NFL Playoffs - Divisional Round Recap

And then there were four. 

The NFC and AFC Championship games are set. 

It will be the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC and the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title tilt. The Bengals beat the Chiefs in Kansas City a year ago to get to the Super Bowl and they will be going for the repeat performance next Sunday. 

The Bengals are going back to the AFC Championship game.

 

Cincinnati 27, Buffalo 10 - On Sunday afternoon, the Bengals blasted the host Buffalo Bills, 27-10 with the defense dominating and quarterback Joe Burrow tossing two touchdown passes and running back Joe Mixon scoring a rushing touchdown while the offense compiled 412 yards (172 rushing and 240 passing) and 30 first downs.

 

Burrow (242 passing yards) connected with wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase for 28 yards for the first touchdown and then with tight end Hayden Hurst on a 15-yard scoring pass for a 14-0 lead with 3:47 remaining in the first quarter. Bills QB Josh Allen scored from a yard out to make it 14-7 midway through the second quarter. The Bengals kicked a field goal just before the half for a 17-7 edge. Buffalo would close to within seven points (17-10) when Tyler Bass kicked a 25-yard field goal with 7:42 left in the third quarter, but then Mixon scored on the one-yard run late in the third quarter and Evan McPherson sealed the game with a 20-yard field goal in the fourth quarter for the final outcome.

 

Kansas City 27, Jacksonville 20 - A day earlier in Kansas City, the Chiefs outlasted the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-20 as they overcame QB Patrick Mahomes getting a sprained ankle in the game. Backup QB Chad Henne led a 98-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter as Kansas City built a 17-7 lead. Henne threw a one-yard TD pass to tight end Travis Kelce, who had 14 receptions for 98 yards and two scores. Mahomes had thrown a eight-yard scoring pass to Kelce in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. 

The Chiefs held a 17-10 halftime lead as the Jags had a field goal late in the half to go with a ten-yard TD pass from QB Trevor Lawrence to wide receiver Christian Kirk. In the third quarter, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made his second 50-yard field goal for a 20-10 led. The fourth quarter saw Jacksonville get to within three points (20-17) when running back Travis Etienne had a four-yard scoring run. Then Mahomes, who returned to action, connected with WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a six-yard scoring toss for a 27-17 lead with 7:08 remaining. 

Then Jacksonville had back-to-back turnovers as RB Jamal Agnew fumbled inside the Kansas City five-yard line and Lawrence was intercepted on the next possession. Riley Patterson made a 48-yard field goal with 25 seconds left to account for the final score as the Chiefs then recovered the onside kick to end things to get back to their fifth consecutive AFC Championship game.

 

Philadelphia 38, N.Y. Giants 7 - On Saturday night in Philadelphia, the Eagles crushed the visiting New York Giants, 38-7 with QB Jalen Hurts throwing two TD passes and the offense rolling up 268 rushing yards along with three scoring runs to pace the easy win. The Eagles outgained the Giants, 416-227 in total yardage. 

The Eagles celebrate big win over the Giants.

 

Philly running back Kenny Gainwell rushed for 112 yards and scored on a 35-yard run while Miles Sanders ran for 90 yards and Boston Scott added a three-yard TD run along with Hurts scoring on a five-yard run. The Giants defense had no answers and their offense mustered just one score midway through the third quarter on a eight-yard TD run by Matt Breida to cut their deficit to 28-7. The Eagles defense shut them down the rest of the way, getting an interception and five QB sacks while the offense added ten more points.

 

San Francisco 19, Dallas 12 -  The game in San Francisco between the 49ers and Dallas Cowboys was a defensive struggle and 49ers came away with a hard fought 19-12 victory as Robbie Gould kicked four field goals and RB Christian McCaffrey scored on a two-yard run with 14:58 left in the fourth quarter to help make the difference in the final outcome. 

The 'Niners took a 3-0 lead on Gould's first kick (26 yards) but then the Cowboys took a 6-3 lead with 9:25 left in the second quarter when QB Dak Prescott (206 passing yards, one TD, two interceptions) threw a four-yard scoring pass to tight end Dalton Schultz. The extra point was blocked and then Gould drilled two more field goals, including a 50-yarder as time expired for a 9-6 halftime lead. 

In the second half, Dallas would tie the game 9-9 on a 25-yard field goal by Brett Maher with 9:08 left in the third quarter. From there, McCaffrey scored his touchdown prior to Maher drilling a 43-yard field goal to trim the San Francisco lead to 16-12 with 11:03 remaining. Gould would make a 28-yard field goal with 3:08 left and then the 'Niners defense twice stopped the Cowboys to end the game and advance to their third NFC Championship game in the last four years.