The Ravens relied on their tough defense and playoff experience to rout the mistake-prone Kansas City Chiefs, while Green Bay stopped a late rally to beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
In the other playoff games Saturday, the New York Jets upended the Indianapolis Colts at home on a last-second field goal and Seattle, which finished the season with a 7-9 record, shocked the defending Super Bowl champion, New Orleans.
Led by veteran linebacker Ray Lewis, Baltimore's defense overwhelmed the young Chiefs, sacking quarterback Matt Cassel three times and forcing five turnovers on the way to victory.
Kansas City (10-7), which won the American Football Conference West division with a six-game improvement over last season, managed just 25 yards in the second half.
Baltimore (13-4) broke open a close game with a touchdown and two field goals off turnovers in the second half. Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, Billy Cundiff kicked three field goals and Willis McGahee closed out the scoring with a 25-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Ravens will head to Pittsburgh next Saturday, renewing one of the league's fiercest rivalries. They split their season series with the Steelers, with each team winning on the other's home field.
Kansas City finishes the season saddled with an NFL-record seventh straight playoff loss, dating back 17 years.
"Our defense played phenomenal," Ravens running back Ray Rice said. "They came out in the second half and gutted that offense. It was impressive. It's impressive to be a part of this." On a raw, windy afternoon, with temperatures hovering in the low 20s, Flacco and Cundiff took advantage of three interceptions by Cassel and fumbles by Dexter McCluster and Jamal Charles to pull away.
The Ravens led 10-7 in the third quarter when Dawan Landry stopped Charles on a fourth-and-inches gamble and Kansas City collapsed, quickly.
On the next play, Tamba Hali drew a 15-yard penalty for a late hit on Flacco and the Ravens drove in for Cundiff's 29-yard field goal, making it 13-7 with 6:36 left in the third. A moment later, Lewis put a jarring hit on McCluster, knocking the ball loose. Chris Carr recovered on the Kansas City 17, leading to another 29-yarder by Cundiff.
Then, a harried Cassel was intercepted by Landry, leading to a touchdown throw by Flacco to Anquan Boldin that gave Baltimore a 23-7 lead.
In an emotional post game locker room, the Ravens gave the game ball to safety Ed Reed. On Friday morning, his family said they believe a young man who jumped into the Mississippi River trying to elude police was probably his younger brother, Brian Reed. The search for a body at the scene in Louisiana has been called off.
In Philadelphia, Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes and seldom-used rookie James Starks ran for 123 yards to lead the Packers over the Philadelphia Eagles and their electrifying quarterback, Michael Vick.
Rodgers had to watch from the sideline while Vick nearly led the Eagles back. But Tramon Williams intercepted Vick's pass for Riley Cooper in the end zone with 33 seconds left to seal the win.
The sixth-seeded Packers (11-6) are heading to Atlanta (13-3) for a divisional playoff game next Saturday.
Rodgers patiently waited three years to become Green Bay's starter and took over after former quarterback Brett Favre's messy departure before the 2008 season. He long ago made Packers fans forget about Favre, and now has punctuated his impressive resume with his first playoff win in two tries.
It wasn't Rodgers' fault that Green Bay lost 51-45 in overtime to Arizona last January. These aren't the same Packers. This patchwork squad has 10 different starters, and a much stronger defense.
"I never felt like there was a monkey on my back," Rodgers said. "I'm just so proud of these guys. We fought hard today. Big interception by Tramon who's had a great season for us." The supposedly one-dimensional Packers found a running game by giving the ball to Starks, who had played in just three games with 101 yards rushing all year.
The Eagles got within 21-16 when Vick sneaked in from the 1-yard line with 4:02 left. The 2-point conversion failed, but the defense held and Philadelphia got the ball back at the Packers 34 with 1:45 left.
Vick completed passes of 28 yards to DeSean Jackson and 11 yards to Cooper before he threw the pick from the 27.
Vick threw for 292 yards and ran for 33 in his first playoff start since losing the 2005 National Football Conference championship game as a member of the Atlanta Falcons.
Vick has come a long way since then. He missed two seasons while serving 18 months in prison for his role in a dogfighting operation, played sparingly in a backup role last year and only got his chance after quarterback Kevin Kolb was knocked out in Green Bay's 27-20 win in Philadelphia in Week 1.
Vick made the most of the opportunity. He had the best season of his career and was selected to start the Pro Bowl for the NFC.
This was Green Bay's third straight win in an elimination game. The Packers routed the Giants on Dec. 26 to stay alive in the playoff race, and beat Chicago last week to secure a playoff berth.
