Road to the Super Bowl: Championship Finals Time!!!

This is possibly the second biggest Sunday of the pro football season in the USA.

By 10 pm eastern time, we should know who will be playing in the Super Bowl next month in New York after the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have fought each other for the right to represent their respective conferences in the biggest sports event of the year.

There is quite a bit of intrigue in this year's Finals and definitely a lot of West Coast influence - the Patriots are the only team not to play in a division named West. It is a sign of how far the AFC and NFC West divisions have come when only 4 seasons ago they were the laughing stock of the NFL - remember when the Seahawks made the playoffs despite a losing record?

Speaking of the Seahawks, they, along with the Broncos must be considered the best team in the NFL - they did finish the season with the number 1 seed, earning the right to host their great rivals, the San Francisco 49ers at home, in their loud stadium in Seattle.

The Hawks and 49ers would probably be considered the best sides in the NFC conference by many punters, making this a very worthy Final to decide who will represent the NFC. They're very similar in many ways - rugged defence and exciting offence with a powerful running game at heart. The key to victory in the battle of the West could be the battle in the yardage between Frank Gore and Marshawn Lynch, along with the expect battle royal between young quarterbacks, Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson.

Wilson struggled in the 2nd half against a tenacious and determined Saints last week while Kaepernick did shine at times in the 2nd half against the Panthers. Expect them to play at their very best on Sunday night in what is now becoming "the" QB rivalry of the NFL right now.

Speaking of great QB rivalries of the NFL, another great one is revived earlier on Sunday afternoon when Peyton Manning takes on Tom Brady for yet another AFC Championship. In fact, the last time, Brady and Manning took on each other for the right to reach the Super Bowl was back in 2006 - that time, Manning's Colts won en route to their Super Bowl win in Miami over the Chicago Bears.

Now in dark blue and orange, Peyton Manning would dearly love to repeat that memorable performance against the Patriots in what must surely be his last shot at winning a Super Bowl. Manning has had an Indian summer this season and that serious injury he sustained in his last contract year with the Colts seems to be in another life.

However, the Patriots do have experience in the big championship game and one reckons that they are still yet to show their best - the Colts game last weekend was close to their best but they were still missing key weapons in the offence, e.g. Aaron Dobson, James Thompkins.

While Brady hasn't really shown in the numbers this season like previous seasons, he has led on the field even with the persistent injuries and resultant loss of personnel, including Rob Gronkowski - and making the Super Bowl this time could possibly be the greatest ever achievement in Brady's illustrious career.

Metlife Stadium - who will be playing here next month?

Tips?
Seahawks v Broncos Super Bowl. But it'll be a roller coaster of a ride before we get there.