Packers. Patriots. Steelers.
Falcons. Who Has the Edge?
By BENJAMIN HOFFMANJAN. 15, 2017
Road teams finally found the success they were missing in this season’s playoffs, with Green Bay and Pittsburgh advancing to the conference championships. Both will have to repeat that road success if either team wants to make it to Super Bowl LI in Houston, as the Packers will travel to Atlanta and the Steelers will be on their way to New England.
Here’s a quick preview of the conference championships:
N.F.C.
No. 4 Green Bay Packers (10-6) at No. 2 Atlanta Falcons (11-5)
Time: 3:05 p.m. Eastern, Fox
Spread: Falcons are favored by 4.
They say “defense wins championships,” but the N.F.C. will almost assuredly be decided by which team’s superstar quarterbacks is able to do more damage. Aaron Rodgers has led the Green Bay Packers to eight consecutive wins, repeatedly delivering under intense late-game pressure, and Matt Ryan looks like a completely different player than the one who struggled in recent seasons. Green Bay will be trying to win a second consecutive playoff game on the road, and Atlanta, after an easy win over Seattle in the divisional round, will be trying to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1998 season.
A.F.C.
No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) at No. 1 New England Patriots (14-2)
Time: 6:40 p.m. Eastern, CBS
Spread: Patriots are favored by 6.
At one point during the season the Patriots seemed nearly unbeatable, but they have had to work far harder in recent weeks to keep things going. The Steelers, meanwhile, have hit their stride defensively, with an offense led by the usual suspects of Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. It will be New England’s 11th appearance in the A.F.C. championship game in the 16 seasons of the Tom Brady Era, and the team will be trying to reach the Super Bowl for the seventh time in that span. The Steelers, who have won two Super Bowls with Roethlisberger, are hoping to make an appearance in the game for the fourth time in 12 seasons.
AI
