Bills and Eagles hold on to reach NFL Conference Championships

The Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles held on to clinch nail-biting victories on Sunday and move within one win of the Super Bowl.

The Bills won 27-25 in a much-anticipated game with the Baltimore Ravens after the Eagles clinched a 28-22 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Both games were played in snow, with Baltimore’s trip to Buffalo seeing quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, the leading contenders to be named this season’s Most Valuable Player, go head-to-head.

And it was Allen who came out on top as the Bills set up another post-season match-up with the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time defending champions, for a place in Super Bowl 59.

It was an agonising end to the season for Baltimore as tight end Mark Andrews dropped a two-point conversion that would have tied the game with 1:33 remaining.

Jackson won his second MVP award last season – and could well earn another when the winner is announced during Super Bowl week – yet seven years into his career, the NFL’s biggest game continues to elude him.

Not only is the 28-year-old still to reach the Super Bowl but he has only played in one AFC Championship game, losing to the Chiefs last season.

Instead, this year Kansas City will host Buffalo in the AFC Championship game next Sunday, while Philadelphia will welcome the Washington Commanders for the NFC Championship.

Barkley bursts prove decisive for Eagles

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley may have had 2,005 rushing yards this season to go eighth on the all-time list, but it was his quarterback Jalen Hurts who made the first burst in Philly against the Rams, scoring a 44-yard touchdown on the opening drive – the longest run of his career.

Los Angeles replied with a Tyler Higbee touchdown, before Barkley broke through for a 62-yard score.

The Rams kicked a field goal to cut the half-time deficit to 13-10 and, as the snow got heavier after the interval, both teams settled for a field goal in the third quarter.

Hurts injured his knee on that Eagles drive, and on their next possession he was trapped in his own end zone for a safety, cutting the score to 16-15.

The Rams then fumbled on successive drives, with the Eagles punishing each error with a field goal, and the game appeared to be over after Barkley raced clear again, this time from 72 yards to make it 28-15 with under five minutes left.

However, Los Angeles hit straight back with a Colby Parkinson touchdown and then forced a swift three-and-out from the Eagles, meaning they got the ball back with just over two minutes left.

Veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, who led the Rams to Super Bowl glory in 2022, has produced 51 game-winning drives and seemed set for another when Puka Nacua made a superb catch on his shoulder to take the Rams to Philly’s 21-yard line.

But the Eagles defence stood firm to ensure they reached their second NFC Championship game in three years, having ultimately lost to Kansas City in Super Bowl 57.