Le Journal

It all comes down to this. Championship Sunday in the NFL is approaching, with the matchup for Super Bowl LX to be decided. On the AFC side, the No. 1 Denver Broncos — without injured quarterback Bo Nix — will face off against Drake Maye and the No. 2 New England Patriots. The Broncos defeated the Bills, 33-30, in an overtime thriller before their quarterback was injured late. On Sunday, the Patriots picked off C.J. Stroud four times and Maye threw three touchdowns in a 28-16 victory. Then, in the NFC, it’ll be the No. 1 Seattle Seahawks hosting the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams. LA ended the divisional round with a late thriller at the snowy home of the No. 2 Chicago Bears, but flipped the script with a miracle of its own to win 20-17 in overtime. Here’s everything to know about the championship round: NFL Jan 17 Broncos advance to AFC title game, beating Bills 33-30 San Francisco 49ers Jan 18 Seahawks advance past 49ers to NFC title game with 41-6 win When are AFC and NFC Championship Games of the NFL playoffs? The conference title games for the NFL playoffs are set for Sunday, Jan. 25. Does the NFL reseed in the playoffs? Yes, the NFL reseeds in the playoffs. That, of course, won’t matter any more for the championship games with the two remaining teams in each conference battling it out. Which teams advanced to the AFC and NFC Championship Game? The following teams have secured their spot in the championship games of the NFL playoffs. AFC No. 1 Denver Broncos – defeated No. 6 Buffalo Bills 33-30 (OT) No. 2 New England Patriots — defeated No. 5 Houston Texans 28-16 NFC No. 1 Seattle Seahawks – defeated No. 6 San Francisco 49ers 41-6 No. 5 Los Angeles Rams — defeated the No. 2 Chicago Bears 20-17 (OT) What are the AFC and NFC Championship Game matchups? Here are the matchups for Championship Sunday, with the games hosted by Denver and Seattle: AFC No. 2 Patriots at No. 1 Broncos NFC No. 5 Rams at No. 1 Seahawks What is the Championship Sunday schedule? Here is the schedule for the AFC and NFC Championship Games. The matchups will air on CBS and FOX, with streaming on Paramount+, FOX One and NFL+. Sunday, January 25 No. 2 Patriots at No. 1 Broncos: 3 p.m. ET on CBS/Paramount+/NFL+ No. 5 Rams at No. 1 Seahawks: 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX One/NFL+ When is the Super Bowl 2026? The AFC and NFC champions will square off in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, Feb. 8. Where is the Super Bowl 2026? Super Bowl LX will be played at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, California. What channel is the Super Bowl on? Super Bowl LX will be broadcasted on NBC and streamed on Peacock.

The New England Patriots were expected to take a step forward in their first season with Mike Vrabel as head coach, but what they’ve accomplished this season has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. Vrabel’s group is AFC Championship-bound after beating the Houston Texans 28-16 in Sunday’s Divisional Round matchup. It’s the Patriots’ first trip to the conference title game since the 2018 season, and it’ll be Vrabel’s second appearance as an NFL head coach (2019 with Titans). Sunday’s win marks the latest chapter in a storybook season for New England. After back-to-back 4-13 finishes, Vrabel revitalized the franchise with a 14-3 record and an opportunity to win a seventh Super Bowl title. On Patriots Postgame Live, NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry labeled the team’s Divisional Round triumph a “definitive Mike Vrabel program victory.” “What a program victory for Mike Vrabel in his first year to be able to go to the AFC Championship Game,” Perry said. “It is just absolutely mind-blowing that any of us are watching this situation play out the way it’s playing out right now, and to watch this game play out the way it did today. “You saw a ton of mistakes, but you saw a team that was able to overcome those mistakes, that was able to force the mistakes on the other side for the Houston Texans. Drake Maye with some really hellish turnovers, but also some great plays down the field, touchdown passes to some of his best receivers. So, I look at this as a definitive Mike Vrabel program victory.” MORE PATRIOTS New England Patriots 23 hours ago Patriots-Texans recap: Pats ride dominant defense to AFC title game berth New England Patriots 16 hours ago Patriots-Broncos Tale of the Tape: Keys to victory, prediction and more Patriots Pregame Live 20 hours ago How close was Nick Caley to becoming Pats OC? Breer shares intel The Patriots’ turnaround under Vrabel has been remarkable, but the job isn’t finished. That’s the mentality in New England’s locker room as the team prepares for its trip to Denver. “I’m excited for these guys, but they’re also — they’re not satisfied, and I can tell that,” Vrabel said after Sunday’s win. “It wasn’t pretty, the defense kept us in there and when we needed it, the offense was able to come through late in the game there.” It was a sloppy day in Foxboro with the Patriots and Texans combining for eight turnovers. New England’s defense tallied five takeaways, including four interceptions against Houston QB C.J. Stroud. Maye fumbled four times and lost two of them. While it was far from an MVP-like performance, Maye made up for his turnovers with three touchdown passes. One was a perfect throw to Kayshon Boutte, who made an incredible one-handed grab to make it a two-score game in the fourth quarter. Vrabel & Co. will shift their focus to the No. 1 seed Broncos, who defeated the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. Denver won’t be at full strength in next week’s showdown, however, after losing QB Bo Nix to a season-ending ankle injury on the second-to-last play of Saturday’s game. Instead, ex-Pats backup QB Jarrett Stidham will look to ruin his former team’s Super Bowl hopes. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Our sports question of the week reader poll will appear on our website every Monday morning and will be open until Wednesday. The results will also be published in every Sunday print edition.

After the University of Toledo women’s basketball game against Western Michigan, players were greeted in the stands with warm embraces from their families.