NFC Championship Game

This article is about the game played annually since the 1970 season. For its predecessor, see List of NFL champions (1920–1969).

NFC Championship Game

First played	January 3, 1971 (1970 season)
Trophy	George Halas Trophy
2023 season
Levi's Stadium Santa Clara, California January 28, 2024 San Francisco 49ers 34, Detroit Lions 31

The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. The game is played on the last Sunday in January by the two remaining playoff teams, following the NFC postseason's first two rounds. The NFC champion then advances to face the winner of the AFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl.

The game was established as part of the 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League (AFL), with the merged league realigning into two conferences. Since 1984, each winner of the NFC Championship Game has also received the George Halas Trophy, named after the co-founder of the NFL and founder and longtime owner of the Chicago Bears, George Halas.

History

The first NFC Championship Game was played following the 1970 regular season after the merger between the NFL and the AFL. The game is considered the successor to the original NFL Championship, and its game results are listed with that of its predecessor in the annual NFL Record and Fact Book. ^[1] Since the pre-merger NFL consisted of six more teams than the AFL (16 teams for the NFL and 10 for the AFL), a realignment was done as part of the merger to create two conferences with an equal number of teams: The NFL's Baltimore Colts, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers joined the ten former AFL teams to form the AFC; while the remaining 13 pre-merger NFL clubs formed the NFC.

Every NFC team has played in an NFC Championship at least once. The Seattle Seahawks, who have been members in both the AFC and the NFC, hold the distinction of appearing in both conference title games. Only the Detroit Lions have yet to win or host an NFC Championship Game. The San Francisco 49ers have the most appearances in the NFC Championship Game at 19, and have hosted the most at 11. ^{[2] [3] [4]} Both the Dallas Cowboys and 49ers have won the most NFC Championships at 8 each. ^[5]

The Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings are the only two NFC teams to appear in at least one NFC Championship game in every decade since 1970.

Playoff structure

Further information: NFL playoffs

NFC Championship Game logo, 2008–2010 (Used with old shield since 2005)

The structure of the NFL playoffs has changed several times since 1970. At the end of each regular season, the top teams in the NFC qualify for the postseason, including all division champions (three division winners from the 1970–71 to 2001–02 seasons; four since the 2002–03 season) and a set number of "wild card" teams that possess the best win–loss records after the regular season yet fail to win their division (one wild card team from the 1970–71 to 1977–78 seasons; two wild cards from 1978–79 to 1989–90, and from 2002–03 to 2019–20; three from 1990–91 to 2001–02, and since 2020–21). The two teams remaining following the Wild Card round (first round) and the divisional round (second round) play in the NFC Championship Game, with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl.

Initially, the site of the NFC Championship Game was determined on a rotating basis. ^{[6] : 10} Since the 1975–76 season, the site of the game has been based on playoff seeding based on the regular season won-loss record, with the highest surviving seed hosting the game. A wild card team can only host the game if both participants are wild cards; such an instance has yet to occur in the NFL.

George Halas Trophy

External images
The George Halas Trophy is held by a member of the media during the NFC Championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. Getty Images. January 21, 2017.
The (former version of the) George Halas Trophy sits on a table at the Hyatt Union Station Hotel in St. Louis. UPI.com. January 25, 2002.

Beginning with the 1984–85 NFL playoffs, the winner of the NFC Championship Game has received the George Halas Trophy, named after the longtime owner and coach of the Chicago Bears, a charter member of the NFL. The original design consisted of a wooden base with a sculpted NFC logo in the front and a sculpture of various football players in the back.

For the 2010–11 NFL playoffs, the George Halas Trophy Trophy and the Lamar Hunt Trophy, which is awarded to the AFC champion, were redesigned by Tiffany & Co. at the request of the NFL in an attempt to make both awards more significant. ^[7] The trophies are now a new, silver design with the outline of a hollow football positioned on a small base to more closely resemble the Vince Lombardi Trophy, awarded to the winner of the Super Bowl. ^[8]

In recent years Conference championship rings are also awarded to members of the team who wins the AFC or NFC championship since they are the winners of the conference, even though they may not necessarily follow it up with a win in the Super Bowl. ^{[9] [10]}

The George Halas Trophy should not be confused with the Newspaper Enterprise Association's George Halas Trophy, which was awarded to the NFL's defensive player of the year from 1966 to 1996 or the Pro Football Writers Association's George S. Halas Courage Award.

