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For the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, reaching the conference title game is becoming a thing of the past.
For the city of Baltimore and the Detroit Lions to be on that stage is a bit of a rarity.
When Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs visit the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, it will be the sixth time in six seasons as a starter that he has reached that stage.
That passed the 1970 Oakland Raiders for the second-longest streak in history, just two shy of what Tom Brady and the New England Patriots accomplished from 2011-18.
After Sunday, Mahomes will have the third-most starts by a quarterback in the conference title game since the merger, trailing only Brady (14) and Joe Montana (7). Mahomes’ 14 TD passes are now second in conference championship game history — seven behind Brady — and he can move into second in passing yards by throwing 217 on Sunday.
The Ravens have reached this stage for the first time since winning the Super Bowl in 2012 and for the fifth time in history. But they played their first four on the road, making this the first time the city of Baltimore will host a conference championship game since the Colts beat the Raiders 27-17 in the first AFC Championship Game on Jan. 3, 1971.
The NFC matchup features the 49ers, who will be making their record 19th conference title game, against the Lions, who are here for just the second time.
San Francisco has lost the past two seasons on the road to the Rams and Eagles and is looking to avoid becoming the fifth team to lose at that stretch in three straight seasons. Philadelphia (2001-03), Dallas (1980-82), Rams (1974-76) and Raiders (1973-75) are the other teams to do so.
The Nine have been a hit or miss team over the past two decades. They have just seven winning records over the past 21 seasons — tied for 22nd most — but have made it to the NFC title game in each of those seasons for the second-most appearances in that span.
Brock Purdy joins Ben Roethlisberger and Mark Sanchez as the only QBs to start a conference title game in their first two seasons.
The Lions are one of four franchises to have never appeared in a Super Bowl and had won just one playoff game in the Super Bowl era prior to this season, when they went to the 1991 NFC Championship Game against Washington.
This is the third time in franchise history that they have won two playoff games in the same year. They did it in 1952 and 1957 en route to two of their three titles that decade.
Detroit has lost a record 11 straight playoff games, with the last win coming at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco in 1957 when the Lions rallied from 20 points down to beat the 49ers 31-27 in the divisional round.
The Buffalo Bills had another promising end to the season early in a 27-24 loss to Kansas City when Tyler Bass missed a 44-yard field goal in the final minutes down the right side — of course.
This is the fifth straight season the Bills have won at least 10 games but failed to reach the Super Bowl. Only two other teams have ever done that with the Rams for six straight seasons from 1973-78 and the Eagles for five straight seasons from 1988-92.
The Rams made it to the Super Bowl in the 1979 season, despite winning just nine games that year.
The loss brought back painful memories for the Bills, with Bass’ miss bringing back memories of Scott Norwood’s wide right tackle late in a 20-19 loss to the Giants in Super Bowl 25.
Bass was the third player to miss a potential game-tying field goal or a 45-yard field goal in the final two minutes of a playoff game in the last 10 years. Cody Parkey had a 43-yarder in Chicago’s 16-15 loss to Philadelphia in the 2018 wild-card round, and Blair Walsh had a 27-yarder for Minnesota in a 10-9 loss to Seattle in the 2015 wild-card game.
Lamar Jackson established his new club with his playoff performance against Houston.
Jackson ran for 100 yards and two TDs, passed for 151 yards and two scores and posted a 121.8 passer rating in Baltimore’s win over the Texans.
Jackson joined Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, Jay Cutler and Otto Graham as the only players with at least two TD passes and runs in a playoff game. But Jackson became the first player ever to do so in any game — including the regular season — with at least 100 yards rushing and a 100 or better passer rating.
Jackson has three 100-yard games in his five playoff starts, breaking Colin Kaepernick’s record for most 100-yard games by a quarterback in playoff history.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen also showed his knack for rushing in a losing cause. He scored on two TD runs to tie Jalen Hurts’ quarterback record set last year with 18 touchdown runs in a season, including the playoffs.
Allen also recorded his third season with at least 50 combined TDs passing and rushing in the regular season and playoffs, joining Mahomes, Brady and Aaron Rodgers as the only players to do so three times.
Allen’s 563 career yards are the second-most by a quarterback in the postseason, trailing only Steve Young’s 594.
The Detroit Lions had a record-breaking performance from their rookie class.
Jahmyr Gibbs’ 31-yarder last week was the 25th touchdown scored by a Lions rookie this season, breaking a tie with the 1999 Colts for the most points scored by a rookie class in the regular season or playoffs.
Gibbs leads with 13 touchdowns this season, followed by second-round pick Sam LaPorta with 11 and cornerback Brian Branch with one.
Gibbs, who was 21 years and 307 days old on Sunday, became the youngest player in NFL history to score a go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter or overtime of a playoff game.
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