As we head into the conference championships, The Huntington News’ Fantasy Football writers predicted how these matchups will play out and who will be battling in the 2025 Super Bowl.
Zach Cohen:
AFC Prediction: Buffalo Bills
Jan. 26 brings yet another matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs. The Chiefs have been victorious every time they’ve played the Bills in the playoffs in recent years, with the Chiefs’ 13-second comeback in the 2021 (the game was January 2022) AFC divisional round being the most famous example of this.
However, when they played earlier this season, the Bills gave the Chiefs their only real loss of the season (The Chiefs lost their Week 18 matchup against the Denver Broncos, but they benched their starters for that game). These teams are led by arguably two of the best quarterbacks in the league, with the Bills having MVP contender quarterback Josh Allen and the Chiefs having three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. Both teams have fewer surrounding casts around their signal callers than in the past, and yet, they are both only one game away from the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs have won a lot this season, but 11 of these wins have been one-score games and their fiery offense hasn’t been as good as fans are accustomed to. Yet, they’re still the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Even with the Bills losing a lot of players, they’ve been very strong all season long. The Chiefs come into this game as slight favorites — 1.5 points to be exact — per the Las Vegas oddsmakers.
The Chiefs were able to fairly easily depose the Houston Texans last week while the Bills dominated the Denver Broncos before pulling out a win against fellow Super Bowl hopefuls Baltimore Ravens. These are both very good teams, and not making the Super Bowl would likely lead to the fans viewing the season as a disappointment for both. That being said, this could be the game where the Chiefs’ luck runs out and the Bills finally make it to a Super Bowl with Allen.
NFC Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles
This is the third matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders this season, with each team having won one game against the other thus far. However, the Eagles have dominated this clash in recent years, losing only one of their other meetings since the 2020-21 season.
Stylistically, both teams have young, dynamic and dual-threat quarterbacks, with the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels. Both teams have strong running games and stars in the passing game: Terry McLaurin for Washington, and A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith representing Philadelphia.
When it comes to the actual game, it could be seen as a David vs. Goliath matchup, with the Las Vegas sportsbooks having the Eagles as six-point favorites. The Eagles were the two seed in the NFC, beating the Green Bay Packers handily and getting through the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round. On the other hand, the Commanders are the sixth seed, upsetting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and beating the top-seeded Detroit Lions.
The Commanders have surpassed expectations all season, going from the second-worst team in the NFL to one game away from the Super Bowl. Daniels has been a key part of this rise, as has offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, and the future looks incredibly bright for them.
On the other side, the Eagles have been one of the top teams in the NFC for the last few years, making the Super Bowl two years ago. They have a strong team from top to bottom, with elite players in almost every position. While the Commanders have had a great season, this stage of the playoffs may have come too early for them, leading to this being a game that the Eagles win.
Zach Cohen’s Super Bowl prediction:
Buffalo Bills over Philadelphia Eagles.
Elli Einset
AFC Prediction: Buffalo Bills
The Bills will search for their first Super Bowl win and the Chiefs want to continue their consecutive ring streak to three Jan. 26.
Earlier this season, the Bills beat the Chiefs 21-30, proving that with the right officials, the Chiefs can lose.
Buffalo has been dominating this season with their record at 13-4, including postseason. The team even beat the once-powerful Detroit Lions before they choked facing the Washington Commanders Jan. 18.
The Bills scraped by the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round 27-25, but before then they have been on a hot streak, including their domination of the Denver Broncos 31-7 in the Wild Card Round.
Buffalo’s offense has been on a roll, led by Allen and running back James Cook.
Cook is ranked fourth in rushing postseason stats, taking 187 yards. During the regular season, he accumulated over 1,000 yards, ranking 16th in the league. He collected 16 touchdowns during the season and added another one during the Wild Card Round.
Allen has been leading the Bills team since he was drafted in 2018. So far this postseason, the quarterback has a 75% passing completion — the second best postseason — and has passed 399 yards.
The Chiefs have been finicky this season, and the team getting this far is a surprise. Their star, Mahomes, only has a 64% completion rate and has passed a little more than 175 yards this postseason.
As the player who usually keeps the team in the game, it doesn’t look great for Kansas City.
With the right official — who won’t call everything when Mahomes is touched — the Bills should be winning this game and heading to Super Bowl LIX.
NFC Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles
The Washington Commanders getting this far was not on my list of predictions for 2025. Daniels has ushered in a new era for the team, as it has not made it to the NFC Championship game since 1991.
Although Washington has been successful, it is not going to be able to beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
The NFC East rivals have played twice, each coming out with a victory. The Eagles came out victorious Nov. 14 at 26-18, proving that they can put some space between them despite the second-overall draft pick leading Washington.
Now, the Eagles did lose the next game to Washington, but they had also lost Hurts in the first quarter to a concussion that left him out for multiple weeks. Tight end Dallas Goedert was also out during the game due to a knee injury that left him out for most of the regular season. Both will be back for the NFC Championships.
Philly has the No. 1 defense in the entire league, and it has been getting stronger as the weeks go on. Against the Rams in the Divisional Round, it was the defense that kept the birds in the game.
On offense, Philly has created a running game beyond Saquon Barkley. Hurts took 70 yards on seven carries against the Rams in the Divisional Round. He also has been passing successfully to wide receivers Smith and Brown as well as Goedert. Goedert has taken 103 yards this postseason, and his double stiff arm against Green Bay in the Wild Card Round showed he was back and better from his injury.
The Eagles will beat the Commanders in a fight, but they will come out on top in a solid five- to 10-point difference victory.
Elli Einset’s Super Bowl prediction:
The Philadelphia Eagles over the Buffalo Bills.
