NFL Divisional Round Recap

Adamo Marinelli

January 24, 2022

     What an incredible weekend of football! The 2022 NFL divisional round saw three road teams win their game with a last-second field goal, which hasn’t happened in a very long time. It also saw the number one seed in both conferences lose for the first time since 2010. Finally, the margin of victory for all four games was a combined 15 points, the lowest figure ever in the divisional round in the Super Bowl era. Finally, all four games ended in a walk-off fashion; three field goals and one TD. Let’s take a look at all four incredible divisional round games. 

      The Cincinnati Bengals were fresh off a close win in a back-and-forth game against the Las Vegas Raiders in the wild-card round. The Tennessee Titans’ defense played well all game long, recording nine sacks, the most in a playoff game since the 1993 Kansas City Chiefs, however, the Titans could not overcome three interceptions from Ryan Tannehill. Two of his interceptions on his first throw and last throw of the game led to six points for the Bengals, which included the game-winning field goal. His other interception came in the red zone when they were down 16-6 in the third quarter which cost the Titans at least three points. Bengals’ rookie kicker Evan McPherson was a perfect 4/4 on the day, including hitting two 50+ yard kicks, the game-winner was from 52 yards out. Neither QB’s stat line was impressive, but Burrow’s was better than Tannehill’s which contributed to the win. Derrick Henry balled out in his return and A.J. Brown was incredible (5-142-1), but it wasn’t enough. The Bengals are going to their first AFC championship game in 34 years, since 1988.

     The Green Bay Packers entered the game as the best team in not only the NFC but the entire NFL with a 13-4 record in the regular season. Throughout the entire regular season, the Packers were one of the best offenses in the NFL, they were one of the most consistent teams in the NFL and had a solid defense. They also got several players back from injury before their playoff game. However, one thing that haunted them frequently this season was special teams. It cost them against the 49ers. The Packers’ special teams had a field goal blocked when leading 7-0 right before the half that took three points off the board. They also had a punt blocked and returned for a TD in the fourth quarter, giving seven points to the 49ers, which tied the game 10-10. They gave up over 30 yards per punt return and had only 10 men on the field on Robbie Gould’s game-winning field goal. Rodgers didn’t have the best game, but all the blame cannot fall on him. Their special teams lost the game. Now, they enter the offseason $45 million over the cap, with a lot of pending free agents to re-sign and Rodgers might have played his last game as a Packer. The San Fransisco 49ers have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball and deserve to be in the playoffs even with Jimmy Garoppolo not playing his best football. Their offense is explosive and they made the plays when they needed to. The 49ers’ defense was a force to be reckoned with all game long, generating constant pressure and recording five sacks. The 49ers held the Packers to only 10 points, which tied the fewest points scored by the Packers when Aaron Rodgers plays a full game. It also was the Packers’ first home loss this season and Rodgers is now 0-4 against the 49ers in the playoffs. With the win, the 49ers become the first team to win a playoff game without scoring an offensive TD since the 2016 Pittsburgh Steelers. 

     Entering the week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were favoured by three points against the Los Angeles Rams with RB Leonard Fournette, center Ryan Jensen and CB Sean Murphy Bunting among others all returning from injury. However, without star wide receiver Chris Godwin and one of their best offensive lineman, tackle Tristan Wirfs, the advantage shifted to the Rams who have a dominant pass rush, especially off the edge with Leonard Floyd, Aaron Donald, and Von Miller, all three of whom recorded a sack against Brady. Von Miller’s sack forced a fumble. This game was a tale of two halves. The Rams dominated the first two and a half quarters, taking a 20-3 lead at halftime. The Rams would add another TD early in the third quarter to take a 27-3 lead. The game looked all but over, but then you remember it is Tom Brady on the other side, down 24 points in a big game (insert flashback to Super Bowl 51). After the Rams took a 27-3 lead, the Rams’ next six possessions consisted of three lost fumbles, two punts, and a missed field goal. That allowed the Buccaneers to score 24 consecutive points to tie the game 27-27 with 0:42 left in the game. After the Bucs tied the game, Stafford made two huge plays to Cooper Kupp downfield to set up a game-winning 30-yard field goal for Matt Gay. Kupp recorded 64 of his 183 yards on the final possession and Stafford had an excellent game despite the numerous second-half miscues throwing for 366 yards, two TDs, zero INTs, and he also scored a rushing TD. The Rams became the first team to win a playoff game after losing four fumbles since the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers. With the win, the Rams ensured both the NFC championship game and the Super Bowl stadium will be hosted at SoFi stadium. 2022 marks the first time since 2009 that Rodgers or Brady won’t play on championship weekend. The Bucs will face some uncertainty going forward with the potential retirement of Brady and Gronk.

