The Princeton Tigers Make the Sweet Sixteen by Quinn Cunningham

The Princeton Tigers were a 15 seed coming into the NCAA men's tournament In their first game they played a very good Arizona team. But Princeton out played them and won with a final score of 59-55 princeton. Then in the round of 32 they dominated the Missouri Tigers with a final score of 78-63 Princeton. 

The Princeton Tigers were the champions of the Ivy league Tournament defeating the Yale Bulldogs with a final score of 74-65. Princeton is 23-8 and 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament. The Princeton Tigers have been a great underdog story so far, and they are the third 15 seed in a row to get to the sweet sixteen along with Oral Roberts in 2021 and last year (2022) the Saint Peter's Peacocks. But now the Princeton Tigers have to focus on playing the very good Creighton Bluejays who defeated a 3 seed team, the Baylor Bears, to get into the sweet sixteen. Creighton looked great against Baylor winning by a score of 85-76. 

In conclusion, Princeton has a chance to make the elite eighth and maybe farther if they keep playing like they have their last two games. So I will pick Princeton to beat Creigton with a predicted score of 68-65 Prnceton.

Penn State Defeats Texas A&M in NCAA First Round by Marshall Laskowski

On Thursday night, March 16th, Penn State took down the Aggies of Texas A&M with a score of 76 to 59. This was one of Penn State’s games of the year as they were shooting lights out and on a roll from the very start. The scoring was led by Andrew Funk who had 27 points and was making threes left and right. Jalen Pickett helped make the points with eight assists and he also had 19 points and also seven rebounds. Texas A&M scoring was led by Dexter Dennis who had 19 points otherwise it was tough to get points all night for the Aggies. 

Penn State was on fire making 48.2% of their shots and making 59.1% of their threes. In the first half, Penn State was able to get a good-sized lead with a 16-point lead with a score of 38-22. Penn State played some of their best basketball of the year impressing on the biggest stage they have played on all year. 

Texas A&M’s season ended on a tough loss as they could not get the shooting going as they only shot 33.9% from the field and 29.4% from three-point range. They had a good season but unfortunately came to an end last night. 

Penn State won its first NCAA tournament game since 2001 and will go on to play against Texas in the second round which should be a fun matchup. This was a super fun game that was dominated by Penn State’s three-point shooting and hopefully, they can win and advance against Texas.

Penn State Faces Texas in Second Round by Quinn Cunningham

The Penn State Nittany Lions take on the two seed Texas longhorns in the round of 32. Texas is heavily favored being the two seed and playing the 10 seed Nittany 

Lions. Texas had a dominant performance against the Colgate Rangers with a final score of 81-61 Texas. Penn State on the other hand is also coming off an upset, defeating the Texas A&M Aggies with a total score of 76-59 Penn State which was a dominant performance as well.

Texas is 24-8 not including the Big 12 tournament. Texas is respectively favored in this matchup, they are favored by 5.5 points over Penn State. Texas are the Big 12 champions of 2023 and they are also on a five game winning streak. Texas averages 80 points per game. Marcus Carr is the leading scorer for Texas averaging 15.9 points per game and an average of 4.1 assists. But they also have Sir’Jabri Rice who averages 12.9 points per game. Texas is favored and has a good chance to win the game. Most of America has Texas winning this game.   

 Penn State are the underdogs coming into this one but they still have a chance. Penn State was 19-12 this season not including the big ten tournament. Penn State has been 8-2 in their last ten games. Penn State's leading scorer, rebounder and assiter is Jalen Pickett. He averages 17.9 points per game and he also averages 7.3 rebounds per game and 6.7 assists per game. Another player that could cause trouble for Texas is Andrew Funk who is one of Penn State's best three point shooters, with a total of 102 three point field goals made and three point field goal percentage of 43.9%. Penn State has a very good veteran team that will play hard against Texas.

In conclusion, I will not pick a team to win because if I did I would pick Penn State because I am a Penn State fan but that would be biased. But if I picked Texas that would be a bad omen so thank you for reading.   

Source: ESPN 

March Madness Basketball First Round Picks by Grant Potoczny

A March Madness Bracket

March Madness is upon us, and for me that means making the same bracket over and over and here it is. How I think March Madness is going to go!