Prior to the merger in 1970, the NFL champions were awarded the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, starting in 1934.

List of NFC Championship Games

See also: List of NFC champions

Numbers in parentheses in the winning team column are NFC Championships won by that team.Bold indicates team won Super Bowl that year.

Numbers in parentheses in the city and stadium column is the number of times that metropolitan area and stadium has hosted a NFC Championship, respectively.

Season	Playoffs	Winning team	Score	Losing team	Score	Date	Location	Stadium
1970	1970–71	Dallas Cowboys (1)	17	San Francisco 49ers	10	January 3, 1971	San Francisco, California [fn 1]	Kezar Stadium [fn 2] [11]
1971	1971–72	Dallas Cowboys (2)	14	San Francisco 49ers	3	January 2, 1972	Irving, Texas	Texas Stadium [12]
1972	1972–73	Washington Redskins (1)	26	Dallas Cowboys	3	December 31, 1972	Washington, D.C.	RFK Stadium [fn 3] [13]
1973	1973–74	Minnesota Vikings (1)	27	Dallas Cowboys	10	December 30, 1973	Irving, Texas (2)	Texas Stadium (2) [14]
1974	1974–75	Minnesota Vikings (2)	14	Los Angeles Rams	10	December 29, 1974	Bloomington, Minnesota [fn 4]	Metropolitan Stadium [15]
1975	1975–76	Dallas Cowboys (3)	37	Los Angeles Rams	7	January 4, 1976	Los Angeles, California [fn 5]	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum [fn 6] [16]
1976	1976–77	Minnesota Vikings (3)	24	Los Angeles Rams	13	December 26, 1976	Bloomington, Minnesota (2) [fn 4]	Metropolitan Stadium (2) [17]
1977	1977–78	Dallas Cowboys (4)	23	Minnesota Vikings	6	January 1, 1978	Irving, Texas (3)	Texas Stadium (3) [18]
1978	1978–79	Dallas Cowboys (5)	28	Los Angeles Rams	0	January 7, 1979	Los Angeles, California (2) [fn 5]	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (2) [19]
1979	1979–80	Los Angeles Rams (1)	9	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	0	January 6, 1980	Tampa, Florida	Tampa Stadium [20]
1980	1980–81	Philadelphia Eagles (1)	20	Dallas Cowboys	7	January 11, 1981	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Veterans Stadium [21]
1981	1981–82	San Francisco 49ers (1)	28	Dallas Cowboys	27	January 10, 1982	San Francisco, California (2) [fn 1]	Candlestick Park [fn 7] [22]
1982	1982–83 [fn 8]	Washington Redskins (2)	31	Dallas Cowboys	17	January 22, 1983	Washington, D.C. (2)	RFK Stadium (2) [23]
1983	1983–84	Washington Redskins (3)	24	San Francisco 49ers	21	January 8, 1984	Washington, D.C. (3)	RFK Stadium (3) [24]
1984	1984–85	San Francisco 49ers (2)	23	Chicago Bears	0	January 6, 1985	San Francisco, California (3) [fn 1]	Candlestick Park (2) [fn 7] [25]
1985	1985–86	Chicago Bears (1)	24	Los Angeles Rams	0	January 12, 1986	Chicago, Illinois	Soldier Field [26]
1986	1986–87	New York Giants (1)	17	Washington Redskins	0	January 11, 1987	East Rutherford, New Jersey	Giants Stadium [27]
1987	1987–88	Washington Redskins (4)	17	Minnesota Vikings	10	January 17, 1988	Washington, D.C. (4)	RFK Stadium (4) [28]
1988	1988–89	San Francisco 49ers (3)	28	Chicago Bears	3	January 8, 1989	Chicago, Illinois (2)	Soldier Field (2) [29]
1989	1989–90	San Francisco 49ers (4)	30	Los Angeles Rams	3	January 14, 1990	San Francisco, California (4) [fn 1]	Candlestick Park (3) [fn 7] [30]
1990	1990–91	New York Giants (2)	15	San Francisco 49ers	13	January 20, 1991	San Francisco, California (5) [fn 1]	Candlestick Park (4) [fn 7] [31]
1991	1991–92	Washington Redskins (5)	41	Detroit Lions	10	January 12, 1992	Washington, D.C. (5)	RFK Stadium (5) [32]
1992	1992–93	Dallas Cowboys (6)	30	San Francisco 49ers	20	January 17, 1993	San Francisco, California (6) [fn 1]	Candlestick Park (5) [fn 7] [33]
1993	1993–94	Dallas Cowboys (7)	38	San Francisco 49ers	21	January 23, 1994	Irving, Texas (4)	Texas Stadium (4) [34]
1994	1994–95	San Francisco 49ers (5)	38	Dallas Cowboys	28	January 15, 1995	San Francisco, California (7) [fn 1]	Candlestick Park (6) [fn 7] [35]
1995	1995–96	Dallas Cowboys (8)	38	Green Bay Packers	27	January 14, 1996	Irving, Texas (5)	Texas Stadium (5) [36]
