NFL preview: Young quarterbacks quartet eye Championship game glory in AFC and NFC

A clash of young quarterbacks is set for Sunday's NFL conference championships, as last year's runners-up Cincinnati Bengals take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game, while the San Francisco 49ers play the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC crown.

The National Football League's next generation of talent will be on full display in the final hurdle to the Super Bowl: all four of the starting quarterbacks are under the age of 28 for the first time in more than a quarter century.

Former MVP Patrick Mahomes, 27, expects to shake off an injury doubt to lead his Chiefs to revenge over the Bengals in their fifth straight conference championship appearance. Last year's overtime heartbreaker saw Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow off to the Super Bowl in only his second season.

"I thought I had a good day yesterday," said Mahomes, who suffered a high ankle sprain in last weekend's divisional win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"Overall, probably better than I expected," he told reporters on Thursday.

"I feel like I can still do a lot of things but we'll see as we get closer and closer to the game. People will see where I'm at on Sunday."

Kansas City will need the firepower against the Bengals, who dominated the Buffalo Bills in all facets of the game last Sunday and have won three straight games against the Chiefs dating back to last season.

"They're still the team to beat and we're coming for them," said Burrow, 26.

"We know it's going to be hard-fought, and we know the kind of players they have on that side."

Both teams will brace for bone-chilling conditions at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium, where the forecast estimates temperatures as low as 12 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 11 Celsius) when kickoff comes around at 5.30pm local time.

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