Click Here to See My First Round Picks!

World Series Predictions by Marshall Laskowski and Harrison Meyer

We have our World Series predictions at the beginning of the season as we come up on the end of spring training and the beginning of the season. Just for reference the top teams in the standing at the end of last season were:

(American league.)

1. Astros 106-56

2. Yankees 99-63

3. (tie) Blue Jays and Guardians 92-70

(National League)

1. Dodgers 111-51

2. (tie) Mets and Braves 101-61

3. Cardinals 93-69. 

We have both come to an agreement that we think the World Series champion will be the Houston Astros because of the sheer talent on this roster led by big lefty Yordan Alvarez and second baseman Jose Altuve. Also last season the Astros were the champions and they have gotten better at positions they needed to improve. For the National League champion we think that it will be the New York Mets because of the loaded roster that had one of the best offseasons of the year as they added one of the best pitchers in Justin Verlander. 

These are our predictions for the 2023 season as it should be a fun season!

Penn State vs Northwestern Men's Basketball Recap by Quinn Cunningham

Penn State defeated Northwestern on March 1st 2023 with a final score of 68-65 in overtime. Penn State improved to 18-12 and improved to 9-10 in the Big Ten. Northwestern fell to 20-10 and 11-8 in the conference. 

Penn State's win was crucial for Penn State to have a good shot at the NCAA tournament. Penn State played a great second half with a total of 37 points compared to their 24 points in the first half. Penn State’s leading scorer was Camren Wynter with 24 points and three assists. Jalen Pickett and Andrew Funk also had notable efforts with Pickett being Penn State leading assiter with 11 assist and Funk being their leading rebounder with eighth. Penn State. 

Northwestern's loss was not a great way to end their last home game and senior night. Nonetheless, Northwestern will most likely make the NCAA tournament. Northwestern has lost three in a row, including the loss against Penn State. Northwestern’s leading scorer was Boo Buie with 20 points and eight assists to lead the team and five rebounds to add to his total.   

Top 11 NCAA Women's Volleyball Teams in the U.S.A By Adrianna Burn

The NCAA women’s volleyball tournament where teams from across the country come together to compete against each other to win the NCAA trophy. 

The champion of the NCAA is Texas with a record of 28 wins to 1 loss. Won the final round 3-0

Placed in second is Louisville with a record of 31 wins and 3 losses. Lost in the final round 0-3.

Placed in third is San Diego with a record of 31 wins and 2 losses. Lost in the semi-final round 3-1.

Placed in fourth is Pittsburgh with a record of 31 wins and 4 losses. Lost in the semi-final round 3-2. 

Placed in fifth is Wisconsin with a record of 28 wins and 4 losses. Lost in the quarter-final round 3-2.

Placed in sixth is Stanford with a record of 27 wins and 5 losses. Lost in the quarter-final round 3-2.

Placed in seventh is Oregon with a record of 26 wins and 6 losses. Lost in the quarter-finals.

Placed in eighth is Ohio State with a record of 22 wins and 10 losses. Lost in the quarter-finals.

Placed in ninth is Nebraska with a record of 22 wins and 6 losses. Lost in the third round. 

Placed in tenth is Minnesota with a record of 22 wins and 9 losses. Lost in the third round.

Placed in eleventh is Penn State with a record of 26 wins and 8 losses. Lost in the third round.

NCAA Tournament Predictions by Marshall Laskowski, Quinn Cunningham, Andrew Zajac, and Harrison Meyer

The NCAA tournament is coming up in a few weeks and we have some predictions on the upcoming tournament. The top teams right now in the ranking are 1. Houston 2. Alabama 3. Kansas 4. UCLA 5. Purdue. We think the teams who could win the tournament are Purdue because of star center Zach Edey. We also think that Alabama has a chance to make it far in the tournament because they have been a good consistent team that knows how to win the big games. Houston is a team that is bound to go far because of past experience and also is a team that has dominated all season long with big wins left and right. Kansas is a team that usually has great success in this tournament and this season should be no different as they have a great team led by Jalen Wilson. The fifth team that we think has a chance to go a long way because they have beaten tons of great teams and have a loaded team with success. 

