The NFL Conference Championship games are now set. The Chiefs will play the Ravens in Baltimore on Sunday, January 28 at 3 pm for the AFC Championship. The Lions will play the 49ers in San Francisco on Sunday, January 28 at 6:30 pm for the NFC Championship. The winners of these games will play in Super Bowl 58 on February 11.
The Ravens played the Texans this past Saturday. It was tied 10-10 at halftime but after a touchdown by the Ravens, it was 17-10 going into the 4th quarter. After Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely, the Ravens got the ball back and Jackson rushed for a touchdown to seal the game. The Ravens beat the Texans 34-10. Lamar Jackson threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson is now the first quarterback in NFL history to have three 100 rushing-yard postseason games. Justice Hill and Gus Edwards rushed for 106 total yards. CJ Stroud threw for 175 yards. Devin Singletary rushed for 22 yards.
On Saturday night the Packers played the 49ers in San Francisco. They have played each other 10 total times in the postseason, the most times any two teams have played against each other in the playoffs. The 49ers led 7-6 going into halftime but the Packers scored 15 points in the 3rd quarter and they were leading 21-14 going into the 4th quarter. The 49ers were able to rally back and after Christian McCaffrey rushed into the end zone, the 49ers were up 24-21. With 1 minute and 7 seconds left, the Packers had a chance to go down the field and kick a field goal to tie the game and go into overtime. On 1st and 10 on Green Bay’s 36-yard line, Jordan Love was intercepted by Dre Greenlaw and it sealed the game for the 49ers to go to the NFC Championship. Brock Purdy threw for 252 yards and one touchdown. Christian McCaffrey rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Jordan Love threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns. He threw two interceptions. Aaron Jones rushed for 108 yards.
The Buccaneers traveled to Detroit to battle the Lions. These two teams played in Week 7 of the regular season and the Lions won 20-6. But the Buccaneers have become a better team and were scoring more points. It was tied 10-10 at halftime. Then both teams scored one touchdown each to tie going into the 4th quarter. After two touchdowns by the Lions, the Buccaneers scored a touchdown and went for a two-point conversion but failed. The Buccaneers had gotten the ball back after the two minute warning. Baker Mayfield threw an interception late in the game and that sealed the game. The Lions won 31-23. Baker Mayfield threw for 349 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for 15 yards and threw two interceptions. Rachaad White rushed for 55 yards. Jared Goff threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 74 yards and one touchdown. David Montgomery rushed for 33 yards.
On Sunday night the Chiefs played the Bills in Buffalo. Over the past few weeks, the snow in Buffalo has been pretty bad. Just this past week there has been over 6 feet of snow. The Bills have asked fans to shovel the snow in the stadium for $20 an hour. Luckily they got the stadium cleared for this game. The Bills led 17-13 at halftime. As every Chiefs-Bills game has gone, they battled it out until the end. The Chiefs were up by 3 with 1 minute and 47 seconds left. Tyler Bass came out to kick the game-tying field goal to go into overtime. It was a 44-yard field goal but the wind had been strong during the game. He missed it wide right and the Chiefs came out and got the first down to win the game 27-24. Patrick Mahomes threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 19 yards. Isiah Pacheco rushed for 97 yards and one touchdown. Josh Allen threw for 186 yards and one touchdown. He rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns. James Cook rushed for 61 yards.
For the AFC Conference Championship, I believe the Ravens will beat the Chiefs. It will be a close game, but the Ravens have shown what they can do to the good teams. This is the matchup of the year besides the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are the reigning champions and Lamar is about to win his second NFL MVP. For the NFC Championship, I think the 49ers will win. The Lions can win but I believe the 49ers have a better defense and can beat the Lions especially since the game will be played in San Francisco.
