The Patriots have made their fifth straight AFC Championship Game, tying them for the longest streak of consecutive conference championship games with the Oakland Raiders from 1973-77. The Patriots have won one Super Bowl in that span, the same number the Raiders won during their streak. Oakland defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI following the 1976 season.

The Patriots benefited from the return of Julian Edelman to the lineup last week. This season, New England is 10-0 and averages 33.0 PPG with Edelman playing. Without Edelman (broken foot), the Patriots won just three of seven games, scoring 23.1 PPG. The Patriots convert 48.8 percent of third downs when Edelman plays, compared to only 32.0 pct when he was injured.

Peyton Manning is already one of just three QBs to start a Super Bowl with two different teams (Kurt Warner and Craig Morton are the others). Manning is hoping to become the first QB to start multiple Super Bowls for two teams, and he can also become the first QB to win a Super Bowl with two different teams.

Tom Brady is 3-0 in his playoff career when facing the No. 1 total defense from that season (as the Broncos are for 2015). Brady's wins have come against the 2001 and 2004 Steelers, as well as the 2014 Seahawks, in last season's Super Bowl. The Patriots have averaged 31.0 PPG in those three matchups.

The NFC Championship will be the first playoff game of the Super Bowl era featuring two teams that each averaged at least 30 points per game during the regular season. The Panthers led the NFL this season with an average of 31.3 PPG. The Cardinals finished second, at 30.6 PPG.

Home-field advantage is huge for the Broncos. Denver is 5-1 all-time in AFC Championship Games at home, and 3-0 all-time in home playoff games against the Patriots.

The Panthers have rushed for 100-plus yards in 30 straight games, including the playoffs. It's the longest streak of 100-yard rushing games by any team since the 1974-1976 Steelers, which featured Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier (37 straight games).

The Cardinals and Panthers defenses had more takeaways than any other teams this season, which also led to more points off takeaways. Carolina's 148 points off 39 takeaways both led the NFL. Arizona's 140 points off 33 takeaways both ranked second.

In eight career playoff games, Larry Fitzgerald has averaged 114 receiving yards per game and scored 10 touchdowns. He is the only player in NFL history (minimum three games) to average 100-plus receiving yards and 1-plus TD per game in the playoffs.

Cam Newton had more rushing yards this season (636) than Carson Palmer has in his 13 NFL seasons combined (424). Palmer has never had a run longer than 15 yards in his whole career -- something Newton did seven times this season.