Super Bowl 2020: Date, Schedule and Predicting Teams for NFL Championship Game
January 14, 2020
No team has won more Super Bowl championships than the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, who have each captured six, but the San Francisco 49ers could join their company in a few weeks.
The 49ers have won the Lombardi Trophy five times, but they haven't done so since the 1994 season. They last appeared in the Super Bowl at the end of the 2012 campaign, and before this year, they hadn't made the NFL playoffs since the 2013 season.
If San Francisco can beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, it will advance to face either the Kansas City Chiefs or the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl LIV on February 2.
Heading into conference championship weekend, here's everything you need to know about the remainder of the playoffs.
Conference Championship Info
Sunday, Jan. 19
AFC Championship Game
Who: No. 6 Tennessee Titans at No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs
When: 3:05 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Prediction: Chiefs 34, Titans 28
NFC Championship Game
Who: No. 2 Green Bay Packers at No. 1 San Francisco 49ers
When: 6:40 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Prediction: 49ers 24, Packers 20
Super Bowl LIV Info
Who: AFC champion vs. NFC champion
When: Sunday, Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Super Bowl Odds (via Caesars)
Kansas City Chiefs +110 (bet $100 to win $110)
San Francisco 49ers +145
Tennessee Titans +750
Green Bay Packers +850
Super Bowl Prediction
For the first time in Super Bowl history, it will be the 49ers and Chiefs facing off for the championship.
San Francisco will advance to the Super Bowl because of its defense, which has continued to impress late in the season. During the regular season, the 49ers ranked second in the NFL with 281.8 total yards allowed per game. Then, in their divisional-round win over the Vikings, they allowed only 147 total yards while forcing two turnovers and giving up only 10 points.
The Packers have a solid offense, and veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be motivated to get back to the Super Bowl. However, they're not going to solve the 49ers' defense until it's much too late, as San Francisco will rely on its balanced rushing attack to build an early lead.
The 49ers didn't win more than six games in a season from 2015-18, so it will be a remarkable turnaround for them to go from winning four games last season to reaching the Super Bowl this year.
As for the Chiefs, they haven't had a chance to play for the NFL Championship since winning Super Bowl IV, which took place at the end of the 1969 season. That was before the AFL-NFL merger, so Kansas City is still to win the AFC Championship Game.
Last season, the Chiefs lost in overtime to the Patriots in the AFC title game. But this year, they'll have a better result by taking down the Titans, who are coming off back-to-back upset road wins over the Patriots and Ravens.
But Kansas City will end Tennessee's momentum as its offense will be too much for the Titans' defense to stop. The Chiefs scored 51 points in their divisional-round win over the Texans, as they overcame a 24-point deficit to win and advance.
The 49ers and Chiefs have only faced each other 13 times before, so it will be intriguing to see them play in the biggest game of the season. San Francisco leads the all-time series 7-6, but it lost the last meeting between the two teams in 2018.
Will Patrick Mahomes get any offense going against the 49ers' elite defense? Can Kansas City stop San Francisco's strong rushing attack that features multiple running backs? The answers will come in Super Bowl LIV.