Bailey Reynolds
AFC Prediction: Buffalo Bills
The Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Buffalo Bills is perhaps the most highly anticipated matchup of the 2025 NFL Playoffs. The Chiefs are looking to go to their fifth Super Bowl in six years, but they will have to go through the only team to beat their starters in the regular season. However, the Bills have struggled to beat their divisional rivals in the postseason, losing the last three contests.
Allen is having a career season and is currently a frontrunner to be the MVP this season. Running back Cook and wide receiver Khalil Shakir are reliable playmakers and will be able to put points on the board for the Bills. The team’s narrow 27-25 victory over the Baltimore Ravens Jan. 19 avenged a 35-10 loss in the regular season.
Despite having a controversial season, Kansas City is always dominant in the postseason and it has home field advantage for this game. Mahomes has established himself as one of best quarterbacks of this generation, if not all time. With 117 yards off of seven catches, tight end Travis Kelce proved to be a threat against the Texans.
The Bills have a point to prove this year. Getting past the Chiefs at rowdy Arrowhead Stadium will be no easy feat, but if any team can pull it off, it’s the Bills. The team must put prior postseason losses to the Chiefs behind them in order to win this game and go to the Super Bowl. If they can do this, they will book their ticket to the big game.
NFC Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles have possibly the best offense in the league this season. The Washington Commanders shocked the No. 1 seed in the divisional round.
Daniels has been one of the best stories from this year. He brought a team in the middle of a rebuild all the way to the NFC Championship. Win or loss, he has pulled off something most rookies can only dream of.
The Eagles have looked stellar this postseason. Barkley put on a show against the Rams Jan. 19, running for 205 yards and two 50-plus yard touchdowns. A knee injury Hurts suffered against the Rams placed him on limited participation in practice, which could limit Philadelphia.
The Commanders took the teams’ Week 16 matchup, which saw Hurts enter concussion protocol. In the final three quarters, Washington was able to limit Barkley to just 41 yards off 22 carries. The Commanders have already stated that their approach to this game is to “contain” Barkley. If they manage to do this, the Eagles will have a difficult time scoring touchdowns. Jan. 19 against the Rams, Philadelphia’s pass game was limited to 65 yards. Washington also saw off the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions by 14 points in the divisional round.
The Commanders and the Eagles will have a close battle in the NFC Championship, but Philadelphia will be headed to the Super Bowl.
Bailey Reynolds’ Super Bowl prediction:
The Buffalo Bills over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Aiden Barker
AFC Prediction: Buffalo Bills
Bills Mafia versus Chiefs Kingdom. A quarterback looking for his first Super Bowl appearance versus a quarterback looking for his third in a row. The two best teams in the AFC face off Jan. 26 in what will be the ninth matchup between Allen and Mahomes.
Allen has the winning record in the regular season at 4-1, but Mahomes has helped the Chiefs win when it matters most, emerging as the victor in all three playoff contests against the Buffalo quarterback.
But will this time be different? Absolutely. The Bills beat the then 9-0 Chiefs in Week 11 of the regular season to end Kansas City’s chances at a perfect season. There was a decent amount of back-and-forth scoring between the two teams, but a late fourth-and-two rushing touchdown from Allen and a Mahomes interception on the desperation drive sealed the game for Buffalo.
They’re evenly matched, which will require perfection from both sides and factor in the home crowd of Arrowhead Stadium. The Bills’ pass defense will be on watch for a repeat of Week 11, but watch out for star safety Taylor Rapp’s hip injury that has made him a nonparticipant in practice this week.
Kansas City has one of the top run defenses in the NFL, but they allowed nearly 150 rushing yards to Houston in their victory Jan. 18, where they only rushed for 50 themselves. Like we’ve seen all season, Allen can generate offense through the air and on the ground. So if there is any time for concern for the Chiefs’ defense it would be now against the MVP favorite. However, pass rushers George Karlaftis and Chris Jones will be looking to provide the pressure Kansas City needs.
The Bills will win this one in a thriller, making their first Super Bowl appearance since 1994 and spoiling the Chiefs’ three-peat hopes.
NFC Prediction: Washington Commanders
Who can stop Daniels? There seems to be little answers for the Commanders’ rookie quarterback offensive extraordinaire, and in their last regular season matchup against Philadelphia, Daniels passed for five touchdowns and rushed for 81 yards.
But in the first meeting this season, Washington lost their lead late and fell to Philadelphia, which was in the middle of its 10-game win streak. Both games told the tale of the fourth quarter, as each then-losing team scored 20+ points in the final 15 minutes to come back as victors.
Daniels has shown his confidence and maturity as a rookie so far this postseason, throwing for over 500 yards, four touchdowns and no turnovers. He’s also taken only one sack.
But the Eagles’ defense is not to be taken lightly. They have the best turnover differential at +6 in the postseason, tied with the Commanders, but they allowed the least amount of yards per game in the regular season and totaled 26 takeaways. Daniels has turned the ball over the most in his two meetings with Philadelphia, so staying disciplined will have to be in the Commanders’ arsenal.
Barkley rushed for two touchdowns and 150 yards in each game between the division rivals, so expect him to continue that in this one. But he can’t hold the offense together alone, and Hurts — who’s been limited in practices due to a knee injury suffered in the last meeting and has continued to be monitored — will have to pick up any slack Barkley leaves. But against the third-best pass defense in the NFL, yards through the air might be scarce.
Another late comeback might be in the books for the Jan. 26 thriller, and the Commanders will come out on top as the rookie Daniels sends Washington to New Orleans for a 1992 Super Bowl rematch.
Aiden Barker’s Super Bowl prediction:
The Buffalo Bills over the Washington Commanders.
