With two up-and-coming teams taking on two recent powerhouses, this year’s NFL Conference Championship week is proof that whether you’re a hapless franchise down on its luck or a perennial title contender, the only thing that matters in football is having a good quarterback. Here are Onion Sports’ keys to victory for both weekend matchups.
Chiefs vs. Bills
The Chiefs secondary must keep a close eye on Stefon Diggs because he’s just been really fun to watch this year.
If Mahomes plays, it could throw a wrench into the Bills’ game plan of stopping Chad Henne.
The Bills’ Devin Singletary has the speed to burst through the line for big gains, and if he has the football during those times, that’s even better.
Special teams will make the difference a tight matchup like this, so look forward to learning some poor bastard’s name forever.
Kansas City has thrived on winning thrilling, close games, so the Bills should try to make this as much of an unwatchable slog as possible.
Josh Allen can expect to see Chiefs’ safety Tyrann Mathieu all over the field after the team successfully cloned him this past week.
Packers vs. Bucs
Neither quarterback is a threat to run the ball, so the coaches have assigned some other players a position where the main job is to run the ball.
Green Bay can capitalize on the inexperience of their opponents, whose QB has never before played in an NFC championship game.
Look for Antonio Brown to fire up the Bucs with a speech about how he’s already put his Super Bowl LV ring up for auction.
Packers All-Pro tackle David Bakhtiari is out with shattered ribs and a torn ACL, which puts pressure on him to suit up and prove what winners are all about.
Green Bay’s players and coaches need to realize that this game provides a great opportunity for getting the fuck out of Wisconsin in February.
Ndamukong Suh must find a way to get Aaron Rodgers on the ground if he wants a chance to stomp the quarterback.
