Predicting the winners of this week’s football matchups.
Our Conference Championship game picks for the penultimate round of the 2025 NFL playoffs are in!
Bleeding Green Nation staff members are here to predict the winners of every game on the schedule. We’ll tally the results along the way and see who comes out on top at the end of the season. Feel free to post your own predictions or discuss the writer predictions in the comments.
You, the reader, can also join in on the fun by voting for who you think will win the games (scroll down for polls). I’ll tally those results in a “BGN Community” section under our picks table generated by Tallysight.
After the Divisional Round, the collective BGN Community is still in first place but Tyler Jackson is behind by two games with three games left to play this season. Tyler, John Stolnis, and Drew Hamm are tied for the best playoff record so far.
When it comes to this week’s Philadelphia Eagles game against the Washington Commanders, the BGN staff is NOT unanimously favoring the Birds. The Eagles opened as 5.5-point home favorites, according to FanDuel. The line has since shifted to the Eagles being favored by 6.5 points.
DIVISIONAL RESULTS
Tyler: 3-1
Stolnis: 3-1
Drew: 3-1
Dave: 3-1
Community: 3-1
Ben: 3-1
Alexis: 3-1
BLG: 2-2
Jonny: 0-4
OVERALL STANDINGS
Community: 204-78
Tyler: 202-80
Dave: 197-85
BLG: 192-90
Jonny: 191-91
Ben: 184-98
Drew: 183-99
Alexis: 178-104
Stolnis: 175-107
PLAYOFF STANDINGS
Tyler: 7-3
Stolnis: 7-3
Drew: 7-3
BLG: 6-4
Dave: 6-4
Community: 6-4
Ben: 6-4
Alexis: 5-5
Jonny: 4-6
MAKE YOUR PICKS
Vote for your picks below.
(If you can’t see the polls, click here and try opening this article from the front page.)
EXPLANATIONS
Since there are only two games this week (and the Eagles are involved in one of them), the BGN staff gave some explanations for their picks.
BRANDON LEE GOWTON
NFC Championship Game: Eagles. Jayden Daniels is very good. But so is Vic Fangio. Philly’s defense has earned the benefit of the doubt. Saquon Barkley is also very good. He looks pretty unstoppable at the moment. Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown are due to get going against a Commanders defense that is vulnerable. The Birds are going back to the Super Bowl.
AFC Championship Game: Chiefs. If you believe the Chiefs are going to lose, you’re like Charlie Brown believing Lucy is finally going to let you kick the football. Josh Allen can beat Patrick Mahomes in the regular season but Mahomes always gets the last laugh in the playoffs.
JONNY PAGE
If you look at the statistics, the Eagles are the better team. The Eagles have been the better team all season long. But this Washington team is hitting their stride in the playoffs. Their offense is playing extremely well. The Eagles’ defense is fantastic, but I expect Washington to have some success on offense. This is the week where the Eagles need the offense to step up and score 30+ points. I think the Eagles’ offense can do it, but it will be a close one. A lot may come down to the health and mobility of Jalen Hurts. I still fancy the Eagles to get the win at home!
DREW HAMM
Look, I don’t like this any more than you do, but the Eagles and Chiefs are both going to win on Sunday to set up a Super Bowl rematch.
The Birds are better than the Commanders at every position except maybe Vibes. Washington is playing with house money but even house money can’t stop Saquon Barkley or Jalen Carter.
Kansas City will win because they are low-down, dirty, corrupt, flopping criminals and that’s the American Way. Patrick Mahomes and the refs will ensure a KC victory, possibly by telling Josh Allen the wrong kickoff time so he misses the game.
Can’t wait for the discourse surrounding Jalen Hurts after he leads the Birds to an NFC Championship while throwing for seven yards!
BEN NATAN
I count myself among the chief ranks of Nick Sirianni Pessimists. God knows he will do his damnedest to get in the Eagles way at every turn on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Commanders have been doing everything right in the playoffs and Jayden Daniels looks great even by the standard of recent rookie success. God knows he’s gonna be a problem for a very long time.