I (Marshall Laskowski) think that Alabama will win the NCAA championship because they have a loaded roster and have won against some of the best teams in the nation. They have beaten the top team in the nation in Houston. They also have great players and are led by star player Brandon Miller who is a wooden award candidate with tons of star power. They also have many star guards that have great skills. Alabama plays in the very tough SEC conference and is leading the way with a 14-0 record in home games. Therefore Alabama has a loaded squad that certainly has a chance to go all the way. 

(Quinn Cunningham) I think that Marquette will win the NCAA tournament because they have beaten many good teams such as Baylor, UConn, Providence, and Xavier which are all ranked teams in the top 20. And are 23-6 and 15-3 in the Big East and are 15-1 at home and 7-4 away.     

I (Andrew Zajac ) think that UCLA will win the NCAA tournament because they have won 13 straight games and have many good shooting guards such as Jamie Jaquez Jr and Tyger Campbell. They have all of the assets such as great shooting, excellent defense, and pin-point passing. They have an incredible home-field advantage and are 15-0 at home. They are also decent on the road with a 9-2 record. This is why I think the UCLA Bruins will win the NCAA tournament. 

I (Harrison Meyer) think that Iowa is going to win because they have a stellar offense and semi-decent defense. Kris Murray can score in the paint and can also shoot mid-range jumpers very well. Connor McCaffery and his brother Patrick McCaffery can shoot threes and drain them. Kris Murray averages 20.2 points a game and also 8 rebounds. If they can qualify I think they will have a decent shot at making it far in the tournament.

Now that we have all given our reasons why we think that these teams can go all the way we hope that everyone is excited for the beginning of March Madness.

Top 10 NFL Teams and Best Players by Inioluwa Ajila

1. Philadelphia Eagles. Jalen Hurts because he is an outstanding QB and has a lot of touchdown passes

2. Kansas City Chiefs-Patrick Mahomes. He won the super bowl this season

3. Cincinnati Bengals - Joe Burrow and Jammar Chase-They are a perfect combination

4. Baltimore Ravens-Lamar Jackson he is an experienced  player and great running quarterback

5 Miami Dolphins- Tyreek Hill. He is talented and willing to fight in any NFL match and he is swift.

6. NY Giants- Saquon Barkley-He makes the biggest plays on the team to win it

7. Buffalo Bills-Josh Allen-He is fast but not always to best to stop getting sacked.

8. Minnesota Vikings- Justin Jefferson. He is a powerful wide receiver and he has won some MVP awards

9. Dallas Cowboys- Dak Prescott. He is a key player and led the team to some rough games like against the Eagles.

10. San Francisco 49ers- George Kittle- He is one of the best tight ends in football and can  boost the team's morale

Top 10 MLB Teams Preseason Ranking by Marshall Laskowski and Quinn Cunningham

The MLB season is nearly here and we are going to give a preview of the top teams in our opinions. 

1. The Astros are the number one team in our opinion.

The Astros are the defending champions and have a loaded roster led by Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Christian Javier. 

2. The Mets are the second best team as they had great offseason signings and were already a 100-win team. They have a loaded roster with tons of upside.

3. The Padres are the third best team. They have a great roster with tons of potential. They have Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Xander Bogarts, and Fernado Tatis Jr. back. They already made it to the NLCS and have added Bogarts and will get Fernado Tatis back.

4. Dodgers. They were a loaded team last year but fell short. This year we expect them to be dominant and better than last year. They have many good players such as Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Clayton Kershaw.

5. The Yankees are the fifth best team in the league because they were a 100-win team and re-signed Aaron Judge. They consistently win games in a hard division. They also added Carlos Rodon to help the pitching staff.

6. The Braves because they have young talent all around and are one of the best teams in MLB and constantly win in one of the toughest divisions in the MLB.

7. The Phillies are the seventh best team as they are the reigning NL champions but fell short in the World Series. They also added one of the best shortstops in the league in Trea Turner who will help the offense greatly. 

8. The Mariners are the eighth best team in the MLB. They are coming off their first playoff appearance in 21 years and had a very strong season. They are led by young superstar Julio Rodriguez who is the defending rookie of the year winner. 

9. The Blue Jays are the ninth best team. They have a very strong offense and a solid pitching staff. They are led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr and George Springer as well as Bo Bichette.

