Two weeks ago, the National Football League opened their postseason competition with 14 teams in the field. Four of those teams were outscored over the course of the regular season and five of the 14 playoff teams had outscored their opponents by more than 100 points.

Today, the four teams remaining in the drive to Super Bowl LVII all have outscored their opponents by more than 100 points. What we have here today are four of the five best teams in the league, with only the Buffalo Bills having regular season stats that puts them in the elite group the four teams in action today represent.

The action starts at 12 noon Pacific Time when the San Francisco 49ers meet the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. That game is followed at 3:30 p.m. by the American Football Conference Championship Game between the home-standing Kansas City Chiefs and defending conference champion Cincinnati Bengals.

Both number one seeds in the two conferences won following their opening week bye. The AFC top seed Chiefs downed the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-20, and the NFC top seed Philadelphia Eagles blasted the New York Giants, 38-7.

In Philadelphia, the 49ers are greeted by west coast winter weather. Temperatures today in the City of Brotherly Love are in the low 50’s, while the contest in Kansas City will be a chilly 20 degrees.

San Francisco is led by rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, and Purdy is the fifth rookie to start an NFL Championship Game; the first four all lost. That list includes Shaun King of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1999, Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004, Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 and Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets in 2009.

Still, there is something very special about Purdy and the cast of characters he has to work with on the 49ers. The Eagles were the last team this season to fall from the unbeaten ranks, and the top seed in the NFC playoffs. Today, their rushing attack, which keyed last week’s win over the Giants as Philadelphia piled up 268 yards of infantry gains, runs smack into the best rush defense in all of football.

The Eagles were the best team over the first half of the regular season, and the 49ers the best over the past ten weeks. While backing a rookie in this spot has traditionally been the short straw, this team and quarterback has the best chance of any to break through that challenge.

In Kansas City, the Chiefs are looking to end a three game losing streak against Cincinnati. The Bengals beat the Chiefs twice last season, first in the regular season, and then left the Chiefs to only watch the Super Bowl after upsetting them in last year’s AFC Championship Game.

The Chiefs are hosting their fifth straight AFC Championship Game, and looking for their third win.

Two great games and no doubt an outstanding Super Bowl matchup no matter how today’s results pan out.

The Qoxhi selections for both these games are now posted on this site.