Tom Henigan
The AFC and NFC Championship games are set after a dramatic weekend of divisional round action in the NFL. We had drama, upsets, and even a snow game in these matchups. Let’s recap a great divisional round from the 2024/25 NFL season.
Houston Texans 14-23 Kansas City Chiefs
This was a close game where Houston’s mistakes cost them a chance to potentially cause a monumental upset on the road. The Texans had an awful day on special teams, and it started with them giving up a 63-yard return on the opening kickoff. Add a penalty to that from Kris Boyd, who ended up shoving his own coach after the play, and Mahomes was walking onto the field with the ball at the opposition 13-yard line.
But as they did for a lot of the game, Houston’s defence stepped up, forcing a field goal.
C.J. Stroud then entered the field for the first time and led a drive that also ended in a field goal, tying the game at 3-3.
The next special teams mistake for the visitors came when they were 6-3 down as Stroud led the team into field goal range again but this time Ka’imi Fairbairn missed his attempt from 55 yards out. Mahomes punished that mistake as he led a 55-yard touchdown drive which started with a 49-yard Travis Kelce catch and ended with a Kareem Hunt one-yard touchdown run.
After Stroud put his team in field goal range again, the half ended 13-6 to the Chiefs. To start the second half, Houston had their best drive of the game which lasted for 15 plays and almost 10 and a half minutes. Joe Mixon ran in from 13 yards out but then Fairbairn missed the extra point, making it 13-12.
The Chiefs answered with a long touchdown drive of their own with Mahomes somehow finding Travis Kelce in the endzone on a 3rd and goal as he was being tackled by a Houston defender. With the score now at 20-12, this is where the game started to get away from the Texans. Stroud was sacked on a 4th and 10 in Kansas City territory and even after Houston’s defence forced a three and out from the Chiefs, Stroud could still not get his offence going.
A short punt from Houston gave Mahomes good field position, and the Chiefs kicked a field goal to go up 23-12. The Texans’ disastrous day on special teams culminated in a blocked field goal on an attempt which would have made it a one score game with just under two minutes left.
If you are wondering how Houston got to 14 points, it is because the Chiefs took an intentional safety to kill time at the end of the game.
The Chiefs made big plays in big moments like they always do
There was some controversy about the officiating in this game and, while there were some questionable calls in favour of the Chiefs, if the Texans had cleaned up their mistakes they could have won this game. Two missed field goals, a missed extra point, and a huge kickoff return given up, that’s a 10-point swing just from the kicking unit. Add in the short punt in the 4th quarter when they were down 20-12 and the special teams mistakes from Houston stand out in this game. The Texans didn’t protect Stroud well enough either as George Karlaftis had three of Kansas City’s eight sacks. As well as the defence played, they allowed Travis Kelce to have a huge day as he went for 117 yards and a touchdown. The Chiefs made big plays in big moments like they always do, and the Texans did not. That is the reason Kansas City still has a chance at a three-peat.
Houston has a lot to look forward to with a great young head coach and quarterback, but this was never going to be their year.
Washington Commanders 45-31 Detroit Lions
One of the biggest upsets in NFL playoff history. I said in my preview to this game that the Commanders could only win this game with a Jayden Daniels masterclass and a Jayden Daniels masterclass is what we got. What I also said, however, is that Washington would not win because of their defence making play after play. How wrong I was there because the defence of the Commanders forced five turnovers in this game.
The first quarter ended with Detroit leading 7-3 but Washington had possession to start the 2nd quarter after Dorance Armstrong had strip sacked Jared Goff, giving the visitors possession after Frankie Luvu recovered the ball.
The 2nd quarter of this game was the highest scoring quarter in the history of the NFL playoffs. The Commanders capitalised on their forced turnover as Brian Robinson Jr. scored a two-yard touchdown. The Lions responded with a strong drive which ended in an amazing Sam LaPorta touchdown catch.
Washington kept their foot on the pedal though as Terry McLaurin took a short pass all the way to the endzone for a 58-yard touchdown. Then Goff had his second turnover as he overthrew Tim Patrick, and Quan Martin intercepted the ball, returning it all the way for a touchdown. Goff left the game with an injury briefly so missed the next drive but that didn’t stop Jameson Williams from scoring a 61-yard touchdown for the Lions. But Daniels responded once again, making the throw of the night to Dyami Brown for 38 yards before finding Zach Ertz for a five-yard touchdown three plays later on a 3rd and goal. With Goff back in the game, it looked like Detroit would respond again as they moved into opposition territory, but Goff’s pass intended for Williams was intercepted by Mike Sainristil in the endzone to end the half.
After all of that drama, the Commanders went into the break up 31-21.
The second half started well for Detroit as they forced a punt and then led a 91-yard touchdown drive, culminating in a Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown run to make it 31-28. But the defence of the Lions could not get another stop. Daniels answered yet again as his offence converted two 4th downs in the red zone on a 70-yard touchdown drive. One of those 4th down conversions came because the Lions had too many men on the field, an error that comes from having so many backups in the game due to injury.
