Breaking down NFL's Championship Sunday

In the latest example of how important the quarterback position is in the NFL, three of the four signalcallers still playing were No. 1 overall draft picks.

The other one, and arguably the best of the bunch, is the Patriots' Tom Brady, who was the 199th pick.

Sunday's conference championship games also illustrate the staying power of franchise quarterbacks. All are older than 35 with the exception of the Panthers' 26-year-old Cam Newton.

The Broncos' 39-year-old Peyton Manning, the 38-year-old Brady and the Cardinals' 36-year-old Carson Palmer have played a total of 46 seasons and thrown for 1,226 touchdowns and 170,002 yards - just more than 96 miles.

AFC championship

Patriots (13-4) at Broncos (13-4), 2:05 p.m. CBS

Line: Patriots by 3.

By the numbers: This is the 17th meeting between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and Brady holds an 11-5 lead, although they have split the past 10. In the postseason, they're 2-2 against each other. But Brady is just 2-6 in Denver, including the most recent game (Week 12) in which Brock Osweiler was the Broncos' QB. … Patriots ran the ball just 10 times last week (excluding kneel-downs) and threw it 42 times without allowing a sack. … Broncos defense is No. 1 in total yards, passing yards, average gain per pass and average gain per run allowed and in sack percentage, but it allowed 396 total yards last week against a Steelers team that was without all-pro WR Antonio Brown. … Patriots are No. 3 in scoring; Broncos are 19th.

Players to watch: Manning had a 67.9 passer rating in the regular season, the worst of his 18-year career, and he had a 74.4 passer rating last week. … Patriots WR Julian Edelman caught 10 passes for 100 yards last week in his first action since suffering a foot fracture in Week 10, but he also had 3 drops and was targeted 16 times. … Patriots DE Chandler Jones was fifth in the NFL with 12½ sacks, while Broncos LB Von Miller was tied for eighth with 11 sacks.

Patriots will win if: They stop the Broncos' 17th-ranked running game because Manning no longer has the ability to defeat an opponent solely with his arm. But the Patriots, ninth in run defense, will have their hands full against a Denver ground game that gashed it for 179 yards (5.6-yard average) and 3 TDs in the Broncos' 30-24 Week 12 victory at Denver.

Broncos will win if: They get in Brady's face - often. New England cannot win by running the ball, and as great as Brady is, he can be beaten if he gets hit and flustered. And he always gets flustered when he gets hit. The problem for the Broncos is that Brady gets rid of the ball so quickly it's difficult to get to him.

The pick: Patriots 24, Broncos 16

NFC championship

Cardinals (14-3) at Panthers (16-1) 5:40 p.m, FOX

Line: Panthers by 3.

By the numbers: The Cardinals are 7-1 on the road, including a 48-23 victory over the Bears in Week 2. … The Panthers led the NFL in scoring. … The Cardinals were No. 2 in scoring and No. 1 in yards per game, yards per play and yards per pass. In the corresponding defensive categories, the Panthers ranked sixth, sixth, second and second. … Cardinals WR's Larry Fitzgerald (1,215), John Brown (1,003) and Michael Floyd (849) combined for 3,067 receiving yards. … The Panthers were No. 1 in the NFL in interception percentage, led by FS Kurt Coleman's 7. CB Josh Norman and LB's Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis each had 4 picks.

Players to watch: Fitzgerald's 109 receptions this year at age 32 were a single-season personal best in his 12-year Hall of Fame career. He added 8 catches for 176 yards last week. … Panthers QB Cam Newton (35 TD passes, 3,837 yards) is the presumptive league MVP. He has thrown 181 consecutive passes without an interception, almost six full games. Newton has been picked off just once in his last 246 throws. … The Cardinals' Palmer had a spectacular regular season with 35 TD passes and 4,671 passing yards. But the last two games have been his least productive back-to-back outings of the season, including 3 interceptions. … Panthers TE Greg Olsen, the Bears' first-round draft pick in 2007, is Newton's undisputed go-to guy (77 catches, 1,104 yards). He has been exceptionally efficient lately. In his last six games, Olsen has 30 catches for 393 yards on just 38 targets. His 14.3-yard average per catch is the best of his career.

Cardinals will win if: Their trio of game-breaking WR's can dominate a Carolina secondary led by Pro Bowl CB Josh Norman but without injured Charles Tillman and Bene Benwikere, their Nos. 2 and 3 cornerbacks.

Panthers will win if: Stud DT's Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short (11 sacks) can collapse the middle of the Cardinals' O-line and disrupt Palmer's throwing lanes.

The pick: Panthers 27, Cardinals 17

Last week: straight up 4-0; vs. spread 2-1-1

Playoffs: straight up 6-2, vs. spread: 2-5-1

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