The AFC championship game pits two of the conference’s postseason mainstays and perennial heavyweights.
The Kansas City Chiefs are in this game for the sixth consecutive year and are looking to appear in their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five seasons. They are the defending Super Bowl champions and have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in two of the past four years.
Though it’s been more than a decade since the Baltimore Ravens last won a Super Bowl, they’ve been to the postseason in five of the past six years and stormed into this year’s playoffs as the AFC’s top seed. This is their first conference championship game since that 2012 season during which they ended up beating the San Francisco 49ers for the franchise’s second Super Bowl title.
The winner will hop on a plane to Las Vegas to take on the champion of the NFC – either the San Francisco 49ers or Detroit Lions – in Super Bowl 58 on Feb. 11.
USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest updates, news, highlights and analysis throughout this matchup. Follow along.
- Chiefs — 7
- Ravens — 0
- 1st quarter, 7:41
Taking possession on their own 14-yard line, the Chiefs came out throwing on their opening possession and marched down the field to take an early 7-0 lead on a 19-yard touchdown reception by Travis Kelce.
It marked the eighth consecutive postseason game in which the Chiefs have scored on their first possession.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed his first three passes to three different receivers as the offense moved quickly into Ravens territory.
The key play of the drive came on a fourth-and-1 at the Baltimore 41, when Mahomes connected with Kelce for 13 yards and a huge first down. — Steve Gardner
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense is heading to the bench.
Jackson missed receiver Nelson Agholor on a crossing route on third-and-7, and the Ravens are punting on their first drive of the game. A three-and-out wasn’t an ideal start. Now, the Ravens defense takes the field to defend Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. — Safid Deen
- Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
The top NFL betting apps favor the Ravens over the Chiefs in the AFC championship game.
The Ravens are 3.5-point favorites over the Chiefs according to the BetMGM NFL odds.
The over-under is 44.5, according to BetMGM.
The Ravens are a -200 favorite on the moneyline. Meanwhile, the Chiefs are a +165 underdog, according to BetMGM.
Rain is expected to fall in Baltimore throughout Sunday, with temperatures topping out between 45-50 degrees.
- Lorenzo Reyes: Ravens 26, Chiefs 19
- Tyler Dragon: Ravens 24, Chiefs 23
- Safid Deen: Ravens 30, Chiefs 28
- Victoria Hernandez: Ravens 28, Chiefs 23
- Jordan Mendoza: Ravens 23, Chiefs 16
- Jarrett Bell: Ravens 27, Chiefs 20
- Chris Bumbaca: Ravens 27, Chiefs 23
- Nate Davis: Ravens 27, Chiefs 20
- Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Ravens 24, Chiefs 23
The Chiefs and Ravens have gone head to head 12 times – 11 in the regular season and just once in the postseason. Kansas City leads the regular-season series 7-4, with the most recent game coming during the 2021 season when Baltimore won 36-35 with 12 fourth-quarter points. Their only encounter in the playoffs came after the 2010 season when the Ravens blew out the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Matt Cassel was at quarterback and Todd Haley was coaching Kansas City, and Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes to lead Baltimore.
Sunday’s game will mark the sixth time Mahomes has played in the AFC championship game — all of them consecutively. Mahomes’ first full season as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback was 2018, when Kansas City lost to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the conference championship game. The Chiefs returned to the game and were victorious in 2019 (vs. Tennessee Titans) and 2020 (vs. Buffalo Bills). They lost in the AFC championship in 2021 to the Cincinnati Bengals, but got revenge in the same game last season by beating the Bengals 23-20.
The last 10 results in the AFC championship game:
- 2022: Chiefs 23, Bengals 20
- 2021: Bengals 27, Chiefs 24
- 2020: Chiefs 38, Bills 24
- 2019: Chiefs 35, Titans 24
- 2018: Patriots 37, Chiefs 31
- 2017: Patriots 24, Jaguars 20
- 2016: Patriots 36, Steelers 17
- 2015: Broncos 20, Patriots 18
- 2014: Patriots 45, Colts 7
- 2013: Broncos 26, Patriots 16
The Chiefs’ social media team sent out a picture with their uniform for Sunday’s AFC championship game.
Kansas City will be going with their white jerseys with red pants, the same combination the team wore during their divisional round victory against the Buffalo Bills.
The Ravens tweeted out earlier in the week that they would be wearing their purple jerseys with black pants for Sunday’s AFC championship game. It’s the same combination Baltimore wore for its win in the divisional round against the Houston Texans.
Since 1970, these are the AFC teams who have won the most conference championships.
