The Super Bowl is just weeks away, and the NFL‘s best are bracing for the Conference Championships and the privilege of battling for the Lombardi Trophy come Feb. 12.
The Divisional Round saw one of its stars go down late in the first quarter, but Patrick Mahomes returned after halftime and led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 27-20 victory. In the Saturday nightcap, we saw dominance by the Philadelphia Eagles. Sunday began with a lopsided road win by the Cincinnati Bengals in Orchard Park. The San Francisco 49ers held on 19-12 in a defensive slugfest. Without further ado, we have a finalized Conference Championship schedule.
NFL Conference Championship Schedule
While the football world will have piqued interest in how Mahomes’ ankle fares during the week, the Conference Championship schedule is taking shape. If you get a wave of déjà vu, it’s because we’ll see a familiar rematch from last year’s playoffs.
Sunday, Jan. 29
- NFC Championship
San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles
3 p.m. ET | FOX - AFC Championship
Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs
6:30 p.m. ET | CBS
Looking at the NFL Playoff Bracket
The NFL postseason often offers a delicious serving of high-quality football content for fans to consume, and this year has been no exception. A playoff bracket that saw Cinderella story teams compete against juggernauts has given us an incredible set of games.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were the underdog darlings coming into the early game on Saturday. Fresh off the third-largest comeback in playoff history, the Jags believed. However, the Chiefs proved too much, including a 98-yard drive with Chad Henne under center as Kansas City’s medical team took Mahomes to the locker room.
The Saturday nightcap — an NFC East rivalry between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles — saw the Eagles rushing attack take center stage and gash the Giants defense. In total, Philadelphia put up 268 yards on the ground and only needed 154 yards in the air from Jalen Hurts to walk away with the victory.
The Bengals took the lead early and never relinquished it, defeating the Bills 27-10. Behind a pesky defense and Joe Mixon chunk yardage on the ground, Cincy played complete team ball amid snowy conditions. The victory sets up an exact replica of last year’s tantalizing AFC Championship Game: Cincy going on the road to Arrowhead Stadium.
It was tough sledding for both offenses in the Sunday evening game. The 49ers made just enough plays to eke out the win over the Cowboys. But credit to both defensive units for the masterful play. San Fran and its stingy D will travel to the East Coast for a matchup with the Eagles and the No. 3-ranked scoring offense from the regular season.