NFL conference championship games set

All four NFL divisional playoff games have been played, and now the field is down to four teams, two in each conference, who will play in the NFC and AFC championship games on Sunday to determine who will represent each conference in Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Arizona. The games were plagued by disputed calls by referees that has sparked intense debates across the Internet.

On Saturday, the Baltimore Ravens once again visited the first-seeded New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts for the first AFC game. The Ravens were off a 30-17 win against their rival Steelers, the AFC North champions, in Pittsburgh; it was the Ravens' first playoff win against the Steelers in a series dating back to the 2001 season. Baltimore held two 14-point leads against New England during the game. In the third quarter, Ravens coach John Harbaugh was penalized for walking onto the field, apparently unhappy with a referee's call. In the last minutes, the Patriots stole the lead thanks to a touchdown pass by Tom Brady and won 35-31, denying the Ravens an upset. The Patriots are now going to their fourth straight AFC Championship Game; they played the Ravens two years in a row in that game, in 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The first NFC game was between the first-seeded Seattle Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers, who got into the playoffs with a losing record (7-8-1) because they won the NFC South, and their three rivals (Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers) finished even worse. The Seahawks happened to be the first team to do this in 2010. Like that Seahawks team, this year's Panthers also managed to win their wild card game against the Arizona Cardinals (the hosts of this year's Super Bowl). The Panthers were favored to pull off an upset in Seattle, but the Seahawks ultimately took a 31-17 win. The Panthers and Seahawks previously played each other in the 2005-06 NFC Championship Game, which produced the Seahawks' first Super Bowl trip. This coincides with a potentially historic payment deal for Russell Wilson.

On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys took on the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in the second NFC game. The Cowboys beats the Packers' rivals the Detroit Lions 24-20 last week after an overturned call in their favor. The Packers scored the first touchdown, but the Cowboys soon took the lead after Aaron Rodgers turned the ball over, and kept it for most of the game. Near the end of the game, with the Packers up 26-21, the Cowboys' Dez Bryant appeared to catch a touchdown pass in the end zone, but the refs ruled the pass incomplete, and the Packers would go on to win, much to the dismay of Cowboys fans who had been enjoying a stellar season. (However, as I am a Washington Redskins fan, I couldn't be happier that the Packers won.)

The second AFC game was held in Denver shortly afterward. It pitted Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts against Peyton Manning and the defending AFC champion Denver Broncos. Manning of course used to be be a Colt and won Super Bowl XLI with them in 2007 ('06 season); he and the Broncos also lost the Super Bowl to the Seahawks last year. The Colts defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Indy in their wild card game. Luck performed very well and the Colts won 24-13. There were rumors that Broncos coach John Fox would be fired if they lost, but some sources denied that the Broncos ever said this. Like two of the previous three games, this one contained what some believed to be questionable calls by the refs.

Next week, the AFC Championship Game will be hosted by the Patriots and feature a highly anticipated showdown, three-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady vs. Andrew Luck. The NFC Championship Game will be hosted by the Seahawks and pit Russell Wilson against Aaron Rodgers, both of whom have one Super Bowl win to their credit.