But c’mon. The Eagles are going to the Super Bowl. Vic Fangio, Jalen Carter, and company are not going to let a rookie quarterback pull their pants down at home. Meanwhile, Washington’s defense is extremely vulnerable to the running game and I expect Kellen Moore to spam inside runs to Saquon Barkley and company while trying to protect a banged up Jalen Hurts. Birds win by a lot to head to the final dance.
Over in Kansas City, every cynical fiber of my being wants to choose the Chiefs but I’ll go with Buffalo. Josh Allen has ascended to another level this year and is the only quarterback to beat Kansas City so far. Meanwhile Kansas City has been running on magic for the whole year and part of me hopes it gives out against a very motivated Bills team. If not, it’ll run out in the Super Bowl against Philadelphia.
DAVE MANGELS
The Eagles have the best roster. They are at home. They should win. But I’m not getting fooled again. This feels like the Super Bowl against the Chiefs, where the Eagles were the better team everywhere but QB, and in the end the other team’s QB was the difference. The Eagles have the best roster in the NFL not counting the QB. But they have the worst QB left in the playoffs; even if he was healthy, which he is not, I do not trust Jalen Hurts. And I do not trust Nick Sirianni. So I am taking the Commanders. I hate it. I will be thrilled to be wrong.
And if the Eagles win, I’m not getting fooled again, I’ll pick them to lose the Super Bowl too. Against the Chiefs, because Patrick Mahomes is inevitable, and the Bills defense can’t be trusted.
Go Birds.
TYLER JACKSON
In Fangio we trust.
The Commanders will play their fourth consecutive road game and I don’t know what the statistics look like for teams on the road for four straight games, but if three is bad, four must be worse. I can’t find myself fearing an offense relying on Terry McLaurin, a stable of WR4s and a Zach Ertz that’s five years past his prime. I am concerned about Jalen Hurts but I see the rest of the offensive infrastructure and defense doing enough to carry him. Expect another big Jalen Carter game.
On the AFC side, the Bills break through. I thought Baltimore was a more challenging team and Buffalo conquered them. Not that the Chiefs offense has been a juggernaut this year but Buffalo’s offense works to keep opposing offenses off the fields and the longer Patrick Mahomes is on the sideline, the better.
JOHN STOLNIS
Every once in a while, a player comes along that throws all conventional wisdom out the window, a player that elevates an inferior roster and propels them to heights no one thought achievable. As they enter their NFC Championship matchup this Sunday in Philly, Jayden Daniels and the Commanders have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They are playing with house money, which is a dangerous thought, and come into Sunday’s game against the Eagles with no pressure whatsoever. Daniels is playing at a Mahomes-like level at the moment, which is a scary thought. However, this Sunday, his magical romp through the postseason comes to an end. Vic Fangio’s defense has seen him twice already and has done the best job against him of any team in the league. People forget his defense forced a Daniels interception late in the 4th quarter of their Week 16 loss that should have sealed an Eagles victory, until the offense failed to run out the clock and ice the game. The Eagles should be able to run the ball on Washington, even with a limited Hurts, and one would think A.J. Brown has to break out and have a big game at some point, right? Eagles 30, Commanders 21.
On the AFC side, until I see the Bills beat the Chiefs in an AFC Championship Game in Kansas City, I can’t pick them. The refs will be looking to hand Mahomes the key to another Super Bowl whenever they’re able, and Buffalo just seems to come up a little small in these match-ups. I certainly think the Bills are the better team, but Mahomes is Mahomes, Andy Reid is Andy Reid, and I think we’re going to get a Super Bowl 57 rematch. Chiefs 27, Bills 23.
ALEXIS CHASSEN
I have to pick the Eagles over the Commanders — just like I did from Week 1 to Week 18. I trust this team from top to bottom and am convinced they will find a way to win in The Linc in the most magically explosive environment. I think it’ll be closer than I would like, but ultimately I think this Eagles team is destined for the Super Bowl.
I really, really, really want to pick the Bills… but picking the Chiefs seems like the smarter move. Like most everyone else, I’m tired of seeing them win, but an Eagles-Chiefs rematch in the Super Bowl would be a pretty epic opportunity for revenge.
