And now we're down to four. Championship weekend in the National Football League has arrived. Whoever is left standing at the end of this weekend will be playing for football's ultimate prize. Its a battle of two of the best quarterbacks of this generation (again) in one game, while the other is a battle of two Heisman Trophy winning Quarterbacks in the other. It's either going to be New England or Denver coming out of the AFC, while Arizona and Carolina are fighting over the top spot in the NFC. The battle of the top four seeds is on this weekend, making this the first time since the 2004 season that the top two teams in each conference will face eachother for the right to go to the Super Bowl. Enough talk, lets get right to it. Here's what were looking at for Championship Sunday.
First up, with kickoff scheduled for 3:05 PM, it's the AFC Championship game. The AFC East champions the New England Patriots head to Sports Authority Field at Mile High to take on the AFC West Champions the Denver Broncos. The Patriots and Broncos will meet in the postseason for the fifth time, with Denver holding a 3-1 all-time advantage, including the teams’ most recent postseason meeting in the AFC Championship Game during the 2013 season. The clubs met earlier this season in Week 12, as Denver overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to earn a 30-24 overtime victory and hand New England its first loss of the season. The Patriots, the defending Super Bowl champions, advanced to their fifth consecutive AFC Championship Game with a 27-20 win over Kansas City last week at Gillette Stadium. New England joins the 1973-77 Oakland Raiders as the only teams in the Super Bowl era to reach five Conference Championship Games in a row.
The Broncos advanced to their 10th AFC Championship Game with a 23-16 win over Pittsburgh last week at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Denver enters the game with a 7-2 all-time record in AFC Championship Games, including a 5-1 mark at home. That record includes a 26-16 victory over New England in the Broncos’ most recent AFC Championship Game appearance, when Denver quarterback Peyton Manning passed for 400 yards with two touchdowns to earn a berth in Super Bowl XLVIII. The game will mark the 17th meeting in the historic rivalry between Manning and Brady. The two quarterbacks have represented the AFC in nine of the past 14 Super Bowls, earning Super Bowl MVP honors in four of those contests.
Pick
Solly: New England Patriots
Steve: New England Patriots
Dan: New England Patriots
Closing out the weekend, with a 6:40 kickoff will be the NFC Championship game. The NFC West Champions the Arizona Cardinals head to Bank of America Stadium to take on the NFC South Champions the Carolina Panthers. The Cardinals and Panthers will meet in the postseason for a third time, as the postseason series between them is tied (1-1). The Cardinals won the teams’ first postseason meeting in 2008, a 33-13 Divisional Playoff victory in Charlotte en route to an eventual berth in Super Bowl XLIII. The Panthers won the last meeting, a 27-16 game in the Wild Card round last season.
The Panthers, who have won 21 of their past 23 games (including the postseason), advanced to their fourth NFC Championship Game with a 31-24 win against the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional round last week. This will be the first time in team history the Panthers will host the NFC Championship Game.The Cardinals advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 2008 and the second time during the Super Bowl era. In the Divisional Playoff last week, Arizona defeated Green Bay 26-20 in overtime.
Pick
Solly: Carolina Panthers
Steve: Carolina Panthers
Dan: Arizona Cardinals
So there you have it. Our picks for Championship Weekend!
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