On Sunday, Shawn Smith will officiate the matchup between either the Los Angeles Rams or Minnesota Vikings against the Philadelphia Eagles at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. And Carl Cheffers will referee the marquee matchup of the weekend later that day as the Buffalo Bills host the Baltimore Ravens at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

As for the games themselves, it's no secret why the Ravens vs. Bills offers enormous intrigue—Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen have been neck-and-neck in the MVP conversation all season long, and now they'll clash with a berth in the AFC Championship Game on the line. It doesn't get much better for football fans.

In the AFC's other matchup, the Chiefs will begin their title defense against a Texans team that finished the regular season just 10-7 after a 5-1 start but did look fantastic against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round. The key will be whether DeMeco Ryans' defense can pester Patrick Mahomes into a few game-altering mistakes. History would suggest that Mahomes will be more than up for the task, much as he was during a 27-19 Week 16 win over the Texans.

The Lions had the top scoring offense (33.2 PPG) during the regular season and finished second in yards (409.5 YPG) behind only the Baltimore Ravens; the Commanders ranked fifth in scoring (28.5 PPG) and seventh in yardage (369.6 YPG), led by explosive rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Neither defense is elite, setting the stage for some serious offensive fireworks.

The Eagles have enormous talent on the offensive side of the ball and the NFL's second best rushing attack (179.3 YPG) behind Barkley's 2,005-yard season, but the real driver of the team's success may actually be a defense that ranked first in yards allowed (278.4 YPG) and second in points allowed (17.8 PPG) during the regular season. That unit just held the dangerous Green Bay Packers to 10 points, forcing four turnovers.