Now down 38-28 in the 4th quarter, the Lions needed points but on a trick play, Jameson Williams was intercepted by Sainristil. On the most crucial drive of the season, Ben Johnson, who has been arguably the best coordinator in the league this season, made a very questionable play call, although Williams should have never thrown the pass given how the play developed. To absolutely nobody’s surprise, the Commanders scored a touchdown off of this turnover, making it 45-28. The Lions made a field goal on the next drive and then the Commanders missed one, but the writing was on the wall and Goff’s third interception, this time to Jeremy Chinn, with 32 seconds left, secured the upset for the Commanders.
Daniels dealt with the blitz perfectly all night
Jayden Daniels was sensational in this game. He had 350 total yards, two touchdowns and, crucially, zero turnovers. Daniels dealt with the blitz perfectly all night as he didn’t take a sack all game. The defensive injuries finally caught up with Detroit in a game where they could not handle the rookie sensation. Offensively, I think the Lions overcomplicated things. Detroit ran for over 200 yards in this game but did not stick with the ground game in key situations such as the Williams interception or Goff’s red zone fumble on 3rd and 1.
Washington’s defence may have given up over 500 yards to the Lions, but they forced five turnovers, including that crucial pick-six, and they did it against the best offence in the league.
This is an amazing season for the Commanders with a new head coach and a rookie quarterback, after they went 4-13 last season. For the Lions, this is a heart-breaking loss as their best ever season ends with no playoff wins and they miss out on a chance to host the NFC Championship.
Los Angeles Rams 22-28 Philadelphia Eagles
Just like in the matchup between these two teams in week 12, the Rams could not stop Philadelphia’s run game. The Eagles opening drive ended with a Jalen Hurts 44-yard rushing touchdown to set the tone. The Rams responded well though, as Matthew Stafford found Tyler Higbee for a four-yard touchdown to make it 7-6 to L.A. after the Eagles missed their extra point.
Both teams then exchanged punts before Saquon Barkley had his first of multiple big runs. Barkley, who dominated the Rams in week 12 with 255 rushing yards, took off for a 62-yard touchdown. The Rams answered with a field goal and, after some more punts, the half ended with the Eagles leading 13-10 with the snow coming down heavily.
Up until the latter part of the 4th quarter, the second half was about each team’s defence. The offences exchanged punts to start the half and then kicked a field goal each as the snow made it hard to move the ball down the field. Hurts had also seemed to injure his knee when he was sacked in the second quarter, an injury that seemed to hinder him for the rest of the game.
With the Eagles up 16-13, it looked like the momentum of the game swung in favour of the Rams when Neville Gallimore sacked Hurts in the endzone for a safety, making it 16-15 thanks to one of the seven sacks the Rams had in this game. But the Rams fumbled on each of their next two possessions with Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith being the two to knock the ball loose for Philadelphia. L.A. forced a field goal on each of the Eagles’ resulting possessions, making it 22-15 to the hosts.
After Philadelphia’s defence got another stop, forcing a three and out from the Rams, Barkley made another huge play for the offence. After being limited for most of the second half, the first team All-Pro running back took off once again for a 78-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive. Jake Elliott missed his second extra point of the game, but Philadelphia still led by a score of 28-15 with four minutes and 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Barkley’s second touchdown should have ended this matchup but Stafford and his offence finally found some rhythm. The Rams drove down the field for a 70-yard touchdown drive with Stafford finding Colby Parkinson for the score. With over two and a half minutes left, and all three timeouts remaining for L.A., the visitors still had a chance. It seemed as if the Eagles were wanting to make this game close as on 2nd and 7, they ran a play action, faking the ball to Barkley, which resulted in a sack. After a 3rd and 19 run to force the Rams to use another timeout, the Eagles punted.
Stafford had a chance to win the game. Down 28-22 with just over two minutes left, he led a strong drive, which included an amazing 37-yard catch by Puka Nacua. With a 3rd and 2 at the 12-yard line of the Eagles, the Rams looked like they might snatch victory from the jaws of defeat but Jalen Carter had other ideas. The second team All-Pro eased past the offensive line to sack Stafford. That set up a 4th and long which Carter also wrecked, pressuring Stafford who missed his throw. That incompletion gave the Eagles the win meaning they will host the NFC Championship game against their division rivals, the Washington Commanders.
When you have a Hall of Fame talent at running back, he can win you the game at any point
Although the stat line will show the dominance of Barkley and Philadelphia’s rushing offence, the Rams held the Eagles in check on the ground for most of the second half. Outside of Barkley’s 78-yard touchdown, they held Philadelphia to 37 rushing yards in the second half, excluding Hurts’ kneel down to end the game. Of course, Barkley’s big run was the most crucial play of the game and that’s what happens when you have a Hall of Fame talent at running back, he can win you the game at any point, and the Rams could not stop Barkley when it mattered most.