       

     Finally, what was potentially the best game of the weekend, but not one without its fair share of controversy. After the Chiefs beat the Bills in the 2020 AFC championship game to advance to Super Bowl 55, the Bills got their revenge in the 2021 season beating the Chiefs 38-20 in week five. However, in the latest edition of Patrick Mahomes vs Josh Allen - a rivalry that has been fantastic and will surely provide us with many more exciting games for the next 10-15 years - it came down to the wire with several lead changes. The game was tied 14-14 at halftime and the Chiefs led 23-21 after the third quarter. The Chiefs extended their lead to 26-21 with a field goal before the wildest final two-minute sequence in NFL history. A whopping 25 points were scored by the Chiefs (10) and Bills (15) in the final two minutes of the game, which is the most in any regular season or postseason game in the Super Bowl era. There were three lead changes in the final two minutes of regulation and four if you count Travis Kelce’s walk-off TD in overtime. Bills’ wide receiver Gabriel Davis set an NFL playoff record with four receiving TDs including a 19-yard reception that gave the Bills a 36-33 lead with 0:13 left in the game. He also had 201 yards on eight catches, which is simply incredible. Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes both played amazing games. Allen threw for 329 yards, four TDs, and zero INTs and Mahomes threw for 378 yards, three TDs, and zero INTs, including throwing for 177 yards after the two-minute warning and in OT. Mahomes also scored on the ground. It was an incredible game and this is going to be an awesome rivalry for a long time, akin to Brady and Manning, but many people have just one criticism. The NFL needs to change its overtime rules. Both teams need to get at least one possession. In a fourth quarter where 28 points were scored, 25 in the final two minutes, both defenses were exhausted. Nobody on either team looked like they wanted to or had any energy left to play any defense. As a result, the team that won the coin toss would get a huge advantage because their defense would not have to go out on the field. It would be their offense, against their opponents’ exhausted defense. In such an exciting game of this caliber, with so much on the line, a coin toss cannot decide the outcome. Since 2010, 11 playoff games went to overtime. 10 of the 11 teams that won the toss, won the game. I think they should implement the CFL rules where each team gets a possession starting on the opponents’ 35-yard line. However, because of the NFL’s extra down, both teams can start from midfield. Congrats to the Chiefs on the win, it wasn’t their fault that Buffalo allowed them to tie the game at the end of regulation. They will be the first-ever team to host four consecutive AFC championship games. In this case, it was the Chiefs to win the toss and win. If it was the Bills that won the toss, they would have won too. 

     What a wild weekend in the NFL and it will only get crazier next week in the AFC and NFC championship games. Let’s make our predictions.

      In the AFC championship, the Bengals will visit the Chiefs. Both teams are very talented on both sides of the ball. Both teams won their game in amazing fashion this weekend. However, Ja’Marr Chase torched the Chiefs in the regular season (11, 266, 3) and Gabriel Davis torched the Chiefs last night (8, 201, 4). For that reason, I have the Bengals winning a very tight, high-scoring game, 36-34.

     In the NFC championship, the 49ers will visit the Rams. The 49ers have recorded two incredible playoff wins against the Cowboys and Packers, but their run will come to an end against the Rams, who have an incredible defense and who have the superior QB and overall offense. The 49ers will make it look respectable, but if the Rams can avoid turnovers, they should win 28-24. If the Rams win, they have the chance to play in a Super Bowl on their home field.

May the best teams win, for a chance to play in Super Bowl 56.