Only four teams remain in the hunt for Super Bowl 59; see who survived and who went home in the divisional round.
The first day of the divisional round saw both one-seed teams, coming off their bye, face down their lowest-ranked challenger. The Houston Texans travelled to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs, and the Washington Commanders went to Motown to take on the Detroit Lions.
Chiefs 24 – Texans 12
In the weekend’s first game, the four-seed Houston Texans went north to Kansas City for a showdown with the fearsome back-to-back Super Bowl Champions. They had reason to fear – in the Patrick Mahomes era, Kansas City had only lost one game after having had a bye week.
Still, there was no breathing room for Kansas City, who, despite their 15-2 record, were coming off one of their worst statistical seasons in the Mahomes era, often winning on close calls, opposing team blunders, and downright flukes. Therefore, there was still something to prove for Reid, Kelce, Mahomes and company.
Kansas City came out strong, with a 63-yard return on the opening kickoff, which, after an added 15-yard personal foul penalty, set up a Kansas City field goal to open the scoring.
The Texans, led by quarterback CJ Stroud, responded in kind, putting together a 63-yard drive which would end in a field goal hit by kicker Kai’imi Fairbairn.
Houston put up a gutsy defensive fight, highlighted by an exceptional performance from defensive end Will Anderson Jr, and forced Kansas City to once again settle for a field goal on the next drive.
Anderson would again shine on the next possession, sacking Mahomes on 3rd down to force a Chiefs punt and allowing the Texans to tie or take the lead.
At this point, though, things began to go wrong for Houston. They drove again, moving the ball well, but a Stroud sack on 3rd down forced a 55-yard field goal, which Fairbairn shanked to the right.
Mahomes responded by finding his favourite target, Travis Kelce, for a 49-yard completion, which set up a punch-in run from running back Kareem Hunt to make the game 13-3.
Houston would mount some response with the ball and four minutes to go in the half, getting a field goal to make it 13-6 at the half.
They continued to build momentum as the second half got underway, driving 82 yards, capped off with a Joe Mixon 13-yard run for a touchdown. However, in a sign of things to come, they missed the extra point, making the game 13-12.
At this point, Kansas City took over. They responded with a touchdown and forced the Texans to turn the ball over on downs. A few possessions later, they added a field goal, all while the Texans could not seem to move the ball.
With two minutes to go and desperation setting in, Houston attempted a field goal to get the game within one score. However, it was blocked, giving Kansas City the ball back.
This ended the game, and the Chiefs would win 24-12. This means their road to an unprecedented three-peat continues next week. For the Texans, a year which saw massive injuries and regression ends, giving them an offseason to lick their wounds and reload for the next campaign.
Commanders 45 – Lions 31
This game was a wild one. The Detroit Lions entered the playoffs coming off their bye week as an 8.5-point betting favourite over the Washington Commanders. A potential Super Bowl contender, the Lions had enormous expectations for the playoff run after coming off their best regular season in memory.
They had cause for concern, though; Detroit had been dogged by a huge number of injuries on the defensive side of the ball throughout the regular season, which significantly hindered their team throughout this game.
Entering the area to face them would be rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and his Commanders, who had defied all expectations to win 12 games despite having a new quarterback, coach and general manager.
In this high-scoring showdown, they’d continue to impress. Daniels would throw for two touchdowns, 299 yards and had a 70 per cent completion percentage as the LSU product continued to show an ability to rise to the occasion when the lights were bright.
Washington’s running back, Brian Robinson, would add two touchdowns on the ground as the Commanders ran the ball for over 180 yards on the defence of the depleted Lions.
The Lions generated some offensive production, rushing for over 200 yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Jared Goff added another through the air.
The Lions’ downfall, though, would come in the form of turnovers. Goff would throw three interceptions, one of which ended up as a pick-six, and lose a fumble. The Lions would also throw an interception on a trick play, with Wide receiver Jaimeson Williams attempting to find running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
With the myriad of turnovers and injuries on defence, Detroit could do little as Washington grabbed the advantage in the second quarter and never looked back.
