Build Up to the Super Bowl: Conference Championship Matches

by Henry Percival



Today is quite an important day for our cousins across the pond. It is today that we find out who will play for the chance to win the Super Bowl, later on this year.

In the AFC conference game, we have the New England Patriots hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers. This promises to be an interesting matchup, with the most successful team in NFL history (the Steelers) coming up against the most successful team since the turn of the millennia (the Patriots). Both sides have had fantastic seasons, particularly the Patriots, who started the first 4 matches without their star quarterback (and greatest of all time in my opinion) Tom Brady. Since his return, Brady has led his team to becoming favourites to life the Vince Lombardi Trophy. However, they mustn’t get complacent with their favourable odds. The Steelers offer dangerous offensive capabilities with wider receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell. However, I think the Patriots defence will be more than up to the challenge of containing the Steelers. From a slightly biased point of view, I place the Patriots as favourites to win the contest and go on to the Super Bowl.



In the early kick off, we have the Green Bay Packers visiting the Atlanta Falcons. When these two sides met in week eight of the season, the Falcons came out victorious, winning by a single point (32-33). However, this wont stop Green Bay from giving their all. Having Aaron Rodgers in their offence is a big plus for the Packers, with the experienced quarterback performing as well as ever. However, the Falcons have Matt Ryan in the same position, and he is favourite to win the NFL MVP for this season. Both sides have appeared in the conference championship game in recent years but in my opinion, the Packers will edge the game and go on to oppose the Patriots in the Super Bowl. This is simply due to the fact that Aaron Rodgers has had more experience in this position before, and has a Super Bowl ring to his name, whereas his opponents don’t. 

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