Super Bowl LIX is on the horizon, and we’re about to meet our contenders as Conference Championship Sunday draws near.
In one corner is yet another chapter in the growing rivalry between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. In the other, the upstart Washington Commanders square off against their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, for a third time this season.
Which teams will advance to the Super Bowl? And which players will play a pivotal role in helping them get there? Let’s take a look at one player from each team that could emerge as a hero on Sunday.
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WASHINGTON COMMANDERS @ PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | Sunday 3 p.m. ET
Trent Scott, OL, Washington Commanders
Washington’s offensive line has done a better-than-expected job keeping quarterback Jayden Daniels’ jersey clean this month. The rookie quarterback has now racked up more wins (two) than negative plays (sacks, fumbles, or interceptions: one) in the post-season. Unfortunately, one of his best protectors, Sam Cosmi, is done for the year after the offensive lineman suffered a torn ACL in their Divisional Round win over the Lions.
While the final plan for the interior offensive line will be kept under wraps leading up to Sunday, head coach Dan Quinn acknowledged that Trent Scott, who took the bulk of snaps last weekend following Cosmi’s exit, would play a significant role moving forward.
Scott has started just 23 games in seven years as a pro, including just one earlier this season (Week 10 vs. the Steelers). With Cosmi out, the Commanders will likely scheme some plays for Daniels to run away from the Eagles’ fierce pass rush, but Scott will still need to be at the top of his game if Daniels is to extend his Cinderella run all the way to the Super Bowl.
Jalen Carter, DL, Philadelphia Eagles
On the flip side, we have Jalen Carter, who may have single-handedly finished the Rams’ season with the clock winding down on a snowy Sunday evening in Philadelphia. Carter barreled through the Rams’ protection on both third and fourth down to end the game, racking up a sack and forcing an incompletion from Matthew Stafford on back-to-back plays.
Carter finished that game with five tackles, two sacks, and two tackles for loss — a dominant game from beginning to end. Along with fellow defenders Zack Baun, Nolan Smith Jr., and Josh Sweat (to name a few), Carter will now face a Washington offensive line that allowed 47 sacks — the sixth-highest total in the regular season — and will be without its most consistent offensive lineman.
BUFFALO BILLS @ KANSAS CITY CHIEFS | Sunday 6:30 p.m. ET
Tyler Bass, K, Buffalo Bills
The life of an NFL kicker isn’t an easy one. You get very little credit for making a field goal, and the lion’s share of the blame if you miss. Tough gig.
Many remember Tyler Bass’s high-profile miss last January against these very same Chiefs, missing a chance to tie the game with a 44-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter of the Divisional Round. It may not have been the worst miss in franchise history, but it still stung.
But Bass is on the rise, putting together a solid season and heating up down the stretch. He hasn’t missed a field goal since Week 15, including two against the Ravens last weekend (he also made all three of his extra-point attempts). He drilled a 51-yard field goal in the fourth quarter against Baltimore — just the second-ever kick made from 50-plus yards out in Buffalo during a playoff game.
As we’ve seen countless times, a lot of kicking boils down to confidence. Bass will almost certainly be called upon in a big moment on Sunday in Kansas City — and right now, considering his recent success, he has to be feeling pretty good.
Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs’ run game has seen some twists and turns this year. Following a fractured fibula for starter Isiah Pacheco in Week 2 — and following a brief dalliance with rookie Carson Steele — head coach Andy Reid turned to a former Chief in Kareem Hunt, a free agent following five years spent with the Browns.
The move paid immediate dividends. From Week 4 to 12, when Pacheco returned from injured reserve, Hunt touched the ball a whopping 172 times for 712 total yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns. Even after he began splitting carries with Pacheco, Hunt still scored four additional touchdowns to Pacheco’s zero.
Despite having three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, the Chiefs’ offence has looked sluggish at times this season. It once again lacked explosiveness in their win over the Texans last weekend. With Hunt, the offence can move the ball far easier in short-yardage situations. On third- or fourth-and-short since his insertion into the lineup, Hunt has converted on 16 of 19 attempts.
Hunt has only been given double-digit carries in two of Kansas City’s past six games. In 10 games this year in which he has gotten 10-plus carries, Hunt has averaged 3.5 yards per attempt. The math, then, is simple: If the Chiefs give Hunt the ball more — even over a healthy Pacheco — they’ll be more likely to not only keep the ball moving, but keep it out of Josh Allen’s hands, too.
from Sportsnet.ca
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