Throughout the 2024 season, NFL Network analysts will provide one bold prediction heading into each week's slate of games (see the full NFL Championship Sunday schedule).
Saquon Barkley didn't play in Week 18, leaving him 101 yards short of breaking Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record. But there's another mark in Barkley's sights: most rushing yards in a postseason game. Dickerson also holds that record, rushing for 248 yards against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1985 NFC Divisional Round. Barkley builds on last week's performance -- 205 rush yards in a Divisional Round win -- and rushes for 250 yards against the Commanders to lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl. And with an outing like that, Barkley would also break both of Hall of Famer Terrell Davis' single-season NFL records for rush yards (2,476) and scrimmage yards (2,762), including the playoffs.
Since the formation of the AFC and NFC back at the 1970 merger, there have been 54 conference championship weekends. And yet, the record for combined rushing touchdowns by the quarterbacks on Championship Sunday sits at a measly three, courtesy of Steve McNair (two) and Rich Gannon (one) in 2002. May I introduce you to Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels and Patrick Mahomes? Not only do these four guys break the record on Sunday, they double it, combining for six rushing touchdowns as they continue to herald a new era of quarterbacking.
There’s a difference between playing good football and posting great stats. Patrick Mahomes has done a lot of the former this season. Not so much of the latter. That will change this week against the Bills. Buffalo’s high-octane offense will force Kansas City into a heavy passing mode, leading Mahomes to put up more passing yards than Josh Allen. However, it won’t be enough, as Sean McDermott’s defense does just enough to end the Chiefs’ reign of terror.
One of the best matchups of Championship Sunday isn't one that immediately springs to mind: Chiefs DE George Karlaftis vs. Bills RT Spencer Brown. Kansas City's third-year edge rusher is coming off the best performance of his career: a three-sack outing in the Divisional Round win over Houston. This season, Karlaftis aligned at left edge on 78.4 percent of snaps, per Next Gen Stats. Meanwhile, Brown allowed the lowest pressure percentage (4.8) among right tackles (min. 300 snaps), while yielding just one sack on 495 pass-blocking snaps -- the lowest sack rate (0.2 percent) among all qualified offensive tackles. It won't be easy, but Karlaftis continues his impressive run with a second straight three-sack performance.
Jayden Daniels and Saquon Barkley had two of the best performances of the Divisional Round. The rookie quarterback threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns (adding 51 more yards on the ground) in Washington's upset victory over Detroit, while Barkley rushed for 205 yards to lead the Eagles past the Rams. This duo provides an encore in the NFC title game, with the All-Pro running back recording 200-plus rush yards and the Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite eclipsing 300 pass yards against the Eagles' top-ranked defense.
The Bills will do everything they can to minimize Travis Kelce’s impact, as they did in the first matchup. Watch for Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy -- the receiver Buffalo passed on by trading down in the draft -- to be the, well, X-factor in this game. The rookie will catch a TD pass and also make his impact felt on a few runs, too.
