NFL playoffs: Wild ride to Championship Weekend

The NFL playoff season is in full swing, and it has hardly disappointed. With Wildcard Weekend and the Divisional Round all wrapped up, let's take a look at the four remaining teams and their paths to the conference title games as they continue their quest for football's ultimate prize.

New England Patriots

How they got here? The Pats once again took control of the AFC midway through the season and never looked back. Tom Brady and the New England offense compensated for one of the leagues worst defenses to earn a first round by and home-field advantage. In the second round, Brady and his dynamic tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez lit up a Denver Broncos defense that didn't have a prayer, even with Tim Tebow leading the way.

Baltimore Ravens

How they got here? Baltimore was able to fight off Pittsburgh for the AFC North crown and win the second seed in the AFC. After a week off, the Ravens hosted first year playoff team, Houston, in a tightly-contested match between two teams who met earlier in the season. A few critical errors by the Texans special teams unit allowed for the Ravens to prevail and advance to their second conference championship game since the 2008 season.

Rest of the field: AFC

New England and Baltimore proved their regular seasons were no flukes and advanced to the conference championships as expected. The three-seeded Texans won their first ever playoff game in franchise history with a victory over a surprise Cincinnati Bengals team. Even with the loss to Baltimore, the Houston run can be considered a success for this up-and-coming franchise. The fourth seeded Denver Broncos, perhaps the most talked about team this NFL season, hosted the fifth seeded Pittsburgh Steelers where golden boy Tim Tebow miraculously tossed the game-winning touchdown in the leagues first overtime playoff game under the new format. Glory quickly turned to shame after New England blew out the Broncos in the following round. The Broncos will head into the offseason with many questions about their long-term plans at quarterback.

San Francisco 49ers

How they got here? San Francisco might be one of the best stories of the 2011 NFL season. After years of uncertainty, the 49ers put together one of the leagues best defenses. Under the leadership of first year coach Jim Harbaugh, the surprising 49ers finished with a 13-3 record and the second seed in the talented NFC. After a first round bye, San Francisco hosted the New Orleans Saints, the leagues most dangerous offense, in Candlestick Park. In what might go down as one of the best playoff games in the last 10 years, the 49ers were able to score with a mere 9 seconds left in game to clinch their first trip in over 16 seasons.

New York Giants

How they got here? Each and every year a team gets hot at the right time and makes some noise in the playoffs. Through 14 games, the Giants sat at 7-7 after a horrible loss to Washington, prompting most of the country to rule them out as a playoff team.

Think again.

Since then, the Giants have rallied off four straight wins and look to be one of the more dangerous teams left in the chase. After holding the Atlanta Falcons to a mere two points in their Wildcard Weekend showdown, the G-Men headed to Lambeau to take on the 15-1 and top seeded Green Bay Packers. The Giants charged out to an early lead and never looked back, punching their ticket to their second NFC Championship game in the last five years.

Rest of the field: NFC

San Francisco and New York prevailed while favored Green Bay and New Orleans fizzled. The Packers just couldn't get their potent offense going after a three-week layoff and lost the chance to repeat as Superbowl champions. New Orleans proved that they become rather pedestrian outside the confines of the comfortable Superdome. The Atlanta Falcons and Matt Ryan lost their third playoff game in the last three seasons, prompting some to question if Matt Ryan will be the guy to lead them to playoff glory. The young and exciting Detroit Lions clinched a playoff spot for the first time in over 10 years and gave the Saints all they could handle. Watch out for that Detroit team in the coming years as they possess a great amount of youth, talent and swagger.