NFL Divisional Round full of memorable moments, results
It’s Victory Monday for some fans of the National Football League after a weekend of AFC and NFC Divisional Round playoff games. One thing most fans expressed at the end of Sunday night’s game was that the weekend had provided some truly memorable moments. We look at those snapshots in time, highlights, takeaways, and the teams who will be moving on to the NFL Championship Round by division.
Ravens defeat Texans, 34-10
Baltimore did not resemble a top seed team during the opening half of their divisional game with Houston on Saturday. They had issues with the pressure the Texans were placing on Lamar Jackson and recorded just 23 net passing yards in the first two quarters.
The halftime break changed things. Having gone 1-3 in previous NFL playoff games, Jackson came out in the second half and scored four touchdowns against the Texans. Teammates admitted, following the game, that Jackson was motivated by how well the Ravens defense was performing against C.J. Stroud; Jackson wanted the offense to step up with him in balancing the workload for the win.
Jackson completed 16-of-22 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns; he ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns. That feat made Jackson the fifth player in NFL history to record two rushing and two passing touchdowns in the same playoff game.
The shocking positive season for the Texans, the first time since 2019 that they’d made it to a divisional round game, came to an end despite Stroud and head coach DeMeco Ryans becoming just the third rookie QB – rookie coach duo since 1950 to win a playoff game.
Houston’s issues on offense began up front. The offensive line was unable to block well and they allowed Stroud to be pressured by the Ravens defense on 45.7% of his 35 pass drop backs. Averaging 343 yards per game during the regular season, Houston’s offense mustered just 38 rushing yards and 213 total offensive yards in the loss. They didn’t score a single offensive touchdown.
The Texans defense picked up as much slack as they could, standing firm against Baltimore’s offense until it bent just enough to break in the second half, giving up 21 points.
Packers fall to 49ers, 24-21
In a very close game, it was a Jordan Love interception that really brought the Packets to their knees in the loss to the ‘Niners. Love, who’d thrown just one interception in nine previous games, tried to hit Christian Watson deep and it was disastrous.
Had Anders Carlson hit a 41-yard field goal, Green Bay would have had a seven-point lead on San Francisco with just over six minutes to play in the game. He missed. As a result, Christian McCaffrey‘s touchdown with just 1:07 left in the game gave the 49ers exactly what they needed to pull out a victory.
San Francisco entered Saturday’s game with a record of 0-30 under head coach Kyle Shanahan when they were trailing by seven or more points entering the fourth quarter. They exited the game with Brock Purdy having led his first NFL career fourth-quarter comeback. Purdy led the ‘Niners 69 yards on 12 plays after struggling the majority of the game, handing off to McCaffrey for the six-yard touchdown that would ultimately be the game-winning score.
Lions outpace Buccaneers, 31-23
The Detroit Lions have had a fairytale-style moment in NFL history, and became the belles of the ball after they advanced to their first NFC Championship game since 1991 after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The game was just the second time Detroit has hosted a playoff game during the same NFL postseason since the franchise was founded.
The game went back and forth with the team tied at the end of the first three quarters of play. In the final quarter, the Lions got loose when running back Jahmyr Gibbs gave fire to the Detroit ground game.
Quarterback Jared Goff finished the game with 30-of-43 completions for 287 yards and two passing touchdowns. He went 11-of-12 in the fourth quarter for 131 yards and a touchdown.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield fed receiver Mike Evans a steady diet, and Evans caught eight passes for 147 yards in the game. Overall, Tampa Bay logged 349 passing yards in the matchup, but a Mayfield interception sealed the win for Detroit.
The Lions will travel to face the 49ers in the NFC Championship game.
Bills miss against Chiefs, 27-24
The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs faced each other for the seventh time this decade, but it was the visiting team that walked away as victors of a thrilling three-point win. In their first road playoff game since Patrick Mahomes joined the Chiefs, everything came down to the wire as both sidelines watched Bills kicker Tyler Bass push a potential game-tying field goal wide to the right. With less than two minutes left in the game, the Chiefs offense earned a needed first down to kneel in victory formation to close out the contest.
Mahomes took advantage of the Bills’ decision to play coverage over applying heavy pressure on the quarterback defensively. The result was that the quarterback finished the game completing 17-of-23 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns.
Josh Allen, who had an opportunity to give Buffalo a lead on a late drive, took the Bills offense on a 16-play, 54-yard drive that stalled. Allen threw two deep incompletions, going for it all, overlooking underneath receivers that could have continued the march toward the end zone. Allen watched as Bass missed the field goal, the Bills record against the Chiefs in the playoffs falling to 0-3.
The Bills scored just once in the second half of the game after getting a 17-13 lead and holding it. The Chiefs, who struggled on defense early, turned the tides as turnovers played a big part in the final quarter, and ultimately were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
The Chiefs will travel to face the Ravens in the AFC Championship game.
