The NFL playoffs have reached their penultimate weekend with four teams vying for two spots in Super Bowl LX. Fans will be treated to two marquee matchups on Sunday to determine the champions of the NFC and AFC.
First, we'll see the New England Patriots travel to Mile High to face the Denver Broncos then the Los Angeles Rams will take on their NFC West rivals in the Seattle Seahawks.
We all know the quarterback position is the most important in the game, so who has the edge when it comes to their signal callers? Let's evaluate each QB competing for a Super Bowl berth.
Ranking the four Conference Championship Sunday QBs
4. Jarrett Stidham - Denver Broncos
If you haven't heard by now, Broncos starter Bo Nix was ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs after fracturing his ankle on the penultimate offensive play in the team's divisional round victory over the Buffalo Bills. Backup Jarrett Stidham will take over and likely get the start against New England.
We simply don't know enough about the 29-year-old's form this year to give him any kind of judgement. Stidham hasn't started an NFL game since he was a Las Vegas Raider in 2022 but he must give head coach Sean Payton some kind of confidence to have maintained the backup role to Nix since 2024. He's obviously the worst of the bunch remaining but who knows, maybe he'll join the ranks of Nick Foles and Jeff Hostetler as backups to lead their respective teams to a Super Bowl.
3. Sam Darnold - Seattle Seahawks
Despite leading Seattle to the NFC's No. 1 seed, we've all seen how Darnold performs in the playoffs. In 2024, when he was a Minnesota Viking, Darnold fell flat in the Wild Card round after a 4,300-passing yard season. Who did he lose to in that matchup? Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams.
In two meetings this year, Darnold posted 549 passing yards but he only found the endzone twice and threw six interceptions against the Rams defense. Seattle split the season series with Los Angeles but needed an overtime miracle in the third-to-last week to maintain home field advantage. He'll need to find a way to exorcise his demons in the biggest game of his career or risk facing fraud allegations for another offseason.
2. Matthew Stafford - Los Angeles Rams
At 37 years old, Stafford has just about seen it all. He's the elder statesman of the playoffs and of the four guys left standing, he's the only one with a ring. You could easily make the argument that Stafford is the best QB in playoffs based on that experience alone but his performance against the Chicago Bears proved his cracks still show.
Stafford threw for an impressive 258 yards at Soldier Field but failed to find the endzone through the air and completed under half of his attempts. That could easily be chalked up to his poor record in cold weather situations but it's going to still be pretty cold when he travels to Seattle on Sunday. Does he have one last defiant stand left in him or will Father Time (and Mother Nature) finally catch up?
1. Drake Maye - New England Patriots
In just his second year in the league, Drake Maye made everything he did look easy. Put aside the allegations of playing an easy schedule this year. Maye is a true MVP candidate because without him under center, the Patriots are not in the playoffs let alone the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Maye threw for three touchdowns on just 16 completions (179 yards) against the Houston Texans' top-ranked defense in the Divisional Round. Even when he goes on the road he seems to play better. He threw for three more TDs and two fewer INTs away from Gillette Stadium this year. The Broncos have the league's second-best defense (seventh against the pass) but based on what we've seen this year, Maye will presumably find a way to make them look amateurish.