NFL conference championship game picks: is a Ravens-49ers Super Bowl inevitable?

Four teams remain in the hunt, and each of them can make a strong case that they have the chops to march on into February. Who will triumph?

Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates after rushing for a touchdown against the Houston Texans. Picture: Rob Carr/Getty Images)

AFC Championship Game: Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens (Sunday 3pm ET/8pm Irish time) 

Story of the season: A new hierarchy has been established in the AFC. The Ravens dethroned the Chiefs in the regular season by cooking up a 13-4 record that is even better than it looks when an excusable loss from Tyler Huntley and the backups to Pittsburgh in Week 18 is taken into account. The Chiefs will care little for all that though. Their scratchy run to January still delivered victory in the AFC West as they scraped by thanks in large part to their defense picking up the considerable slack from Patrick Mahomes’ down year. The master quarterback can turn it on like a tap though, and he was close to his best when the Chiefs knocked off the Bills last weekend. He will have to do it all over again if he wants to show the Ravens who the kings of the AFC really are.