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Andy Reid on Chiefs’ AFC Title: ‘What a great experience, but we’re not done‘
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73869887/2196106716.0.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "The Linc – Jalen Hurts says Nick Sirianni “let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today”")
The Linc – Jalen Hurts says Nick Sirianni “let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today”
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links … Jalen Hurts leads balanced attack to put Eagles in Super Bowl LIX – ESPN Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts lit it up through the air and on the ground in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game win over the Washington Commanders, totaling 262 yards and four touchdowns to lead Philadelphia to a 55-23 victory and into Super Bowl LIX. Hurts quipped afterward that coach Nick Sirianni “let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today.” With a dominant run game led by MVP candidate Saquon Barkley, the Eagles have largely leaned conservative when it comes to the passing attack. Hurts’ 246 yards through the air against Washington marked just the second time in the past eight games he hit the 200-yard mark passing. “It’s not about me. I don’t play the game for any statistical measure,” Hurts said. “You play the game to win. I play the game to win.” The Eagles Offense Finally Looks Super Bowl Ready – The Ringer By expected points added, this was the most effective game Philadelphia’s passing offense has recorded since its Week 15 win over the Steelers. In that game, Hurts’s receivers did most of the heavy lifting by generating yards after the catch; they frequently took quick, underneath passes and turned them into chunk gains. Today was about Hurts in the pocket, getting back to what he does best: anticipating the one-on-one matchups for receiver A.J. Brown and attacking zone coverage by peppering the ball to DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. As soon as Washington started playing single coverage on the perimeter, the chances would be there—it was just a matter of whether Hurts could make the throws. Connecting on a 31-yard fade in the first half helped this offense relieve pressure on the scheme and its players. Philadelphia’s passing offense looked Super Bowl ready for the first time all season. What we saw on Sunday was standard practice in 2022—the last time Hurts and this offense made a run to the Super Bowl. Brown bullied Washington’s corners for 96 yards on his eight targets, as the Eagles hunted for big gains against man coverage. Smith and Goedert combined for 130 receiving yards on 11 targets, working into open spaces in the underneath and intermediate areas against soft, high zone coverages. Eagles blow out Commanders to advance to Super Bowl LIX, 55 to 23 – BGN Jalen Hurts easily turned in his best performance of this postseason. His final stat line: 20/28, 246 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 110.1 passer rating … 10 carries, 16 yards, 3 TD, zero turnovers. This is exactly why there’s talk about a desire for the passing game to look better! The offense looks pretty awesome when it’s clicking! Great game by QB1. Roob’s Observations: Old-fashioned beatdown of Commanders sends Eagles to Super Bowl – NBCSP 3. So much for that knee injury. Jalen Hurts was terrific Sunday. Sharp delivering the football, moved around well with the brace on his knees, drove the ball down the field and once again didn’t turn the ball over and this was just an overall excellent performance by Hurts in his eighth career playoff game. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards and a 110.1 passer rating with one TD pass, three rushing TDs and no turnovers, and he’s now thrown 206 consecutive postseason passes without an interception, only nine shy of Drew Brees’ NFL record. Hurts has been efficient of late but he was more than efficient Sunday. He was aggressively efficient. The Eagles have been winning with this formula of Saquon and defense and a minimal role for the quarterback, and it’s been a while since they won because Hurts was outstanding, but in the biggest game of the year so far, he showed that he’s still an elite quarterback, and now at 26 years old he’s on his way to his second Super Bowl, something only Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes have done before their 27th birthdays. The Eagles needed Hurts to be great Sunday and he sure was. Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Commanders NFC Championship Game – PhillyVoice 1) The ‘But the QB…’ Award : Jalen Hurts. In the analysis (mine included) leading up this matchup, the common sentiment was that the Eagles had the better offensive line, the better defensive line, the better skill position players, the better secondary, the better this, the better that… But the quarterback … Well, the the Eagles had the better quarterback on Sunday, too, as Jalen Hurts completed 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards, 1 TD, and as usual, 0 INTs. He also rushed for 3 TDs, and had a fourth called back due to a penalty. Meanwhile, rookie phenom Jayden Daniels completed 29 of 48 passes for 255 yards, a TD, and an INT. He made a few plays with his legs, but was mostly bottled up. Even in a win in an NFC Championship Game, Hurts provided a quote that is certain to be discussed at length for the next two weeks (and probably beyond). The Eagles are never boring. Nick Sirianni on Jalen Hurts: All he does is win – PFT Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’s condition for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game was monitored all week because of a left knee injury, but Hurts was in the lineup against the Commanders and he played without showing any sign of an injury. Hurts ran for three touchdowns while completing 20-of-28 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles’ 55-23 win. That sends Hurts to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons and it provided an opportunity for head coach Nick Sirianni to defend his quarterback against the criticisms that he has faced since the 2023 season went sour. “How about our quarterback? He’s a stud,” Sirianni said on Fox after the game. “I knew he was going to play that way. I knew