1996	1996–97	Green Bay Packers (1)	30	Carolina Panthers	13	January 12, 1997	Green Bay, Wisconsin	Lambeau Field [37]
1997	1997–98	Green Bay Packers (2)	23	San Francisco 49ers	10	January 11, 1998	San Francisco, California (8) [fn 1]	3Com Park (7) [fn 7] [38]
1998	1998–99	Atlanta Falcons (1)	30 [fn 9]	Minnesota Vikings	27	January 17, 1999	Minneapolis, Minnesota (3) [fn 4]	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [39]
1999	1999–00	St. Louis Rams (2)	11	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	January 23, 2000	St. Louis, Missouri	Trans World Dome [fn 10] [40]
2000	2000–01	New York Giants (3)	41	Minnesota Vikings	0	January 14, 2001	East Rutherford, New Jersey (2)	Giants Stadium (2) [41]
2001	2001–02	St. Louis Rams (3)	29	Philadelphia Eagles	24	January 27, 2002	St. Louis, Missouri (2)	Edward Jones Dome (2) [fn 10] [42]
2002	2002–03	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)	27	Philadelphia Eagles	10	January 19, 2003	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2)	Veterans Stadium (2) [fn 11] [43]
2003	2003–04	Carolina Panthers (1)	14	Philadelphia Eagles	3	January 18, 2004	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (3)	Lincoln Financial Field [44]
2004	2004–05	Philadelphia Eagles (2)	27	Atlanta Falcons	10	January 23, 2005	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (4)	Lincoln Financial Field (2) [45]
2005	2005–06	Seattle Seahawks (1)	34	Carolina Panthers	14	January 22, 2006	Seattle, Washington	Qwest Field [fn 12] [46]
2006	2006–07	Chicago Bears (2)	39	New Orleans Saints	14	January 21, 2007	Chicago, Illinois (3)	Soldier Field (3) [47]
2007	2007–08	New York Giants (4)	23 [fn 9]	Green Bay Packers	20	January 20, 2008	Green Bay, Wisconsin (2)	Lambeau Field (2) [48]
2008	2008–09	Arizona Cardinals (1)	32	Philadelphia Eagles	25	January 18, 2009	Glendale, Arizona	University of Phoenix Stadium [49]
2009	2009–10	New Orleans Saints (1)	31 [fn 9]	Minnesota Vikings	28	January 24, 2010	New Orleans, Louisiana	Louisiana Superdome [fn 13] [50]
2010	2010–11	Green Bay Packers (3)	21	Chicago Bears	14	January 23, 2011	Chicago, Illinois (4)	Soldier Field (4) [51]
2011	2011–12	New York Giants (5)	20 [fn 9]	San Francisco 49ers	17	January 22, 2012	San Francisco, California (9) [fn 1]	Candlestick Park (8) [fn 7] [52]
2012	2012–13	San Francisco 49ers (6)	28	Atlanta Falcons	24	January 20, 2013	Atlanta, Georgia	Georgia Dome [53]
2013	2013–14	Seattle Seahawks (2)	23	San Francisco 49ers	17	January 19, 2014	Seattle, Washington (2)	CenturyLink Field (2) [fn 12] [54]
2014	2014–15	Seattle Seahawks (3)	28 [fn 9]	Green Bay Packers	22	January 18, 2015	Seattle, Washington (3)	CenturyLink Field (3) [fn 12] [55]
2015	2015–16	Carolina Panthers (2)	49	Arizona Cardinals	15	January 24, 2016	Charlotte, North Carolina	Bank of America Stadium [56]
2016	2016–17	Atlanta Falcons (2)	44	Green Bay Packers	21	January 22, 2017	Atlanta, Georgia (2)	Georgia Dome (2) [fn 14] [57]
2017	2017–18	Philadelphia Eagles (3)	38	Minnesota Vikings	7	January 21, 2018	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (5)	Lincoln Financial Field (3) [58]
2018	2018–19	Los Angeles Rams (4)	26 [fn 9]	New Orleans Saints	23	January 20, 2019	New Orleans, Louisiana (2)	Mercedes-Benz Superdome (2) [fn 13] [59]
2019	2019–20	San Francisco 49ers (7)	37	Green Bay Packers	20	January 19, 2020	Santa Clara, California (10) [fn 1]	Levi's Stadium [60]
2020	2020–21	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2)	31	Green Bay Packers	26	January 24, 2021	Green Bay, Wisconsin (3)	Lambeau Field (3) [61]
2021	2021–22	Los Angeles Rams (5)	20	San Francisco 49ers	17	January 30, 2022	Inglewood, California (3) [fn 5]	SoFi Stadium [fn 15] [62]
2022	2022–23	Philadelphia Eagles (4)	31	San Francisco 49ers	7	January 29, 2023	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (6)	Lincoln Financial Field (4) [63]
2023	2023–24	San Francisco 49ers (8)	34	Detroit Lions	31	January 28, 2024	Santa Clara, California (11) [fn 1]	Levi's Stadium (2) [64]

