Predicting AFC and NFC Championship Game teams in 2023

Can you believe that we are already in Week 13 of the 2023 NFL Season? This year has flown by, and the true contenders in the NFL have established themselves at this point. In the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys are the cream of the crop, as we all expected.

In the AFC, however, it's a lot more crowded, and each of the top teams in that conference all have pretty big questions. Can the Kansas City Chiefs' receivers and offense improve the rest of the way? Will Lamar Jackson stay healthy? Can the Miami Dolphins beat good teams? Are the Jacksonville Jaguars "there" yet?

You see, the AFC is definitely harder to predict, but if you're betting on the Chiefs given their recent success, I won't fault you. Let's take a stab at prediction which teams appear in the two conference championship games this year.

San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles are going to see each other again

I think the Dallas Cowboys can easily appear in the NFC Championship Game this year, but it just seems like they're not quite as buttoned up as the 49ers and Eagles are. I think Dak Prescott is the best QB of the bunch between him, Brock Purdy, and Jalen Hurts, but we've seen Dallas mess it up in the playoffs numerous times in recent years.

For that reason, I see no scenario where the NFCCG in 2023 isn't the Niners and Eagles, likely in the "Linc" again. These are the two best teams in the NFC and perhaps the two best teams in football. The Eagles haven't looked quite as dominant this year as they did last year, but they simply know how to close out games and can out-talent their opponents.

The 49ers have finally gotten consistent and reliable QB play, and as long as Brock Purdy stays healthy, the Niners will make a deep playoff run once again. The two teams meet in Week 13, and I'd be willing to say that the winner of that game represents the NFC in the Super Bowl this year.