Fourteen teams entered, but only four remain. As the Divisional Round has come and gone, the NFL playoffs are nearing a close. There are only three games remaining, and the next two will be a part of the Conference Championship. The one seed in both the AFC and NFC will play against the third seed, and nobody could have asked for better matchups. In preparation of the Conference Championship, here is a look at the NFL playoff bracket and remaining teams left in the postseason.
NFL playoff bracket
NFC Championship Game:
(1) San Francisco 49ers vs. (3) Detroit Lions
AFC Championship Game:
(1) Baltimore Ravens vs. (3) Kansas City Chiefs
How to watch the Conference Championship
The Conference Championship will be the first round without a game on Saturday. Both games will be on Sunday, Jan. 28. The Lions vs. 49ers game will be on FOX, and the Chiefs vs. Ravens game will be on CBS. You can stream both games using fuboTV.
Lions vs. 49ers at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 28 – FOX
Chiefs vs. Ravens at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 28 – CBS
Conference Championship storylines
The Detroit Lions had not won a playoff game since 1991 coming into this postseason. In 1991, they made it to the Conference Championship. After winning two games this postseason, they are now back in the Conference Championship.
The Lions have a dynamic offense with tons of talent. That was on display in the Divisional Round, as eight different players caught a pass from Jared Goff. Amon-Ra St. Brown is the best of the bunch, as he is one of the best receivers in football, and Sam LaPorta just had the best rookie tight end season ever. Jahmyr Gibbs is coming into his own as well, and the rookie running back is always a threat to make a big play when the ball is in his hands.
The Lions beat the Buccaneers in the Divisional Round, but they will have a much tougher matchup against the 49ers. San Francisco is ranked third in both scoring offense (28.9 points per game) and scoring defense (17.5 points per game). The 49ers are one of the few teams that can match Detroit when it comes to the skill positions. Brock Purdy is surrounded by guys like George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey, and Deebo Samuel, the latter of whom has a status that is up in the air because of an injury.
In the AFC Championship Game, the Baltimore Ravens will be taking on the Chiefs. Baltimore beat the Houston Texans decisively, with a 34-10 victory in their only playoff game thus far. Because of that, their degree of difficulty will be increasing this week as well. The Chiefs have made the Championship Game six straight times. In fact, as the starter, Patrick Mahomes has never missed the Championship Game. That means the Chiefs have plenty of experience, and they are also going into this week relatively healthy and playing their best ball of the season. After struggling on the offensive end for much of the season, the Chiefs have gotten into a grove on that side of the ball in recent weeks.
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