NBC Sports Philadelphia's Derrick Gunn gives his predictions for the championship round of the NFL playoffs.
Rams at Saints (NFC Championship, Sunday, 3:05 p.m., FOX)
And so the top two seeds in the NFC get another shot at each other. If this one is anything like their regular-season meeting in Week 9, it should be quite the shootout.
In that regular-season affair, the two teams combined for 80 points, 970 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Saints won their seventh straight game while the Rams were dealt their first loss.
With the late-season addition of running back C.J. Anderson, the Rams ran through the Cowboys' defense for 273 yards last weekend. Meanwhile, the Saints came out sluggish against the Eagles, finally woke up and held on to get to this point.
In 2017, both teams exited the playoffs sooner than they were expecting. This time, the Rams' road to the Super Bowl ends in New Orleans.
Patriots at Chiefs (AFC Championship, Sunday, 6:40 p.m., CBS)
The Patriots are like a chameleon. They adapt to their environment on both sides of the ball better than any team in the league. You don't know what defensive front they're going to play week to week, and on offense, when you expect them to run, they pass. Prepare to defend their passing attack and they'll run the ball. Back in Week 6, the Pats survived a 43-40 shootout.
Philadelphia Eagles
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But that was in New England. This time, the rematch is at Arrowhead Stadium, arguably the loudest football venue in the league. The Chiefs haven't been to the Super Bowl since the 1969 season. They haven't been in the AFC title game since 1993. It's the GOAT, Tom Brady, vs. the new kid on the block in Patrick Mahomes, and he is electric.
This is Andy Reid's fourth straight year that he's gotten Kansas City in the playoffs. This time, Reid and his crew dance their way into Super Bowl LIII.
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