Appearances, 1970–present

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by year of first appearance.

#	Team	W	L	%	PF	PA	Last game	Last win	Home games	Home wins	Home losses	Home win %	Away games	Away wins	Away losses	Away win %
19	San Francisco 49ers	8	11	.421	402	391	2023	2023	11	6	5	.545	8	2	6	.250
14	Dallas Cowboys	8	6	.571	317	264	1995	1995	5	4	1	.800	9	4	5	.444
11	Los Angeles Rams [fn 16]	5	6	.455	128	227	2021	2021	5	3	2	.600	6	2	4	.333
9	Minnesota Vikings	3	6	.333	136	175	2017	1976	3	2	1	.667	6	1	5	.167
9	Green Bay Packers	3	6	.333	184	207	2020	2010	3	1	2	.333	6	2	4	.333
8	Philadelphia Eagles	4	4	.500	178	133	2022	2022	6	4	2	.667	2	0	2	.000
6	Washington Commanders [fn 17]	5	1	.833	139	78	1991	1991	5	5	0	1.000	1	0	1	.000
5	New York Giants	5	0	1.000	116	50	2011	2011	2	2	0	1.000	3	3	0	1.000
5	Chicago Bears	2	3	.400	80	86	2010	2006	4	2	2	.500	1	0	1	.000
4	Atlanta Falcons	2	2	.500	108	103	2016	2016	2	1	1	.500	2	1	1	.500
4	Carolina Panthers	2	2	.500	90	82	2015	2015	1	1	0	1.000	3	1	2	.333
4	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	2	.500	64	56	2020	2020	1	0	1	.000	3	2	1	.667
3	Seattle Seahawks [fn 18]	3	0	1.000	85	53	2014	2014	3	3	0	1.000	0	0	0	—
3	New Orleans Saints	1	2	.333	68	93	2018	2009	2	1	1	.500	1	0	1	.000
2	Arizona Cardinals	1	1	.500	47	74	2015	2008	1	1	0	1.000	1	0	1	.000
2	Detroit Lions	0	2	.000	41	75	2023	N/A	0	0	0	—	2	0	2	.000

Appearances by year

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning Conference Championship appearances.