10. The Guardians are a young, slick fielding team led by young players like Steven Kwan and  Ocsar Gonzales. They also have veterans like Shane Beiber and Jose Ramirez. They are also coming off a good year where they won the AL Central. 

Tom Brady Announces Retirement by Quinn Cunningham

Tom Brady is arguably one of the best quarterbacks to ever live. This is not the first time he announced his retirement. He announced his retirement on February 1, 2022, but soon after on March 13, 2022 he unretired.

But this time he says it’s “For Good” Tom Brady did not have a Hollywood ending people would have thought. Tom Brady ended his career with a record of 8-9 in the regular season and 0-1 in the postseason losing to the Cowboys in the wildcard round 31-14. 

Tom Brady was drafted in the year 2000 by the New England Patriots. And won his first of seven Super Bowls in 2002.

Tom Brady won the following super bowls XXXVI (2002) XXXVIII (2004) XXXIX (2005) XLIX (2015) LI (2017) LIII (2019) And LV (2021). Tom Brady won six super bowls with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers. Tom Brady has won three MVPs (Most Valuable Player) and has five Super Bowl MVPs.

Tom Brady is the all-time NFL leader in passing yards with a total of 89, 214 passing yards.  

The Futures Championships by Harrison Meyer

The Futures Championships are designed as an intermediate step between Sectional Championships and Junior National or National Championships, and are open to swimmers of all ages as long as you qualify for it. 

There are only allowed to be 800 swimmers maximum in total in each region. So in total through all the regions there are from 3,200 - 4,000 swimmers in total.

The times that they use are still the same since ↦2019 these are the times right here ↦

Image Source: SwimSwam

Futures gives a gap between sectionals and junior national championships, and it provides developing swimmers with elite competitions to race against other swimmers who are in the same position. You can’t be too good and too fast for this meet, but you can be too slow and if you're too slow, you don’t qualify.

Breakout swimmer Claire Weinstein, who recently qualified for the 2022 World Championships team in the 200-meter freestyle, competed at last year’s Futures meet in Richmond, VA. She now has the fastest time swam by a 15-year-old American in the 200 free. Other names that you might recognize that swam in the meet are Gretchen Walsh, US National Junior Team member Erin Gemmell, and 2022 NCAA champion in the 1650 free Paige McKenna.

Super Bowl Sunday by Grant Potoczny

The Super Bowl is finally here. These two teams are supposed to be here as they both had the bye in the playoffs. Either way this should be a good game (As long as Patrick Mahomes doesn’t get injured).

The Philadelphia Eagles vs the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Philadelphia Eagles are riding high with a 16-3 record, (including the playoffs) they are untested in the playoffs, and show no signs of stopping. Jalen Hurts is having a great season with 3,701 passing yards. Miles Sanders has over 1,000 yards this season. The Eagles defense is the best in the league allowing just 15.6 points per game. What helps with that is their league high 16 takeaways and 23 sacks, fifth-most in the league. 

The Kansas City Chiefs have a mediocre defense and a very good offense carried by the one and only Patrick Mahomes, though recently Patrick Mahomes has been seen limping on the field against the Bengals. If they lose Patrick Mahomes, they will definitely lose this game. Though the Chiefs have a few other weapons. Like Travis Kelce with 110 receptions, 1,338 yards, and 12 touchdowns in the regular season.

It will be a good game , but the Eagles will come out on top 28-24. 

Kevin Durant to the Suns by Marshall Laskowski

Kevin Durant was traded to the Suns on February 9th 2023. This trade was a bit unexpected as the Nets said that they were going to hold onto Kevin Durant. The trade package included the Nets receiving Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder, as well as four unprotected first round picks and of course… the Nets sending Durant and T.J. Warren to the Suns.

This trade will affect both teams. The Nets are looking like they are going into a rebuild phase as they have dealt both Durant, and Kyrie Irving in the past week. The Nets are fifth in the East with a 32-22 record. As for the Suns they are greatly affected as they will have Durant to pair with Devin Booker and Chris Paul. The Suns record is 30-26 and they sit fifth in the west. This was a blockbuster deal to wrap up the busy NBA trade deadline.

