Post by NFL on Dec 15, 2020 18:44:29 GMT -5
(#5) Tennessee Titans vs (#6) Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens return to the AFC Championship for a second consecutive season, joining only New Orleans and the Minnesota/Denver franchise as the only teams with multiple conference championship appearances. Baltimore's playoff record stands at a much more respectable 3-2 after their upset wins over Pittsburgh & Jacksonville this postseason, and they are looking to extend that win streak another game for their first Super Bowl appearance. Of the four teams remaining, the Ravens are the only ones with a playoff appearance prior to 2020.
To get there, they will have to knock off red hot Tennessee. The Titans may be the AFC's 5th seed but they were the league's best regular season team in terms of points scored (by a pretty sizable margin) and they haven't slowed down through the franchise's first two playoff games. They followed up their record breaking Wild Card performance with another 215+ point game in the Divisional Round. **Fun fact: the Titans scored more points in their Wild Card win over Kansas City than they did the entire 2019 regular season.**
Prior to last week it would have seemed as though Tennessee would be a clear favorite in a matchup against Baltimore. The Titans have outscored Baltimore in 12 of 14 weeks this season but the Ravens did show this past week that they were capable of keeping a matchup close with Tennessee. If the Titans continue this playoff streak they are on (230.81 PPG) then Baltimore will be going home, but if Tennessee dips closer to their regular season average (195.15 PPG) then Baltimore has a legitimate shot at upsetting a higher seed for a third week in a row.
(#2) Washington Football Team vs (#6) Dallas Cowboys
As has been mentioned before, Washington is in a similar boat to Tennessee. They are looking to go from bottom five team to Super Bowl champ in just one season. Also similar to Tennessee, the WFT has dominated in the playoffs with back to back 200 point performances over Tampa Bay & Philadelphia. Prior to this season, we had never seen a seed lower than #4 reach a conference championship but in very 2020 fashion, we have just single top 4 seed in this year's conference championships. Washington looks to continue their impressive playoff run as the only division winner still alive in this year's postseason.
Of the four teams left, Dallas has to be the most surprising team remaining. While Baltimore, Tennessee, & Washington aren't the top seeds in their conference, all three were at least top 8 in points scored during the regular season. Dallas, on the other hand, ranked in the bottom half of the league in scoring (#17) and barely snuck into a playoff spot after finishing 2-3 over their final five regular season matchups. That being said, they looked like a completely different team in their dominant Wild Card win over Los Angeles and they did just enough last week to secure an upset win over New Orleans, as well. Another win in the Conference Championship and the Cowboys will have knocked off the NFC's top three seeds on their way to a Super Bowl appearance.
The NFC Championship matchup is a similar situation to the AFC Championship, as the Cowboys have managed to outscore Washington in just 2 out of 14 weeks so far this season. What's important to note is that one of those two weeks was when these teams faced off in the regular season and Dallas was able to split the season series at 1-1. Dallas has been very inconsistent this season and the difference between their two playoff matchups is no exception. Washington goes into this with a lot more momentum but Dallas just needs a big week like they had in the Wild Card round to give them a shot regardless of what the WFT puts up for scoring. Either way, the NFC East will represent the NFC in this year's Super Bowl.
The Ravens return to the AFC Championship for a second consecutive season, joining only New Orleans and the Minnesota/Denver franchise as the only teams with multiple conference championship appearances. Baltimore's playoff record stands at a much more respectable 3-2 after their upset wins over Pittsburgh & Jacksonville this postseason, and they are looking to extend that win streak another game for their first Super Bowl appearance. Of the four teams remaining, the Ravens are the only ones with a playoff appearance prior to 2020.
To get there, they will have to knock off red hot Tennessee. The Titans may be the AFC's 5th seed but they were the league's best regular season team in terms of points scored (by a pretty sizable margin) and they haven't slowed down through the franchise's first two playoff games. They followed up their record breaking Wild Card performance with another 215+ point game in the Divisional Round. **Fun fact: the Titans scored more points in their Wild Card win over Kansas City than they did the entire 2019 regular season.**
Prior to last week it would have seemed as though Tennessee would be a clear favorite in a matchup against Baltimore. The Titans have outscored Baltimore in 12 of 14 weeks this season but the Ravens did show this past week that they were capable of keeping a matchup close with Tennessee. If the Titans continue this playoff streak they are on (230.81 PPG) then Baltimore will be going home, but if Tennessee dips closer to their regular season average (195.15 PPG) then Baltimore has a legitimate shot at upsetting a higher seed for a third week in a row.
(#2) Washington Football Team vs (#6) Dallas Cowboys
As has been mentioned before, Washington is in a similar boat to Tennessee. They are looking to go from bottom five team to Super Bowl champ in just one season. Also similar to Tennessee, the WFT has dominated in the playoffs with back to back 200 point performances over Tampa Bay & Philadelphia. Prior to this season, we had never seen a seed lower than #4 reach a conference championship but in very 2020 fashion, we have just single top 4 seed in this year's conference championships. Washington looks to continue their impressive playoff run as the only division winner still alive in this year's postseason.
Of the four teams left, Dallas has to be the most surprising team remaining. While Baltimore, Tennessee, & Washington aren't the top seeds in their conference, all three were at least top 8 in points scored during the regular season. Dallas, on the other hand, ranked in the bottom half of the league in scoring (#17) and barely snuck into a playoff spot after finishing 2-3 over their final five regular season matchups. That being said, they looked like a completely different team in their dominant Wild Card win over Los Angeles and they did just enough last week to secure an upset win over New Orleans, as well. Another win in the Conference Championship and the Cowboys will have knocked off the NFC's top three seeds on their way to a Super Bowl appearance.
The NFC Championship matchup is a similar situation to the AFC Championship, as the Cowboys have managed to outscore Washington in just 2 out of 14 weeks so far this season. What's important to note is that one of those two weeks was when these teams faced off in the regular season and Dallas was able to split the season series at 1-1. Dallas has been very inconsistent this season and the difference between their two playoff matchups is no exception. Washington goes into this with a lot more momentum but Dallas just needs a big week like they had in the Wild Card round to give them a shot regardless of what the WFT puts up for scoring. Either way, the NFC East will represent the NFC in this year's Super Bowl.