The NFL Conference Championships featured four of the finest teams in the playoffs, with each team having razor-thin margins for error. To kick things off — the 49ers and Eagles battled in the city of Brotherly Love for the NFC Championship. The Chiefs and Bengals game at Arrowhead determined the remaining participant for Super Bowl 57.
Let’s look at the results from the Conference Championships and what that means regarding the 2022-2023 NFL playoff bracket.
NFL Playoff Bracket
The NFL playoff bracket was last updated after the results of both the NFC and AFC Championship Games.
NFL Playoffs Conference Championship Results
San Francisco 49ers (7) at Philadelphia Eagles (31)
Philadelphia opened the NFC Championship with an 11-play, 66-yard TD drive, capped off by a Miles Sanders 6-yard plunge. Things appeared grim when Brock Purdy injured his elbow on the sixth play for San Francisco. However, Josh Johnson came in to relieve Purdy, and the offense made a second-quarter breakthrough, leaning heavily on Christian McCaffrey. A 23-yard McCaffrey scamper led to the 49ers tying the game 7-7.
Philly answered before the half on another Sanders TD run. The 14-play, 75-yard drive started dramatically after a 4th-and-1 conversion at the Eagles’ 34-yard line. Then, Philadelphia’s defense forced a costly turnover that already had the team in field-goal range with just over a minute remaining in the first half. The offense would capitalize on a Boston Scott TD run, extending the lead to 21-7 at the half.
The Eagles asserted its will in the third quarter, eating up over half a quarter’s worth of time of possession with one drive. Jalen Hurts plowed in for a 1-yard TD, giving the Eagles a 28-7 edge. The 49ers simply couldn’t get anything going and were essentially one-dimensional — Purdy came back into the action after Johnson entered the concussion protocol when his head bounced off the turf in the third quarter.
The NFC Championship finished with a final score of 31-7, with Philly punching their ticket to Super Bowl 57.
Cincinnati Bengals (20) at Kansas City Chiefs (23)
Evenly matched teams having a back-and-forth battle, who would’ve thunk it?
The Chiefs owned the only double-digit lead of the game — a 10-point advantage with 3:53 in the second quarter. And they’d emerge with the final lead of the game, and with just a few seconds to spare. Harrison Butker hit a 45-yarder to give the Chiefs a 23-20 victory over the Bengals.
Andy Reid avenges the loss to the Bengals in last year’s AFC Championship Game and now will lead his team against his former team.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling had six catches for 116 yards and a TD, while Travis Kelce chipped in seven catches for 78 yards and a TD. Patrick Mahomes was gritty, throwing for 326 yards and two TDs. Mahomes had a key scramble late in the fourth quarter on his gimpy ankle that was magnified by a 15-yard personal penalty by the Bengals. Butker’s kick sealed the deal.
NFL Super Bowl Schedule
Sunday, Feb. 12
- Super Bowl 57
Eagles vs. Chiefs
6:30 p.m. ET | FOX