LOS ANGELES: The reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs upset the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens 17-10 to reach the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years on Sunday.
A superb defensive performance from the Chiefs stifled Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson as Baltimore's hopes of returning to next month's NFL showpiece ended in disappointment.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes meanwhile marshalled a clinical offensive performance, throwing for one touchdown and 241 yards with no interceptions to leave Kansas City within sight of a third Super Bowl title since 2020.
"It's been a heck of a year, we've been underdogs for the last few games but we never feel like underdogs," Mahomes said after the AFC Championship victory.
"We've got a lot of guys on this team that know how to win when playoffs come around. I knew we were gonna make it happen and now we're in the Super Bowl.
"The job's not done – we gotta go out there to Vegas and play a great team."
Mahomes was given assistance by trusty tight end Travis Kelce, who made 11 receptions for 116 yards and also hauled in the Chiefs opening touchdown.
Kelce's performance saw him surpass the legendary Jerry Rice in the record books for most all-time postseason catches.
The Chiefs star celebrated on the field after the victory with pop icon girlfriend Taylor Swift.
Kansas City will face either the Detroit Lions or San Francisco 49ers in the February 11 Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
But as the Chiefs celebrated, Ravens quarterback Jackson – expected to be confirmed as the NFL's regular season Most Valuable Player – was left ruing another postseason disappointment. Baltimore finished the regular season with an NFL-best 13-4 record, and were widely fancied to advance to the Super Bowl.
Jackson finished with 272 passing yards with one touchdown and an interception, but was crucially restricted to just 54 rushing yards off eight carries.
Kelce opened the scoring for the Chiefs on their first possession, brilliantly hauling in a 19-yard dart from Mahomes to cap a 10-play 86-yard scoring drive which had been kept alive after a bold fourth down conversion at the Baltimore 41-yard line.
The Ravens hit back immediately on their next possession, Jackson hurling a 30-yard pass deep for Zay Flowers who pulled off a diving catch for a touchdown.
But that was a good as it got for the Ravens in the first half, with Jackson constantly under pressure in the face of the Chiefs' swarming defense.
A stunning diving catch from Kelce on third down kept the Chiefs drive alive at the Baltimore 27-yard line, and five plays later Isiah Pacheco shimmied his way into the end zone from two yards out for a six-pointer. Harrison Butker's extra point made it 14-7.
The dominance of the Chiefs defense came to the fore on the next possession, defensive end Charles Omenihu forcing a fumble from Jackson with a brilliant tackle to give the Chiefs the ball at Baltimore's 33-yard line.
A 55-yard field goal from Butker left the Chiefs leading 17-7 at half-time and the Ravens continued to struggle on offense after the break, punting away their first two possessions in the third quarter.
The Ravens finally started clicking near the end of the third quarter, after Jackson found Flowers with a 54-yard pass to leave the hosts deep in enemy territory.
The Ravens thought they had hauled themselves back into the game four plays later when Jackson's pass to Flowers left the receiver diving for the end zone.
But a superb tackle from Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed knocked the ball loose for a fumble that handed possession back to Kansas City.
Although Kansas City were forced to punt, again Baltimore struggled on offense, with only a Justin Tucker field goal adding to their score.
Kansas City then iced the game when Mahomes found Marquez Valdes-Scantling up the middle to win a fresh set of downs and leave the Chiefs free to run down the clock.--AFP