Sunday's conference championship games saw the four teams battle for their respective divisions' Super Bowl berths. Kansas City traveled to Baltimore for the AFC Championship Game, while Detroit visited San Francisco for the NFC's title clash. The winners of those two games will be headed for a February 11 showdown at Las Vegas' Super Bowl 58.
AFC Championship Game:
The Ravens started the game with a three-and-out. The Chiefs responded by driving down the field for a score. Travis Kelce converted a big fourth down and then hauled in a 19-yard receiving touchdown against All-Pro Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton. The Ravens would be stuffed on third and one on their responding possession, but Lamar Jackson ran right up the middle for a gain of 21 yards to convert an early fourth down. He then used his incredible mobility to stay upright in the pocket and find rookie Zay Flowers for a 30-yard score to make it a 7-7 tie. Kansas City responded with another solid drive that ended with an Isiah Pacheco two-yard touchdown run. The Ravens' next drive ended early when Lamar was strip-sacked from behind by Charles Omenihu. Linebacker George Karlaftis recovered the fumble at the Ravens' 33 yard line. The Chiefs attempted a fourth and one conversion in the red zone but Pacheco was stopped short for a turnover on downs. A third down swatted pass forced the Ravens to punt with four minutes left, after which the teams exchanged three-and-outs. The Chiefs drove into Ravens territory as the first half wound down and added a 52-yard field goal to make the score 17-7 Chiefs entering halftime.
The teams traded three-and-outs to start the second half. The third quarter was dominated by defense, with the teams exchanging punts until the Ravens got going on offense with a minute left in the quarter. Lamar repeatedly found Flowers, most notably on a 54-yard bomb to the ten yard line. Flowers stood over cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, resulting in a 15-yard taunting penalty that set the Ravens up just outside the red zone. Flowers caught two more passes, the second of which saw Flowers find open grass and dive towards the goal line. At the last second, Sneed punched the ball out of Flowers' hands. It was a fumble that the Chiefs recovered in the end zone for a touchback. The Ravens responded by forcing a punt that the Chiefs downed at the one yard line. Down ten points and with 99 yards to go, the Ravens were forced into an early fourth and three by the Chiefs defense. Lamar found Odell Beckham for the first down and the Ravens offense started to move. Lamar then hit Nelson Agholor for 39 yards, setting up the Ravens at the 25. On second and ten, Lamar aimed over the middle for tight end Isaiah Likely. Likely was heavily covered and the pass was intercepted in the end zone by Deon Bush, who had just entered two plays beforehand to replace the injured Mike Edwards. The Ravens defense did its job by forcing a three-and-out, and the Ravens' offense crossed midfield with four minutes remaining. The Chiefs' defense kept the pressure on Lamar Jackson, who settled for a 43-yard Justin Tucker field goal to make the score 17-10 Chiefs with 2:34 remaining. On the ensuing drive, the Ravens brought 12 defenders onto the field. It was first and five when Roquan Smith attempted to renew the downs with an intentional offsides penalty. He was overly physical in doing so, earning himself a 15-yard personal foul penalty that set the Chiefs up at their own 45. The Ravens defense used both of their remaining timeouts to force a third and nine with the game on the line. With 2:19 remaining, Mahomes went deep over the middle to Marques Valdez-Scantling for 32 yards and a game-clinching first down. The Chiefs drained the clock to win and advance to Super Bowl 58. It'll be Mahomes' fourth Super Bowl appearance in the last six years.
NFC Championship Game:
Jared Goff and the Lions started with the ball and immediately drove downfield. Four plays in, an end around saw receiver Jameson Williams take the ball 43 yards for an opening touchdown. The 49ers had a solid drive in response but were stopped at the 30 and forced to attempt a 47-yard field goal. Rookie kicker Jake Moody, whose debut season has been eponymously moody, missed just wide right, giving the ball back to Detroit at the 37. Detroit again drove down the field in dominant fashion, finishing with a goal line score from running back David Montgomery to make it 14-0 Detroit. San Francisco got the ball back and repeatedly got the ball in Christian McCaffrey's hands to great success. They led an eight-play drive that culminated in a two-yard McCaffrey touchdown run. The 49ers would then force a midfield stop, although standout linebacker Dre Greenlaw was banged up in doing so. The 49ers' offense was faced with an early third and ten on their responding drive. A Lions blitz impacted Purdy's throw, which was intercepted by linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. The Lions' offense capitalized with a five-play drive that ended in a 15-yard Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown run. With the score 21-7, the 49ers got the ball back but could muster nothing, punting immediately. Detroit got the ball back with five minutes remaining and drained all but ten seconds off before securing a field goal to make it 24-7 Lions going into halftime.
The 49ers started the second half with a nine-play field goal drive. The Lions started to drive but found themselves in fourth and two at the 49ers' 28. Reynolds dropped a catchable pass and the 49ers took over. Brock Purdy found Deebo Samuel for 17 yards before throwing a moonball downfield to Brandon Aiyuk. The pass hit a Lions defender in the helmet and bounced up, allowing Aiyuk to dive and make the catch at the five yard line for a gain of 51. Two plays later, Aiyuk was in the end zone holding the ball, with the score now 24-17. The Lions gave the ball to Gibbs on first down but he fumbled and the 49ers recovered in excellent field position. Four plays later, McCaffrey carried the ball across the line to equalize the score at 24-24. The stumbling Lions would go three-and-out and the surging 49ers continued to drive. They made it deep into Lions territory before allowing a pair of sacks and settling for the go-ahead field goal. Now losing for the first time all game, the Lions drove down the field with urgency. Presented with fourth and three at the 30 yard line, the Lions elected to go for it. Goff rolled out of an empty set but couldn't connect with Amon-Ra St. Brown. Capitalizing on the turnover, the 49ers led a seven-play drive that ended with an Elijah Mitchell rushing touchdown. Down ten points with three minutes to play, the Lions drove across midfield at the two-minute warning and found themselves at the one yard line fifty seconds later. They attempted to run it in on third and goal but were stuffed and forced to burn a timeout. Goff connected with Williams for a touchdown, leaving Detroit down three and reliant on the onside kick. The onside kick nearly prevailed but was recovered by George Kittle to secure a Super Bowl appearance for the 49ers.
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