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The road to Santa Clara is becoming increasingly less crowded.
After this weekend’s divisional-round matchups, there will be just four teams remaining, and only one game will separate those teams from Super Bowl 50. Here’s a complete look at the schedule for conference championship weekend:
NFL 2016 Conference Championship Schedule
Sunday, January 24
AFC Championship: 3:05 p.m. ET, CBS
NFC Championship: 6:40 p.m. ET, FOX
Sunday, February 7
Super Bowl 50: 6:30 p.m. ET, CBS
AFC Scenarios
The location of the AFC championship is ultimately dependent on the matchup between the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers. If Denver comes out on the top, they will host the winner of the Patriots–Chiefs contest, but if the Steelers are victorious, the Patriots-Chiefs winner will host the AFC Championship.
Interestingly enough, no matter the matchup, it will be a regular-season rematch: New England vs. Denver (Broncos won 30-24 in OT in Week 12), New England vs. Pittsburgh (Patriots won 28-21 in Week 1), Kansas vs. Denver (they split their two AFC West matchups) or Kansas City vs. Pittsburgh (Chiefs won 23-13 in Week 7).
NFC Scenarios
Again, the location here is dependent on the No. 1 vs. No. 6 matchup. Should the Panthers beat the Seahawks, they’ll host the winner of the Cardinals–Packers matchup. If the Seahawks come out on top, they’ll travel to either Arizona or Green Bay.
The only potential matchup that wouldn’t be a regular-season rematch here would be Carolina vs. Arizona. The Panthers and Packers (Panthers won 37-29 in Week 9), Seahawks and Cardinals (split their NFC West matchups) and Seahawks and Packers (Packers won 27-17 in Week 2) have all played against each other already.