NFL Grades after a wild Championship Sunday: Setting the Super Bowl stage

The stage is set for a Super Bowl LVII rematch after the Eagles and Chiefs won the NFC and AFC Championships. Like every week, we are going to grade every performance, but as there’s only two games to review, we can go a little more in depth this time round!

The Eagles racked up 459 yards, per ESPN, against a Washington defense that didn’t look anywhere near good enough to compete. Jalen Hurts showed how good he can be when needed, throwing for an efficient 246 yards and a score and rushing for a further three TDs. Saquon Barkley broke the game open with his first touch and never looked back.

Barkley’s 60-yard touchdown was an immediate dagger to Washington’s hearts after the Commanders had driven the ball down the field and only came away with three points. After that, the Eagles’ running game was just too good. Defensively, Vic Fangio once again has his unit play near-perfect football, forcing three turnovers on the day.

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The Eagles will now have two weeks to rest up and lick their wounds. Cam Jurgens battled through a back injury to play in the second half after Landon Dickerson went down, the status of both players will be huge in two weeks' time. Otherwise, you know this Eagles team is out for revenge after their defeat two years ago.

We can’t even say Washington player badly, they were just outmatched by a far more talented roster. Jayden Daniels and the offense moved the ball, but turnovers and miss opportunities proved costly as they got behind early and couldn’t catch up. An incredible season came to an abrupt end to the tune of 55 points, highlighting the need for upgrades across the defense.

Despite being able to move the ball, the Commanders were forced into sustaining long drives and lacked explosive plays. Four turnovers and eight penalties simply made that untenable. As Kevin Patra writes for NFL Network, “Dan Quinn's club isn't at a place in its rebuild where it can overcome the errors that plagued it.”

It was an incredible season for Washington, and they should be excited about the future as Jayden Daniels proved time and time again he is set to be among the elite QBs soon enough. Upgrades on the offensive and defensive lines should be the priority, and maybe getting Daniels another reliable pass catcher or two.

The Chiefs, as they’ve done all season, just did enough to beat Buffalo. It feels like we’ve been writing the same story all season. Steve Spagnuolo’s defense was able to hold on with the game on the line, even if they had struggled to stop Josh Allen for most of the game. Patrick Mahomes did what Mahomes does these days, playing a clean and efficient game.

The Chiefs’ defensive line all deserve MVP awards for their performances on Sunday night. Per NFL Network, Josh Allen was pressured on 45.9% of his dropbacks, which is an absurd number. They were also able to stuff the Bills three times on QB sneaks, which has been such a weapon for Buffalo all year.

The Chiefs will now head to New Orleans in an attempt to make history as the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a row. There they will face a Philadelphia Eagles team that is loaded with talent. The Chiefs should match up well against the Eagles, even if their depth of talent isn't quite the same.

It’s difficult to be overly negative towards Buffalo and their performance on Sunday, as they came so close to finally getting over the final hurdle. Unfortunately for the Bills fans, they came up short once again. Josh Allen played valiantly, as he always does, but it wasn’t enough.

The Bills’ offense didn’t look like it had an answer for the Chiefs’ blitzes and physicality along their defensive line. Defensively, they didn’t stand a chance against Mahomes, especially in the first half, where they were picked apart with ease. Ultimately, it was a game of inches and the Bills came up short. The fact it’s the same story year after year suggests something needs to change, though.

It’s hard to not see his tenure as anything but hugely successful, however, perhaps it’s time for Sean McDermott to move on. Not because we don’t think he’s a good coach, just that his team has seemingly reached it’s ceiling under him. Like Andy Reid in Philadelphia, a change can work out for both sides at times.

We are now just under two weeks out from the Super Bowl, and what a game that should be. The Chiefs are looking to become history-makers, and the Eagles will be desperate to get revenge. We can’t wait.

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