The San Francisco 49ers overturned a 17-point half-time deficit to book a Super Bowl clash with the defending champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 49ers scored 27 unanswered points as they beat the Detroit Lions 34-31 in the NFC Championship game to book a trip to Las Vegas.
It is their second Super Bowl appearance in five seasons having lost to the Chiefs four years ago.
Victory – and the chance to win a Super Bowl for the first time in 29 years – looked a long way off when Jameson Williams ended the opening drive with a 42-yard touchdown run and David Montgomery went in from close range to give the Lions a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Christian McCaffrey cut the gap from two yards early in the second quarter, but Jahmyr Gibbs ran in from 15 yards and Michael Badgley added a field goal to stretch the Lions’ cushion.
The game swung after the interval as the 49ers scored 17 points in eight minutes.
Jake Moody landed a field goal before Brandon Aiyuk caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy – after the pair had connected on a 51-yard throw via the face mask of the Lions’ Kindle Vildor – and McCaffrey went in again to level the scores.
Moody kicked them ahead for the first time before Elijah Mitchell’s three-yard run stretched the advantage, Williams’ late score leaving the Lions too little time to create another chance and ruing two failed fourth down attempts in kickable range.
“We played as bad of a first half as we could,” coach Kyle Shanahan told Fox. “It’s been a long year to get to this point and we got it done today.
“It was hard at the beginning, but the character we have in our team, the type of guys we have, we can’t wait to get to Vegas, man.”
The Chiefs will defend their Super Bowl title after beating the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 in the AFC Championship game.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed his first 11 pass attempts and threw for 241 yards and a touchdown, but it was the Chiefs defence which was largely responsible for securing a fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years.
The Ravens were restricted to just 10 points on home soil and quarterback Lamar Jackson was intercepted in the end zone in the fourth quarter as he attempted to round off what would have been a 99-yard drive.
Mahomes told CBS: “God put a lot of adversity in our way this year and we accepted the challenge and we’re better for it.
“It’s been a heck of a year, we’re not done yet, but this is the way to get there.”
The Chiefs had reached the AFC Championship game for a sixth straight season, but did so by winning on the road for the first time with victory at the Buffalo Bills last week.
“We’ve been underdogs for the last few games but we never feel like underdogs,” Mahomes added.
“We’ve got a lot of guys in this team that know how to win and when the play-offs came around I knew we were going to make it happen.
“Now we’re in the Super Bowl and the job’s not done. We’ve got to go out there to Vegas and play a great team and see if we can get the Super Bowl.”
Kansas City, who will bid to become the NFL’s first back-to-back champions since the New England Patriots in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, signalled their attacking intent from the off against the Ravens, refusing to punt on fourth and two on their opening drive.
That allowed Mahomes to keep the drive alive with a 13-yard completion to Travis Kelce – who was watched from the stands once more by girlfriend Taylor Swift – and the same pair combined on a 19-yard touchdown throw to give the Chiefs an early 7-0 lead.
The Ravens responded in kind as Jackson ran for 21 yards on fourth and one from his own 34 and three plays later Jackson hit Zay Flowers from 30 yards to level the scores, only for the Chiefs to compile a 16-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a two-yard touchdown run from Isiah Pacheco.
A frenetic start also included Jackson recording a 13-yard completion to himself after reacting quickest to catch his own pass after it was tipped at the line of scrimmage, but the only other score in the first half – a 52-yard field goal from Harrison Butker – gave the Chiefs a 17-7 lead.
The contest was arguably decided on two key plays at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth, with Flowers squandering the momentum of a 54-yard reception by taunting cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and incurring a 15-yard penalty.
Sneed had the last laugh in the first play of the fourth quarter, punching the ball loose as Flowers dived for the end zone, and when Deon Bush intercepted Jackson on the Ravens’ next drive, the game was effectively over.
NFL teams unwilling to hand Belichick total control, suggests Pennel
Bill Belichick's failure to land another coaching role in the NFL after leaving the New England Patriots was unsurprising due to the level of control he demands, says his former tackle Mike Pennel.
Belichick is regarded as one of the greatest head coaches in NFL history, leading the Patriots to nine Super Bowls and winning six during 23 seasons in charge between 2000 and 2023.
His six Super Bowl titles as a head coach match the best returns of any franchise in NFL history, with the Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers both possessing six.
He is also within reach of Don Shula's record for the most victories as an NFL head coach, with his total of 333 (including postseason games) putting him 14 behind the Miami Dolphins legend (347).
If only regular-season games are counted, Belichick has 302 victories to Shula's 328.
