Where the Super Bowl will be played was determined years ago. Who will be in the big game was chosen last Sunday. When the dust settled after the championship games, there was no surprise when the winners took their trophies for their respective conferences. Both top remaining seeds from the NFC and AFC were left standing and will head off to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX next week. It was the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC and the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC advancing to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. For the second time in NFL history, there will be two black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl when Patrick Mahomes faces Jalen Hurts to repeat the milestone they set two years ago.

The Chiefs’ overtime victory in 2021 was a hard-fought battle that ultimately led to changes in the overtime rules. The rules were updated for the next season because the Bills did not get a chance to possess the ball in overtime after the Chiefs scored the game-winning touchdown.

This time, controversial calls by the referees that went in favor of the Chiefs have many fans skeptical of favoritism toward the Chiefs. The finger-pointing dates back before the 2024-25 season. Many of the games have gone down to the wire for the Chiefs this season, including the 16-14 loss by the Broncos that was decided on a last-second field goal block. None of the Kansas City victories this season have had the Chiefs surpassing 30 points until their win over the Bills on Sunday. The Chief’s only two losses this season were to the Broncos, 38-0 on January 5, and to the Bills, 30-21 on November.

NFL rules czar Dean Blandino pushed back against any favoritism towards the Chiefs earlier this week, even citing how his brother believes the NFL made calls to ensure that Taylor Swift attends the Super Bowl. Swift has participated in the Chiefs games to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

“The Chiefs have gotten the benefit of calls, but good teams make their own breaks. You think about the Patriots,” Blandino said. “My brother, who is convinced that the league is rigged, that is convinced that I signed a (non-disclosure agreement) when I left the league office that I cannot tell anybody that it’s rigged because I was head of officiating. We grew up in the same household, by the way. I said, ‘Listen, there’s no conspiracy. The officials, there’s too many variables, there’s too much going on.’ To me, it’s the hardest sport — when you think about football with seven different officials, to say, ‘OK, I’m gonna rig this game,’ or the game is rigged from the league office down. The officials are just trying to get it right.”

The conspiracy theory pales when one looks at the scope of the Chiefs, who have one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, Patrick Mahomes, who is still on the early side of his career. Mahomes and the Chiefs are now the first team in position to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The Chiefs are a 1.5-point favorite over the Eagles in the game to be played on February 9.

The going was not as challenging for the Philadelphia Eagles in the Championship Game, with a 55-23 win over the Washington Commanders. The Eagles were led by rushing leader Saquon Barkley and quarterback Jason Hurts, who scored three rushing touchdowns in the win. Hurts added another passing touchdown, and Will Shipley scored a rushing score to account for the Eagles’ eight touchdowns. Barkley, who led the NFL rushing in the regular season, finished with 118 rushing in the win, including a 60-yard run on his first carry for a touchdown.

His 2,005 yards rushing in the regular season left him only 101 shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 in 1984 with the Los Angeles Rams. Including the playoffs, Barkley extended an NFL record Sunday with his seventh rushing touchdown of 60-plus yards in a season. Postseason included, Barkley is only 30 yards shy of breaking Terrell Davis’ mark of 2,476 total yards rushing set in the 1998 season when the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl.

“That’s why I came here,” Barkley said about going to the Eagles. “It was one of the first conversations I had with Howie, that’s one of the conversations I had with my family. Like I said last week, I came to Philadelphia to be a part of games like this. Nothing better than a game where you can advance to the Super Bowl, so super excited about that. It was a team effort and want to give a shoutout to all the guys on our team.”

The win for Philadelphia came over a Washington Commanders team led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels and Broncos quarterback Bo Nix are the front runners for the Rookie of the Year honors to be announced next Thursday in New Orleans at the NFL Honors Awards. Daniels finished with 255 yards passing with two touchdowns in the Washington loss. It was the Commanders first appearance in the NFC Championship Game since 1991.

“Obviously, it sucks - this… (expletive) sucks,” the Washington quarterback said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the guys in the locker room. Just (in) year one, everybody did not know each other. (For) the rookies, the vets did a tremendous job of bringing us in and helping us out, and we all just meshed, and we got to this point, but at the end of the day, we lost, and it sucks.” Daniels set the record for the most passing yardage by a rookie in the Championship Game.

The Commanders, under Daniels, beat the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round to advance to the Championship Game. The team, with new ownership after the embattled previous owner, Daniel Snyder, is now under the leadership of Magic Johnson.

“As I reflect this morning, I have to put my competitive nature to the side and remind myself that we’re only in the second year of rebuilding the Commanders franchise—and look how good the season was!” Johnson stated in a social media post. “I’m incredibly proud of this team for being competitive, unselfish, and entertaining all year. Playing in the NFC Championship is a true reflection of their hard work, commitment, and mindset, both on and off the field. With a revitalized spirit in the locker room, transformative play on the field and the resurgence of this brand, the Commanders are a team that players want to be a part of. A special thank you to Commanders Nation for showing up for your team. From proudly wearing your Commanders gear to the energy and passion you brought every single game this season, your support was off the charts and we hope you are proud of what we are building!”

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