Divisional Round Recap
By Matt Quinn
It was a wild Divisional round of football this past weekend. There were some great games and one particular shocking upset. This weekend had it all, big stars making big plays in big games and games that went down to the wire. So lets dive into each game from a crazy weekend of football.
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs- KC 24, HOU 13
This game was made up of a number of mistakes by Houston. On special teams is where the real damage was done. Houston’s kick coverage team allowed an early long return that set up the Chiefs first points, they missed multiple field goals also, leaving valuable points on the board. The defense did a pretty good job overall, although Travis Kelce hurt them in numerous spots, going over 100 yards receiving on 7 catches, including the Chiefs last touchdown of the game. Alot of the noise will go to some very questionable calls from the refs against the Texans. There was a bad roughing the passer call early in the game and, perhaps the worst one, an unnecessary roughness call on the Texans after Mahomes slid late and two Texans players collided with each other while also never coming into contact with Patrick Mahomes. Texans fans have every right to be upset about those calls but at the end of the day, better special teams play probably wins this game, or at least puts them in position to win. So the Chiefs move on to their 7th consecutive AFC Championship game and set up a 4th Chiefs and Bills postseason matchup which is sure to be epic.
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills- BAL 25, BUF 27
Speaking of those Bills, they took on the offensive juggernaut Ravens in the most anticipated game of the weekend. It lived up to the hype as this game was close throughout and ended in dramatic fashion. The Bills took control early, building a 21-10 halftime lead thanks, in part, to two Lamar Jackson turnovers which is sure to raise some more questions about his ability to win in the playoffs. The Ravens got it together in the second half though, dominating on offense and seemingly running at will at times. The Bills were just hanging on for most of the 4th quarter and after getting a field goal to stretch the lead to 27-19, Lamar Jackson led a late drive which led to an Isaiah Likely touchdown, setting up the 2 point conversion to tie. The Ravens had the perfect playcall, having TE Mark Andrews slip to the outside for a seemingly easy conversion. The usually reliable tight end saw the ball go through his hands however, and the Ravens came up short in the end. Andrews also had a critical fumble earlier in the half so definitely a game to forget for the Pro Bowl tight end.
Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles- LAR 22, PHI 28
In the snow globe that was Lincoln Financial Field, Saquon Barkley had a similar game to the one he had the last time these two teams met earlier this year in L.A. The Rams fought hard the entire game, getting pressure on Jalen Hurts and actually injuring Jalen to the point where there are questions about his knee heading into next week. The one thing the Rams could not do, however, was prevent Saquon from killing them with big runs. Barkley had monster touchdown runs of 62 and then 78 late in the second half. The Rams did have a chance to win at the end after answering Saquon Barkley’s long touchdown with a touchdown of their own. The defense got the ball back to Matt Stafford and they began a potentially game winning drive with just over two minutes left. They were moving the ball well but a blown assignment on the offensive line caused a big time sack by Jalen Carter to seal the win. The Eagles head back to the NFC Championship game and with Saquon Barkley continuing his MVP type level of play, they will be tough to beat next week.
Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions- WAS 45, DET 31
This was by far the stunner of the weekend (except to me since I picked the Commanders to win, but i digress) and we may have just witnessed the birth of the next elite young QB. Jayden Daniels was never rattled the entire game. When the Commanders gave up an early touchdown, Jayden didn’t blink. When they were stopped on an early 4th down, Jayden didn’t blink. Even when the Lions looked like they were going to have their way early, still, Jayden didn’t blink. What he did do was put together a tremendous performance filled with clutch moments and terrific throws. The offense was aggressive against a decimated Detroit Lions defense that had no answers all game for this dynamic offense. The Lions did themselves no favors either. Jared Goff threw 3 interceptions and fumbled on a sack also. To top it all off, coordinator Ben Johnson tried to go into his bag of tricks with a reverse pass from Jameson Williams, only to see it picked off by Mike Sanristil, snagging his second pick of the game. For as great as the Lions were this year, one thing still remains true: you can’t turn the ball over in the playoffs and expect to beat the league’s best and make no mistake, the Commanders are one of the league’s best teams. It has been an unbelievable run for Washington and a run which could just end up in the first rookie ever to make it to a Super Bowl. If you still doubt that he can lead this team that far, do so at your own risk because this young kid has shown tremendous poise to this point and he will not be rattled by the big stage. The win sets up an NFC East battle in the NFC Championship game between the Commanders and the Eagles.