Yahoo News 2023 NFL playoffs: AFC, NFC championship game schedule
49ers-Eagles go first, followed by Bengals-Chiefs
The NFL is down to its final four.
The San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals both advanced on Sunday to join the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs in the conference championship round. The winners will earn a trip to the Super Bowl.
The games will feature three of the four teams that advanced to last season's championship round. The Eagles are the only newcomers in place of last year's Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
NFL championship Sunday schedule
NFC championship: No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles vs. No. 2 San Francisco 49ers
Sunday, Jan. 29 | 3 p.m. ET | Fox
The NFC championship will pit the NFC's best offense against the NFL's best defense. San Francisco's league-best defense bared its teeth Sunday while forcing two Dak Prescott interceptions in a 19-12 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The 49ers got enough on offense from rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, who improved to 7-0 as San Francisco's starter since taking over in Week 14.
The Eagles, meanwhile, looked no worse for wear after losing quarterback Jalen Hurts to a shoulder injury for two games down the regular-season stretch. He was in fine form Saturday while accounting for three touchdowns in Philadelphia's 38-7 romp over the New York Giants.
AFC championship: No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs vs. No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday, Jan. 29 | 6:30 p.m. ET | CBS
The AFC championship will feature a rematch of last year's game that saw the Bengals advance past the Chiefs to the Super Bowl. Joe Burrow and the Bengals put on an offensive clinic in Buffalo on Sunday while the Cincinnati defense limited the Bills to a season-low scoring output in a 27-10 win.
They'll take on a Chiefs team that held on for a 27-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday as Patrick Mahomes played through a reported high-ankle sprain.
The top-seeded Chiefs will be favored to win as long as Mahomes is able to play through his injury, which he's expected to do. But they were favored last postseason before the Bengals stunned them in overtime to advance to the Super Bowl in Burrow's second NFL season. Cincinnati was clearly the better team in Sunday's win over Buffalo and should mount a stiff challenge against the Super Bowl favorites.
