Numbers to Know for NFL's AFC and NFC Championship Sunday

It’s sad to say for those who spend their Sundays worshipping at the altar of the NFL, but there are only three professional football games left this season, with Championship Sunday and the coronations of the kings of the AFC and NFC just days away. It’s shaping up to be a good one as the Chiefs (+3.5) head to Baltimore to take on the Ravens on Sunday afternoon before the Lions (+7) travel to San Francisco for an evening matchup with the 49ers. Sunday’s winners will have a fortnight to rest and recover before facing off for the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11. Before the big game in two weeks, here are some notable numbers for NFL Championship Sunday that you can use at the water cooler, share on a Zoom call or use to impress your dog.

.777: Patrick Mahomes’s winning percentage among starting quarterbacks (minimum 50 starts). That’s the best in the NFL since the 1970 merger, postseason included. Following Mahomes are Tom Brady (.751) and Lamar Jackson (.732).

1: Postseason contest in NFL history involving former MVP quarterbacks under 30 years of age. It will take place on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game when Mahomes (2018 and 2022) and Jackson (2019) face off. Jared Goff and Brock Purdy haven’t won MVPs, but they’re both under 30 as well.

2: Quarterbacks to start conference Championship Games in each of their first two NFL seasons. When Purdy takes the field on Sunday, he’ll join Mark Sanchez and Ben Roethlisberger and become the third. Purdy, who was the last selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, doesn’t have the same pedigree as Sanchez and Big Ben, who were both first-round picks. Since the NFL reduced the draft to seven rounds in 1994, Purdy is the only quarterback drafted in the seventh round to start a conference Championship Game.

4: Starting quarterbacks in NFL history who have led multiple franchises to Super Bowl appearances. Only Brady (New England and Tampa Bay), Craig Morton (Dallas and Denver), Peyton Manning (Indianapolis and Denver) and Kurt Warner (St. Louis Rams and Arizona) have done it. Goff (Rams and Lions?) is attempting to become the fifth.

6: Consecutive home playoff games that the 49ers have won, the NFL’s longest active streak. The 49ers are also playing in their third consecutive NFC Championship Game, the fourth time in franchise history San Francisco has reached three straight Championship Games. The Chiefs have advanced to the AFC Championship Game in six straight seasons, trailing only the Patriots (eight) for the longest streak.

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12: Hours it took the Lions to sell out their Ford Field watch party—a total that is expected to exceed 20,000 tickets, at $20 each—for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the 49ers, which fans will watch on the Jumbotron from 2,400 miles away.

16: Wide receivers who were selected before the Lions picked Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round (112th overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft. At the conclusion of the regular season, St. Brown had 315 career receptions, surpassing Sunday’s opponent Christian McCaffrey (303) for the third-most catches by a player in his first three career seasons in the NFL. Only Justin Jefferson of the Vikings (324) and Michael Thomas of the Saints (321) are ahead of St. Brown.

20: Years since the No. 3 seeds in each conference — the Lions and Chiefs — advanced to their respective championship games. The last time it happened was in 2003 when the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts made it into the final four. The last No. 3 seed to win a Super Bowl was the 2006 Colts.

40: Millions of viewers on average who tuned in to watch the four games of the NFL’s Divisional Round. That’s the highest number on record dating back to 1988. In total, 126.7 million viewers tuned in for the Divisional Round, per the NFL.

66: Years since the Lions won a playoff game on the road. Interestingly, when the Lions won that road game in 1957, the victory came when they went to Kezar Stadium in San Francisco and beat the 49ers. The win punched Detroit’s ticket to the NFL Championship Game, which they also won by blowing out the Browns for the pre-Super Bowl title.