However, Belichick parted company with the Patriots after they went 4-13 during a dismal 2023 season, and he was unable to land a new role despite being linked with several teams, including the Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys.
Pennel, who spent six months with Belichick's Patriots in 2019, believes the level of control he demands over a franchise's direction proved off-putting.
"Bill Belichick's one of the greatest coaches of all time, if not that. So it's going to look a lot different. He was coaching in the NFL before I was even alive," he told Stats Perform.
"I'm clearly just speculating because I'm not part of the New England Patriots franchise, but I just think the situation was, it was that time where they wanted to change.
"They wanted a fresh face and Bill wants things to run a certain way and I don't think franchises are willing to relinquish that much control to a new coach.
"I just think he wants to take his time. I know he's a family man and just wants to enjoy the time with his family. He's already done everything."
Jerod Mayo has taken the reins in Foxborough following Belichick's departure, with quarterback Drake Maye being drafted third overall to lead the team into a new era.
Pennel, however, believes teething problems will be part of the process this year, saying: "It's hard. It takes some time. You know, there's a couple years of transition depending on how much time you have with the players and everything like that.
"You're learning a whole new system. You're learning with all new players, you're learning with all new staff, so it's very hard.
"I don't think it's ever happened like that, in the first year to go to a Super Bowl. It's hard to get to that successful level."
Dolphins coach McDaniel gets three-year extension
The Miami Dolphins have extended the contract of head coach Mike McDaniel through the 2028 season, ESPN reported Friday.
It's a three-year extension for McDaniel, who has two seasons remaining on the four-year contract he signed after being named Miami's head coach in February 2022.
McDaniel has gone 20-14 in two seasons with the Dolphins while leading the team to the playoffs both years, the franchise's first back-to-back postseason appearances since 2000-01. That resurgence has been led by an offence that's been among the NFL's best under the 41-year-old, who came to Miami after serving as the San Francisco 49ers' offensive coordinator for Kyle Shanahan in 2021.
Miami was especially potent on that side the ball last season, as it led the NFL in total yards and finished second overall in scoring at 29.2 points per game while compiling an 11-6 record to tie for first place in the AFC East.
McDaniel's arrival has also coincided with Tua Tagovailoa's emergence into a top-tier quarterback after the 2020 No. 5 overall pick struggled his first two seasons under the previous coaching regime.
Tagovailoa led the league with 4,624 passing yards in 2023 and set a Dolphins single-season record for completion percentage (69.3) while throwing for 29 touchdowns.
McDaniel now joins his quarterback as members of the organisation the Dolphins have locked up for the forseeable future. Tagavoiloa agreed to a four-year, $212 million extension through 2028 last month.
Taylor Swift fame will not hurt Kelce's desire for more Super Bowl glory – Pennel
Travis Kelce's love of football means his off-field fame will not impact his desire to help the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl three-peat, says team-mate Mike Pennel.
Kelce has become recognised as one of the NFL's best tight ends through 11 seasons with the Chiefs, being named in the first All-Pro team on four occasions and becoming a nine-time Pro Bowler.
His partnership with quarterback Patrick Mahomes has helped the Chiefs win three Super Bowls, including back-to-back crowns to cap the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
However, it is Kelce's relationship with pop superstar Taylor Swift that has taken his off-field image to a new level, making him one of the world's most recognisable sportspeople.
Alongside his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, he also hosts the popular 'New Heights' podcast and has made several television appearances.
Chiefs tackle Pennel says there is no jealousy towards Kelce in the Chiefs' locker room, however.
He told Stats Perform: "We all love it, man. It's a brotherhood, so we're always excited when we see anyone on TV or succeeding off the field.
"Trav definitely was that guy that had that trajectory, you know what I mean? So, to say that we're surprised by it... we're not really. I know that everybody's really happy for him and all the opportunities that he's getting."
The Chiefs are looking to make history in the 2024 season, with a chance to become the first team in the NFL to win three straight Super Bowls.
Of the eight previous teams to win back-to-back championships, none have even reached the Super Bowl in the following season. Pennel, however, believes Kelce's drive could help the Chiefs go where no team has gone before.
"I think it's testament to [general manager Brett] Veach. He puts people in the locker room that love the game of football," he said.
"The money's great and everything like that, but I know genuinely that everyone in our locker room loves football.
"I think that's what it's testament to, he's got all the accolades, he's done everything with all the money and everything, but he generally loves the game of football and loves being competitive and wants to help the Chiefs organisation excel.
"To take that next advantage with getting a three-peat and more Super Bowls, as many as they can during this window."
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