As three-point favorites in the AFC and NFC Championship games, the two teams have been given an equal chance to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy at Levi’s Stadium on February 7.
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-Steelers vs Panthers- These two teams don’t face off too often. Being on the road, the Patriots are favored by three points over the Broncos. The Packers and Cardinals was a little all over the place, but we got some fourth quarter intrigue to close it out in somewhat interesting fashion.
And with that, we know what the conference championship games will look like. But Arizona is considered to be the best NFC team by many experts. After finishing the regular season with an nearly ideal 15-1 record, the Panthers came into the playoffs as the favorite to be the Super Bowl representative from the NFC. On second down, a shovel pass from Palmer to Fitzgerald finished the drive and the game.
The Panthers are coming off a 31-24 home win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, building up a big lead and then holding on to cover the 2.5-point spread at the sportsbooks. The Cardinals nearly lost to the Packers because of an Aaron Rodgers miracle. Then, in overtime, the coin did not flip to start the extra period, so there was a re-flip. The Panthers and Cardinals will follow at 6:40 p.m. ET. -Seahawks-18, Panthers-20. The Cardinals have a turnover differential of nine.
If both favorites win their respective conference championship games, the Super Bowl would feature a classic confrontation between the Panthers and the Patriots.
In Sunday’s late game, the Pittsburgh Steelers were eliminated from contention by the Denver Broncos. The Patriots-Chiefs game did not have all that much drama. While the Broncos had to go back to Peyton Manning as their quarterback after backup Brock Osweiler failed to live up to expectations, he is not exactly playing great football. Kansas City’s 11-game win streak ended with a 27-20 loss to the Patriots, who are looking to become the first back-to-back Super Bowl champions since they did it in 2003 and 2004.
Denver defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-16 on Sunday as the top two seeds in the AFC reached the championship game. Manning threw for 222 yards and no touchdowns. They did lose Antonio Brown, DeAngelo Williams, and Ben Roethlisberger to injuries, though Ben is the only one likely to play is Ben. Rob Gronkowski is one low hit away from being taken out and Julian Edelman broke his foot not that long ago.
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The first day of the divisional round of the 2016 National Football League playoffs is a wrap.
