And then there were four. The San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots are the last teams alive in the playoffs and each team has a chance to represent their conference in Super Bowl XLVII. Check out the schedule with time, date and where to watch of these highly anticipated matchups.
We start with the first game on the schedule:
San Francisco 49ers vs. Atlanta Falcons
Date: Sunday, Jan. 20
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: FOX
You can describe these two teams as resilient, dynamic and heavily talented. The Falcons are the No. 1 seed in the NFC after posting a 13-3 record in 2012. They are led by Matt Ryan and their defense, despite allowing opposing teams a chunk of yards, can produce turnovers when mostly needed.
They are fresh off a 30-28 victory over the Seattle Seahawks as they used 23 seconds to march down field and win it behind the leg of kicker Matt Bryant.
They saved the 49ers having to face their NFC West rivals. However, with the way Collin Kaepernick stepped up after being named the starting quarterback and ran the offense against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional game on Saturday, the 49ers look ready to beat anybody.
Their defense was one of the best during the regular season and they will have to remain hot if they are to get by Ryan and his trio of Tony Gonzalez, Julio Jones and Roddy White.
This will be the 49ers second consecutive NFC Championship game, while the Falcons will play in their first since the 2004 season.
Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots
Date: Sunday, Jan. 20
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: FOX
Rightly so, this will be the final game before the regular season. It will be a rematch of the 2011 AFC Championship game, which saw the Patriots survive a late Ravens surge. Everybody remembers the play at the end zone that would have won it for the Ravens and then followed by a missed field goal that would have at least tied the game.
Well, emotionally charged playing to extend Ray Lewis's final season in the NFL, the Ravens look to redeem themselves and possibly take their future hall of famer to the Super Bowl one last time.
The Patriots started Lombardi Trophy chase with a 41-28 victory over the Houston Texans and Tom Brady seems as hungry as ever.
The Ravens battled to beat the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos. Though they struggled closing the 2012 season, they have picked up their edge in the playoffs and now have a chance to do what they couldn't do last year.
The Ravens beat the Patriots 31-30 in their only regular season meeting of the year. Joe Flacco will have to prove clutch once again if he expects to play in the first first Super Bowl of his career.
This should be the best matchup of the playoffs.