If the Rams had moved to a no huddle offence earlier in the game, allowing less time for substitutions on Philadelphia’s defence, they might have had more success, but their two turnovers were what really lost them the game. Carter was the star for the defensive unit of the Eagles, making huge plays in the biggest moments as he singled-handedly ended the game.
Baltimore Ravens 25-27 Buffalo Bills
The most anticipated game of the season with the best two quarterbacks from this year. Unsurprisingly, both offences started strong, with each team scoring a touchdown on their opening drive as Lamar Jackson found Rashod Bateman for Baltimore’s score while Ray Davis found the endzone for the Bills.
But that is when the mistakes from Jackson came in. Right after Buffalo’s touchdown drive, the Ravens quarterback threw an interception to Taylor Rapp. Then, after the Ravens got a stop on defence, Jackson had an even worse turnover. Following a bad snap, Jackson tried to make something happen instead of accepting the failed play. He fumbled and Von Miller picked up the ball for the Bills, taking it to Baltimore’s 24-yard line. Josh Allen and his offence capitalised as Buffalo’s quarterback eventually scored from a yard out.
On Baltimore’s next drive, Buffalo’s defence made one of the biggest stops of the game, a stop that has gone under the radar. Jackson had a great 42-yard pass to Bateman to put Baltimore on the two-yard line of the Bills. With Derrick Henry in the backfield, everyone assumes situations like these will be touchdowns for the Ravens given that they have at least three chances of reaching the endzone. But on 1st and goal, Henry was stopped by the front seven of the Bills, and on 2nd and goal, Greg Rousseau sacked Jackson. After Jackson’s pass on 3rd and goal from the eight-yard line fell incomplete, the Ravens kicked a field goal, making it 14-10.
The Bills ended the half strong. Allen led a 70-yard touchdown drive which ended with him running into the endzone from four yards out with just 16 seconds left before the break. That made it 21-10 to the hosts at halftime and the Ravens were in trouble.
Baltimore’s defence, which has been excellent since week 10, stepped up in the second half after allowing three touchdowns in the first two quarters of the game. The Bills punted after three plays to start the half and after a Ravens field goal, Buffalo punted again. All of a sudden, the Ravens had the ball while down by just eight points. Henry was now picking up steam for the visitors as he had 46 rushing yards and a touchdown on an 80-yard touchdown drive which made it 21-19. The Ravens went for two after Henry’s touchdown run but, crucially, Milano tipped Jackson’s attempted pass for Likely, and the ball hit the ground to keep the score at 21-19 to Buffalo.
The Bills needed a response on offence after punting twice on two drives to start the half. Allen and his group could only muster up a field goal as Tyler Bass knocked the ball through the posts from 51 yards out with 12 minutes left in the 4th quarter. 24-19 down, Jackson looked like he was moving his team down the field when he found Mark Andrews for a first down in Buffalo territory. But while trying to gain extra yards, Andrews lost the ball as Terrel Bernard punched it loose and recovered it himself. A game-changing play from Bernard, and the Bills had a chance to seal the game on offence.
After that turnover, Allen led his team down to the two-yard line of the Ravens but was stopped on a 3rd and goal run. The Bills chose to kick a field goal on 4th and goal to make it 27-19 with three and a half minutes left.
With Baltimore’s season in his hands, Andrews dropped the ball
After years of criticism for his playoff performances, Jackson had a chance to make a statement on this drive and he did. The multiple time MVP led his team down the field before eventually throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely. The Ravens were now 27-25 down and needed a two-point conversion to draw level with just under a minute and a half remaining. With the season on the line, Jackson rolled to his right and found a wide-open Andrews who just had to cushion the ball into his body and roll into the endzone. But with Baltimore’s season in his hands, Andrews dropped the ball. That gave Buffalo a 27-25 win after they recovered the onside kick and Ty Johnson ran for a first down before Josh Allen kneeled to bring the clock to zero.
The Bills will head to Arrowhead to face a Chiefs team that has ended three of Buffalo’s last four seasons.
The Ravens once again came up short with their three turnovers to Buffalo’s zero being the story in this game. Jackson was great in the second half but Baltimore made crucial errors in big moments, while the Bills did not. Buffalo deserves a lot of credit as they made big plays to force Baltimore’s errors. The stop that the Bills defence made in the 2nd quarter when the Ravens had a 1st and goal at the two-yard line was another massive moment in this game where the hosts stepped up.
The results from the divisional round have set up two great conference championship games. The Commanders travel to Philadelphia in an NFC East matchup with the Super Bowl on the line. In the AFC, it’s Mahomes versus Allen in the playoffs part four, with Mahomes being 3-0 against the Bills in the postseason.
Tom Henigan
Featured image courtesy of Anders Krøgh Jørgensen via Unsplash. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @nfl via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.?
In article image 2 courtesy of @philadelphiaeagles via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.?
In article image 3 courtesy of @nfloncbs via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
For more content including uni news, reviews, entertainment, lifestyle, features and so much more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to get involved.
For further sports content and ways to get involved, follow @ImpactSport on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Impact Sport Facebook page!