Apps	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Season(s)
19	San Francisco 49ers	8	11	.421	1970, 1971, 1981 , 1983, 1984 , 1988 , 1989 , 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994 , 1997, 2011, 2012 , 2013, 2019 , 2021, 2022, 2023
14	Dallas Cowboys	8	6	.571	1970 , 1971 , 1972, 1973, 1975 , 1977 , 1978 , 1980, 1981, 1982, 1992 , 1993 , 1994, 1995
11	Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams [fn 16]	5	6	.455	1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979 , 1985, 1989, 1999 , 2001 , 2018 , 2021
9	Minnesota Vikings	3	6	.333	1973 , 1974 , 1976 , 1977, 1987, 1998, 2000, 2009, 2017
9	Green Bay Packers	3	6	.333	1995, 1996 , 1997 , 2007, 2010 , 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020
8	Philadelphia Eagles	4	4	.500	1980 , 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 , 2008, 2017 , 2022
6	Washington Redskins/Commanders [fn 17]	5	1	.833	1972 , 1982 , 1983 , 1986, 1987 , 1991
5	New York Giants	5	0	1.000	1986 , 1990 , 2000 , 2007 , 2011
5	Chicago Bears	2	3	.400	1984, 1985 , 1988, 2006 , 2010
4	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	2	.500	1979, 1999, 2002 , 2020
4	Carolina Panthers	2	2	.500	1996, 2003 , 2005, 2015
4	Atlanta Falcons	2	2	.500	1998 , 2004, 2012, 2016
3	Seattle Seahawks [fn 18]	3	0	1.000	2005 , 2013 , 2014
3	New Orleans Saints	1	2	.333	2006, 2009 , 2018
2	Arizona Cardinals	1	1	.500	2008 , 2015
2	Detroit Lions	0	2	.000	1991, 2023

Records by division

The table below shows NFC Championship Game records by division, based on the division the franchise was in during the season the championship game was played. The NFL realigned divisions prior to the 2002 season, renaming the NFC Central as the NFC North, creating the NFC South, and shifting several teams among the divisions.

Division	Total				1970-2001				2002-present
	Apps	Wins	Losses	Win %	Apps	Wins	Losses	Win %	Apps	Wins	Losses	Win %
NFC East	33	22	11	.667	25	17 [fn 19]	8 [fn 20]	.680	8	5 [fn 19]	3 [fn 20]	.625
NFC North	27	8	19	.296	16	6 [fn 21]	10 [fn 22]	.375	11	2 [fn 21]	9 [fn 22]	.182
NFC South	11	6	5	.545	—				11	6 [fn 23]	5 [fn 24]	.545
NFC West	37	18	19	.486	23	9 [fn 25]	14 [fn 26]	.391	12	9 [fn 25]	5 [fn 26]	.643

Most common matchups

Count	Matchup	Record	Years played
6	Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers	Cowboys, 4–2	1970, 1971, 1981, 1992, 1993, 1994
2	Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins / Commanders	Washington, 2–0	1972, 1982
2	Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings	Tie, 1–1	1973, 1977
2	Los Angeles / St. Louis Rams vs. Minnesota Vikings	Vikings, 2–0	1974, 1976
2	Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles / St. Louis Rams	Cowboys, 2–0	1975, 1978
2	Los Angeles / St. Louis Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Rams, 2–0	1979, 1999
2	Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers	49ers, 2–0	1984, 1988
2	Los Angeles / St. Louis Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers	Tie, 1–1	1989, 2021
2	New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers	Giants, 2–0	1990, 2011
2	Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers	Tie, 1–1	1997, 2019