The Commanders will continue their Cinderella story as they head to the NFC Championship game.
The football action continued on Sunday as we saw two more matchups, with LA Rams taking on the Philidelphia Eagles, and the Baltimore Ravens taking on the Buffalo Bills.
Eagles 28 – Rams 22
The Sunday slate kicked off in Philadelphia, with the Rams entering the snowy, gusty confines of Lincoln Financial Field to face the Eagles.
In the snow, slick ball conditions were of significant concern for both teams, and fumbles would prove to be a descivisve factor in the game.
The other decisive factor would be Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley, the Penn State product, who rushed for over 2,000 yards in the regular season, would trounce the LA defence for over 200 yards on the ground.
These included two long touchdowns of 78 and 62 yards. Quarterback Jalen Hurts would also get in on the rushing action, with a 44 yard rushing touchdown of his own. In a game where Hurts would only throw for 128 yards, the Eagles rushing game became the key to victory.
Despite this, the Rams kept the threat of upset alive, in part due to the Eagles missing two extra points.
LA quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 324 yards, despite having sore ribs, and kept the Rams in it throughout the game.
It would be the aforementioned turnovers that cost the Rams. Fumbles on back to back drives in the second half lead to field goals, and this, combined with the second Saquon Barkley touchdown, would make it a two score game with only four minutes to go.
The Rams did not go away though, after scoring a touchdown to make it 28-22, they got the ball back with two minutes to go. From here, they launched a methodical drive deep into Eagles territory.
However, it was here the Philadelphia defence made their final stand. On third down, Stafford was sacked by defensive tackle Jalen Carter for a loss of nine yards, and on fourth down he threw incomplete, allowing Hurts to kneel the game out.
Philadelphia is moving on to the NFC Championship for the second time in three years, where they will host their division rival Washington Commanders.
Bills 27 – Ravens 25
The divisional round ended with the most highly anticipated game of the weekend, with the Baltimore Ravens travelling to Buffalo to take on the Bills. This game had all the makings of a heavyweight bout, with two of the best scoring offenses in football taking on two of the toughest defences. Expectations were also raised by the showdown of the two players most likely to win MVP this season, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
These two teams met earlier this season with the Ravens coming out on top 35-10 behind a punishing running attack led by Derrick Henry and Jackson. However, this had the makings of a very different affair, as the Bills entered the game significantly healthier on defense (they were missing both starting linebackers in the first game).
Much like the previous games from this weekend, this game came down to the mistakes and turnovers.
It was a tight game throughout, with neither team able to gain an advantage. Each time one team struck, the other a blow back.
However, three turnovers from Ravens allowed the Bills to emerge on top. Jackson himself had an interception and a fumble in the first half, robbing Baltimore of valuable possessions. Then in the second half, while the Ravens seemed to be on the cusp of taking the lead, Buffalo linebacker Terrel Bernard punched the ball out of the arms of Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews and recover the ensuing fumble. This would unfortunately not be Andrews’ most costly mistake.
Andrews’ fumble would result in a Bills field goal and leave the Ravens down 8 with three and a half minutes to go in regulation. Jackson drove the ball down the field skillfully, looking like the MVP candidate he is, and with 1:33 left, he hit tight end Isaiah Likely for a 24-yard touchdown.
The Ravens, needing the two point conversion to tie the game, decided to pass instead of running with Derrick Henry, who had been dominant in short yard situations all season. Jackson rolled to his right, and threw to Andrews in the flat. The pass was perfect, but the veteran tight end dropped the ball, costing the Ravens the game and their season.
Josh Allen and the Bills offence must also be given credit for the victory. They rushed for three touchdowns and most importantly, made no mistakes, en route to the win.
The Championship matchups are now made, with the Bills renewing their renowned series with the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, at Arrowhead stadium, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
The AFC and NFC Championships take place this Sunday, January 26th. Check here for stats, scores, lines, and times.
