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Sizing up the NFC, AFC championship games

THERE ARE plenty of other story lines beyond the Final Four quarterbacks. What sort of receiving corps will the Packers be able to field? Can the Falcons' ground game control the ball and keep its defense fresh?

THERE ARE plenty of other story lines beyond the Final Four quarterbacks.

What sort of receiving corps will the Packers be able to field? Can the Falcons' ground game control the ball and keep its defense fresh?

Will New England's "D" be able to slow down Le'Veon Bell? Is Antonio Brown's phone fully charged?

Conference championship weekend features four teams that are a combined 29-1 since Week 11 of the regular season. Yo.

NFC Championship

Who: Green Bay (12-6) at Atlanta (12-5)

When: Sunday, 3:05 p.m.

Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Seeds: Green Bay 4; Atlanta 2

TV: Fox (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Chris Myers).

Radio: WIP, 94.1 FM (Kevin Kugler, James Lofton, Tony Boselli).

Weather.com: Atlanta plays in a dome.

History lessons: Atlanta beat Green Bay, 33-32, in Week 8 when receiver Mohamed Sanu caught a touchdown with 11 seconds left ... Green Bay has won two of three postseason meetings with Atlanta, the most recent coming after the 2010 season when the sixth-seeded Packers upset the Falcons in the divisional round. Green Bay went on to win the Super Bowl ... In 1992, Packers general manager Ron Wolf traded a first-round pick to Atlanta for Brett Favre. That pick ended up being Tony Smith, a running back who ran for 329 yards in his career and was out of football after the 1994 season.

Green Bay's road: Was 4-6 heading into a Monday night game at the Eagles and hasn't lost since. No team has ever reached the Super Bowl after starting 4-6 ... Beat Detroit in the final game of the year to claim the NFC North title ... Handled the Giants (38-13) in the wild-card round and won at Dallas (34-31) on a 51-yard field goal at the buzzer. It was the best game of the playoffs so far.

Packers notes: The Packers have won eight in a row, scoring 32.4 points per game during the streak. They've scored at least 30 in six straight ... Have failed to reach 100 yards rushing in five of those games. It's been the Aaron Rodgers Show ... Wide receivers Jordy Nelson (ribs), Davante Adams (ankle) and Geronimo Allison (hamstring) all are dealing with injuries. Adams and Allison should play, but Nelson's status is much shakier ...

Atlanta's road: Looked vulnerable after a home loss late in the game to the Chiefs – on a defensive two-point conversion, no less – dropped the Falcons to 7-5. Closed with four wins to earn a first-round bye ... Impressive in divisional playoff win over Seattle, 36-20. Only quarterback to hang more points on Seattle this season than Matt Ryan was Rodgers when Green Bay beat the Seahawks 38-10 in Week 14.

Falcons notes: This is Atlanta's fourth appearance in the conference title game and second with Ryan quarterbacking. The Falcons blew a 17-point lead and lost to San Francisco following the 2012 season ... The Falcons were the most impressive team of the divisional playoff round ... Second-year pass rusher Vic Beasley had 15.5 sacks to earn his first Pro Bowl invitation ... Star wide receiver Julio Jones is dealing with a sprained toe. He did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, but will play Sunday ... This is the last game at the Georgia Dome, which opened in 1992. Atlanta is 6-3 at home this season (losing to Tampa Bay, San Diego and Kansas City) and 4-2 all-time there in the postseason. Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick are the two opposing QBs to win postseason games at the Georgia Dome.

Line: Atlanta -4.5.

Over/under: 61.

Odds and trends: The over/under is the highest ever for a conference championship or Super Bowl game. They combined for 65 points in their midseason meeting in Atlanta ... Green Bay's last six games all have gone over, while six of the last seven Atlanta have been over (the other was a push). The average point total in Green Bay's games was 56.5 and 58.3 in Atlanta's. Just two of those combined 12 games went over 60.5 ... Green Bay is 7-1 against the spread during their eight-game win streak. The Packers were a three-point road underdog in the Week 8 meeting with Atlanta, so they are actually a larger underdog this week ... Atlanta has covered four of its last five, the exception being in Week 17 when the Falcons eased up on the Saints in a 38-32 win. Atlanta was up 35-13 at half.

One for the road: Green Bay is a respectable 5-4 in road playoff games under Mike McCarthy. Those five wins since 2006 are tied for second with the Giants, behind Baltimore's seven.

The pick: Will happily take points. Packers, 37-31.

AFC Championship

Who: Pittsburgh (13-5) at New England (15-2)

When: Sunday, 6:40 p.m.

Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.

Seeds: Pittsburgh 3; New England 1

TV: CBS (Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson, Jay Feely).

Radio: WIP, 94.1-FM (Kevin Harlan, Dan Fouts, Ross Tucker).

Weather.com: Temperatures in the 30s with a 70 percent chance of rain. Winds 10-20 mph.

History lessons: Put an asterisk next to New England's 27-16 win at Pittsburgh in Week 7. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did not play because of a left knee injury ... New England has won three of four postseason meetings with the Steelers, including AFC Championship games following the 2001 and 2004 seasons. Those games were in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh's road: Steelers were 4-5 after a thrilling loss to Dallas, but actually have run a longer table than the Packers, with nine wins in a row ... Disposed of Miami, 30-12, in the wild-card round and won at Kansas City, 18-16, last week as kicker Chris Boswell set a postseason record with six field goals.

Steelers notes: Ben Roethlisberger is 3-1 in AFC title games. His only loss came in his rookie season when he lost to the Patriots – in Pittsburgh – following the 2004 season ... Running back Le'Veon Bell has set the franchise single-game postseason rushing record each of the last two games. Bell had 167 yards against Miami and followed up with 170 at Kansas City. Pittsburgh must establish Bell this week, something that hasn't been easy to do against New England ... Best quarterback Steelers have faced during their winning streak is probably Indy's Andrew Luck. Also beat Eli Manning ... Yo, Antonio, put away your damn phone.

New England's road: Riding an eight-game winning streak, including last week's 34-16 win against Houston when the Patriots often looked sluggish (for them) ... Went 5-1 against playoff teams, including last week. Their average margin in the five wins was 17 points. Their only loss was by seven to Seattle.

Patriots notes: This is New England's sixth consecutive appearance in the AFC Championship Game. The Patriots are 2-3 in that span and 5-4 overall under Bill Belichick ... New England's run defense was third in yards allowed during the season and hasn't allowed a rushing touchdown in more than two months. No running back had 100 yards against the Pats this season either, a list that includes David Johnson (89 yards), LeSean McCoy (70), Jay Ajayi (59, 14) and Lamar Miller (74). McCoy, because of injury, played just once against his division rivals ... New England hasn't lost since star tight end Rob Gronkowski went out for the season after back surgery.

Line: New England -6.

Over/under: 51.

Odds and trends: Pittsburgh covered its two playoff games, including last week as a two-point road underdog. Both games also went under ... The O/U this week is the highest for a Steelers game since 51 was posted for that Week 10 home game when Dallas won, 35-30 ... Pittsburgh has covered its last five on the road ... The Patriots have covered the last six and were a very tidy 14-3 against the spread this year ... New England is 3-2 ATS in home AFC Championship games under Bill Belichick.

Eight is not enough: A Steelers win would give them a record ninth Super Bowl appearance. They're tied with Dallas for the most. Pittsburgh has won a record six Supes.

The pick: New England didn't need Antonio Brown's video gaffe to get motivated, but it won't hurt. Patriots, 26-24.

barkowe@phillynews.com

@EdBarkowitz