After back-to-back weekends of thrilling playoff action, just four teams remain standing as Championship Sunday gets underway later this weekend.
The Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and Los Angeles Rams will all take to the field next week vying for trips to Super Bowl LX from Santa Clara, Calif. on Feb. 8.
TSN will once again carry all of the action this weekend, showing both conference championship games on Sunday to decide who earns the right to play in the big game.
Here is an in-depth look at the matchups from each conference, and where to find the games on the network this weekend.
(2) New England Patriots vs. (1) Denver Broncos
The action begins on Sunday afternoon with Drake Maye and the New England Patriots heading to Mile High to face the Denver Broncos in a matchup between the top two seeds in the AFC.
New England advanced to the conference title game with a 28-16 victory over the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round last Sunday.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye overcame the snow and the cold to throw for three passing touchdowns in the victory, while the New England defence forced five turnovers (four interceptions, one fumble) as part of a dominant defensive showing.
“Just proud of the guys,” Maye said after the win. “Battled the elements. This is New England. This is what we’re trying to embrace and we want to embrace all season long. Props to our defence, played a hell of a game … they bring it every week. It’s fun to watch.
“We feel like we deserve to be here,” added the second-year passer. “I like our chances with those guys in the locker room.”
The Patriots now head back to the AFC Championship for the first time since the 2018 seasons, the year the franchise won their most recent Super Bowl with Tom Brady at the helm.
Head coach Mike Vrabel has gotten New England back to their winning ways in his first season in charge, and will look to lead the the Patriots back to the Super Bowl for the 12th time in franchise history.
“Everybody’s stepping up. We’re using everybody. Everybody’s making plays. Everybody’s helping us win,” said Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls with the team during his playing days. “I’m excited for these guys, but also, they’re not satisfied, and I can tell that.”
The Broncos narrowly escaped the Divisional Round with a 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills last weekend, but the celebrations were cut short by the news that starting quarterback Bo Nix will miss the rest of the playoffs with a broken bone in his right ankle.
Nix was hurt towards the tail end of Denver’s game-winning drive in overtime, sustaining the injury following a tackle from Bills safety Cole Bishop on a quarterback run.
The Auburn product threw for 279 passing yards and three scores in the win over Buffalo, but the Broncos will now turn to Jarrett Stidham with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line this Sunday.
Stidham, who began his NFL career with the Patriots, has not attempted a pass for Denver this season, and has taken just four snaps coming back in Week 8. Still, Broncos head coach Sean Payton offered a vote of confidence for the six-year veteran ahead of this week’s AFC title game.
“I know how he was coached in New England. I know exactly how he was coached in New England,” Payton said. “And then I know how [current Patriots OC Josh] McDaniels felt about him ... but ultimately ... it’s our three years here, our three years watching him day-in and day-out. He will be ready to go.”
Stidham will become just the seventh NFL quarterback since 1950 to make his first start of the year in the playoffs, joining the likes of Roger Staubach in 1972 and Frank Reich in 1992, among others.
The Broncos last reached the AFC Championship in 2015, where they also faced the Patriots en route to their fifth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
Denver emerged victorious 20-18 over the Brady-led Pats in the conference championship before going on to win Super Bowl 50, with Von Miller and the ‘No Fly Zone’ defence dominating the game to send Peyton Manning off into the sunset with his second championship.
(5) Los Angeles Rams vs. (1) Seattle Seahawks
Championship Sunday comes to a close with Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams taking on Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks to decide the NFC’s representative in the Super Bowl.
This will be the third matchup between the NFC West rivals this season, with both L.A. and Seattle splitting the first two meetings.
The Rams needed overtime to defeat the Chicago Bears in the NFC Divisional Round, with Harrison Mevis drilling a 42-yard field goal to send Los Angeles to the conference championship.
Matthew Stafford threw for 258 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, while Kyren Williams found the end zone twice as the Rams went on to win 20-17.
Los Angeles’ defence picked off Bears quarterback Caleb Williams three times, including one in overtime to set up Mevis’ game-winning kick, denying Chicago what would have been their eighth comeback victory of the season.
“What an unbelievable job by our defence today, getting us the ball over and over again,” said Stafford after the victory. “Whether it be fourth-down stops or turnovers, they were clutch and timely.”
With the win, the Rams will now head to their third NFC Championship in the past eight years under head coach Sean McVay.
McVay, however, was critical of his own performance in the win over Chicago, shouldering the blame for the team’s offensive struggles.
“Offensively, man, I did not do a very good job for our group tonight,” he told reporters after the win. “Did not like the feel for the flow of the game that I had outside of the first series, where our guys did a great job.
“But like I said, I’m really grateful for this group being able to find a way, stick with it, and be able to overcome some bad coaching by me tonight.”
McVay will have one week to regroup before trying to solve Mike Macdonald’s vaunted Seahawks defence that dominated the San Francisco 49ers last week to cruise to a 41-6 victory in the Divisional Round.
Seattle forced three turnovers against San Francisco (one interception, two fumbles), continuing their stellar play from the regular season that saw them finish as the top-ranked scoring defence while allowing the third-fewest rushing yards. They also recorded the fifth-most sacks in the NFL this year.
“Everything’s working for us, to be honest,” safety Nick Emmanwori said. “Everything’s working. We fly to the ball, we’ve got a great scheme, great coaches, great players. It’s hard for teams to find a way to score on us or beat us straight up.”
Kenneth Walker III rushed for three touchdowns in the victory as part of a 19-rush, 116-yard day, tying him with Seahawks great Shaun Alexander for the single-game playoff scoring record.
Walker shouldered much of the load with Zach Charbonnet leaving the contest in the second quarter with a knee injury.
The Michigan State product appears to be in for another heavy workload this Sunday after Charbonnet was ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs with a torn ACL.
Darnold threw for 124 yards and a touchdown to pick up the first playoff victory of his career, overcoming an oblique injury that put his status in question against the Niners.
“[Darnold] told us he was going to do whatever it takes to get back and play for us,” said rookie offensive lineman Grey Zabel. “That was a gutsy performance by him, not feeling his best. He continues to just be a leader in the huddle, on the field, on the sidelines.”
After joining the Seahawks as a free agent over the offseason, Darnold is now one game away from bringing Seattle to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2014.
