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Sadly, we are reaching the end of the 2023 NFL Playoffs. The Philadelphia Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will welcome the Cincinnati Bengals to town on NFL Championship Sunday. Ahead of the final multi-game NFL weekend, let’s look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this NFL Championship Round.
The NFL Divisional Round didn’t quite deliver the excitement of the Wild Card Round, but it did have the cream of the crop rise to the top. The Eagles crushed their NFC East rival New York Giants and the 49ers smothered the Dallas Cowboys in a game that was closer than it felt. On the AFC side, the Bengals smoked the favored Buffalo Bills, and the Chiefs survived a Patrick Mahomes injury scare to best the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This weekend, we get two matchups between what feels like the best four teams in the league this season. 49ers-Eagles play the NFC Championship at 3:00 p.m. ET in Philadelphia, and the Bengals-Chiefs AFC Championship Game goes off at 6:30 p.m. ET in Kansas City.
Previous NFL Picks & Predictions: Divisional | Wild Card | Week 18 | Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 15 | Week 14 | Week 13 |Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8
So, without further ado, here are the NFL picks, predictions, and odds for NFL Championship Sunday.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the NFL odds.
San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles (-2.5)
The matchups between both sides of the ball are fascinating ones.
The ferocious Niners D is the No. 1-ranked unit in the league, allowing a stingy 277 points this season. Philadelphia boasts the No. 2 scoring offense, putting up 477 points over 17 games. In this matchup, something has to give.
On the other side, the 49ers have the No. 6-ranked offense, but it is a different unit since adding Christian McCaffrey in Week 7 and making the move to Brock Purdy in Week 13. The Eagles have the No. 8-ranked defense. However, they excel in specific areas, especially rushing the quarterback. The unit had 70 sacks this season, two shy of the all-time record set by the 1984 Chicago Bears.
Both these teams have incredible offensive and defensive lines, with the Eagles holding a slight edge on O and the 49ers having the same on D.
When it comes to offensive playmakers, maybe the only group in the league that is better top to bottom than the Eagles' crew of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Miles Sanders, and Dallas Goedert is the 49ers' core starring Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk.
So, as often does in NFL playoff games, this matchup will likely come down to the battle of the quarterback position. Whichever signal-caller plays better will have a better chance of winning the game.
Brock Purdy has looked like the second coming of a young Tom Brady in his incredible 7-0 start to his first-string career. However, teams have started to exploit some of the seventh-round pick’s weaknesses of late, and he was only able to generate 19 points against a stout Cowboys defense last week.
As for Jalen Hurts, he may not be fully healthy still, even though he looked great against the Giants last week.
In the end, Hurts was an MVP candidate this season, and Purdy is an incredible story but not yet a top NFL QB. That gives the edge to the Eagles, who will cover at home by the skin of their teeth to move on to the Super Bowl.
Prediction: Eagles 24-21
Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs (-1.5)
The fact that the line on this game has flip-flopped back and forth from Bengals -1 to Chiefs -1.5 is a testament to how close these two teams are.
Yes, Joe Burrow is 3-0 vs. Patrick Mahomes in his career, but he won those three games by a grand total of nine points. When the Chiefs and Bengals get together in this AFC Championship Game, there will be very little gap between them.
Both these teams have top-10 offenses, with the Chiefs ending the season at No. 1 in points scored (496) and the Bengals coming in eighth (419). Both these teams have weapons up and down the offense, but this game will heavily feature the two star pass catchers, WR Ja’Marr Chase and TE Travis Kelce.
The defensive side of the ball is where these two teams separate. The Bengals had the No. 5 unit in 2023, while the Chiefs were No. 16. However, some of that advantage might be negated with the Chiefs’ pass rush. Last week, the Bills couldn’t generate any action against the banged-up Bengals offensive line.
The AFC Championship Game should be a different story with Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and Chiefs rookie pass rusher George Karlaftis getting after Burrow.
The Chiefs absolutely have a chance, but their biggest problem is Mahomes’ injured ankle and the confident Bengals D, led by defensive coordinator extraordinaire Lou Anarumo. That’s just not a fair fight with Mahomes not at 100%, even though he has no injury designation, and that is what will ultimately send the Bengals to their second consecutive Super Bowl as we wrap up these NFL picks and predictions for Championship Sunday.
Prediction: Bengals 31-28
Establish the Pass Podcast NFL Conference Championship Predictions
| Matchup | Blake | Dillon |
| SF @ PHI | Eagles | 49ers |
| CIN @ KC | Bengals | Bengals |
| Reg. Season Record | 177-92 | 172-97 |
| Playoff Record | 6-4 | 9-1 |