- 1. New England Patriots – 11
- T2. Pittsburgh Steelers – 8
- T2. Denver Broncos – 8
- 4. Miami Dolphins – 5
- T5. Las Vegas Raiders – 4
- T5. Buffalo Bills – 4
The Chiefs are 22-21 all-time in the NFL playoffs, including 2-0 this season. They’ve won seven consecutive playoff games, with their last loss coming in overtime in the AFC championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals after the 2021 regular season. K.C. has appears in eight conference championship games and has a 5-3 record in them.
The Ravens have a 17-12 record in the NFL playoffs and are 1-0 this year. This marks the fifth time they will appear in the AFC championship game, and they have a 2-2 record in the game. The last time they played for the right to go to the Super Bowl was after the 2012 season, when they beat the New England Patriots and went on to win Super Bowl 47 against the San Francisco 49ers.
There’s some early gamesmanship going on during pregame warm-ups in Baltimore.
As Ravens kicker Justin Tucker was stretching near the end zone where the Chiefs were warming up, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce swooped in and moved a couple footballs and a Ravens helmet out of the way to allow quarterback Patrick Mahomes room to throw passes. Tucker seemed to find it humorous.
It didn’t end there as Mahomes proceeded to kick and toss aside Tucker’s holder while Baltimore’s kicker continued to stretch. Mahomes and Tucker exchanged words, though neither appeared to be angry. Just good, old-fashioned gamesmanship. — Casey Moore
- Kadarius Toney, WR
- Keith Taylor, CB
- Ekow Boye-Doe, CB
- Willie Gay, LB
- BJ Thompson, DE
- Joe Thuney, G
- Felix Anudike-Uzomah, DE
- RWR: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justyn Ross
- LWR: Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman
- LT: Donovan Smith, Wanya Morris
- LG: Nick Allegretti
- C: Creed Humphrey
- RG: Trey Smith Mike Caliendo
- RT: Jawaan Taylor, Lucas Niang
- TE: Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Blake Bell
- QB: Patrick Mahomes , Blaine Gabbert
- RB: Isiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, La’Mical Perine
- SWR: Rashee Rice, Richie James
Defense
- LDE: George Karlaftis, Malik Herring
- RDT: Mike Pennel, Tershawn Wharton
- LDT: Chris Jones, Neil Farrell
- RDE: Mike Danna, Charles Omenihu
- WLB: Leo Chenal, Darius Harris
- MLB: Nick Bolton, Cole Christiansen
- SLB: Drue Tranquill, Jack Cochrane
- RCB: Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams
- LCB: L’Jarius Sneed
- SS: Justin Reid, Deon Bush
- FS: Mike Edwards, Chamarri Conner
- NB: Trent McDuffie, Nic Jones
Yes!
The pop sensation rolled into M&T Bank Stadium with her hair down with natural curls. She was accompanied by Brittany Mahomes, wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, sporting a black coat with a red sweater underneath.
Boyfriend and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce similarly came to the game wearing all-black.
- Malik Cunningham, QB
- Tylan Wallace, WR
- Rock Ya-Sin, CB
- Del’Shawn Phillips, LB
- Sam Mustipher, C
- Sala Aumavae-Laulu, G
- Josh Johnson, QB (third QB)
Offense
- LWR: Odell Beckham Jr.
- RWR: Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay
- LT: Ronnie Stanley, Patrick Mekari
- LG: John Simpson
- C: Tyler Linderbaum
- RG: Kevin Zeitler, Ben Cleveland
- RT: Morgan Moses, Daniel Faalele
- TE: Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar
- QB: Lamar Jackson, Tyler Huntley, Josh Johnson
- RB: Gus Edwards, Justice Hill, Dalvin Cook
- SWR: Zay Flowers, Nelson Agholor
Defense
- DE: Brent Urban
- NT: Michael Pierce, Travis Jones
- DT: Justice Madubuike, Broderick Washington
- LOLB: Jadeveon Clowney, Tavius Robinson, Malik Harrison
- LILB: Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson
- RILB: Patrick Queen
- ROLB: Kyle Van Noy, Odafe Oweh
- LCB: Marlon Humphrey
- SS: Marcus Williams
- FS: Geno Stone
- RCB: Brandon Stephens, Ronald Darby
- NB: Kyle Hamilton, Ar’Darius Washington, Arthur Maulet
You can’t say Maryland Gov. West Moore isn’t a man of the people. The 45-year-old Democrat appeared on social media with tailgating Ravens fans shotgunning beers before the AFC championship game against the Chiefs.
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Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
