On Sunday, the National Football League will determine the two teams that will participate in the “Big Game,” the 2024 Super Bowl. It's been a long season for the four teams that will compete for the respective National and American Football Conferences, but they set that goal back in July at the start of training camp.
So who will it be in the two NFL championship games? We offer a few suggestions here and perhaps a way to entertain yourself away from the actual gameplay. As always, these suggestions are offered for entertainment purposes (lines provided by Hard Rock BET).
American Football Conference
Kansas City Chiefs (#3 Seed) v. Baltimore Ravens (#1) (-4.5) (O/U 44.5)
This is probably the most difficult of the two matches as you're not sure what to expect from the Chiefs. Long driven by QB Patrick Mahomes and his magic behind head coach Andy Reid's offensive system, that magic just wasn't there this year. Due to a greasy wide receiver corps and a series of injuries throughout the season, Mahomes was forced to go on the road for the first time in his playoff career.
Ah, but that was before the resurgence of the Chiefs' D. During the playoffs, Steve Spagnuolo's defense gave up just 15.5 points per game, which took some of the pressure off Mahomes to constantly try to save the game. This allowed the two-time Super Bowl champions to lead the Chiefs to their sixth straight AFC Championship game.
Throughout the season, QB Lamar Jackson has stunned the league with both his arms and his legs and appears to be on his way to his second Most Valuable Player award. He has an extensive arsenal of weapons, including a recently acquired RB in the form of former Buffalo Bill Dalvin Cook, who could provide an X-factor. Add in the Blackbirds' home field and it's going to be tough to compete against them.
However, I think this game will be pretty close. Both defenses are playing at a very high level, and things could falter on a special teams play, an interception return for a touchdown, or some other intangible that rears its head. So not only will we win the UNDER in this game, but we will also get the points and the Chiefs, who could very well win the game.
PICK: Chiefs +4.5, UNDER 44.5
National Football Conference
Detroit Lions (#3) vs. San Francisco 49ers (#1) (-7.5) (Over/U 52)
This will be the most entertaining of Sunday's two NFL championship games. Both offenses are running at a high level, with QB Brock Purdy having some MVP votes alongside his do-it-all RB Christian McCaffery to lead the Niners, and QB Jared Goff taking advantage of his receiving threat in Amon-Ra St. Brown. Whoever has the defense that comes out — and the Niners D has been there for most of the season — will be the one to rule this game.
It will be a close game, just like its AFC counterpart, and it won't be dominated by one team. I'm going for the points with the Lions and expect there to be a lot of points, maybe a 28-27 game, although I think the 49ers will be the team that comes out on top in the end.
PICK: Lions +7.5, OVER 52
