One Reason to Root for Every NFL Team Left in the Playoffs
If you are a fan of great QB play and high-flying offense, then this is the playoffs for you. Of the four teams left it can be argued that each team has one of the top two quarterbacks in their respective conference. In the American Football Conference, we have the number one and two seeds going head to head in the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs, who are seeking a three-peat, with the favorite for this season's MVP along with the best QB of his generation with Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, respectively. In the National Football Conference, we have a unique matchup between the recently remade six-seed Washington Commanders and the conference winner from two seasons ago in the two-seed Philadelphia Eagles. The Commanders are commanded by rookie and reigning Heisman Memorial Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, and the Eagles are flying with the runner-up from the 2019 season in Jalen Hurts. So, without further ado, let's get into it, starting with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs
Why would anyone want to root for the perceived villains? Let me tell you why: greatness. It’s fun to be a hater, but it’s healthier to appreciate greatness, and this team has the chance to be the greatest of them all. No team in the modern NFL has won three Super Bowls in a row, that dates back to the AFL-NFL merger in the 1960s. For context, that was a world in which we were yet to have put a man on the moon, and the goalposts were in the middle of the field on the goalline yet to be moved to the back of the endzone. That would put Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, along with all the other players on the team these past three seasons, in a literal class of their own. So all I have to say now is sit back and enjoy the show.
Buffalo Bills
Now we arrive at the loveable underdogs in the AFC until they win this year, and everyone gets sick of them. For now, they have the most Super Bowl appearances in NFL history without a victory in the game. For the frozen city of Buffalo, where snow is measured in feet, not inches, they yearn for the ultimate prize in football glory, and this team has as good a chance as any to finally give it to them. If that isn’t enough to get the layperson excited maybe the Superman antics of Josh Allen will do it. Quite frankly, in almost every game, he does something awesome, so if they win this weekend, it means we get to see at least one extra game where Josh Allen can do something awesome, and sign me up for that.
Philadelphia Eagles
They’ve been there and done that, as they won the NFC two seasons ago to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LVII, where they lost to the first team on our list. However, this is not the same Eagles squad that played in vain against the Chiefs on that fateful February night. They are now led by one of the best running backs in the league and quad model, Saquan Barkley. If you’re looking for pure talent on the offensive side of the ball, then you’d be hard-pressed to find a team that meets your needs better than the Eagles. They have two Heisman finalists in Hurts and Barkley, plus a winner in DeVonta Smith, and that doesn’t even include their most talented receiver, three-time All-Pro AJ Brown. All of that doesn’t even mention their elite offensive line play as one of the best units in the league. So suffice it to say, if you want to watch a talented offensive team operating in chaotic unison, capable of running it down their opponent's throat and bombing it down the field, then this Eagles team is the one for you.
Washington Commanders
Going up against their rivals from further north on I-95 are the upstart Commanders led by rookie sensation Jayden Daniels and new head coach Dan Quinn. If they win this weekend he would be the first rookie QB to ever start a Super Bowl. From thrilling finishes to gunslinging shootouts, this Commanders team has had one hell of a season, improving their win total by eight total wins from four previously to twelve this current season. Daniels alone should be enough to get you to watch. However, if you need more reason to root for the Commanders, it’s redemption. Nothing is more powerful than the idea of redemption, and no coach needs it more than Dan Quinn, who led the biggest collapse in Super Bowl history in his previous stop with the Falcons. If the Commanders win a Super Bow1, Daniels would make history and Quinn would finally redeem himself and prove wrong the naysayers that have hung around since that fateful loss eight years ago.
