Sky Live: Super Bowl finalists decided with Conference Championships
Jaguars @ Patriots live on Sky Sports Action from 7pm on Sunday, followed by Vikings @ Eagles
Sunday 21 January 2018 23:40, UK
The Super Bowl LII finalists are to be decided with the NFL Conference Championships on Sunday.
The evening's entertainment kicks off from 7pm on Sky Sports Action, with the AFC championship final, which sees Jacksonville Jaguars (No 3) travel to top seed New England Patriots (No 1). Then, in the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings (No 2) are on the road, facing the Philadelphia Eagles (No 1), from 11.40pm.
Here's a look ahead to what's in store on Sunday night...
Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots
Sky Sports Action (407), Sunday, 7pm
In a tweet...
Unstoppable force meets immovable object. The NFL's premier passer in Tom Brady meets the No 1 passing defense in the Jaguars. Who wins out in Foxborough?
Live NFL
What's the latest?
Will Brady play? Surely, he will, but there have been concerns over his throwing hand after injuring it on Wednesday when someone accidentally ran into him during a workout. Brady was limited in Wednesday's workout and only warmed up in red gloves on Thursday, before skipping the practice session. He also wore gloves to a Friday news conference where he was non-committal on his status for Sunday, just saying "we'll see".
As for the Jaguars, safety Tashaun Gipson and guard Patrick Omameh missed practice Wednesday. Gipson sat out because of a foot injury suffered in last weekend's victory at Pittsburgh. Omameh was held out of because of an undisclosed illness. Running back Leonard Fournette (ankle), defensive tackle Malik Jackson (ankle) and safety Barry Church (shoulder) were also limited participants but should be fine for Sunday. Fournette tweaked his right ankle in the second quarter against the Steelers, but later returned and finished with 109 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He had a minor car accident this week too, but was unharmed.
Stat attack
With a win over the Jaguars, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady would advance to their eighth Super Bowl as a duo. Excluding the Patriots, no other team, let alone coach and QB combo, has more than eight Super Bowl appearances all-time - the Cowboys, Steelers, and Broncos are the only ones to match it.
Since the Jaguars entered the NFL in 1995, they are 1-10 against the Patriots, including playoff games. That is the worst winning percentage of any team versus one opponent in that span (minimum 10 games).
Brady led the NFL in passing this season (286.1 yards per game), while the Jaguars led the league in pass defense (169.9 YPG allowed). Since 1990, this is the fourth playoff game featuring the NFL leaders in passing and pass defense - the No 1 defense is 3-0 in the previous three.
Key battle
Brady versus the Jaguars defense. Brady has only a 3-4 record in the playoffs when sacked three or more times. And, this 'Sacksonville' unit might just be the perfect team to get after him - they had the second-most sacks (55) in the NFL in 2017, trailing the Steelers by only one. They are also No 2 in QB pressure rate (30 per cent of plays). Adding to a tricky match-up for Brady (if he plays) is the fact that the Jaguars are able to do this with predominantly only a four-man rush, allowing the defense to drop seven players in coverage on a consistent basis - all adding up to the league's No 1 outfit in pass defense.
Game-changer
Rob Gronkowski. New England's star tight end is a match-up nightmare, and given the strength of Jacksonville's pass defense, it might well be with Gronk that the Patriots can look to gain an edge. He led all tight ends in the league this season, with 1,084 receiving yards, and he hauled in eight TDs. No huge surprise, as he is the team's favourite redzone target, getting 21 looks, nearly twice as many as the next best, Danny Amendola (12).
Minnesota Vikings @ Philadelphia Eagles
Sky Sports Action (407), Sunday, 11.40pm
In a tweet...
Can Minnesota recreate their miracle win over the Saints and beat proud 'underdogs' Philadelphia to become the first team to ever play in a home Super Bowl?
Live NFL
What's the latest?
Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe is the only player listed as questionable by the Eagles, due to a hamstring injury. Ellerbe didn't practice on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday and Friday. Cornerback Sidney Jones was a full participant on Friday, though it remains to be seen if he will be a healthy scratch or not this weekend.
Vikings starters Adam Thielen (lower back) and safety Andrew Sendejo (concussion) are both listed as questionable for Sunday's game. Thielen was a limited participant in practice on Thursday and Friday after not practising Wednesday, while Sendejo is still in concussion protocol after being hurt against New Orleans, though he was a full participant in Friday's practice.
Stat attack
The Vikings and Eagles are the only two NFL franchises to have a winning record in the Super Bowl era but no Super Bowl victories. They also boast the most playoff wins of any team in that span without a Super Bowl title - Vikings 20, Eagles 16.
Prior to Stefon Diggs' incredible TD in the final seconds of Minnesota's divisional round win over the Saints, five teams in the last 10 seasons had won a postseason game off a walk-off TD - all five of those teams lost their next playoff game by an average margin of 23.0 points.
Sam Bradford (Vikings) and Carson Wentz (Eagles) started at quarterback in Week One for these teams, before injuries put Case Keenum and Nick Foles under centre. It will be the first time since at least 1970 that two QBs meet in the conference championship after neither started the first week of the season.
Key battle
Case Keenum versus the Eagles pass rush. While Keenum's perfect pass to Diggs last Sunday helped secure Minnesota's progress to the championship game, he will have to handle defensive pressure better than he did last week if he wants to take the Vikings one more step to the Super Bowl. Against the Saints, Keenum went 3-of-11, with one interception, and a passer rating of 5.1 against pressure. The Eagles defense led the NFL with 271 QB pressures this season.
Game-changer
Stefon Diggs. How could it not be? Diggs literally changed the game last week against New Orleans, with his stunning 61-yard TD down the right sideline in the final 10 seconds creating pandemonium in Minnesota. He had 849 yards on the season, forming the NFL's third-best receiving tandem, with Thielen - 2,215 combined receiving yards. Will he step up and be the difference again on Sunday?
Watch the Conference Championships, starting with Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots, on Sunday from 7pm, live on Sky Sports Action.
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