Experts back Patriots at Broncos, Rams at Seahawks in conference titles

Cbssports reports the NFL conference championship weekend will pit the New England Patriots at the Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Rams at the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday.

New England's turnaround under coach Mike Vrabel and Denver's postseason win under Sean Payton — which coincided with quarterback Bo Nix suffering a broken ankle — frame the AFC matchup in Denver (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on CBS). The outlet noted Jarrett Stidham is the seventh quarterback to make his first start of the season in the playoffs and was 1-3 as an NFL starter; analysts said Denver will need its run game to reappear and its defense to dominate to challenge the Patriots. Lines for the selections were taken Jan. 21 at DraftKings, with New England listed at -5.5.

On the NFC side the teams split their two regular-season meetings, with the home team winning each time, and Seattle won the most recent meeting in overtime on a game-ending two-point conversion. Writers Jordan Dajani and Jared Dubin both picked the Rams to advance, citing Matthew Stafford's edge at quarterback despite Seattle's top defense; that game is set for Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on Fox (streaming on Fubo). Uncertainty remains around Denver's quarterback situation and whether J.K. Dobbins, who was injured in Week 10 and has a chance to return, will be an X factor for the Broncos.

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Sports, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Matthew Stafford