The final countdown

The GIST: The stage is set for Super Bowl LIV (that’s 54), with American Football Conference (AFC) champs Kansas City Chiefs and National Football Conference (NFC) champs San Francisco 49ers going to the Big Game!

Exciting! What went down in the AFC Championship?: The Chiefs topped the Tennessee Titans 35–24 to qualify for their first Super Bowl in 50 years! This game went back and forth for a while (and, fun fact, included the heaviest player to ever catch a playoff touchdown pass), but thanks in part to the heroics of quarterback (QB) Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City ran away with it in the second half.

• A major key to KC’s win was holding Titans’ running back (RB) Derrick “King” Henry to just 69 yards (he had previously run over 180 yards this postseason against the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens) successfully bringing No. 6 Tennessee’s Cinderella run to a heartbreaking end.

And how about the NFC?: The 49ers absolutely dominated on their way to a 37–20 win over QB Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The Packers tried to mount a fourth-quarter comeback, but San Fran’s defence (led by a v. emotional Richard Sherman) was just too difficult to crack.

• The MVP of the NFC Championship has to be RB Raheem “The Monster” Mostert, who had a beastly four-touchdown first half and 220 total rushing yards, the most and second-most in an NFC Championship game. What, like it’s hard?

So what’s next?: The Super Bowl, of course! The Chiefs and 49ers will face off in two weeks on February 2nd in Miami, Florida (Cue Will Smith’s “Miami”), for all the marbles, aka the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

• But first, you’ll have one last chance to watch some of the NFL’s best, in the Pro Bowl (aka the NFL’s version of an All-Star game) on January 26th. This NFC vs. AFC showcase is just for lighthearted fun, bragging rights…and quite a bit of money too.