Current:Home > FinanceNFL schedule today: Everything to know about playoff games on Jan. 28 -TradeWise
NFL schedule today: Everything to know about playoff games on Jan. 28
SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-11 07:02:59
Editor's note: Follow along for live updates and highlights from the AFC championship game.
Only four teams remain in the NFL postseason. Two of them will come away from this weekend as conference champions and earn trips to the Super Bowl.
First up, Patrick Mahomes and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs will make their sixth consecutive appearance in the AFC championship game, this time on the road against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
In the night cap, star running back Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers make their third straight appearance in the NFC championship game, this time at home against the Detroit Lions.
The winners of each game Sunday will advance to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas on Feb. 11.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Here’s what you need to know about the NFL conference championship games on Jan. 28:
How to watch Chiefs vs. Ravens game
The Chiefs and Ravens kickoff at 3 p.m. ET inside M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on CBS and Paramount+. The game is also available to stream for free on Fubo.
How to watch Lions vs. 49ers game
The Lions visit the 49ers for a 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on FOX. The game is also available to stream for free on Fubo.
Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) vs. Baltimore Ravens (13-4)
The two youngest quarterbacks to win NFL MVPs take center stage in the AFC championship game.
Mahomes was the youngest NFL MVP at 23 in 2018, before Jackson won the award at 22 in 2019. As the MVP front-runner this season, Jackson could soon join Mahomes with two MVPs after Mahomes won his second last season.
More important, there’s a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
Mahomes and the Chiefs are in familiar position, hoping to reach the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years and a chance to extend their dynasty with a third championship.
You can’t count out Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid this time of year, although this is the worst Chiefs’ offense during their time together in Kansas City (they rank 15th in scoring offense this season, compared to top six in each of the previous six season).
Meanwhile, Jackson and Ravens coach John Harbaugh hope to lead the franchise back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2012. Baltimore has won nine games this season against winning teams by at least 14 points – no other team in NFL history has accomplished that feat.
Detroit Lions (12-5) vs. San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
The 49ers are in the NFC championship game for the third consecutive season, and fourth time in the last five years. But they’ve only reached the Super Bowl once in that span, losing to Mahomes and the Chiefs at Super Bowl 54 in Miami to end the 2019 season.
So, the pressure is on for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who was also the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots stormed back from a 28-3 deficit to win Super Bowl 51 in February 2017.
The 49ers won the NFC West and earned the No. 1 seed in the postseason behind McCaffrey, who led the NFL with 2,023 scrimmage yards and was tied for the league-lead with 21 total touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Lions coach Dan Campbell has led Detroit’s resurgence from one of the NFL’s worst franchises to one of the league’s most competitive and endearing teams.
The Lions, one of four NFL franchises to never reach a Super Bowl, won their first playoff game and have reached the conference championship game for the first time since 1991.
Quarterback Jared Goff hopes to reach his second Super Bowl (lost to Patriots with Los Angeles Rams in 2016), leading Detroit’s top five offense with star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, tight end Sam LaPorta, while star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson leads the defense.
Predictions for Sunday's NFL conference championship games
Here are the USA TODAY Sports staff’s predictions for Sunday's games:
Jarrett Bell: Ravens, 49ers
Chris Bumbaca: Ravens, Lions
Nate Davis: Ravens, 49ers
Safid Deen: Ravens, Lions
Tyler Dragon: Ravens, 49ers
Victoria Hernandez: Ravens, Lions
Jordan Mendoza: Ravens, Lions
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Ravens, 49ers
Lorenzo Reyes: Ravens, 49ers
veryGood! (18167)
Related
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- Conservative are pushing a ‘parental rights’ agenda in Florida school board races. But will it work?
- Montana Supreme Court rules minors don’t need parental permission for abortion
- White House says deals struck to cut prices of popular Medicare drugs that cost $50 billion yearly
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Gymnast Gabby Douglas Shares $5 Self-Care Hacks and Talks Possible 2028 Olympic Comeback
- TikToker Nicole Renard Warren Claps Back Over Viral Firework Display at Baby’s Sex Reveal
- Housing costs continue to drive inflation even as food price hikes slow
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Matthew Judon trade winners, losers and grades: How did Patriots, Falcons fare in deal?
Ranking
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Pro-Palestinian protesters who blocked road near Sea-Tac Airport to have charges dropped
- Head of Theodore Roosevelt National Park departs North Dakota job
- Hurricane Ernesto to strengthen; Bermuda braces for 'the power of nature'
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Family of man killed by Connecticut police officer files lawsuit, seeks federal probe of department
- A Maui County appointee oversaw grants to nonprofits tied to her family members
- Biden to designate 1908 Springfield race riot site as national monument
Recommendation
Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
'It Ends With Us' shows some realities of domestic violence. Here's what it got wrong.
As students return, US colleges brace for a resurgence in activism against the war in Gaza
North Dakota lawmaker dies at 54 following cancer battle
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
Walmart boosts its outlook for 2024 with bargains proving a powerful lure for the inflation weary
Hideki Matsuyama will be without regular caddie, coach after their passports and visas were stolen
Gymnast Gabby Douglas Shares $5 Self-Care Hacks and Talks Possible 2028 Olympic Comeback