The San Francisco 49ers clinched a Super Bowl berth with an improbable 34-31 win against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game.

The Niners rallied back from a 24-7 halftime deficit by outscoring the Lions, 27-10 in the second half, which included 17 consecutive points in the third quarter. Running back Christian McCaffrey recorded 132 all-purpose yards (90 rushing, 42 receiving) and two touchdowns.

Quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 267 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 20 of 31 passing, while also recording 48 yards on five rushing attempts.

The Niners will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII, which will be a rematch of San Francisco’s last Super Bowl appearance in 2020. The Chiefs defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 17-10, in the AFC Championship Game hours earlier.

Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady praised Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce after the duo broke his and longtime New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammate Rob Gronkowski’s record.

Mahomes and Kelce connected twice on touchdowns during the Chiefs’ 27-24 AFC Divisional Round win against the Buffalo Bills for their 15th and 16th playoff touchdowns as a duo, which tied, then surpassed the previous record held by Brady and Gronkowski.

“BEASTS. When you one up Gronk you’re doing something right,” Brady wrote on his X account in response to Bleacher Report‘s post announcing the record-breaking feat.

Brady and Gronkowski initially surpassed the previous record of 12 set by San Francisco 49ers legends Joe Montana and Jerry Rice during their Super Bowl LV against Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs.

Mahomes finished Sunday’s game with 215 yards on 17 of 23 passing, while Kelce recorded five receptions for 75 yards. The Chiefs eliminated the Bills from the playoffs for the third time since 2020 and clinched their sixth consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance with Sunday’s win.

Patrick Roy is the new coach of the New York Islanders, hired Saturday in a stunning midseason change behind the bench that came with the firing of Lane Lambert.

President of hockey operations and general manager Lou Lamoriello announced the move to dismiss Lambert and bring in Roy, who hasn’t coached in the NHL in nearly a decade. Roy has been mentioned in consideration for several vacancies since and now gets a second chance.

“Watching our team play, I felt that the inconsistency that has been going on for some period of time was not going to end,” Lamoriello said on a video call with reporters. “When I had the opportunity to meet with Patrick recently, I felt that this was the best for our organization to go forward.”

The Islanders have lost four games in a row and six of seven to fall out of a playoff spot. Lamoriello, 81, said he made the move because he still believes his team can contend and earn a spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.