The Atlanta Falcons are going to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history after they thrashed the Green Bay Packers 44-21 in the NFC Championship game.

There will be a familiar feel to the NFL playoffs next weekend: Every divisional-round game will be a rematch from the regular season, the first time that’s happened in six years.

The Pittsburgh Steelers trounced the Miami Dolphins 30-12 in the NFL wildcard play-offs.

Aaron Rodgers has two NFL MVP awards and one Super Bowl ring, and he’s in his ninth season as the starter for Green Bay. Sam Bradford was never on a winning team over his first six years in the league. He had 15 days to learn Minnesota’s offence, then lost his Hall of Fame calibre running back to injury in the third quarter.

The Carolina Panthers withstood a furious second half comeback from the Seattle Seahawks last night to win 31-24 and set up a National Football Conference championship showdown against the Arizona Cardinals.

Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin has been sacked in the aftermath of their Wembley loss to AFC East rivals the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon.

Aaron Rodgers threw for two touchdowns to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 27-17 victory in an NFL grudge match against the Seattle Seahawks.

It’s almost a year now since this column fulfilled a near life-long sporting ambition with a trip to Chicago to see the Bears host the Green Bay Packers at the iconic Soldier Field.

NFL: Coach Pete Carroll said it was "belief in one another" that saw Seattle Seahawks complete a miracle comeback to reach the Super Bowl.

The Seattle Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl for the second time in two years after clinching a dramatic 28-22 win over the Green Bay Packers in overtime at CenturyLink Field.

Question marks over the future of one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time dominated the aftermath of the Indianapolis Colts’ deserved play-off victory at the Denver Broncos late Sunday night.

The Green Bay Packers will face the Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC title game after a thrilling weekend in the NFL play-offs.

The NFL loves it when a good plan comes together. Or so it must seem for the poor Detroit Lions, whose play-off demise on Sunday was sparked by a highly-questionable refereeing decision.

The Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys booked their places in the play-offs after victories on Sunday while the New England Patriots earned a first round bye for the post-season.

Andrew Luck enjoyed a landmark day as the Indianapolis Colts beat the Washington Redskins 49-27 on Sunday.

A certain symmetry. The man who went before — Big Ron — met Alex Ferguson in autumn of 1986 and found him strangely distant. Soon after, the rumours Ron had heard proved correct.

The NFL play-off picture was completed on Sunday with a dramatic final series of regular season games delivering big results for the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Diego Chargers.

The NFL couldn’t have scripted it much better heading into the last week of the regular season.

The Green Bay Packers needed their biggest comeback in history on Sunday to somehow keep their play-off hopes alive ahead of the long-awaited return of Aaron Rodgers from injury.

In the small hours of Monday morning, just south of a bitterly cold Boston, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots finally overcame the Denver Broncos in an instant NFL classic that provided almost everything.

With the clock winding down, Ray Lewis walked to the centre of the field to soak it all in.

It’s December.

As the NFL heads into December, nearly every division race has an outright favourite.

Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes on Sunday to help Pittsburgh beat the New York Giants 24-20 in an NFL game played with Hurricane Sandy’s devastation as a backdrop.

“I’ve never seen anything like that in all my years in football.”

THE New York Giants have a habit of beating the Superbowl favourites.

THE New York Giants will travel to the Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers, for next Sunday’s NFL Divisional Round play-off game after they blew the Atlanta Falcons away in New Jersey yesterday.

THE New England Patriots secured the number one seed in the AFC and home advantage for the NFL play-offs as they came from three touchdowns down to hammer the Buffalo Bills.

THE Green Bay Packers suffered a shock 19-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, shattering their hopes of a perfect season as three more teams joined them in the National Football League (NFL) playoffs.

THE Green Bay Packers survived a scare from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before sealing a hard-fought 35-26 win to match their best start to an NFL season in nearly half a century.

IN A win that evoked their Superbowl triumph from the 2007 season, the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in dramatic fashion on Sunday with a touchdown pass from Eli Manning in the final seconds.

MICHAEL VICK had a rough return to Atlanta last night, suffering a concussion along with defeat as the Falcons beat the Philadelphia Eagles 35-31 in the Georgia Dome on Sunday night.

IN SPITE of the lockout cloud which overshadowed the off-season, the NFL machine cranks into gear this weekend, a little creaky but right on schedule.

WHEN Casey Stengel was fired by the New York Yankees just days after Bill Mazeroski’s game-winning home run secured a dramatic 1961 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the legendary manager was informed he was too old to continue in the post.

CHRISTINA Aguilera set social networks buzzing when she fluffed a line as she belted out the national anthem at the start of the US Super Bowl.

Christina Aguilera set social networks buzzing when she fluffed a line as she belted out the national anthem at the start of the US Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh 25 Green Bay 31

The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, securing their fourth Vince Lombardi trophy in a dramatic showdown, writes John Riordan.

GREEN BAY PACKERS coach Mike McCarthy has pledged to bring the Vince Lombardi trophy “back where it belongs” tomorrow night.