NFL PLAYOFFS - Eagles, Bills Advance To Conference Championship Games

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley dominated against the Rams in playoff win.

On Sunday in snowy Philadelphia, the Eagles held off the stubborn Los Angeles Rams for a 28-22 victory in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (205 yards on 26 carries) dominated the Rams yet again as he went for touchdown runs of 62 and 78 yards along with quarterback Jalen Hurts scoring the first touchdown of the game with a 44-yard dash in the first quarter. The Eagles rushed for 285 yards in the win.

 

The Rams trailed 6-0 (Philly kicker Jake Elliott missed two PAT kicks in the game) when QB Matthew Stafford threw a four-yard TD pass to tight end Tyler Higbee for a 7-6 lead with 6:32 left in the first quarter. Barkley answered with the 62-yard scoring run with 1:07 left in the first for a 13-7 lead. The Rams trimmed their deficit to 13-10 at the half. Joshua Karty connected on a 34-yard field goal midway through the third quarter for a 13-13 tie and then Elliott made the first of his three field goals (44 yards) with 2:19 left in the third quarter for a 16-13 lead. 

After a sack for safety by the L.A. defense, the Eagles went up 22-15 with a pair of field goals and then Barkley scored on the 78-yard dash for a 28-15 lead with 4:36 remaining in the game, but the PAT kick was no good. The Rams rallied right back with a drive that ended with a four yard scoring pass from Stafford (324 passing yards, two TD) to Colby Parkinson with 2:48 left to make it 28-22. But the Eagles were able to hold off the Rams in the final two minutes to get the win. The Rams lost two fumbles in the second half and allowed five sacks in the game while their defense sacked Hurts seven times.

 

The game between the Baltimore Ravens and the host Buffalo Bills lived up to the hype as the Bills won, 27-25 to earn a date against the Chiefs in Kansas City next Sunday in the AFC Championship Game. With the snow swirling throughout the evening in Buffalo, the teams went back and forth as Bills QB Josh Allen (pictured right) scored two rushing touchdowns and Ray Davis added another scoring run while kicker Tyler Bass made a pair of field goals to help provide the difference for the final score. Baltimore scored on a 24-yard TD pass from QB Lamar Jackson to tight end Isaiah Likely with 1:33 remaining in the game, but (for the second time in the game) the two-point conversion failed and when Buffalo recovered the onside kick, that wrapped it up.  

Jackson (254 passing yards, two TD, one INT) threw a 16-yard scoring pass to Rashod Bateman to get the scoring started with 10:40 left in the opening quarter and following two Justin Ticker field goals, the Ravens pulled to within 21-19 late in the third quarter when RB Derrick Henry (84 rushing yards) scored on a five-yard run. The two-point conversion failed and then Buffalo added the two field goals (51 and 21 yards) in fourth quarter prior to the late score by the Ravens, who out gained the Bills, 416-273 in total yards. But the three turnovers (one INT and two fumbles) by Baltimore proved to be a huge factor as the Buffalo Bills will move on.