The Linc – Jalen Hurts says Nick Sirianni “let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today”
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links … Jalen Hurts leads balanced attack to put Eagles in Super Bowl LIX – ESPN Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts lit it up through the air and on the ground in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game win over the Washington Commanders, totaling 262 yards and four touchdowns to lead Philadelphia to a 55-23 victory and into Super Bowl LIX. Hurts quipped afterward that coach Nick Sirianni “let me out of my straitjacket a little bit today.” With a dominant run game led by MVP candidate Saquon Barkley, the Eagles have largely leaned conservative when it comes to the passing attack. Hurts’ 246 yards through the air against Washington marked just the second time in the past eight games he hit the 200-yard mark passing. “It’s not about me. I don’t play the game for any statistical measure,” Hurts said. “You play the game to win. I play the game to win.” The Eagles Offense Finally Looks Super Bowl Ready – The Ringer By expected points added, this was the most effective game Philadelphia’s passing offense has recorded since its Week 15 win over the Steelers. In that game, Hurts’s receivers did most of the heavy lifting by generating yards after the catch; they frequently took quick, underneath passes and turned them into chunk gains. Today was about Hurts in the pocket, getting back to what he does best: anticipating the one-on-one matchups for receiver A.J. Brown and attacking zone coverage by peppering the ball to DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. As soon as Washington started playing single coverage on the perimeter, the chances would be there—it was just a matter of whether Hurts could make the throws. Connecting on a 31-yard fade in the first half helped this offense relieve pressure on the scheme and its players. Philadelphia’s passing offense looked Super Bowl ready for the first time all season. What we saw on Sunday was standard practice in 2022—the last time Hurts and this offense made a run to the Super Bowl. Brown bullied Washington’s corners for 96 yards on his eight targets, as the Eagles hunted for big gains against man coverage. Smith and Goedert combined for 130 receiving yards on 11 targets, working into open spaces in the underneath and intermediate areas against soft, high zone coverages. Eagles blow out Commanders to advance to Super Bowl LIX, 55 to 23 – BGN Jalen Hurts easily turned in his best performance of this postseason. His final stat line: 20/28, 246 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 110.1 passer rating … 10 carries, 16 yards, 3 TD, zero turnovers. This is exactly why there’s talk about a desire for the passing game to look better! The offense looks pretty awesome when it’s clicking! Great game by QB1. Roob’s Observations: Old-fashioned beatdown of Commanders sends Eagles to Super Bowl – NBCSP 3. So much for that knee injury. Jalen Hurts was terrific Sunday. Sharp delivering the football, moved around well with the brace on his knees, drove the ball down the field and once again didn’t turn the ball over and this was just an overall excellent performance by Hurts in his eighth career playoff game. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards and a 110.1 passer rating with one TD pass, three rushing TDs and no turnovers, and he’s now thrown 206 consecutive postseason passes without an interception, only nine shy of Drew Brees’ NFL record. Hurts has been efficient of late but he was more than efficient Sunday. He was aggressively efficient. The Eagles have been winning with this formula of Saquon and defense and a minimal role for the quarterback, and it’s been a while since they won because Hurts was outstanding, but in the biggest game of the year so far, he showed that he’s still an elite quarterback, and now at 26 years old he’s on his way to his second Super Bowl, something only Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes have done before their 27th birthdays. The Eagles needed Hurts to be great Sunday and he sure was. Handing out 10 awards from the Eagles-Commanders NFC Championship Game – PhillyVoice 1) The ‘But the QB…’ Award : Jalen Hurts. In the analysis (mine included) leading up this matchup, the common sentiment was that the Eagles had the better offensive line, the better defensive line, the better skill position players, the better secondary, the better this, the better that… But the quarterback … Well, the the Eagles had the better quarterback on Sunday, too, as Jalen Hurts completed 20 of 28 passes for 246 yards, 1 TD, and as usual, 0 INTs. He also rushed for 3 TDs, and had a fourth called back due to a penalty. Meanwhile, rookie phenom Jayden Daniels completed 29 of 48 passes for 255 yards, a TD, and an INT. He made a few plays with his legs, but was mostly bottled up. Even in a win in an NFC Championship Game, Hurts provided a quote that is certain to be discussed at length for the next two weeks (and probably beyond). The Eagles are never boring. Nick Sirianni on Jalen Hurts: All he does is win – PFT Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’s condition for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game was monitored all week because of a left knee injury, but Hurts was in the lineup against the Commanders and he played without showing any sign of an injury. Hurts ran for three touchdowns while completing 20-of-28 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles’ 55-23 win. That sends Hurts to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons and it provided an opportunity for head coach Nick Sirianni to defend his quarterback against the criticisms that he has faced since the 2023 season went sour. “How about our quarterback? He’s a stud,” Sirianni said on Fox after the game. “I knew he was going to play that way. I knew
