Storylines to watch in NFL Championship Round on TSN
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The final act before the grand finale kicks off on Sunday, as the conference championship games will decide who participates in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 on TSN.
With every game available on TSN, find out when and where you can watch each battle.
Here's something to watch in each of Sunday's games.
Can Jayden Daniels continue to push historic rookie season even further?
Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the second pick in last year's NFL Draft, has already been everything the Commanders could've hoped for.
In pulling off a shocking upset victory over the top-seeded Detroit Lions a week ago, Daniels became only the third rookie quarterback in NFL history to win multiple road playoff games, joining Joe Flacco with the Baltimore Ravens in 2008, and Mark Sanchez with the New York Jets in 2009.
Now Daniels has a chance to become the first rookie quarterback to start a Super Bowl in NFL history if he can knock off the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
You can watch the Washington Commanders battle the Philadelphia Eagles LIVE on TSN1/4, TSN.ca and the TSN App, with coverage starting at 3p.m. ET / Noon PT.
Daniels is expected to be named Offensive Rookie of the Year after throwing for 3,568 yards with 25 touchdowns and adding 891 yards rushing with six touchdowns on the ground.
The 24-year-old threw for 299 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory over Detroit.
“I always believed that we could achieve more than people give us credit for,” Daniels said after the game.
Washington and Daniels face a tall task on Sunday against the Eagles as they seek to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1991.
Philadelphia finished second in the NFC at 14-3 behind a brilliant season from running back Saquon Barkley, who became only the ninth running back in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing.
Washington is one of three teams to defeat the Eagles this year though, as their 36-33 victory in Week 16 snapped the Eagles' 10-game winning streak.
Daniels was unbelievable in that game, throwing for 258 yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winning score to Jamison Crowder with six seconds remaining. He also ran for 81 yards.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio hasn't forgotten what Daniels did in that game. "He's a young quarterback by birth certificate, not by tape," Fangio said earlier this week.
“I always believe that we can win the game no matter what,” Daniels said after the victory in Week 16. “The game’s never over till the clock hits zero.”
That belief will need to be strong as Washington and Daniels go on the road on Sunday with a chance to achieve something never done in the history of the league.
Buffalo Bills get another shot to slay the dragon that is the Kansas City Chiefs
The Buffalo Bills have enjoyed a run of success not seen since the early 1990s since hiring Sean McDermott to be their head coach in 2017 and drafting quarterback Josh Allen with the seventh overall pick in 2018.
Allen put everything together and ascended to the elite ranks of NFL quarterbacks in 2020, when, in his third season as a starter, he threw for 4,544 yards and 37 touchdowns, ultimately finishing second in Most Valuable Player voting.
Including that 2020 campaign, the Bills have won the AFC East a franchise-record five consecutive seasons and have finished a top-6 scoring offence all five years.
For all their regular season success, a return to the Super Bowl has been one major missing ingredient, and the Kansas City Chiefs are at the heart of it.
Buffalo has been eliminated by the Chiefs three of the last four seasons in the playoffs, and often in crushing fashion.
The Chiefs were the better team from start to finish in 2020's AFC Championship game, rolling to a 38-21 final. But in 2021's Divisional Round, the Bills had victory in their hands after a Gabe Davis 19-yard touchdown catch with 13 seconds remaining gave the road team a 36-33 lead.
Kansas City would go on to drive 34 yards in two quick plays before Harrison Butker sent the game into overtime with a field goal, leading to a game-winning touchdown on the opening possession by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offence.
Last year, the Bills hosted the Chiefs in the Divisional Round, and a 16-play drive in the fourth quarter led to a Tyler Bass field goal attempt from 44 yards out to tie the game with under two minutes remaining: Bass' kick sailed wide right in the frigid stadium, and Bills fans went home heartbroken yet again.
“This is what everyone’s been waiting for, right?” McDermott said of last week's matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. There isn't quite so much confidence on Buffalo's side looking ahead to this matchup against Kansas City.
“We know what they are. They’re the perennial of what you want to be in the NFL,” Allen said. “You’ve got to beat them to get past them.”
The Bills do have one factor in their favour - they've actually beaten Kansas City in four of the last seven meetings between the two sides, including a 30-21 victory in Week 11 that ended Kansas City's bid for a perfect season and was their only loss in a meaningful game (Kansas City benched their starters in the regular season finale, a 38-0 loss to the Denver Broncos).