The biggest conference championship upsets in NFL history

Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL — not even a trip to the Super Bowl. Here are the most shocking upsets in conference championship history.

January 22, 2012: New York Giants 20, San Francisco 49ers 17 (OT)

(Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports)

Very few people expected the 9-7 Giants to beat the 13-3 49ers in this conference championship game — Tom Coughlin’s team had already lost to Jim Harbaugh’s squad, 27-20, in Week 10 of that season. But the Giants would not go away in this game, and in overtime, San Francisco receiver Kyle Williams’ fumbled punt return set kicker Lawrence Tynes up for a game-winning field goal halfway through overtime. It was Tynes’ second overtime game-winner in a conference championship game, matching his effort in the 2007 season. The Giants’ ultimate result that season was also eerily similar: A Super Bowl win over an allegedly better Patriots team.