Super Bowl 58 will see a showdown between the new dynasty and the old, with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 after both sides won Sunday's NFL Division Championship Game.
Defending Super Bowl champions Emirates defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 in the AFC Champions in Baltimore on Sunday for the fourth major tournament in five years.
The five-time champions 49ers fought back from a 17-point deficit at halftime in the NFC Championship and scored with every possession in the second half, except for the final moments when they tried to kill time. They won 34-31.
Here's how the conference tournament unfolds.
On Sunday, the Chiefs made their sixth consecutive appearance in the AFC Championship on a familiar court, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes. During that time, he won two Super Bowl titles, two Super Bowl MVP awards, and two league MVP awards. Needless to say, the Mahomes era was characterized by winning when it matters most.
Mahomes faces intense questions heading into the playoffs as he has to leave Arrowhead Stadium to play, so whether he will be able to replicate past playoff performances. As a starter, Mahomes has led his team to the AFC Championship in all six of his seasons and even went one step further – as crazy as it sounds – until the Emirates beat the Beales in Buffalo last week, he never played in an away playoff game.
The Chiefs have been in trouble at times this year, which has made things even more complicated.
It's really special. It's really special to do it with these guys after we've been through the whole season and these guys come together," Mahomes said in his post-match press conference. "I told them that the work wasn't done yet. Our job now is to get ready, play against a good team in the Super Bowl and try to win that ring." ”
Chiefs close-end Travis Kellce caught 11 passes (nine in the first half) and scored one touchdown, while Kansas City dominated possession time with three long-range breakaways and tough defending.
The Chiefs opened the scoring as Mahomes hit Kells 13 yards on the fourth and second strikes to keep the first break of the game alive, followed by two attacks in which he completed a 19-yard shoulder touchdown pass to tie the score to 7-0 with 7:41 left in the first quarter.
The Ravens right-back launched a counter-attack, and the team's elusive quarterback Lamar Jackson found Zay Flowers behind the defense and scored with a 30-yard shot to tie the score at 7-7 minutes later.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Kansas City responded with a touchdown to take a 14-7 lead. Isiah Pacheco rushed into the touchdown zone 2 yards to help the Chiefs score two touchdowns in two long passes.
The Chiefs ended the first half with another long pass, and with 8 seconds left in the second quarter, kicker Harrison Butker fired a 52-yard shot through the post.
At halftime, the Chiefs led 17-7, the first time the Ravens had trailed by double digits this season. In the second half, both sides were deadlocked defensively.
Kansas City's offense was lifeless for most of the remainder and were forced to fold five rounds in a row, keeping the Ravens' error-prone offense within range.
The only scoring in the second half came when Ravens kicker Justin Tucker kicked a 43-yard shot with 2:34 left in the game.
Mahomes made 30-of-39 shooting for 241 yards and had one touchdown. He made a 32-yard pass to Marquez Valdés-Scantlin late in the fourth quarter to nearly seal the victory for the Chiefs, while the Ravens made two major turnovers in the final quarter to give the Chiefs the victory.
NFL MVP frontrunner Jackson struggled with the Ravens until the end of the third quarter. He shot 20-of-37 from the field, drove for 241 yards, had one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed the ball eight times, advanced for 54 yards and salvaged another interception by catching his own batting pass and turning it into a 13-yard gain.
In the fourth quarter, the Ravens suffered a serious drop and interception in the Kansas City touchdown area.
Just when it looked like the Ravens were going to close the 10-point gap, Flowers caught a 54-yard pass from the Chiefs' 25-yard line and was knocked out of his hand as he rushed towards goal. line, resulting in mistakes and touchbacks.
The Ravens advanced along the court in the next offensive round, ready to close the Chiefs' lead after reaching the 25-yard line in Kansas City, but Jackson's pitch from triple coverage was intercepted by Deon Bush in the touchdown zone.
We have some opportunities," Jackson told reporters. "Just to take advantage of them. You can't turn the ball over. Dropping the ball, interceptions, things like that, give them a chance to score and win the game.
The high-stakes matchup is the first time two under the age of 30 NFL MVP quarterbacks have faced each other in a playoff game, and the first time Mahomes and Jackson have met on the playoff stage.
The Nations League Championship is divided into two halves, with the first half occupied by the visiting team seeking to enter the Super Bowl for the first time.
The Lions rushed the ball for 148 yards in the first half, and quarterback Jared Gove shot 13-of-20 from halftime for 145 yards.
The Lions scored three goals in the first four rounds, leveraging Gough's precise passes to help Jameson Williams, David Montgomery and Jamil Gibbs rush for a touchdown.
With seconds left in the first half, Michael Badgley kicked a 21-yard shot and the team went into the locker room with a 17-point lead. It looks like the team that last won the NFL championship in the '50s of the 20th century is about to make its first appearance in the Super Bowl.
San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey, the NFL's leading rusher in the regular season, scored just a few points for the 49ers just before halftime, scoring from 2 yards just minutes into the first few minutes of the second quarter.
The 49ers took the lead in the second half, tying the score in eight minutes of the third quarter before taking a 27-24 lead in the fourth quarter thanks to a 33-yard shot from Jack Moody. With about three minutes remaining, Elijah Mitchell made a 3-yard touchdown run that seemed to put the match at a stalemate.
With less than a minute left in the game, the Lions advanced 75 yards in 13 games to press the ball close.
But the 49ers recovered the offside ball and the Lions were running out of time.
This season won't be forgotten anytime soon by loyal fans at Ford Field. After years of missing out on the playoffs entirely, the Lions are the divisional champions for the first time since 1991.
The 49ers played in the Super Bowl seven times, winning five or four championships in the '80s when quarterback Joe Montana, defensive guard Ronnie Lot, wide receiver Jerry Rice, and defensive forward Charles Haley were building Hall of Fame careers.