The 2023 NFL Postseason is moving right along as the Conference Championships are set to take place this upcoming weekend. We know the teams that will be participating after a riveting weekend of Divisional Round matchups.
In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20 to claim one of the spots. As the No. 1 seed, they will be hosting the Cincinnati Bengals, who easily defeated the Buffalo Bills 27-10.
In the NFC, the No. 1 seed Philadelphia Eagles crushed their NFC East rivals, the New York Giants, on Saturday night 38-7. They are going to be hosting the San Francisco 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field in the NFC Championship game after they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 19-12 on Sunday evening.
What contributed to the outcome of each of those games? Let’s take a look at five of the biggest takeaways from the Divisional Round heading into Conference Championship weekend.
5. Giants Have a Long Way To Go
New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll deserve a lot of credit for what they accomplished in Year 1. The Giants were widely expected to be among the worst teams in the NFL this season, but Schoen and Daboll made the most out of the situation as they made the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
While it was certainly a nice start to their tenure with the franchise, Divisional Weekend made it painfully obvious how much further they have to go. While they defeated the Minnesota Vikings during Super Wild Card Weekend, their first playoff win since Super Bowl 46 in 2012, there is a lot of work to be done.
After picking apart the Vikings’ Daniel Jones looked overwhelmed against a strong Eagles defense. Improving the weapons around him is a must this offseason and upgrading the run defense is imperative. They were at a talent deficiency all season and it was made abundantly clear against a superior Eagles roster.
