In the Conference Championships, two teams with stout defenses will rise above the rest to make the Super Bowl. Barring major injury, the Bengals will win the Super Bowl on Feb. 12, 2023. Wait, isn't that getting ahead of things?

On a snowy Sunday afternoon, Cincinnati’s defense was able to frustrate one of the best QBs ever to play the game, Josh Allen of the Bills. How? The Bengals simply won the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense. No Josh Allen magic could compensate for that.

What about the NFC contenders? The Eagles took out the feisty Giants in rather routine fashion, pressuring Giants QB Daniel Jones and limiting the damage from New York’s excellent running attack. Meanwhile, the Cowboys’ offense returned to mediocrity (as I expected), and the 49ers were fortunate to not screw up too much — enough to scratch out a 19-12 victory. 
 
But none of that will be enough to garner a Lombardi Trophy in three weeks!
 
In football, a simple-looking but very complicated sport, no slogans can provide a winning formula. When a team has a super talent like a Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, or Joe Burrow, a lights-out offense can be enough — assuming that the players along the line of scrimmage are nearly equally matched. And this also assumes that the offensive and defensive coordinators are equally adept at calling plays.
 
The Bills' coaching staff had no answer for the Bengals’ dominance on the line of scrimmage. On offense, they failed to show patience and run the ball. They called few screens or draws to counter Cincinnati’s aggressive defensive play. And deciding to go after long passes — instead of short third-down conversions — that hurt the Bills over and over. Meanwhile, the Bengals’ offense benefitted from long, patient drives. The Bills' defense routinely gave up eight-yard runs on first down.
 
Over there in the NFC, the Giants looked completely flat versus the rested Eagles. The Giants' offensive line was no match for the Eagles’ front four, but I think the Giants’ D could have bested the Eagles’ offensive line as well — if they had played their cards right. The Eagles ran the ball patiently, QB Jalen Hurts converted on a few big plays, then the Giants fell too far behind too early, and they did not stay committed to the run. The result was a spanking by their NFC East rival.
 
My picks went 3-1 over the weekend. Looking ahead, I think the Eagles will handle the 49ers pretty easily. The Bengals will once again edge out the Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes’ ankle injury made that decision much, much easier.)  So, I’m going with the Eagles and Bengals in the Conference Championships. And, if the injury list stays about the same, I expect the Bengals to get their first Super Bowl win ever. But we’ll talk about the Super Bowl more after Sunday’s showdowns. 
 
Enjoy!