A clutch 51-yard field goal by Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby as time expired has seen the Packers advance to the NFC Championship game against the Atlanta Falcons, courtesy of a 34-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
In the process, Crosby became the first player to kick a pair of field goals from longer than 50 yards in the last two minutes of a post-season game, his first one being from 56 yards to give the Packers the lead, before it was cancelled out by a field goal from Dallas kicker Dan Bailey.
The match winning play came after quarterback Aaron Rodgers executed a 36-yard pass to Jared Cook, who just managed to complete the pass before falling out of bounds.
Overtime looked likely, as the Cowboys overcame a 28-13 deficit at the end of the 3rd quarter to tie scores up, courtesy of a two-point conversion from rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, only moments after he threw a touchdown pass to Dez Bryant.
Green Bay's win was the first by a road team after 12 straight home victories in the playoffs dating to last season, while Dallas finished with a fifth straight loss in a divisional round.
The late game saw the Pittsburgh Steelers advance to the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, following a hard fought 18-16 victory on the road, against the Kansas City Chiefs.
In a game played in freezing conditions, the rushing game of Steelers Running Back Le’Veon Bell and the pasisng range of quarterback Ben Rothlisberger played a critical role, as despite not scoring a touchdown they were able to get into field goal range with regular monotony.
The Chiefs thought they had tied the score at 18, via a two point conversion late in the game, however former number one overall pick Eric Fisher was penalised for holding, and they failed at the next attempt.