The divisional round of the playoffs has come to an end. The conference championship games are now just starting up. Each of the four teams had to overcome the doubters and the haters to get where they are today.

The New England Patriots come into the postseason tied with the best record in the NFL. For having the best record, they were rewarded with a first-round bye in the playoffs. The Patriots come in with one of the complete rosters in the NFL. They have great depth at the receiver position after they acquired Brandin Cooks in the offseason. In return for acquiring him, he gave the Patriots a 1,000-yard season to go along with 7 touchdowns. The Patriots also have one of the best tight ends in the league in Rob Gronkowski, who repeatedly has 1,000-yard seasons year after year. He is a force to reckon with as he is one of the toughest players to guard for opposing defenders. They also have one of the best scoring defenses in the league as they came in 5th in giving up points to the opposing team. Let’s not forget that this team also has arguably the greatest quarterback of all time in Tom Brady. He had another fantastic season in which people think he is going to run away with the M.V.P. trophy this year as well. The Pats had a field day on the Tennessee Titans as they demolished them 35-14. That helped them advance to the AFC championship game where they will face the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“The Patriots will easily win the Super Bowl because they have Tom Brady. Plus I think that the other quarterbacks are too inexperienced and experience goes a long way in the league,” said sophomore Brett Wood on who he thought would win the Super Bowl.

The Jaguars are the most surprising out of the four teams to make the conference championships. They relied heavily on their run game and defense. The leader of their run game is the electrifying rookie Leonard Fournette. He finished his rookie campaign with 1,000 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns. He had a close to perfect game against the Steelers in the divisional round. He had 109 rush yards to go along with a hat-trick of three touchdowns. The Jaguars defense is really the strength of their team. They had the best defense in the league as they were in the top in every statistical defensive category this season. Their defense is led by All-Pros Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye and Calais Cambell. Their defense is the heart and soul of their team. The one area of weakness for the Jaguars is their Quarterback. Blake Bortles has been very inconsistent throughout his career since being selected third overall in 2014. The Jaguars just need him to manage the game and not commit any turnovers in order to at least have a shot at reaching the Super Bowl. If the Jaguars make the Super Bowl it would be their first time reaching the big game in team history. The Jaguars reached the conference championship game after upsetting the Steelers 45-42.

The NFC Championship game will feature the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. The Philadelphia Eagles are tied with the Patriots with the best record in the league. The Eagles had some heartbreak this season as they lost franchise quarterback and potential M.V.P. candidate Carson Wentz. He was going off this year and helped lead the Eagles to one of the best records in the NFL. It was all going so good until he tore his ACL in week 14 against the Rams. Since then, they have relied on the backup quarterback play of Nick Foles. He was inconsistent in the final 3 regular season games. He did have a season where he had 27 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in his career. If he can show some signs of his old self he can really help the Eagles advance to the Super Bowl. The Eagles have an elite defense. They finished first in rushing yards allowed and fourth in points allowed per game. The Eagles have also been led by a three-headed trio of Jay Ajayi, Lagarrete Blount, and Corey Clement. The three of them have combined to help the Eagles take pressure off Nick Foles throwing the ball and helping the Eagles score in different ways. The Eagles reached the conference championship after beating the Falcons 15-10.

The Minnesota Vikings have one of the complete teams in the playoffs. They are led by a stout defense which is led by All-Pros in Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, and Everson Griffen. They have been the leaders of this defense and have helped lead the defense to lead the league in points allowed per game and total yards allowed per game. The Vikings will rely heavily on their defense during the game. The offensive side is almost as competitive as the defense. The offense has elite receivers with Stefon Diggs and Adam Theilen who are both capable of having 1,000-yard seasons. They have a mediocre offensive line. Their running backs are above mediocre. They lost their star rookie running back, Dalvin Cook earlier in the season to a torn ACL. They had to rely on receiving back, Jerrick Mckinnon and Latvius Murray. They both have shared the load in helping the Vikings succeed. The biggest key to their success though has been Case Keenum. Widely known as a journeyman quarterback as he has bounced around from team to team, he has finally found a home in Minnesota. After Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater went down with season-ending injuries, Case Keenum came in. He had a fantastic season as he threw for over 3,500 yards to go along with 22 touchdowns. He will be the key if the Vikings want to win this game to advance to the Super Bowl. The Vikings advanced to the conference championship game on a last-second hail mary touchdown to Stefon Diggs to beat the Saints 29-24.

The conference championship games will feature three inexperienced quarterbacks who have as many combined playoff starts as Tom Brady has Super Bowl wins. The AFC Championship game will be played Saturday while the NFC Championship game will be played Sunday.