What to look for – NFL Championship Weekend
SUPER CHAMPIONSHIP: In 2016, the NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS won their eighth AFC East title in a row, the most consecutive division titles in NFL history, and have advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the sixth season in a row – also the longest streak all-time. The Patriots are 8-5 (.615) in AFC Championship Games all-time.
The PITTSBURGH STEELERS have advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the 16th time in franchise history and are 8-7 (.533).
The winner of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game will set an NFL record for the most Super Bowl berths in NFL history.
The teams with the most Super Bowl appearances:
| TEAM | SUPER BOWL APPEARANCES |
| Dallas | 8 |
| Denver | 8 |
| New England* | 8 |
| Pittsburgh* | 8 |
| San Francisco | 6 |
| *Play in AFC Championship Game Sunday | |
Pittsburgh, New England and the Green Bay Packers have three of the four highest postseason win totals in NFL history and are all in action on Championship Sunday.
The Steelers, who defeated Miami in the Wild Card round and Kansas City in the Divisional Playoffs, have 36 postseason wins, the most in NFL history. The Packers (34) and Patriots (30) rank tied for second and tied for fourth, respectively, in all-time postseason victories.
The teams with the most postseason wins in NFL history:
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | WIN PCT | SUPER BOWL WINS |
| Pittsburgh Steelers* | 36 | 23 | .610 | 6 |
| Green Bay Packers* | 34 | 21 | .618 | 4 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 34 | 27 | .557 | 5 |
| New England Patriots* | 30 | 19 | .612 | 4 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 30 | 20 | .600 | 5 |
| *Play this weekend |
— NFL —
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: This weekend’s Championship Games will feature three quarterbacks who have combined for seven Super Bowl titles: New England’s TOM BRADY (four), Pittsburgh’s BEN ROETHLISBERGER (two) and Green Bay’s AARON RODGERS (one).
The starting quarterbacks for this weekend’s Championship Games with Super Bowl titles:
| PLAYER | TEAM | SUPER BOWL TITLES |
| Tom Brady | New England Patriots | 4 (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX) |
| Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2 (XL, XLIII) |
| Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | 1 (XLV) |
The seven combined Super Bowl victories by Brady, Roethlisberger and Rodgers are the most by the four starting quarterbacks playing in a season’s Conference Championship Games.
The most combined Super Bowl wins by the four starting quarterbacks in a season’s Championship Games:
| YEAR | PLAYERS (NUMBER OF SUPER BOWL WINS) | COMBINED SUPER BOWL TITLES |
| 2016 | Tom Brady* (4), Ben Roethlisberger* (2), Aaron Rodgers* (1) | 7 |
| 2015 | Tom Brady (4), Peyton Manning (1) | 5 |
| 2014 | Tom Brady (3), Aaron Rodgers (1), Russell Wilson (1) | 5 |
| 1993 | Joe Montana (4), Troy Aikman (1) | 5 |
| *Play this weekend | ||
— NFL —
PROLIFIC PASSERS: Atlanta quarterback MATT RYAN led the NFL with a 117.1 passer rating in 2016, the fifth-highest single-season rating in NFL history. New England’s TOM BRADY (112.2) and Green Bay’s AARON RODGERS (104.2) ranked second and fourth respectively.
The four quarterbacks projected to start the AFC and NFC Championship Games on Sunday combined for a 107.0 passer rating this season, the highest combined regular-season passer rating by the four starting quarterbacks in a season’s Championship Games.
The four starting quarterbacks with the highest combined regular-season passer rating in a season’s Championship Games:
| YEAR | PLAYERS (PASSER RATING) | COMBINED PASSER RATING |
| 2016 | Matt Ryan (117.1), Tom Brady (112.2),
Aaron Rodgers (104.2), Ben Roethlisberger (95.4) |
107.0 |
| 1998 | Randall Cunningham (106.0), Vinny Testaverde (101.6),
Chris Chandler (100.9), John Elway (93.0) |
100.7 |
— NFL —
STREAKING STARS: Several of the NFL’s best and brightest have the opportunity to make their mark in the postseason record book on Championship Sunday.
Green Bay quarterback AARON RODGERS passed for 355 yards and two touchdowns in the Packers’ 34-31 victory at Dallas in the Divisional Playoffs. Rodgers, who has passed for at least 350 yards and two touchdowns in both postseason games this season, can tie DREW BREES (three) for the most consecutive playoff games with at least 350 passing yards and two touchdown passes in NFL postseason history.
