The San Francisco 49ers are one game away from their second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons following a last-play 13-10 win over the Green Bay Packers in Wisconsin.
The visitors relied on a dominant defence, which did not allow a touchdown after Green Bay scored on the first drive of the NFC divisional play-off.
Special teams stepped up for the 49ers with minutes left in the game as defensive end Jordan Willis burst through the middle to block the Packers’ Corey Bojorquez’s punt — the first blocked punt return in San Francisco play-off history — with the ball landing near rookie safety Talanoa Hufanga who ran six yards to score.
Place-kicker Robbie Gould added the extra point, which left the scores tied up as the 49ers mounted a final drive that ended with Gould’s 45-yard field goal taking his side ahead 13-10 as the clock wound down.
San Francisco will play the winner of Sunday’s match-up between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams in next weekend’s NFC championship game.
The Cincinnati Bengals are through to AFC championship game, meanwhile, for the first time in 33 years after their own last-gasp field goal took them over the Tennessee Titans 19-16 in Nashville.
The Bengals intercepted Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill three times, while Cincinnati signal-caller Joe Burrow threw for 348 yards and rookie kicker Evan McPherson nailed a 52-yarder field goal for the victory.
