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Super Bowl 2023: Date, Schedule and Predicting Teams for NFL Championship Game

Maurice Bobb

The NFL's divisional round this past weekend wasn't exactly upset-heavy, but there are definitely those who believed that the final four teams left to play for a spot in Super Bowl LVII would include the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys.

But because anything can happen on game day, the Cincinnati Bengals upset the Bills in their house, and the San Francisco 49ers sent the Cowboys back home to the Lone Star State.

Not surprisingly, the final four also includes both No. 1 seeds (Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles), so Championship Sunday should be one for the books when it comes to talent and gamesmanship.

That being said, as these teams get ready to lay it all on the line this weekend, the question is simple: Who will be left standing to fight for the Vince Lombardi Trophy?

Super Bowl Schedule

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What: Super Bowl LVII

Who: AFC champion vs. NFC champion

When: Sunday, Feb. 12

Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

Where: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona

TV: Fox

Live Stream: Fox Sports.com and Fox Sports App

The AFC Champion Will Be...

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...the Cincinnati Bengals.

Based on how well they played in Super Bowl LVI, it's no surprise that Cincinnati was able to learn from last season and make it all the way back to this point.

Winners of 10 straight games, the Bengals have come together to fire on all cylinders at the right time, and it's mostly because of the play of superstar quarterback Joe Burrow.

Burrow has all of the skills of a great QB, but his patience, poise and calm are why he's able to do it when the lights shine brightest. That's how he was able to go into Highmark Stadium and beat the Bills on their own snow-laden turf, and he did it against another phenomenal signal-caller in Josh Allen.

He'll have to do it again against another incredible QB and leader in Patrick Mahomes.

Burrow got the 27-24 overtime win over Mahomes in last year's AFC title game, so this is a rematch that fans won't want to miss.

The only problem is Mahomes has a right high-ankle sprain as the result of a hit from Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Arden Key in the first quarter of the Chiefs' 27-20 divisional-round win.

Mahomes has said he will play through the pain, but that's easier said than done, especially against a Bengals team that finished the regular season as the NFL's third-best defense.

If Mahomes can get enough treatment on that ankle and somehow play to his potential, this game will be a shootout. But in the end, Burrow and Co. will earn the right to represent the AFC in Glendale.

The NFC Champion Will Be...

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...the Philadelphia Eagles.

And that's no knock on the San Francisco 49ers, who finished the regular season with the league's No. 1 passing offense and defense.

But this is the postseason, and the first thing everyone will likely be focusing on is the quarterback play.

Brock Purdy has been great, especially considering that he was thrown into the fire as a rookie quarterback and hasn't lost a game since. But Jalen Hurts is the better QB in this game, and it's not even close.

Purdy has been solid as a rock, but Hurts is on his way to finishing third in the MVP voting for good reason. He's not Michael Jordan, but the comparison by his head coach, Nick Sirianni, to the sports icon was absurd and deserved all in one go.

Outside of the composure Hurts has, his leadership and ability to fire up the Eagles' run attack will be crucial against San Francisco after Philly racked up 268 yards on the ground in its lopsided 38-7 win over the New York Giants last weekend.

The 49ers are just as physical, so this will be a ground-and-pound type of game, with the 49ers' Christian McCaffrey likely to also play a huge role.

DraftKings odds have the Eagles coming out on top, and while San Francisco was the favorite coming out of the NFC just a couple of weeks ago, they may have it right this time.

Look for Philly to be the team heading to Glendale.

   

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