NFL
Chiefs - Ravens, Lions - 49ers: who will book their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII?
In Sunday’s AFC and NFC Championship Games, the NFL’s conference titles are up for grabs - as are two spots at Super Bowl LVIII.
One step away from Las Vegas. Hosted by Sin City on 11 February, Super Bowl LVIII is within touching distance for the four teams still standing in the NFL playoffs. In today’s conference championship games, it’s a case of all or nothing for the Baltimore Ravens, the Kansas City Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions: win, and you’ve booked your spot at what is arguably the biggest game in world sport; lose, and you go home empty-handed. Reaching the Super Bowl would mean something different to each member of that quartet. For the Chiefs, for example, it’s become positively routine; the Lions, on the other hand, would be entering uncharted territory. But this weekend all four teams share that sole objective.
Ravens tipped to beat Chiefs - but never rule out Kansas City
The day’s first conference title decider will be the AFC Championship Game, which sees the Ravens welcome the Chiefs to M&T Bank Stadium. The hosts, who have a dominant defence and a supremely slick offence, are the clear favourites for the Lamar Hunt Trophy. However, they will be up against a quarterback of the calibre of Patrick Mahomes. The defending Super Bowl champions, the Chiefs have taught us never to write them off, thanks chiefly to the presence of their star QB. There were all manner of doubts about Kansas City ahead of this season’s playoffs, but their victories over the Miami Dolphins and, above all, the Buffalo Bills last weekend, have reinforced their NFL title credentials. Seven days ago, Mahomes played the first postseason game of his career way from the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium, and today he’ll have to lead Andy Reid’s men to another road win if he and Kansas City are to appear at a fourth Super Bowl in five years.
In their Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans, the Ravens once more demonstrated that they’re the most well-oiled machine in the NFL right now. Quarterback Lamar Jackson marshals the offence without the difficulties he used to suffer at times, and if he ever does slip up, he knows he’s backed up by a defence capable of stopping anyone. That’s why the Chiefs need Mahomes to be on top of his game in Baltimore, having finally rediscovered his connection with tight end Travis Kelce in Buffalo. The chief weapon in Kansas City’s defence will be the blitzes orchestrated by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnolo, as long as they don’t let Jackson run it, of course.
Third time lucky for 49ers against underdogs Detroit?
The winners of the Chiefs vs the Ravens will have to wait only a few hours to find out the identity of their Super Bowl opponents. The second ticket to Las Vegas will be won in a Lions-49ers clash in California in which, again, the home team are the favourites. That’s despite San Francisco’s struggles in the Divisional Round last weekend, when the Green Bay Packers came close to pulling off what would have been a major upset. The 49ers woke up just in time, a sensational offensive play by quarterback Brock Purdy sending Kyle Shanahan’s team into the NFC Championship Game. Anything less would have been a huge letdown for the 49ers; for underdogs Detroit, on the other hand, Sunday’s game represents a first crack at the conference championship in 32 years.
Head coach Dan Campbell has transformed the Lions, who are now dreaming of reaching their first ever Super Bowl after seeing off the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in home playoff clashes. Their hopes of success appear to revolve around hurting the 49ers in a similar fashion to the Packers a week ago, by leaning on their running game more than Goff’s passing - Jahmyr Gibbs is in superlative form and David Montgomery is another dependable option - and smothering Purdy in defence. San Francisco are in the NFC Championship Game for the third year in a row - and the fourth in the last five - but have been the losing side in each of the last two seasons. Last term’s defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, in which they were left without quarterbacks after the first-half injury to Purdy, still haunts them. If their offensive leader had remained fit, the Californians feel it would have been a different story. Today is their chance to prove that. The 49ers will also be able to call on key wide receiver Deebo Samuel, whose involvement had been in doubt after he sustained a shoulder injury against the Packers.
AFC and NFC Championship Games: start times, TV channels
The Baltimore Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, with kick-off scheduled for 3:05pm ET/12:05pm PT. The game will be broadcast in the United States on CBS and Paramount+. The Lions then visit the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where kick-off is at 6:40pm ET/3:40pm PT. In the States, the clash will air on FOX.
You can stream both games live on the online platform fuboTV, which offers users a free trial.
Watch - Lamar Jackson’s quest for first Super Bowl:
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