Fourteen teams entered, but only four remain. The NFL‘s Conference Championship Games are here, and the league’s scriptwriters could hardly have picked a better quartet of clubs to fight for this year’s Super Bowl trophy. Here’s how we rank the four teams left standing.
NFL Conference Championship Power Rankings
4) Detroit Lions
Regular-season record: 12-5
Divisional Round result: Defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-23
Dan Campbell’s squad continued its miraculous turnaround over the weekend, holding onto to beat the Buccaneers in a game that was arguably closer than it should have been. Detroit needed a late-game interception from linebacker Derrick Barnes to close out its victory over Baker Mayfield and Co.
Jared Goff was highly efficient in the fourth quarter, connecting on his first 11 pass attempts for 131 yards while leading 75- and 89-yard touchdown drives. Tampa Bay clogged the Lions’ rushing lanes early, but first-round rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs exploded down the stretch, hitting a 31-yard score in the fourth quarter while posting more than 110 total yards.
Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson was a force with three QB hits and one sack, while DC Aaron Glenn repeatedly sent slot blitzes to get after Mayfield. Despite that pressure, Mayfield (and Matthew Stafford) were able to carve up Detroit’s secondary over the past two weeks. Both QBs averaged more than eight yards per attempt and passed for over 300 yards against a Lions defensive backfield starting street free agent Kindle Vildor at one cornerback spot.
As Detroit aims to reach its first Super Bowl in franchise history, the club has one significant advantage: Campbell.
Few NFL head coaches have been better game managers than Campbell since he joined the Lions in 2021. No HC has correctly gone for more fourth downs during that span than Campbell, whose ability to go for two and manage his timeouts correctly could give Detroit an edge in the title game.
3) Kansas City Chiefs
Regular-season record: 11-6
Divisional Round result: Defeated Buffalo Bills, 27-24
Death, taxes, and Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship Game. Mahomes has been the Chiefs’ starter for six seasons, and Kansas City has reached the conference title game every year. It’s a remarkable run of success and a testament to Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid.
Mahomes and Reid played their first road playoff game together against the Bills on Sunday and will now play their first title tilt away from home. Leaving the friendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium didn’t seem to affect Mahomes in the Divisional Round.
MORE: Same Old Chiefs — Mahomes and Reid Get It Done Against Bills
While Buffalo tried to play keep-away, Mahomes thrived when the Chiefs had the ball, missing on just 6 of 23 passes while averaging 9.3 yards per attempt. He generated an absurd 0.57 EPA per play on his limited dropbacks against the Bills — for reference, Brock Purdy led the NFL with 0.338 EPA per play during the regular season.
Travis Kelce looked as spry on Sunday as he had all year while hauling in two touchdowns, wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling finally remembered how to hold onto the ball, and RB Isiah Pacheco pounded away for nearly 100 yards on the ground.
Kansas City’s offense was as productive as it’s been in some time, but there are concerns on the defensive side of the ball. Steve Spagnuolo’s unit gave up nearly 200 rushing yards and couldn’t get any pressure on Josh Allen, hitting him three times while failing to sack him once.
2) San Francisco 49ers
Regular-season record: 12-5
Divisional Round result: Defeated Green Bay Packers, 24-21
The 49ers were very lucky to walk away with a tight win over the Packers on Saturday night. While Brock Purdy struggled to grip the ball in rainy conditions, nearly everything else went San Francisco’s way.
Green Bay’s defense couldn’t hold onto two potential Purdy interceptions, while the 49ers had no trouble picking off Packers QB Jordan Love twice. Matt LaFleur’s team drove in the red zone five times but managed only two touchdowns in an eventual three-point loss.
Anders Carlson missed a game-tying 41-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. Love, who looked like a backend MVP candidate over the second half of the season and finished second in the NFL with 32 touchdown passes, made his worst decision of the year with the game on the line, throwing across his body and tossing a game-sealing interception while down three with less than a minute remaining.
San Francisco was the better team, but Sunday’s game was much closer than the 9.5-point pregame spread suggested it would be.
While Purdy typically has trouble in the rain thanks to his small hands, next Sunday’s weather looks clear in Santa Clara. The Lions’ defense is one of the best run-stopping units in the league, so Purdy and the 49ers’ passing attack — which might be without WR Deebo Samuel — will need to carry the club against Detroit.
1) Baltimore Ravens
Regular-season record: 13-4
Divisional Round result: Defeated Houston Texans, 34-10
The only Divisional Round winner that didn’t have to hold their breath this weekend, the Ravens posted an easy win against the upstart Texans on Saturday. Baltimore and Houston played to a 10-10 tie at the half, but Lamar Jackson scored three touchdowns and a field goal on their four second-half drives to post a commanding victory.
The presumptive MVP, Lamar was outstanding yet again. He took what was available in the passing game, completing 16 of 22 attempts for 152 yards and two scores, but did even more damage on the ground, where he totaled 100 yards on 11 carries and scored two more TDs.
MORE: AFC Championship Game Preview — Lamar vs. Mahomes
But there may not have been a more obvious winner from the Ravens’ win than defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, who buoyed his head-coaching bona fides with an excellent game plan against C.J. Stroud. While Baltimore didn’t sack or intercept the potential Offensive Rookie of the Year, it held Stroud to 5.3 yards per attempt and pressured him on more than half of his dropbacks.
Facing Mahomes in the AFC title game will be a different beast for Macdonald, who is interviewing for five of the league’s seven HC vacancies. But the Ravens have already dominated teams like the Lions (38-6 in Week 7), the 49ers (33-19 in Week 16), and the Miami Dolphins (56-19 in Week 17).
Any of the four remaining teams can win Super Bowl 58. But Baltimore offers the entire package and should be considered the favorite entering Conference Championship Weekend.
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!