NFC, AFC title games today with a spot in Super Bowl on the line
Detroit (14-5) at San Francisco (13-5)
Sunday, 1:30 p.m. HST, Fox
ADVERTISING
OPENING LINE: 49ers by 7, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Lions 13-6; 49ers 9-8-1.
SERIES RECORD: 49ers lead 39-28-1.
LAST MEETING: 49ers beat Lions 41-33 on Sept. 12, 2021, in Detroit.
LAST WEEK: Lions beat Buccaneers 31-23; 49ers beat Packers 24-21.
LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (5), PASS (2), SCORING (5)
LIONS DEFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (2), PASS (27), SCORING (3)
49ERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (3), PASS (4), SCORING (3)
49ERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (8), RUSH (3), PASS (14), SCORING (3)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Lions even; 49ers plus-10.
The San Francisco 49ers will host the Detroit Lions in the NFC championship game with a berth in the Super Bowl on the line. The Niners have lost at this stage the past two seasons and are looking to get over the hump. The Lions have reached the conference title game twice in the Super Bowl era, losing their only other appearance in the 1991 season. Detroit is one of four teams never to reach the Super Bowl.
LIONS PLAYER TO WATCH: Amon-Ra St. Brown. The All-Pro WR is one of the best players on the team, and he’ll have to be at his best to help pull off an upset. In two playoff games, he has 15 catches for 187 yards and a TD. If St. Brown has at least seven receptions against the 49ers, he will join Michael Thomas and Wes Walker as the three players in league history to have seven or more catches in their first three postseason games. In the regular season, he was tied for second in the NFL with a career-high 119 catches, third with a career-high 1,515 yards receiving and set a career high with 10 TD catches.
49ERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Brock Purdy. Purdy will join Ben Roethlisberger and Mark Sanchez as the only QBs to start in a conference title game in each of his first two seasons. Purdy struggled most of the game last week when he went 23 for 39 for 252 yards, but recovered in time to lead his first game-winning drive of the season. Purdy led the NFL with a 113 passer rating in the regular season when he threw 31 TD passes and for a franchise-record 4,280 yards.
KEY MATCHUP: Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson vs. 49ers RT Colton McKivitz. Detroit’s second-year pass rusher has eight sacks in the past four games and will be a challenge for the Niners. McKivitz struggled at times against top edge rushers with his nine sacks allowed ranking tied for the fourth most in the NFL in the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus.
KEY INJURIES: Lions G Jonah Jackson (knee) and TE Brock Wright (forearm) will miss the game after being hurt last week. … Return specialist and WR Kalif Raymond (knee) will miss a third straight game for the Lions. … C Frank Ragnow is playing through a sprained knee and ankle while LB Alex Anzalone is doing the same with shoulder and rib injuries for Detroit. … Detroit DE James Houston may return for the first time since breaking an ankle in Week 2. … San Francisco WR Deebo Samuel injured his shoulder last week but will play this week.
SERIES NOTES: The 49ers have won 11 of the past 12 meetings in the series. … San Francisco beat Detroit in coach Dan Campbell’s debut in 2021 when the Lions nearly erased a 24-point deficit in the final two minutes. … This is the third all-time playoff meeting between the teams. San Francisco won a 1983 wild-card game 24-23 when Eddie Murray missed a potential game-winning field goal and Gary Danielson threw five INTs for Detroit. … The Lions overcame a 20-point deficit in the 1957 divisional round to win 31-27.
Kansas City (13-6) at Baltimore (14-4)
Sunday, 10 a.m. HST, CBS
OPENING LINE: Ravens by 3 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Chiefs 12-7; Ravens 12-6.
SERIES RECORD: Chiefs lead 7-5.
LAST MEETING: Ravens beat Chiefs 36-35 on Sept. 19, 2021, in Baltimore.
LAST WEEK: Chiefs beat Bills 27-24; Ravens beat Texans 34-10.
CHIEFS OFFENSE: OVERALL (9), RUSH (19), PASS (6), SCORING (15).
CHIEFS DEFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (18), PASS (4), SCORING (2).
RAVENS OFFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (1), PASS (21), SCORING (4)
RAVENS DEFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (14), PASS (6), SCORING (1)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Chiefs minus-11; Ravens plus-12.
The Kansas City Chiefs are playing in their sixth straight AFC title game this weekend against Baltimore. The only streak longer is the eight-game run by New England from the 2011-18 seasons. The Ravens are 2-2 in the AFC title game, and this is the first time they’ll play it at home. The city of Baltimore hasn’t hosted this game since January 1971. That year the Baltimore Colts beat the Oakland Raiders and went on to win the Super Bowl.
CHIEFS PLAYER TO WATCH: It’s not so much a single player but the entire Kansas City offensive line, and the interior in particular, that must play well on Sunday. The Chiefs could be without stalwart LG Joe Thuney after he strained his pectoral muscle in the divisional round at Buffalo. But regardless, if the Chiefs want to win they need to be able to run the ball with Isiah Pacheco, and that starts with the guys up front.
RAVENS PLAYER TO WATCH: All-Pro S Kyle Hamilton has done a bit of everything for Baltimore’s defense this season, and his versatility could be crucial against everything Patrick Mahomes can do offensively for the Chiefs. Hamilton became the first player since Tyrann Mathieu in 2015 to have double-digit tackles for loss and at least four interceptions in one season.
KEY MATCHUP: Baltimore’s pass protection against Kansas City DLs Chris Jones and George Karlaftis. Houston tried to bother Lamar Jackson with lots of blitzing, but the Ravens eventually adjusted and won that game fairly easily last week. The Chiefs would love to pressure Jackson without bringing extra players if they can.
KEY INJURIES: Thuney (pectoral) and S Mike Edwards (concussion) missed practice this week. So did RG Trey Smith, though he had an illness and is expected to play. … Baltimore TE Mark Andrews (ankle) hasn’t played since November, but he’s been at practice this week. CB Marlon Humphrey (calf) also practiced after missing the team’s playoff opener.
SERIES NOTES: The Ravens rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat the Chiefs 36-35 in their most recent meeting. That victory snapped the Ravens’ four-game losing streak in the series. The teams have only met once in the postseason, when the Ravens romped 30-7 in Kansas City in the wild-card round on Jan. 9, 2011.
