Championship Sunday has some new blood.
MORE: Brady named writers' NFL MVP
While the Patriots are in their NFL-record seventh straight conference championship, the Jaguars, Eagles and Vikings are appearing in conference title games for the first time in years.
The Jaguars have made only two previous AFC championship appearances — in 1996 and 1999. They lost both, but this year's group is confident it can pull off another upset following last weekend's surprise 45-42 divisional win at Pittsburgh.
The Eagles and Vikings have a combined six Super Bowl appearances between them but no championships in the Super Bowl era. The winner of Sunday's NFC championship will hope to rectify that.
The Eagles last appeared in the conference title game following the 2008 season, when they lost to Kurt Warner's Cardinals. The Vikings are in the playoffs for just the third time since Brett Favre led them to the NFC championship game in 2009.
NFL conference championship picks, predictions
Jaguars (12-6) at Patriots (14-3)
3:05 p.m. ET, Sunday, (NBC)
If there's one thing Bill Belichick and his Patriots coaching staff do better than any other team, it's putting together a solid game plan. Jacksonville's 45-42 victory in Pittsburgh was certainly an eye opener.
"Very impressive," Belichick said of the Jaguars win. "They did a great job. They do a lot of things well, play good defense, can rush the passer, can stop the run, turn the ball over, can run the ball, have a lot of explosive players in the passing game, they're good in the kicking game, they're very aggressive in the kicking game. They're well coached. I know that, for sure. They've handled the situations that have come up in those games very well — fourth-and-1 in the first quarter, things like that. They've really done a good job, so yeah, it's impressive."
Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles has made plays with his legs the last two weeks, something that Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said makes the Jaguars a "very dangerous group."
While the Jaguars have been impressive in beating the Bills and Steelers, the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots present their biggest challenge.
Bortles has been far too inconsistent throwing the ball to trust the Jaguars at Gillette Stadium against a seasoned team like the Patriots, even with QB Tom Brady nursing a sore throwing hand.
Prediction : Patriots 24, Jaguars 9
Vikings (14-3) at Eagles (14-3)
6:40 p.m., Sunday (Fox)
Vikings quarterback Case Keenum and Eagles QB Nick Foles started the 2017 season as valued backups but hardly players expected to be in the position they'll be in Sunday: each having a shot to lead his team to a Super Bowl.
Both will face dominant defensive lines able to force pressure without help from linebackers or defensive backs, meaning they'll face seven- or eight-man coverages. Foles has been inconsistent since taking over for Carson Wentz, but Keenum has shown an uncanny knack for buying time in the pocket, having been sacked only 22 times. He could pick on the Eagles' occasionally spotty pass defense.
The Eagles have a good defense. The Vikings have a great defense. And against Philadelphia's struggling offense, Minnesota's "D" will lead the team to its first Super Bowl since 1976 — to be played in its own stadium, no less, a first in the Super Bowl era.
Prediction : Vikings 24, Eagles 17