The San Francisco 49ers secured a hard-fought win over the Dallas Cowboys to reach the NFC Championship Game.

Earlier on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals upset the Buffalo Bills 27-10 at a snowy Highmark Stadium.

Last year’s Super Bowl runners-up visit the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday for a place in Super Bowl 57 while the 49ers are at the Philadelphia Eagles.

It is the first time the Bengals, who charged into a 14-0 lead inside the first quarter, have reached the AFC Championship Game in successive years.

It is also the first time in 36 years that there is a repeat of the previous year’s match-up.

The 49ers and Cowboys contested the NFC Championship Game three straight years in the 90s and they renewed their rivalry at Levi’s Stadium.

San Francisco beat Dallas during last year’s wildcard weekend and the 49ers dumped out their old rivals again in this year’s divisional round to reach the Conference Championships for the third time in four years.

And that is despite being led by third-choice quarterback Brock Purdy, who is now one win from the Super Bowl after being this season’s ‘Mr Irrelevant’ – the last man selected in the draft.

‘Mr Irrelevant’ & 49ers march on

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott ended the regular season with a joint-league high of 15 interceptions, despite missing five games, and he threw two more during the first half – both resulting in field goals.

In between those picks, Prescott did lead the Cowboys to a 14-play, 74-yard drive, ending with a four-yard touchdown by Dalton Schultz, but another field goal edged the 49ers into a 9-6 half-time lead.

San Francisco’s Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled a punt return early in the third quarter, giving the Cowboys the chance to level with a Brett Maher field goal.

Both sides then had to punt before the 49ers, led by Purdy since week 14 after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, put together what proved to be a game-winning 91-yard drive.

Tight end George Kittle made a stunning catch early in the drive, with the ball bouncing off his hands and against his helmet before he managed to grab it one-handed for a 30-yard gain.

And from the first play of the fourth quarter, the 49ers’ star mid-season signing Christian McCaffrey burst into the end zone from two yards.

Each team kicked a field goal on their next possession, before the 49ers’ defence stood firm to prevent Dallas getting within scoring range on their last two possessions.

That was enough to maintain the winning start to Purdy’s NFL career – he has now triumphed on all seven starts – and the 23-year-old is one victory from becoming the first rookie quarterback to reach the Super Bowl.

Emotional Hamlin return fails to inspire Bills

Buffalo were the pre-season favourites to win this season’s Super Bowl and came into the post-season as the AFC’s second seed, with Cincinnati third.

They were also carried into the play-offs by an emotional wave of support for safety Damar Hamlin, who was resuscitated on the field after suffering a cardiac arrest during the penultimate game of the regular season – also against the Bengals.

The 24-year-old was discharged from hospital after nine days and has continued his recovery, visiting his team-mates for the first time since his collapse the day before Buffalo held on for a 34-31 win over the Miami Dolphins during week one of the play-offs.

Bills coach Sean McDermott said he had visited the team facility “almost daily” this week, leading to speculation Hamlin would be at Sunday’s game – just 20 days after his collapse.

And shortly before kick-off, television pictures showed Hamlin riding in a utility vehicle and being driven to the door of the Bills’ locker room.

However, Hamlin’s presence failed to inspire his team-mates once they took to a snowy field in New York State, right on the border with Canada.

When snow is forecast in Buffalo, few NFL teams relish heading up north, and the Bills had a 13-1 record at home in the play-offs.

In fairness, cold conditions are not completely alien to the Bengals in Ohio, and they dominated from the outset, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions.

Quarterback Joe Burrow fired a 28-yard dart to Ja’Marr Chase before finding a wide-open Hayden Hurst in the corner of the end zone for a 15-yard score.

Buffalo opened the second quarter with a 15-play drive, resulting in quarterback Josh Allen barging in from a yard to cut the deficit to 17-7 at the half.

But after another lengthy drive at the start of the third quarter, the Bills had to settle for a field goal to make it 17-10.

And that was the closest they got as the Bengals hit straight back with a touchdown, running back Joe Mixon capping off a 75-yard drive at the end of the third quarter.

Conference Championships

Sunday, 29 January

San Francisco 49ers v Philadelphia Eagles (20:05 GMT)

Cincinnati Bengals v Kansas City Chiefs (23:30)