NFL PREVIEW
Andrew Luck may need a little, well, luck.
The Indianapolis Colts’ young quarterback has faced the New England Patriots three times and the results have been less lovely than Luck’s bushy beard. It’s Patriots 3, Colts 0, by a combined score of 144-66.
That’s one of the story lines in battle Sunday for the AFC championship and a Super Bowl berth.
Here’s another: If the Patriots win, they will go to the Super Bowl for a record-tying eighth time. A victory over the Colts would mark coach Bill Belichick’s NFL-record 21st playoff win. The Patriots have beaten the Colts five straight times, including playoffs.
The AFC championship game in Foxborough, Mass., will be televised by CBS, with a scheduled kickoff time of 6:40 p.m. ET.
In the NFC matchup, the Green Bay Packers visit the Seattle Seahawks, who are the defending Super Bowl champions. The season began with those two meeting in Seattle and the Seahawks coming away with a 36-16 victory.
“This team, from Week 1, has grown a lot,” Packers tight end Andrew Quarless says.
The Elias Sports Bureau, the NFL’s official keeper of statistics, notes that this is only the second time that a conference championship game will feature the league’s top-scoring offense (Green Bay) and top scoring defense (Seattle). The only other time was in 1980 (the high-scoring Dallas Cowboys vs. the penurious Philadelphia Eagles).
The game kicks off at 3:05 p.m. ET and is televised by Fox. Super Bowl XLIX (49) is set for University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 1.
The picks
New England 37, Indianapolis 30. Tom Brady gets to add to his Super Bowl legacy. … Seattle 23, Green Bay 20. A field goal in the final minute allows the Seahawks the chance to repeat.
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .
Calling All Pet Parents: You Need To Check This Out!
Are You A Cat or Dog Person?
-
Correa joined the Mets with a $315 million contract. Recently, baseball player Carlos Correa announced that he had cut...
-
Oklahoma and Texas will depart from the college sports conference at the end of the season. The Big 12...
-
Robert Kraft wants to re-sign Brady just long enough that he can retire as a Patriot. Earlier this week,...
-
The skilled third-baseman will be enshrined in Cooperstown. Scott Rolen is one of the most skilled and recognized third-basemen...
-
Brady’s 23rd football season has ended. On Monday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys went head-to-head for...
-
Smith has been fired after one season with the team. Over the weekend, the owners of the Houston Texans...
-
Pelé passed due to complications related to colon cancer. On Thursday night, the sporting world received unfortunate news: Pelé,...
-
His return heralded a victory over the Phoenix Suns. On Sunday, Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas needed to take...
-
Mayfield will be available on waiver to other NFL teams. After an underwhelming performance in his current role as...
-
Mike White led the team to a decisive victory over the Bears over the weekend. On Saturday, the New...
-
The game has been moved out of New York due to an encroaching snowstorm. This weekend, the Buffalo Bills...
-
Negative pushback prompted the team to give the role to someone else. Recently, the Brooklyn Nets have been in...