And then there were four.

Here, we take a look at the four remaining Super Bowl contenders and highlight what to watch for in Sunday’s Conference Championship games.

Sunday (away team first, times in GMT)

• Cincinnati Bengals v Kansas City Chiefs (20:00)
• San Francisco 49ers v Los Angeles Rams (23:30)

The contenders

Cincinnati Bengals – the team of the future

• Coach: Zac Taylor
• Super Bowl wins: None

There has not been much to shout about for a generation of Bengals fans until this season, when in two weeks they’ve won their first play-off game in 31 years followed by their first play-off game away from home ever! This is an exciting young group of players led by second-year quarterback Joe Burrow, who has been incredible since returning from a serious knee injury.

Burrow was the most accurate passer in the NFL last season, but he also made mountains of big plays – mainly to record-breaking rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Burrow, 25, has the poise and confidence of a veteran and fully earns his ‘Joe Cool’ nickname.

Burrow had a 4,000-yard passing season, while Chase and fellow receiver Tee Higgins had 1,000-yard seasons, as did running back Joe Mixon – and with all four under the age of 26, the future is bright in Cincinnati. The question is whether they can go all the way right now.

They’ve got a great highlight reel as one of the entertainers in the NFL, and can stand toe-to-toe with anyone in a shootout, but can they win the ultimate shootout against the ultimate king of the shootouts Kansas City, in Kansas City?

They’ve already beaten the beaten the Chiefs once this season, when Burrow threw for 446 yards and four touchdowns – 266 of those yards and three of those TDs going to Chase. They’ve not been in a Super Bowl for 33 years, but they’re breaking so many records this season, what’s one more?

Asked how the Bengals turned it round, Osi Umenyiora said: “Easy, they got a quarterback. But it wasn’t just him, to be honest. They brought in Ja’Marr Chase, who has a tremendous rapport with Joe Burrow. They hired a good coach (Zac Taylor, in 2019) who believes in his players, and they believe in this quarterback. Joe Burrow has lifted the entire city of Cincinnati, the entire organisation is now on this man’s back and rightfully so because he’s a fantastic guy and he’s proven to be a winner everywhere he’s been.”

Jason Bell added: “They also fixed the defence in free agency, but it’s why we watch the draft and pay attention to all that stuff because if you get the quarterback position right, you can build. And that’s what they did, they just got lucky with Joe Burrow.”

Kansas City Chiefs – going for three in a row

• Coach: Andy Reid
• Super Bowl wins: Two (1969, 2019)

They finally ended 50 years of hurt with their second Super Bowl success in 2019, but were then destroyed by Tom Brady’s Buccaneers in the showpiece game last season. The Chiefs now hope to make amends by making three in a row.

Patrick Mahomes is a unique quarterback, an artist with a catalogue of under arm, side arm and no-look passes. He’s won the MVP and Super Bowl and led the Chiefs to an unprecedented four straight home AFC Championship games – they’re now the yardstick in the AFC.

After a sticky 3-4 start this season, the Chiefs had an identity change behind a remarkable defensive turnaround, going from historically bad to genuinely good during their 9-1 finish. The defence had more interceptions (15) than touchdown passes allowed (12).

Mahomes found his groove late on, throwing 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions in his last six games as the Chiefs averaged 36.5 points per game.

Then came Buffalo… It was a game for the ages, but as they seem to do every year now the Chiefs just find a way to get it done in the play-offs. Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill catch the big passes when they have to, and they combined with Mahomes to save the game with just 13 seconds left – then went and won it in overtime.

And that’s just what these Chiefs do. Only Tom Brady has beaten Mahomes in 10 play-off games, and Brady isn’t around anymore this year…

Jason Bell on Patrick Mahomes: “He has to win another championship. He can’t just be close to be considered one of the greatest. The reason we talk about Tom Brady as the greatest of all time is because he wins when it’s on the line, in the biggest games.

“We’re going to have to see him come away with more Super Bowls. We’ve talked about Aaron Rodgers for years being one of the most athletic quarterbacks but we haven’t talked about him being the greatest because he hasn’t won enough Super Bowls.

“It’s the same with Patrick Mahomes and now he’s got a problem because he’s got Josh Allen [and the Buffalo Bills] to deal with every year [to win the AFC Conference].”

Los Angeles Rams – all in to win

• Coach: Sean McVay
• Super Bowl wins: One (1999)

Having started in Cleveland and now in their second stint in LA, the nomadic Rams won the Super Bowl while based in St Louis – when they became known as ‘The Greatest Show on Turf’ due to their high-scoring attacking play.

They’re now the greatest wheeler dealers in the NFL as they’ve spent big money and given away all kinds of draft picks to go ‘all-in’ to win this season. Adding quarterback Matthew Stafford, former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller on defence and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr means they have stars all over the field.

But the window for a Super Bowl win is short and Stafford has to show more of the form that saw him win the game last week against Brady’s Tampa Bay than he did the last time they played the 49ers when he folded late on.

Stafford does have wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who won the triple crown by topping the NFL in catches (145), receiving yards (1,947) and receiving touchdowns (16), to help him out, while on the other side of the ball they have one of the best defenders in the league in Aaron Donald – who gives QBs nightmares.

Having improved throughout the season, the Rams have won seven of their last eight games, but that one defeat? It just happened to be the last of what is now six straight losses to the San Francisco 49ers…

Osi Umenyiora on Aaron Donald: “He’s explosive, incredibly strong, incredibly quick, tenacious, hard-working. He does a lot of film work, a lot of study, so he understands the game before he goes in. What makes him the best is that you never really see that combination of athleticism, speed and power in one player.

“He plays his position better than anyone else ever has. You’d look at him like a Jerry Rice or a Tom Brady. His team hasn’t done as much as those guys, but in terms of what he’s done as a player, he’s comparable to the very best players we’ve ever seen in the game.”

San Francisco 49ers – the Deebo show

• Coach: Kyle Shanahan
• Super Bowl wins: Five (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994)

One of the most high-profile teams in the league, the five-time winners claimed all of their Super Bowl titles in a glorious 13-year stretch of dominating the NFL.

They’ve lost their last two Super Bowls, including just a couple of years ago with this coach Kyle Shanahan and current quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Star defender Nick Bosa is a key man as he creates constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks with his freakish speed and strength, while Kyle Shanahan runs a unique running game that often bamboozles defences before the ball is even snapped.

Deebo Samuel has also bamboozled everyone this season, the wide receiver having morphed into one of the most effective running backs in the game. Samuel has coined a new position for himself as a “wide back”.

His eight rushing touchdowns this season were the most by a receiver since 1970 and his 1,770 total yards ranked third in the NFL. He had a play-off-record 72 rushing yards as a receiver against Dallas and he’s even thrown a touchdown pass this season!

He led by example in Green Bay with his tough-running style, and good things usually happen with a large dose of Deebo. With six wins in a row over the Rams, they’re underdogs in name only in what is a record 17th NFC Championship appearance.

Jason Bell on Jimmy Garoppolo: “It all started when he missed that throw in Super Bowl 54. Kyle Shanahan has won more games with him than without but we judge a quarterback on what they do in the big games and in the big game, he didn’t come through.

“When you game plan, everyone knows he can do something that impacts the game negatively, if you allow him to do it. He’s one of the top-20 quarterbacks in the NFL but it’s all about what you do in the big games. If they’re winning at this level without a closer, imagine if they had one.”