NFL announces officiating assignments for AFC, NFC Championship games
The NFL has announced the assignments for the two officiating crews that will referee the NFC and AFC Championship games this weekend. These special assignments are not only given to officials who’ve graded highly throughout the season, but also, Conference Championship officials, including the referee, must have three years of seniority and a prior playoff assignment.
Making the big calls for the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon will be Shawn Smith and his crew. Clete Blakeman is taking the NFC game between the Lions and 49ers in Santa Clara.
The NFC will have the late game on Sunday night, with the Lions taking on the San Francisco 49ers on the West coast. The AFC will have the early game, with the Chiefs taking on the Baltimore Ravens on the East coast.
NFL Championship Weekend Schedule
Sunday, Jan. 28
AFC Championship Game
(3) Kansas City Chiefs at (1) Baltimore Ravens
Site: Baltimore, Md.
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: CBS, Paramount+
Point Spread: Baltimore -3.5
NFC Championship Game
(3) Detroit Lions at (1) San Francisco 49ers
Site: San Francisco, Calif.
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Point Spread: San Francisco -7
San Francisco earned their berth in the NFC Championship Game on Saturday evening when they knocked off the Green Bay Packers in a thrilling 24-21 contest that came down to the wire. San Francisco dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Green Bay 10-0 in the final frame to claim the win.
That put the second No. 1 seed in this year’s playoffs into a conference championship game. Earlier in the day, the Baltimore Ravens claimed their spot in the AFC Championship Game by dusting the Houston Texans in a game that was never really all that competitive.
The Ravens and Texans battled to a 10-10 tie in the first half, then Baltimore ran away with the game in the second half. The Ravens scored three straight touchdowns and then tacked on an additional field goal late to make the final score 34-10.
It will be the first time the Ravens have hosted an AFC Championship Game. The Ravens are making their first AFC Championship Game appearance since 2012, when they beat the New England Patriots to advance to Super Bowl XLVII, which they then won.
The Chiefs clinched their conference championship spot with a 27-24 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. Buffalo had a chance to tie up the game with a field goal but it went wide right and gave the ball back to Patrick Mahomes with less than two minutes remaining.
On3’s Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this report.