Super Bowl 2018: Matchup Predictions and Odds Ahead of Championship Round

The AFC and NFC conference championships are now just 24 hours away. The Jacksonville Jaguars travel to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots, while the Philadelphia Eagles play host to the Minnesota Vikings. 

A trip to the Super Bowl is on the line for each team this Sunday, as it's win or go home.

Before we get into any game analysis and preview, let's take a look at tomorrow's schedule and latest odds for each conference championship game, courtesy of OddsShark.

Conference Championship Schedule and Odds

Sunday, January 21, 3:05 p.m. ET on CBS: No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (+7.5) at No. 1 New England Patriots (-7.5)

Sunday, January 21, 6:40 p.m. ET on Fox: No. 2 Minnesota Vikings (-3) at No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles (+#)

Super Bowl Schedule

Sunday, February 4, 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC: AFC champion vs. NFC champion at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis

Can the Jaguars do the impossible?

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The Jaguars are the underdogs against the Patriots, and that comes as a surprise to no one. Nothing against the Jaguars, but they've never been on this stage before, and they're going up against, arguably, the most dominant franchise in NFL history.

Regardless of how healthy Tom Brady is—or more specifically, how his hand is doing—a day before kickoff remains to be seen. But even a 75 percent Brady is better to have than Blake Bortles under center.

Jacksonville can do it all, however. And they can do it well.

Not only do the Jaguars have a stout defense that can rush the passer better than any unit in the league, they can also run the ball with rookie running back Leonard Fournette to keep the Patriots offense off the field.

Last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Fournette was able to have his way with the ball, rushing for 109 yards and three touchdowns including three touchdowns.

But the Patriots aren't going to let the Jaguars have their way and run the ball on offense, as they'll look to implement their own game plan and put up points on the board as quickly as possible to force Bortles to be a passer.

Once the Patriots take a commanding lead in the first half, the Jaguars game plan will fall to the side as they are forced to play catch up. Jacksonville's Cinderella story ends here with a double-digit loss.

Prediction: Patriots 31-14 Jaguars

Are the Vikings a team of destiny?

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After doing the unthinkable against the New Orleans Saints during the divisional round of the playoffs last weekend with a last-second touchdown to win the game, the question has to be asked if the Vikings can do it all again against the Eagles this weekend.

And the answer is yes—a resounding yes.

As strange as it is to see the likes of Case Keenum and Nick Foles leading their teams to a NFC Championship game, this is the reality we live in, and both quarterbacks are capable of winning football games for their teams.

Foles has more to prove than Keenum does this weekend after Philadelphia scored just 15 points against the Atlanta Falcons last week in a tightly contested victory at home. Scoring 15 points again this week won't cut it against the Vikings, particularly against a defense that can stuff any offensive attack.

The Vikings defense can keep them in any game, but it's their offense that can be the difference-maker.

With the likes of Keenum, Stefon Diggs, Kyle Rudolph, Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon, the weapons are there for the Vikings to go up early on the Eagles and force Foles to stop handing the ball off the Jay Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount to throw the ball downfield.

The Vikings' best bet to win isn't to rely on their defense like they did throughout the regular season, and they'll prove on Sunday that their offense can keep up the pace with an impressive outing to advance to the Super Bowl in two weeks' time.

Prediction: Vikings 24-17 Eagles