WHAT TO LOOK FOR – A LOOK BACK
CLOSE GAMES: The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers 28-22 in overtime in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
It marked the eighth consecutive NFC Championship Game to be decided by seven points or fewer, extending the longest streak in conference championship game history.
The past eight NFC Championship Games:
| SEASON | TEAMS | WINNER | FINAL SCORE |
| 2007 | N.Y. Giants at Green Bay | N.Y. Giants | 23-20* |
| 2008 | Philadelphia at Arizona | Arizona | 32-25 |
| 2009 | Minnesota at New Orleans | New Orleans | 31-28* |
| 2010 | Green Bay at Chicago | Green Bay | 21-14 |
| 2011 | N.Y. Giants at San Francisco | N.Y. Giants | 20-17* |
| 2012 | San Francisco at Atlanta | San Francisco | 28-24 |
| 2013 | San Francisco at Seattle | Seattle | 23-17 |
| 2014 | Green Bay at Seattle | Seattle | 28-22* |
| *Overtime |
— NFL —
SUPER FOLLOW-UPS: The defending Super Bowl-champion SEATTLE SEAHAWKS defeated Green Bay 28-22 in overtime on Sunday and became the 12th team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl after winning it the previous season.
Eight Super Bowl winners won the title game the next year and three lost it.
The teams to reach the Super Bowl after winning it the previous season:
| SEASON | SUPER BOWL | WINNER | NEXT SEASON |
| 1966 | I | Green Bay | Won Super Bowl |
| 1972 | VII | Miami |
Won Super Bowl |
| 1974 | IX | Pittsburgh | Won Super Bowl |
| 1977 | XII | Dallas | Lost Super Bowl |
| 1978 | XIII | Pittsburgh | Won Super Bowl |
| 1982 | XVII | Washington | Lost Super Bowl |
| 1988 | XXIII | San Francisco | Won Super Bowl |
| 1992 | XXVII | Dallas | Won Super Bowl |
| 1996 | XXXI | Green Bay | Lost Super Bowl |
| 1997 | XXXII | Denver | Won Super Bowl |
| 2003 | XXXVIII | New England | Won Super Bowl |
| 2013 | XLVIII | Seattle | ??? |
— NFL —
SUPER CHAMPIONSHIP: The NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS defeated Indianapolis 45-7 in the AFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl XLIX. This is the Patriots eighth Super Bowl appearance, tying Dallas and Pittsburgh for the most in NFL history.
The teams with the most Super Bowl appearances:
| TEAM | SUPER BOWL APPEARANCES |
| New England | 8 |
| Dallas | 8 |
| Pittsburgh | 8 |
| Denver | 7 |
| San Francisco | 6 |
— NFL —
SUPER COMBINATION: New England head coach BILL BELICHICK and quarterback TOM BRADY defeated Indianapolis 45-7 in the AFC Championship to advance to Super Bowl XLIX. Belichick and Brady extended their NFL record to six for the most Super Bowl appearances by any head coach-quarterback combination in NFL history.
The head coach-quarterback combinations with the most Super Bowl appearances in NFL history:
| QUARTERBACK | HEAD COACH | TEAM | SUPER BOWL APPEARANCES |
| Tom Brady | Bill Belichick | New England Patriots* | 6 |
| Roger Staubach | Tom Landry | Dallas Cowboys | 4 |
| Jim Kelly | Marv Levy | Buffalo Bills | 4 |
| Terry Bradshaw | Chuck Noll | Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 |
| *Active | |||
Belichick (six) joined Pro Football Hall of Famer DON SHULA (six) as the only head coaches to lead their team(s) to six Super Bowls.
The head coaches to reach the most Super Bowls:
| HEAD COACH | SUPER BOWL BERTHS |
| Bill Belichick | 6 |
| Don Shula | 6 |
| Tom Landry | 5 |
| Five tied | 4 |
Brady (six) also surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer JOHN ELWAY (five) for the most conference championship wins by a starting quarterback in NFL history. Brady will play in his sixth Super Bowl, the most ever by a starting quarterback.
The starting quarterbacks with the most Super Bowl appearances all-time:
| PLAYER | SUPER BOWL APPEARANCES | SUPER BOWL RECORD | ||
| Tom Brady | 6* | 3-2 | ||
| John Elway^ | 5 | 2-3 | ||
| Terry Bradshaw^ | 4 | 4-0 | ||
| Joe Montana ^ | 4 | 4-0 | ||
| Roger Staubach^ | 4 | 2-2 | ||
| Jim Kelly^ | 4 | 0-4 | ||
| *Will play in Super Bowl XLIX | ||||
| ^Pro Football Hall of Famer | ||||
— NFL —
AMAZING ADAM: Indianapolis kicker ADAM VINATIERI played his 30th career postseason game in his 19-year career on Sunday against New England. Vinatieri (30) surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer JERRY RICE (29) for the most postseason games played in NFL history.
New England quarterback TOM BRADY (28) surpassed D.D. LEWIS (27) for the third-most postseason games played all-time.
The players with the most postseason games played in NFL history:
| PLAYER | TEAM(S) | POSTSEASON GAMES PLAYED |
| Adam Vinatieri | Indianapolis, New England | 30 |
| Jerry Rice | San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle | 29 |
| Tom Brady | New England | 28 |
| D.D. Lewis | Dallas | 27 |
Resource Reference: NFL Media