The most consecutive postseason games with at least 350 passing yards and two touchdown passes:
| PLAYER | TEAM | SEASON(S) | STREAK |
| Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints | 2010-11 | 3 |
| Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | 2016 | 2* |
| Kurt Warner | Arizona Cardinals | 2008-09 | 2 |
| Kurt Warner | St. Louis Rams | 1999-2000 | 2 |
| *Active streak | |||
Pittsburgh running back LE’VEON BELL rushed for 170 yards in the Steelers 18-16 win at Kansas City in the Divisional Playoffs and is the first player in NFL history to rush for at least 150 yards in each of his first two career postseason games. Bell, who had 167 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Wild Card win against Miami, has the two highest single-game rushing performances in franchise postseason history.
With 113 rushing yards at New England on Sunday, Bell would become the fifth player in NFL history with at least 450 rushing yards in a single postseason.
The players with the most rushing yards in a single postseason:
| PLAYER | TEAM | SEASON | RUSH YARDS |
| John Riggins | Washington Redskins | 1982 | 610 |
| Terrell Davis | Denver Broncos | 1997 | 581 |
| Terrell Davis | Denver Broncos | 1998 | 468 |
| Marcus Allen | Los Angeles Raiders | 1983 | 466 |
| Eddie George | Tennessee Titans | 1999 | 449 |
| Le’Veon Bell | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2016 | 337* |
| *Through two games | |||
Atlanta quarterback MATT RYAN passed for 338 yards with three touchdowns for a 125.7 rating in the Falcons’ 36-20 win over Seattle in the Divisional Playoffs.
With three touchdown passes against Green Bay on Sunday, Ryan, who has thrown for three touchdowns in each of his past three playoff games, would become the first quarterback in NFL history with at least three touchdown passes in four consecutive postseason games.
The most consecutive postseason games with at least three touchdown passes:
| PLAYER | SEASON(S) | TEAM | CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH 3+ TOUCHDOWN PASSES |
| Matt Ryan | 2012, 2016 | Atlanta Falcons | 3* |
| Tom Brady | 2014 | New England Patriots | 3 |
| Joe Flacco | 2012 | Baltimore Ravens | 3 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 2009-10 | Green Bay Packers | 3 |
| Kurt Warner | 2008-09 | Arizona Cardinals | 3 |
| Bernie Kosar | 1987, 1989 | Cleveland Browns | 3 |
| *Active streak | |||
— NFL —
SUPER COMBINATION: New England head coach BILL BELICHICK and quarterback TOM BRADY have made six Super Bowl appearances together, the most appearances by any head coach-quarterback combination in NFL history.
With a win Sunday against the Steelers, the Patriots can extend their NFL record for the most such Super Bowl appearances.
The head coach-quarterback combinations with the most Super Bowl appearances in NFL history:
| QUARTERBACK | HEAD COACH | TEAM | SUPER BOWL APPEARANCES |
| Tom Brady | Bill Belichick | New England Patriots* | 6 |
| Roger Staubach | Tom Landry | Dallas Cowboys | 4 |
| Jim Kelly | Marv Levy | Buffalo Bills | 4 |
| Terry Bradshaw | Chuck Noll | Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 |
| *Active | |||
With a win, Belichick (six) would surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer DON SHULA (six) and become the only coach to lead his team(s) to seven Super Bowls.
The head coaches to reach the most Super Bowls:
| HEAD COACH | SUPER BOWL BERTHS |
| Bill Belichick* | 6 |
| Don Shula | 6 |
| Tom Landry | 5 |
| Five tied | 4 |
| *Active Sunday |
— NFL —
AFC TROPHY PRESENTATION: The LAMAR HUNT TROPHY will be presented to the winner of the AFC Championship Game.
The late Hunt, founder of the Kansas City Chiefs and American Football League, helped professional football attain its stature as America’s No. 1 sport. In the 10-year history of the AFL, his team posted the most wins (87) and earned berths in two of the first four Super Bowls, including a victory in Super Bowl IV.
In 1972, Hunt became the first person from the AFL to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
NFC TROPHY PRESENTATION: The winner of the NFC Championship Game will be presented with the GEORGE HALAS TROPHY.
Halas, the late owner of the Chicago Bears and a founder of the NFL, is the second-winningest coach in history (324-151-31) behind DON SHULA (347-173-6). He won six NFL championships with the Bears and is a charter enshrinee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1963).
