along the way and see who comes out on top at the end of the season. Feel free to post your own predictions or discuss the writer predictions in the comments.

You, the reader, can also join in on the fun by voting for who you think will win the games (scroll down for polls). I’ll tally those results in a “BGN Community” section under our picks table generated by Tallysight.

After the Divisional Round, I’m on top with a four-game lead. With only three games left to play, that means I’ve officially clinched a win as the back-to-back BGN picks champion. Boom! My repeat title follows John Stolnis doing that in the two years prior. Can I do what he failed to do by achieving the threepeat? We’ll see next season.

As for the BGN Community, you all still have a chance to tie for second place. Or you could drop as low as a tie for fifth.

When it comes to this week’s Philadelphia Eagles game, it’s no surprise that everyone is taking the Birds to beat the San Francisco 49ers. This should be a tough, physical battle. But one must have confidence in the Eagles being able to prevent Brock Purdy from becoming the first-ever rookie to win a conference championship game.

Most of the BGN staff thinks the Eagles will potentially play the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl. Do you think it might be the Kansas City Chiefs instead?

Let’s get to the picks!

BGN Community Divisional Record: 3-1

BGN Community record: 173-106-2

PLAYOFF STANDINGS

BLG: 9-1
Natan: 8-2
BGN Community: 8-2
Alexis: 8-2
Tyler: 7-3
Stolnis: 7-3
Dave: 7-3

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EXPLANATIONS

Since there are only two games this week (and the Eagles are involved in one of them), the BGN staff gave some explanations for their picks.

BRANDON LEE GOWTON

Eagles - Why would you bet against this team? The Eagles have an MVP-caliber quarterback who you can trust to come up big. The Eagles are dominant in the trenches. The Eagles are loaded with talent. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are poised to take advantage of a 49ers defense that is very good but vulnerable to wide receivers considering they’ve allowed the sixth-most yardage to that position. Nick Sirianni is going to give the Birds an edge when it comes to game management decisions while Kyle Shanahan is going to turtle up in key moments.

Bengals - Joe Burrow terrifies me. I have a hard time betting against him. His 3-0 record against Patrick Mahomes, who is banged up, has been too easily dismissed. Burrow is a killer.

BEN NATAN

Eagles - The Eagles ended the season on a somewhat stale streak with Jalen Hurts’ injury, but all the rust seems to be gone after a 38-7 beat down of the Giants last week. The 49ers will prove to be a tougher matchup. They have more talent and better coaching on both sides of the ball. That being said, in close games like this it will come down to which quarterback can make more plays. No rookie quarterback has made it to the Super Bowl and I don’t think Brock Purdy will get through Jonathan Gannon’s defense to be the first.

Bengals - The Chiefs won last week, but could be held back by an injury to Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is the best quarterback and player in the NFL, but if he is less than 100%, it will be tough against a hot Bengals team that is loaded with playmakers on both sides of the ball.

TYLER JACKSON

N/A

JOHN STOLNIS

Eagles - The 49ers and Eagles are two exceedingly evenly matched teams. It’s hard to say who’s better. The Eagles’ 38-7 win over the Giants was confirmation that what we saw over the first 14 weeks of the regular season was not a mirage, and that it was possible to see it again in the playoffs, even if Jalen Hurts and Lane Johnson aren’t 100%. The team is expected to have every single regular season starter ready to play on Sunday, which is unheard of this time of year. And while there are a slew of match-ups that favor one position group, one player, over the other, to me, it all comes down to the QB. There have been 56 Super Bowls thus far, meaning there have been 112 conference championships played in NFL history. No rookie QB has ever won one. Is Brock Purdy, a 3rd-string 7th-rounder, going to be the 1st? Against a loaded Eagles team with 75 sacks this year? Against the guy who should have been the league MVP, a guy who has played at the highest level imaginable? I just don’t see it, and I don’t think this game is as close as people think it’s going to be. Eagles 30 49ers 17

Chiefs - The hot pick is the Bengals right now, and I get it. Joe Burrow is amazing. He just continues to go on the road and beat amazing teams, one after the other. And I know there is concern over Patrick Mahomes’ ankle, but it looks like he’s going to be able to go, and I believe that at some point, Cincinnati’s offensive line is going to catch up to them. Maybe it’s not until they play the Eagles in the Super Bowl, but Kansas City is due to reach another one, and the dream of a Super Bowl in which the Eagles take on their former head coach, Andy Reid, is too juicy not to root for. Cincy has momentum, but honestly, K.C. has been just as hot. So, I’ll go chalk and take the home team in a close one, 34-31.

DAVE MANGELS

N/A

ALEXIS CHASSEN

Eagles - It’s incredibly hard to think about this Eagles team being outplayed by anybody on either side of the ball, especially with Jalen Hurts at quarterback and Lane Johnson back on the line. At this point, Avonte Maddox is the only question mark to a starting lineup that is overall pretty healthy, and seemingly just as motivated as they’ve been all season. If there was any doubt of the offense’s sustainability after the final few weeks of the season — there shouldn’t have been — it definitely should be gone after their dynamic and powerful win over the Giants. This team is so damn fun. You can tell they are playing for each other, and for this city, and I just don’t see anyone who can come into The Linc and get the best of them. Plus, if the Eagles defense can find a way to stop Saquon Barkley three times in a season, I feel confident in their ability to stop Christian McCaffery for 60 minutes.

Bengals - By all accounts, Patrick Mahomes will be pretty much good to go on his ankle this week. He didn’t appear to have many issues earlier in the week at practice, and it’d be hard to imagine that he would sit out the AFC Championship game unless he was unable to walk altogether. Still, as much as I’d love to see a Jason Kelce vs Travis Kelce Super Bowl matchup, I just have more confidence in Joe Burrow and the Bengals, once again, finding a way to get the win. Cincinnati has had the Chiefs number the last couple years, and Burrow is playing at the top of his game at the moment.