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The NFL entered the weekend with eight teams still alive for a berth in the Super Bowl, and now we're down to the final four heading into the Conference Championship Round.
The Divisional Round featured several thrillers that came down to the wire while all four games were separated by one score in the final minutes. Amazingly, after all four road teams won in the Wild Card Round, every home team was victorious in this round.
The New England Patriots led by two scores for much of their matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to a big game from Tom Brady before holding on for a 27-20 win. The win puts Brady and head coach Bill Belichick in their 10th AFC Championship in 15 seasons.
The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers faced off in a Saturday night thriller that went into overtime before Larry Fitzgerald scored the game-winning touchdown for a 26-20 win. The game only made into overtime because of Aaron Rodgers' hail-mary 41-yard score to Jeff Janis to tie the game at 20-all, but Arizona would escape in the extra frame.
The Sunday slate started with the Carolina Panthers jumping out to a 31-0 halftime lead over the Seattle Seahawks. The two-time defending NFC champs stormed back to cut the deficit to just 31-24 with under two minutes to play, but Carolina recovered the onside kick to secure the win.
The Divisional Round concluded with another last-minute thriller, this one featuring the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers. Both teams traded field goals for much of the first three quarters before Peyton Manning led the Broncos to a game-winning touchdown with three minutes left. Denver would add a field goal and escape with a 23-16 win.
That means we get another classic showdown of Manning vs Brady in the AFC Championship. On the other side, Cam Newton and the Panthers will host Carson Palmer and the Cardinals in the NFC Championship. This will be a rare occasion where both the AFC and NFC will see their top two seeds facing off in their conference championships.
Here is the full schedule for the rest of the NFL playoffs.
Sunday, Jan. 24, 3:00 p.m. CBS
AFC Championship: New England Patriots at Denver Broncos
Sunday, Jan. 24, 6:40 p.m. FOX
NFC Championship: Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers
Sunday, Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m. CBS
Super Bowl 50: AFC champion vs. NFC champion