NFC Championship Game records

NFC Championship Game logo, 2001–2005

• Most victories: 8 (tie)
  • Dallas Cowboys (1970–1971, 1975, 1977–1978, 1992–1993, 1995)
  • San Francisco 49ers (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994, 2012, 2019, 2023)
• Most losses: 11** – San Francisco 49ers (1970–1971, 1983, 1990, 1992–1993, 1997, 2011, 2013, 2021–2022)
• Most appearances: 19** – San Francisco 49ers (1970–1971, 1981, 1983–1984, 1988–1990, 1992–1994, 1997, 2011–2013, 2019, 2021–2023)
• Most consecutive appearances: 4 (tie, 2 teams, 3 times)
  • Dallas Cowboys (1970–1973, 1992–1995)
  • Philadelphia Eagles (2001–2004)
• Most consecutive victories: 2 – (tie, 6 teams, 8 times)
  • Dallas Cowboys (1970–1971, 1977–1978, 1992–1993)
  • Minnesota Vikings (1973–1974)
  • Washington Redskins (1982–1983)
  • San Francisco 49ers (1988–1989)
  • Green Bay Packers (1996–1997)
  • Seattle Seahawks (2013–2014)
• Most victories without a loss: 5** – New York Giants (1986, 1990, 2000, 2007, 2011)
• Most appearances without a win: 2 – Detroit Lions (1991, 2023)
• Most consecutive losses before first win: 4; Los Angeles Rams (1974, 1975, 1976, 1978)
• Most consecutive appearances without a win: 6 – Minnesota Vikings (1977, 1987, 1998, 2000, 2009, 2017)
• Most defensive shutouts: 2**; – New York Giants (Jan 11, 1987, 17–0 vs Redskins and Jan 14, 2001, 41–0 vs Vikings)
• Most times shut out: 2**; – Los Angeles Rams (Jan 7, 1979, 0–28 vs Cowboys and Jan 12, 1986, 0–24 vs Bears)
• Most consecutive losses: 3* – (tie, 3 times)
  • Los Angeles Rams (1974–1976)
  • Dallas Cowboys (1980–1982)
  • Philadelphia Eagles (2001–2003)
• Most games hosted: 11 – San Francisco 49ers (1970, 1981, 1984, 1989–1990, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2011, 2019, 2023)
• Most consecutive games hosted: 3; – Philadelphia Eagles (2002–2004)
• Most numerous matchup: 6** – Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers (1970–1971, 1981, 1992–1994)
• Most points scored: 49 points – January 24, 2016 – Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals (2015)
• Largest margin of victory: 41 points – January 14, 2001 (2000), New York Giants (41) vs. Minnesota Vikings (0)
• Closest margin of victory: 1 point – San Francisco 49ers (28) vs. Dallas Cowboys (27), 1981 NFC Championship Game**
• Fewest points scored, winning team: 9**; January 6, 1980 (1979) – Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Fewest points scored, either team: 0*; (tie, 5 teams, 6 times)
  • Los Angeles Rams 0 vs Dallas Cowboys 28 January 7, 1979
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0 vs Los Angeles Rams 9 January 6, 1980
  • Chicago Bears 0 vs San Francisco 49ers 23 January 6, 1985
  • Los Angeles Rams 0 vs Chicago Bears 24 January 12, 1986
  • Washington Redskins 0 vs New York Giants 17 January 11, 1987
  • Minnesota Vikings 0 vs New York Giants 41 January 14, 2001
• Most points scored, losing team: 31; January 28, 2024 (2023) – Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers
• Most combined points scored: 66; January 15, 1995 (1994) – San Francisco 49ers (38) vs. Dallas Cowboys (28)
• Fewest combined points scored: 9**; January 6, 1980 (1979) – Los Angeles Rams (9) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0)
• Longest game: 71 minutes, 52 seconds**; January 17, 1999 (1998) – Atlanta Falcons (30) @ Minnesota Vikings (27), OT
• Most NFC Championships won in overtime: 2** – New York Giants (2007, 2011)
• Most NFC Championships lost in overtime: 2* (tie) – Green Bay Packers (2007, 2014) Minnesota Vikings (1998, 2009)
• Current teams which have never hosted an NFC Championship Game:
  • Detroit Lions ^{[fn 27]}
• Current teams which have never won an NFC Championship:
  • Detroit Lions (0–2) ^{[fn 27]}
• Longest drought without appearing in an NFC Championship Game: Washington Redskins/Commanders (last appearance – 1991)
• Longest drought without an NFC Championship: Detroit Lions** ^{[fn 27]}
• Highest attendance: 88,919; Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 4, 1976 (1975)
• Largest comeback: 17 points (tie)
  • San Francisco 49ers (trailed 17–0; won 28–24), 2012
  • San Francisco 49ers (trailed 24–7; won 34–31), 2023
• Overtime games:
  • 1998 Atlanta Falcons 30 Minnesota Vikings 27
  • 2007 New York Giants 23 Green Bay Packers 20
  • 2009 New Orleans Saints 31 Minnesota Vikings 28
  • 2011 New York Giants 20 San Francisco 49ers 17
  • 2014 Seattle Seahawks 28 Green Bay Packers 22
  • 2018 Los Angeles Rams 26 New Orleans Saints 23

