The Rams and Chiefs have advanced to their respective conference title games, and on Sunday they will find out who their opponents will be.
Another day of action-packed playoff football is in the books, and two teams have officially punched their tickets to their respective conference championship games.
On Saturday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the action by taking it to the Indianapolis Colts in the middle of a Midwestern snowstorm at Arrowhead Stadium. In a stunning turn of events, the Kansas City defense — which had been all but nonexistent throughout the regular season — clamped down on Andrew Luck and forcing him into a long afternoon. The Chiefs came away with a 31-13 win over the Colts to win their first home playoff game in two and a half decades, and next week they will host the AFC Championship Game for the first time in franchise history.
Meanwhile, on the NFC side of the action, the Los Angeles Rams battled to fend off the Dallas Cowboys in what became a somewhat tightly-contested game. Dak Prescott tried to lead a late-game rally, getting the Cowboys to within eight points. But during the final two minutes of the game, Jared Goff picked up a crucial 11-yard run for a first down that all but sealed a 30-22 Rams win. The Rams will advance to their first NFC Championship Game since 2001, when they were known as the St. Louis Rams.
Both teams will play the waiting game on Sunday as they watch to see who they will play next week. The Rams will also be waiting to find out if they have to travel for next week’s game, or if they will get to host the NFC title game at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. If the New Orleans Saints beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, next week’s game will be played at the New Orleans Superdome. If the Eagles win, then the Rams will host the game in Los Angeles.
As for the Chiefs, they already know they don’t have to travel anywhere. They will just wait to see which team — either the New England Patriots or Los Angeles Chargers — will venture to Arrowhead Stadium next week’s AFC title game.
As always, the NFL playoffs are flying by, and we will have our Super Bowl LIII matchup before too much longer.