AFC Championship: Chiefs/Bengals Recap by Marshall Laskowski

The Chiefs Bengals game happened on Sunday Jan 29, 2023. This game was close, but also, controversial as the Chiefs won 23-20. The Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes 326 yards and two touchdowns. Joe Burrow the Bengals qb threw for 270 yards and a touchdown but threw two interceptions. The Bengals got the ball first and were stopped and the Chiefs took over. Then the Chiefs made a 43-yard field goal by Harrison Butker. The Chiefs defense was hot getting another stop and getting the ball back. Then Harrison Butker made his second field goal this time from 24-yards, giving the Chiefs a 6-0 lead at the start of the second quarter.

Then the Bengals kicker Evan McPherson made a 30-yard field goal to make it 6-3. Then Mahomes drove down the field and threw a 14-yard touchdown to Travis Kelce  to give the Chiefs a 13-3 lead. Then the Chiefs defense got an interception by Jaylen Watson. The Bengals got a field goal to send it to half with a score of 13-6.

 Then in the second half Joe Burrow got a 27-yard touchdown to Tee Higgins to tie the game at 13-13. Then Mahomes led the team down the field and threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling to get a 20-13 lead. The third quarter ended 20-13 Chiefs leading. 

The  Bengals got a touchdown from Samaje Perine, which was set up by a 35-yard Ja’Marr Chase catch tying the game at 20-20. Then Joshua Willams of the Chiefs got an interception with 6:53 to go in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs got a stop to set up a final drive with 41 seconds to go. Then a very controversial unnecessary roughness call on Bengal’s linebacker Joseph Ossai for his late hit on Patrick Mahomes (who was out of bounds) with 8 seconds left to set up the game winning field goal by Harrison Butker. 

This was a thrilling game that had great players leading the way. The Bengals got yards from Tee Higgins who had 85 yards and a touchdown. The Chiefs were led by Maquez Valdes-Scantling who had 116 yards and a touchdown. As for the teams the Bengals season is over and the Chiefs will go on to play the Eagles in the Super Bowl on Sunday February, 12th at 6:30 in Glendale Arizona. This was a fun game and both teams had great seasons!

Super Bowl 57 Previews and Predictions by Ian Ballora-Wang

This year, on February 12, 2023, the two best teams in the NFL will clash in the biggest national sporting event in the United States. The Super Bowl will be taking place in Glendale, Arizona, between the Kansas City Chiefs, led by superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and the Philadelphia Eagles, led by second-year emerger Jalen Hurts. In this article, I will be going over the teams in this contest and putting in my predictions as to who will win the ultimate cereal championship.

First, in the red corner from the AFC, we have the emerging dynasty of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are led by the near consensus best quarterback currently playing, Patrick Mahomes. The dual-threat quarterback has thrown a football from the 20-yard line out of the stadium and runs a respectable 4.8-second 40-yard dash. He is also famous for his gadget throws, such as the no-look pass, and the side-arm. This isn’t even mentioning that he has also thrown an accurate pass with his body parallel to the ground. However, this past offseason, he lost an incredible receiving weapon in Tyreek Hill, the fastest player in the NFL and commonly known as “the cheetah”. His wide receiver core is now Mecole Hardman, JuJu Smith-Schuster, rookie Skye Moore, new addition Kadarius Toney, and new breakout Marquez Valdes-Scantling. However, Smith-Schuster and Toney will be questionable from injury for the big game. Despite this, Mahomes has still put up record-breaking numbers, with 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns, with only 12 interceptions. This is partly (read: mainly) because of his 10-year veteran tight end Travis Kelce, who had 1,338 yards with 12 touchdowns. However, this incredible production may be hindered by Mahomes' high ankle sprain, which he suffered in the AFC Divisional Round against the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, he has backup in his run game, with rookie halfback Isaiah Pacheco averaging 4.9 yards per carry. The Kansas City defense is admittedly mediocre, with the only major standout being Chris Jones, with 15.5 sacks and 44 tackles.

