Super Bowl 2019: Date, Schedule and Predicting Teams for NFL Championship Game

The race to Super Bowl LIII been exciting so far, but there just wasn't a ton of drama in the divisional round. While the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles were able to pull upsets over Wild Card Weekend, we had the top two seeds in each conference advance to the championship round.

This means we're getting the conference-title matchups it's felt like we were going to get for some time now. This Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the New England Patriots for the right to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIII. The New Orleans Saints will host the Los Angeles Rams for the right to represent the NFC.

In case you missed it, both of these games are rematches from the regular season. The Saints and Patriots came out victorious in their respective matchups, but a lot changed with all four of these teams since the regular season. The Los Angeles Rams, for example, now have a two-headed backfield that can rival New Orleans'.

At this point, it could be anyone's Super Bowl to win

We're here to look ahead at the remaining NFL playoff schedule. We'll run down the viewing information for the final two rounds, examine the latest odds and over/unders from OddsShark and make score predictions for Conference Championship Weekend. We'll also dig into some of the latest playoff-related buzz.

Conference Championships

Sunday, January 20

NFC Conference Championship Game

Who: Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints

When: 3:05 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: Fox and Fox Sports Go

Odds and Over/Under: NO -3.5, 57

Prediction: Saints 31, Rams 26

AFC Conference Championship Game

Who: New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs

When: 6:40 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: CBS and CBS All Access

Odds and Over/Under: KC -3, 55.5

Prediction: Patriots 28, Chiefs 26

Super Bowl LIII

Sunday, February 2

AFC Champions vs. NFC Champions

When: 6:30 p.m. ET

TV and Live Stream: CBS and CBS All Access

We're predicting the Patriots and Saints to advance to Super Bowl LIII, but here are the latest championship odds from OddsShark.

Super Bowl Odds

New Orleans Saints: 7-4

Kansas City Chiefs: 11-4

New England Patriots: 10-3

Los Angeles Rams: 7-2

Latest Buzz

Injuries Could Be a Factor for New Orleans

An injury to running back Todd Gurley caused the Rams to start C.J. Anderson the last two games of the regular season. Both are healthy now, and each played a significant role against the Dallas Cowboys last week.

Unfortunately for New Orleans, the Saints aren't quite so healthy heading into their rematch with Los Angeles. Obviously, the big news is that the Saints have lost star defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins to a torn Achilles.

Losing Rankins, who had 40 tackles and 8.0 sacks in the regular season, certainly hurts. However, his isn't the only injury New Orleans is dealing with.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter (h/t Mike Triplett of ESPN.com), guard Andrus Peat played with a broken hand against the Philadelphia Eagles. Per a source, Peat broke the hand in Week 17 and had surgery during New Orleans first-round bye.

While it's admirable that Peat was able to play through the injury, it's hard to believe that he'll be back to 100 percent by this Sunday. His injury will be one to track throughout the game.

Weather Could Be a Factor in AFC Title Game

Last weekend, snow infiltrated Arrowhead Stadium. This didn't slow down the Chiefs offense, as Kansas City rolled comfortably over Indianapolis. This week, laughably cold temperatures are on the menu, as meteorologist Ryan Maue points out:

With temperatures well below freezing, we may not see the same aerial back-and-forth we saw the last time Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes went head-to-head. While NFL equipment has improved significantly over the years, sub-zero conditions still make it difficult to grip, throw and catch a football.

Instead, we may see both teams focus more on the run. This would seem to favor Sony Michel and the Patriots ground attack at first blush.

"I think if anything, the cold should help the Patriots by slowing down the Chiefs offense," Ben Volin of the Boston Globe wrote on Twitter. "Pats' best chance to win is to grind out a low-scoring game with ball control and defense."

However, snowy conditions also seemed to favor the Colts and their rushing attack last week, but that was not to be.

Can Mahomes be Stopped?

The weather might slow down Mahomes and the Chiefs passing attack, but it might not. Mahomes, as Robert Mays of the Undefeated recently pointed out, is on a level all his own.

We've seen Mahomes do some incredible things this season, from throwing on the run across his body to throwing without even looking at the receiver. The Texas Tech alumnus makes plays that other quarterbacks wouldn't dream of even attempting. Who's to say that he won't make outlandish throws in frigid weather?

Mahomes did, after all, pass for 278 yards in snowy conditions last week.

There's a good chance that not even the cold will slow Mahoes. If he carves up the Patriots defense and the Chiefs roll, it will be hard not to like Kansas City's chances in Super Bowl LIII.