The two teams squaring off in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game have much different histories with this stage of the playoffs.
On one side, there are the Philadelphia Eagles, who are making their ninth NFC title game appearance overall and eighth since 2001. The second-seeded Eagles get to host this year's conference championship game following the No. 1 Detroit Lions' divisional round defeat.
And who handed the Lions that defeat? That would be the Washington Commanders, who are heading to the NFC Championship Game for the first time in 33 years. The franchise went from having the second-worst record in the NFL last season to this year's conference title game behind No. 2 overall draft pick Jayden Daniels.
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Before the Eagles and Commanders face off, here’s a look at the teams with the most wins, losses and appearances in NFC Championship Games:
Which team has won the most NFC Championship Games?
The San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys have the most NFC Championship Game victories with eight.
San Francisco won four NFC championship games from 1981 to 1989. It got another conference title in 1994 but then would wait 18 years before getting back to the Super Bowl. The team won the NFC in 2019 and 2023 but fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl both years.
Dallas’ eight wins came in two dominant stints. The first came from 1970, the first year with an NFC Championship Game following the NFL-AFL merger, to 1978 and featured five NFC title game wins. The second stretch came from 1992 to 1995, when Dallas made four straight appearances and picked up three victories.
After the 49ers and Cowboys, Washington, the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and the New York Giants are tied for the third-most victories with five apiece.
Which team has lost the most NFC Championship Games?
While San Francisco is tied for the most NFC Championship Game wins, it also has the most NFC Championship Game losses. The 49ers lost the game in 2021 and 2022, bringing their total number of defeats to 11.
The Cowboys, Rams, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are second on the list with six NFC Championship Game losses apiece.
Which team has the most NFC Championship Game appearances?
The 49ers made a record 19th NFC Championship Game appearance in 2023. It was their seventh time reaching the game since 2011, and they are 3-4 in that span.
The Cowboys are second on the list with 14 appearances and the Rams are in third with 11. The Eagles, Packers and Vikings are tied for fourth with nine each.
Every team in the current NFC has reached at least two conference title games, and the Lions are the only team that has failed to represent the conference in a Super Bowl. Here is each team listed by NFC Championship Game appearances:
1. San Francisco 49ers: 19 (8-11)
2. Dallas Cowboys: 14 (8-6)
3. Los Angeles Rams: 11 (5-6)
T-4. Green Bay Packers: 9 (3-6)
T-4. Minnesota Vikings: 9 (3-6)
T-4. Philadelphia Eagles: 9 (4-4)
7. Washington Commanders: 7 (5-1)
T-8. New York Giants: 5 (5-0)
T-8. Chicago Bears: 5 (2-3)
T-10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4 (2-2)
T-10. Carolina Panthers: 4 (2-2)
T-10. Atlanta Falcons: 4 (2-2)
T-13. Seattle Seahawks: 3 (3-0)
T-13. New Orleans Saints: 3 (1-2)
T-15. Arizona Cardinals: 2 (1-1)
T-15. Detroit Lions: 2 (0-2)