Now, in the blue corner of the NFC, we have a superb Philadelphia Eagles squad. The Eagles are led by standout second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts, who had 3,701 passing yards and a shocking 760 rushing yards. Unlike the Chiefs, the Eagles have an excellent wide receiver core, with 3rd-year talent A.J. Brown and 2nd-year phenom DeVonta Smith with 1,496 and 1,196 yards respectively. Tight End Dallas Goedert is also a very respectable weapon, with 702 yards. Miles Sanders had an excellent season, with 1,269 yards in 259 attempts. This is partially due to the Eagle’s incredible offensive line, with Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, and Isaac Seumalo being well-known across the NFL as a force to be reckoned with. The Eagle’s defense is one of the best in the league, with the trenches containing Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Josh Sweat. They also have a decent linebacker core with Hasson Reddick, TJ Edwards, and Kyzir White. They also have what is known as “burner” corners (read: fast) in James Bradberry and Darius Slay Jr., with a slot corner of Avonte Maddox. The safeties are Marcus Epps and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. This group has racked up 44 sacks, 999 tackles, 14 forced fumbles, and 17 interceptions. Lastly, they ranked 8th in yards allowed per game.

As for predictions, I’d have to say I fully expect the Eagles to win. Final score? 35-24. Patrick Mahomes will throw for 250 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Isaiah Pacheco will rush for 45 yards with a fumble and a touchdown. Josh Sweat will get one sack, as will Chris Jones. Jalen Hurts will throw for 200 yards and run for 50 with 3 touchdowns total, one to A.J. Brown and one to DeVonta Smith. Miles Sanders will rush for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns.

NFL Conference Championships Recap by Grant Potoczny

The Super Bowl is set and it’s almost here, but before I do that article I’m going to do an overview of the Conference Championships.

The NFC championship was a blowout, but should it have been? Probably not. Here’s what affected the 49ers, the injuries, the injuries, and last but not least the injuries. They would’ve had an amazing starter who got hurt in the 1st quarter, then they would’ve had a good backup behind him. Either way the defense had no excuses for letting up 31 points. This was not a true showing for the 49ers, but sports are sports.

The AFC championship on the other hand was down to the wire. With a score of 23-20 it wasn’t over until the very last second. If it weren’t for the late hit call the Bengals could’ve taken the game to overtime.

AFC Championship Predictions by Andrew Zajac

On Sunday January 29, 2023, the Kansas City Chiefs will be hosting the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri for the AFC Championship. 

This matchup will be a rematch of last year's AFC Championship with the Bengals beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. That game was close right up until the end with the Bengals pulling ahead right at the end winning the contest 27-24. So everyone is anticipating this game with high expectations, hopefully it will be another exciting shoot-out contest up until the end. 

The Kansas City Chiefs are a one-point favorite even though Patrick Mahomes is 0-3 against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. At their most recent meeting in Cincinnati on December 4, 2022, the Bengals beat the Chiefs 27-24. The Bengals are hyped and ready to go into this game with back to back super bowl appearances on the line. While the Chiefs want to make it to the Super Bowl to continue their dynasty over the last five years. 
My prediction is that the Bengals will win 35-28 with Joe Burrow throwing over 300 yards and Patrick Mahomes throwing over 275. Jamarr Chase will have three touchdown catches and 120 yards with Joe Mixon rushing for 100 yards and 1 touchdown. The Bengals defense will have two turnovers and four sacks. Travis Kelce will catch two touchdowns and 100 yards, while JuJu Smith-Schuster will grab one touchdown and 125 yards. The Chiefs defense will get one turnover while Chris Jones will go off on Joe Burrow for three sacks. 

NFL Conference Championship Predictions by Grant Potoczny

The NFL season is coming to an end, but since it’s coming to an end there is the Super Bowl, but first we have the Conference Championships.

First off we have the Philadelphia Eagles versus the San Francisco 49ers. Let’s preview the Eagles first. 

The Eagles have a home record of 7-2 with only 1 loss on the road. The Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts will really make the other team hurt with his ability to run with the ball and his amazing passing. The Eagles also have a really good defense, with being the leading sack defense with 68 sacks and still going. About the sacks the 2nd best sack defense in the NFL is the New England Patriots with 52 sacks that is a 16 sack difference between the best and the second best. The Eagles defense is also very good in preventing points as the opposing team against the Eagles only score 15.6 points per game. Now let’s look at the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers had a record of 13-4 with a home record of 8-1 and a road record of 5-3, this on the road stat is not very good for them as they are playing the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, or the Eagles home stadium. The 49ers  have the 2nd best offense (behind the Eagles) in the NFL. The 49ers offense also leads in points per game, yards per play, yards per pass and yards per rush. While the Eagles have a great offense the 49ers lead the NFL in fewest allowed yards per game only giving up about 286.1 yards per game for the 49ers. The 49ers also only give up 15 points per game which is the best in the league.