NFL Conference Championship Recap: Kansas City Chiefs 32, Buffalo Bills 29
The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl bound after a 32-29 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. . Premium Content Sign Up NFL Conference Championship Recap: Kansas City Chiefs 32, Buffalo Bills 29 2S9JM2C Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates his touchdown with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) during the second half of the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) By PFF Editorial Team Posted Jan 26, 2025 10:03 pm EST • Buffalo Bills • Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are once again Super Bowl-bound after a 32-29 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes leveraged his arm and legs to keep the Chiefs’ three-peat alive, going 18 of 26 for 245 passing yards and a passing touchdown to go with 11 carries for 43 rushing yards and two additional rushing touchdowns. Despite losing the total yardage, turnover and time-of-possession battles, the Chiefs once again found a way to win, as the defense made timely stops while the offense put forth one of its best efforts of the season. The Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, a rematch of two years ago when the Chiefs won a fantastic contest 38-35. PFF’s dedicated team of graders was hard at work, analyzing every player on every play in real time. The grades and data will be available after a thorough review tomorrow at noon ET. In the meantime, we’ve gathered some high-level data and snap counts from the game to give you an early look. Our expert graders have also nominated the standout player of the game, highlighting exceptional performance on the field. Sign up for PFF+ for in-depth analysis, PFF grades, Premium Stats, fantasy football tools, betting dashboards and much more! HIGHEST-GRADED PLAYERS DI Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs (90.6) WR Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs (89.0) EDGE Dawuane Smoot, Buffalo Bills (79.4) Note: Follow along with PFF’s in-game grading as our analysts evaluate every player on every play in real time! Grades will then be relocked 90 minutes after the final whistle as our first-run analysis is reviewed. Click here to see PFF’s initial grades from this game! PLAYER OF THE GAME To the surprise of no one, Chiefs interior defender Chris Jones was magnificent in the biggest game thus far this year, adding to his already outstanding resume in big-time games. Jones finished with a game-high seven total pressures, one quarterback hit and one sack on the back of a 19.4% pass-rush win rate. Against the run, Jones added a tackle for loss to round out his excellent performance. When the Chiefs need him most, Jones often plays his best, and Sunday was no different. ADVANCED BOX SCORE Bills Chiefs Total points 29 32 Total offensive plays 68 63 Average EPA per play 0.134 0.203 Total net yards 375 395 Avg yards per play 5.5 6.3 Total first downs 22 27 Rushing first downs 9 5 Passing first downs 10 17 Penalty first downs 3 5 Third-down efficiency 36% 56% Fourth-down efficiency 44% 25% Possessions 9 10 Avg plays per drive 7.9 6.8 Avg yards per drive 37.5 35.9 Avg points per drive 2.9 2.9 Red-zone possessions 3 5 Red-zone plays 9 13 Red-zone TDs 3 4 Red-zone FGs 0 1 Red-zone scoring efficiency 100% 100%
Report: Colts retaining current DL coach Charlie Partridge under new DC Lou Anarumo
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Despite a disappointing rookie pro coaching debut, the Colts still believe that Charlie Partridge’s best is still yet to come—with an eye toward a bounce-back 2025. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Indianapolis Colts are retaining 2nd-year defensive line coach Charlie Partridge under new veteran defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s staff: #Colts are retaining DL coach Charlie Partridge, per sources. He’ll stay on as part of Lou Anarumo’s defensive staff, which will feature some changes. — Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 27, 2025 Partridge just finished his first year of serving as the Colts’ defensive line coach, having come over from Pitt, where he was their assistant head coach and defensive line coach for six seasons—having over 26 years of combined collegiate coaching experience. That being said, the Colts collectively endured a disappointing season defensively and part of that can be attributed to the lack of consistent pass pressure up front—with the league’s 7th fewest sacks this past season (36.0 total sacks) as a defensive unit. That number is only magnified, when the Colts set an Indianapolis franchise record with 51.0 total sacks just a year prior in 2023 (*5th most in the NFL that season) under former defensive line coach Nate Ollie, who’s now the new defensive line coach hire for the Atlanta Falcons, but surprisingly wasn’t retained a year ago by the Horseshoe. Injuries along the Colts’ defensive line certainly accounted for some of the diminished pass rushing production and overall effectiveness, but the Colts also added first round pass rusher Laiatu Latu into the mix as well to ‘reinforce the trenches.’ Here’s hoping that with a more aggressive scheme with Anarumo’s recent arrival (*and better collective health), that Partridge and the Colts’ defensive line can have a rebound season out there during 2025.
