Super Bowl 58: Kansas City Chiefs beat Baltimore Ravens to earn shot at title defence

The Kansas City Chiefs will play in the Super Bowl for a fourth time in five years after beating the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 in the NFL's Conference Championships.

The defending champions have had to play on the road during this season's play-offs but have still shown their championship quality by winning at Buffalo and Baltimore to return the NFL's big game.

The Chiefs now have the chance to cement their dynasty by winning a third NFL title in five years and becoming the first back-to-back champions since the New England Patriots in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

The Ravens earned the top seed in the AFC Conference having had the NFL's best record in the regular season (13-4) and their quarterback Lamar Jackson is favourite to be named this season's Most Valuable Player.

He was up against reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes for a spot at Super Bowl 58, and they looked set for a quarterback shootout after both threw a touchdown pass in the first quarter.

Tight end Travis Kelce, again watched by his superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift, claimed the opening score and continued to be a vital target for Mahomes.

He caught all 11 passes to him for one touchdown and 116 yards to pass San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice for most receptions in NFL play-off history.

An Isiah Pacheco touchdown put the Chiefs 14-7 up midway through the second quarter, but defences then dominated, with Kansas City pulling off two key plays to seal victory.

The first was a touchdown-saving tackle by L'Jarius Sneed at the start of the fourth quarter as the Chiefs cornerback punched the ball out of Zay Flowers' grasp as the Ravens receiver reached for the end zone.

With Baltimore trailing 17-7 with less than seven minutes left, Jackson then took a shot at the end zone but was intercepted by safety Deon Bush.

The Chiefs will play either the Detroit Lions or San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58, which will be played in Las Vegas on 11 February.

This is set to be the second campaign in which Jackson, 27, has produced an MVP-winning season only for the Ravens to fall short in the post-season.

After Mahomes fired a 19-yard dart to Kelce just inside the pylon on Kansas City's opening drive, Jackson replied by escaping a sack to launch a 30-yard touchdown to Flowers.

The Chiefs then ushered Pacheco into the end zone from two yards to cap a 16-play drive lasting nine minutes, before making it 17-7 with a field goal right before half-time.

Meanwhile, Kansas City's defence stifled Jackson, sacking him four times and limiting the Ravens to just three conversions from 11 attempts on third down.

And although Jackson finished with 272 passing yards, he completed just 20 of 37 passes and his interception came when he forced a pass on second down, with his intended target Isaiah Likely surrounded by three defenders.

Had Flowers secured the ball, though, Jackson would have had another touchdown pass, and the extra point would have put Baltimore within three.

That fumble was a huge blow as the hosts' defence forced Kansas City to punt on all five possessions in the second half, before they were able to ice the game with the final possession.