The NFL Roundup 2018: Conference Championships - What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Al Bello/Getty Images)

Well, here we are ladies and gentlemen. After weeks of upsets and surprises, the stage for Super Bowl LII has been set and the Eagles and the Patriots will fight for the right to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in two weeks in Minnesota. But how they got there is what matters today, because the Conference Championships were the stuff of legend, filled to the brim with incredible comebacks and outright domination and fascinating storylines through and through. So, as we bask in the wonder of another incredible round of the playoffs, let’s take a moment and discuss what we learned from Championship Sunday.

---

The Jacksonville Jaguars blew a golden opportunity.
While it seems that the New England Patriots are invincible when they take the field, there is in fact, a formula to beating this team and it’s a proven one that’s been used time and time again. First and foremost, a defense has to pressure Tom Brady and interrupt his well-timed passing game, and second, that same defense has to play man-to-man coverage all day long since Brady loves it when a D plays zone and most importantly, any team opposing the Patriots cannot show any sign of weakness, nor can they let up when they have the lead and unfortunately for the Jaguars, they did all of those things, and then abandoned the plan in the fourth quarter.
 
But for three quarters, the Jaguars were the better team on the field. They contained Brady, they set the tempo for the game and for the life of me, I cannot figure out what happened. Because suddenly, in the fourth quarter, they switched to zone defense, the play calling became ultra conservative and well, that gave Brady exactly what he needed, allowing for New England to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LII and when all is said and done, this has to be a tough loss for Jacksonville because, they blew it. They had the Pats right where they wanted them and let the AFC Championship slip through their hands and while I’m sure the Jaguars will rebound next season; this loss is going to sting for quite a while…

---

The Philadelphia Eagles thrive in the underdog role.
The underdog role tends to add lots of pressure to a professional sports team simply because it engenders doubt in the player’s minds and that doubt can grow if a team lets it. Unless of course you’re the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that has been the underdog for the entirety of the playoffs with their star quarterback on injured reserve. Because rather than let that kind of title get under their skin, the Eagles have held it close to the chest and used it as fuel come game time and it has served them incredibly well because they continue to impress and last night was a fine demonstration of how just far that label has managed to propel them forward.
 
Because the Eagles completely and utterly dominated the Minnesota Vikings with a defensive and offensive showing for the ages and oddly enough, despite establishing an early lead in the game, Philadelphia did the opposite of Jacksonville, and never took their foot off the pedal and thanks to a stifling defense and a prolific offensive performance from quarterback Nick Foles, the ‘underdog’ Philadelphia Eagles are NFC Champions once again, and I have no doubt that they will once again embrace their newfound title and use it as fuel when they arrive in Minnesota for Super Bowl LII. 

---