I feel like if the 49er’s defense can put pressure on Jalen Hurts, stuff the run, and shut down the pass they are going to win, and that is exactly what they are going to do. I predict a 49ers win with a score of 28-24.

Now we’ve got the NFC Championship done, it's time to move on to the AFC.

The Cincinnati Bengals versus the Kansas City Chiefs. First let’s start off with Kansas City.

Kansas City is led by Patrick Mahomes who could very possibly be out because of an ankle injury. This will be a very difficult game with him because he will not be able to maneuver well. Though a game without him will be even worse for them as he is the heart and soul of that offense if not the whole team. Kansas City still has many weapons like Travis Kelce at tight end as he had a record breaking performance in the divisional round with 14 receptions as a tight end in the playoffs.They also have a very dangerous wide receiver who goes by the name of Tyreek Hill. This man is worth around 30-40 million dollars and I understand why he gets paid so much. The Chiefs defense isn’t much to talk about, because it’s an average defense which just shows you how good that offense is.

Last, but not least are the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have a strong offense with Joe Burrow who is really lighting up the scoreboard. The Bengals have a great points per game average with 25.8 points. All this is despite not having Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon on the field at the same time. The Bengals also have a great defense as they have developed a reputation as one of the hardest to read defenses. This means they’re able to disguise coverages and hide the blitz for as long as possible.

I think that in the end the Bengals defense will stop this Chiefs offense, because of an injured Mahomes. I predict a Bengals win of 17-10.

NFC Championship Game Preview by Quinn Cunningham

On Sunday January 29th at 3:00 PM the San Francisco 49ers play the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles will host the game in Philadelphia because they are the one seed in the NFC the 49ers are the two seed in the NFC. The Eagles haven’t been to the NFC championship game since 2017 when they beat the Vikings. The 49ers were in the championship game in 2021, but lost. The last time they won was in 2019 when they went on and lost the Superbowl to the Chiefs.  

The Eagles were 14-3 in the regular season and are 1-0 in the playoffs with a 38-7 win against the Giants. The Eagles offense has been good this season with an avg of 28.6 points per game. The Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has a total of 3,701 passing yards this season and 22 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He has 760 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. The Eagles leading rusher is Miles Sanders who is fifth in the NFL in rushing with 1,269 total rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns to add on to his great season. The Eagles leading receiver is DeVonta Smith who has 95 receptions and 1,196 reception yards and seven touchdown receptions. 

The Eagles defense gives up an avg of 19.7 points per game including the post season and is eighth in best total defense in the NFL this year and has a total of 18 interceptions this year including the postseason. The Eagles have a total of 68 sacks this season which is great and if they could get pressure on the young 49ers quarterback, they could have lots of success in the championship game.

The 49ers offense has been good despite all the injuries in the quarterback position. The 49ers are on their third string quarterback Brock Purdy who was a last pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Brock Purdy has thrown for 1,920 passing yards and 16 touchdowns including the playoffs even though he has only started eighth games and played in nine. The 49ers rushing game has been good this season with Christian McCaffrey. He has a total of 746 rushing yards with the 49ers and seven rushing touchdowns. The 49ers leading receiver is George Kittle he has 765 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns. The 49ers offensive key to be successful against the Eagles defense is to get the ball to both of their best playmakers, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey.

The 49ers defense has been great this season they are ranked as the best defense overall in the NFL. In the last game against the Cowboys, the 49ers defense forced Dak Prescott (the Cowboys quarterback) to two interceptions and sacked him once but held the Cowboys to a total of 206 yards passing and a total of 76 rushing yards. 

My pick on who will win is the 49ers, because they have the better defense even though they are not favored and they have a younger quarterback. But the 49ers defense is better and they will play great in an important game. My prediction on the final score is 24-21 49ers. The game will come down to the last minute.