Notes:

• *Tied for Conference Championship record
• **Conference Championship record

Footnotes

1. San Francisco and Santa Clara are located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
2. This was the final NFL game played at Kezar Stadium.
3. The 1972 Dallas Cowboys were the first ever NFC wild card franchise to advance to the Conference championship game.
4. Bloomington and Minneapolis are located in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area.
5. Los Angeles and Inglewood are located in the Greater Los Angeles Area.
6. The 1975 Dallas Cowboys were the first ever wild card franchise to advance to the Super Bowl.
7. Candlestick Park was also known as 3Com Park.
8. Played on Saturday
9. Overtime
10. The Dome at America's Center was originally known as the Trans World Dome, then the Edward Jones Dome.
11. This was the final NFL game played at Veterans Stadium.
12. Lumen Field was also known as Qwest Field, then CenturyLink Field.
13. Caesars Superdome was originally named the Louisiana Superdome, then Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
14. This was the final NFL game played at the Georgia Dome.
15. This was the first Championship Game in either conference to be played at the same stadium of that season's Super Bowl.
16. Includes appearances during the Rams' first tenure in Los Angeles (the 1970 merger to 1994), where they went 1–6 in NFC Championship Games; and their period as the St. Louis Rams (1995–2015), where they went 2–0 in NFC Championship Games.
17. The Commanders were known as the Redskins at the time of all their NFC Championship appearances.
18. The Seahawks were members of the NFC in 1976 and then members of the AFC from 1977 to 2001, before rejoining the NFC in 2002. Including their only appearance (1983) in the AFC Championship Game (0–1), they hold a combined 3–1 record between both Conference Championship Games.
19. NFC East conference championship game victories. Pre-2002: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000. Since 2002: 2004, 2007, 2011, 2017, 2022
20. NFC East conference championship game losses. Pre-2002: 1972, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1994, 2001. Since 2002: 2002, 2003, 2008
21. NFC North conference championship game victories. Pre-2002: 1973, 1974, 1976, 1985, 1996, 1997. Since 2002: 2006, 2010.
22. NFC North conference championship game losses. Pre-2002: 1977, 1979, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000. Since 2002: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023
23. NFC South conference championship game victories: 2002, 2003, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2020
24. NFC South conference championship game losses: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2018
25. NFC West conference championship game victories. Pre-2002: 1979, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2001. Since 2002: 2005, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023
26. NFC West conference championship game losses. Pre-2002: 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997. Since 2002: 2011, 2013, 2015, 2021, 2022
27. The Lions last hosted and won the 1957 NFL Championship Game during the pre-Super Bowl era.

References

• Time Almanac 2004

1. "NFC Championship Game Results. Includes NFL Championship Games (1933-69)". 2023 NFL Record and Fact Book. National Football League. p. 500. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
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