NFL conference championship day open thread
Patrick Mahomes | Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images Discuss it all here It’s the NFL conference championship game day. The Washington Commanders play at the Philadelphia Eagles at noon p.m. Pt and the Buffalo Bills play at the Kansas City Chiefs at 3:30 p.m.
Full highlights: Bills at Chiefs AFC championship game
Full highlights: Bills at Chiefs AFC championship game Full highlights: Bills at Chiefs AFC championship game Nick Wojton The Buffalo Bills have seen their 2024 season come to and end in the AFC championship. Once again, the Kansas City Chiefs got the best of them. In a 32-29 final, the Bills will not go back to the Super Bowl and again lost to a familiar foe. It stung. Miss the action? Just want to check it out again? Full highlights from the Bills’ loss to the Chiefs can be found below:
The Super Bowl (Just About) Nobody Wanted Is Upon Us
Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images Hooray Well, there’s only one game left on the schedule for the 2024 NFL season, and with two weeks before it happens you’re likely going to be hearing a lot of people complaining about it. Super Bowl LIX. . .that’s 59 for you non-Romans out there. . .is set for New Orleans on 9 February, and it will see the Philadelphia Eagles representing the NFC and the Kansas City Chiefs on the AFC side. Yes, this is a rematch from the Super Bowl we saw just two years ago in Arizona, when the Chiefs won a great game by a final score of 38-35 on a field goal with less than ten seconds to play, and this one looks like it could be an outstanding game as well. But, man, are people unhappy about it. Fans of our Minnesota Vikings have, honestly, got to be a bit displeased that Philadelphia is there again. The Eagles crushed the Vikings in their opportunity to play a Super Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium to end the 2017 season, and they’re not exactly shy about letting us know about it when the opportunity arises. On the other side, it’s quite possible that a lot of people are suffering from “Chiefs fatigue,” given that this will be the fifth appearance in the Super Bowl for Kansas City in the last six years. They’re going for a three-peat, something that has never been accomplished by any team in the Super Bowl era. The game is set, folks, and 30 other NFL teams are preparing for the 2025 free agency signing period and the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay. (Yes, the Twin Cities can’t get the Draft, but literally every other NFC North city can apparently get it.) Are you going to be watching in two weeks when the 2024 NFL season comes to an end?
Eagles made history (and a lot of it) in the NFC Championship Game
Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images Players on both sides of the ball, and the team as a whole, set new league and franchise records on Sunday. It seems like the Philadelphia Eagles one-up themselves each season, and this year was no different. As they capped off their final playoff game on the way to the Super Bowl, several players, and the team as a whole, set new league and franchise postseason records. Jalen Hurts had three rushing touchdowns against the Commanders, totaling 10 throughout the playoffs, most for a QB in NFL history — passing Steve Young. The Eagles put up 55 points, which is the most points scored in a Conference Championship game in NFL history — passing Cam Newton and the Panthers 49 points in 2015. Nick Sirianni is the only head coach in NFL history to reach two Super Bowls without missing the playoffs in his first four seasons. Nolan Smith set a new Eagles franchise record for most sacks in a single postseason with four through three games. There’s more history to be made as the Eagles prepare for Super Bowl LIX, and Saquon Barkley is now just 30 yards away from being the NFL’s all-time single season rushing record holder (regular season and playoffs) — a record currently set by Terrell Davis with 2,476 yards back in 1998.
Super Bowl 2025: Eagles open as underdogs against Chiefs in rematch
Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images Philadelphia will try to prevent Kansas City from threepeating in New Orleans. The stage is set for Super Bowl LIX: the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will be facing off in New Orleans in a rematch of Super Bowl LVII. The Birds will be looking to beat the Chiefs this time around after losing despite a 10-point halftime lead in their last Super Bowl meeting. It sure won’t be easy for the Eagles, who are 1.5-point underdogs (per FanDuel). Philly has a really good team, as evidenced by scoring 55 points in their NFC Championship Game win over the Washington Commanders. But the Chiefs are just so inevitable. They’ve made a habit of winning in less than impressive fashion all year long. Patrick Mahomes is very hard to beat. I’ve long been of the mind that the Chiefs are going to pull off a third straight Super Bowl win. Wrote the following in my Week 1 NFL power rankings back on September 3: 1 – Kansas City Chiefs – Patrick Mahomes is inevitable. I genuinely believe the Chiefs are going to threepeat as Super Bowl champions. It’s very hard to do, yeah, but if there’s anyone who could … it’s him. Along with the support of Andy Reid and their other core championship pieces. Obviously hope to be wrong. The Eagles will certainly give them a run for their money if Jalen Hurts plays well again and Saquon Barkley continues to be unstoppable. Plus, you have to feel much better about THIS Vic Fangio defense going up against Mahomes than Jonathan Gannon’s defense going up against Mahomes. What’s your early feel on the big game?
