by Noah Bair ‘24

With the divisional round finished, the stage is set for the AFC and NFC championship games next Sunday. The four teams that remain are the Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Francisco 49ers. Next week, the Eagles will host the 49ers for the NFC Championship in the afternoon on Sunday, with the AFC being decided as the Bengals travel to face the Chiefs in the nightcap.

Before the season started, many expected teams with long Super Bowl droughts to get back to the championship once again. The Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers, who were first and sixth respectively in preseason odds to win the title, have never won a Super Bowl in their franchise history. Both teams disappointed their fans with early and disappointing playoff exits, including the Chargers blowing a twenty-seven point lead in the Wild Card round to the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Nevertheless, the four franchises that remain in contention are some that are not unfamiliar with playing conference championship games. Over the last twelve seasons, there have only been three years where one of the four current remaining teams were not in a conference championship game. Also, the four remaining teams have combined for a whopping eight Super Bowls over their franchise histories. 

While the teams may be accustomed to playing in big games, the four remaining quarterbacks have very differing levels of experience in the playoffs. While Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, the AFC quarterbacks, have a combined seventeen playoff games under their belts, the NFC quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy, have only started in the playoffs for a total of three games between the two quarterbacks. 

Purdy, the 49ers’ quarterback, has the opportunity to become the first quarterback in NFL history to start a Super Bowl as a rookie. Purdy’s run, which includes a streak of eight straight wins in his first eight starts, is impressive because it’s his first year in the league after being the very last pick in the draft. Purdy, dubbed Mr. Irrelevant, not only has become an NFL phenomenon in his first few months in the spotlight, but carries on the spotlight of past 49ers legends. Joe Montana, maybe the best quarterback in San Francisco history, won four Super Bowls in his reign as playcaller in the 1980s and early 1990s. Purdy must follow in the steps of team greats to return San Francisco to the top of the NFL world, a place they haven’t been since 1995.