After a nail-biting Wild-Card Weekend featuring many insane twists and unexpected outcomes, the divisional round landed with… not as many good games. Let’s go over them.
Philadelphia Eagles 38, New York Giants 7 Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
New York got a victory against Minnesota last week and decided that they had enjoyed enough success and would lay down and die against the Eagles. 3 rushers for the Eagles averaged above 5 yards per carry, and the Eagles’ run first offense continued to trouble the Giants, who have a 4-1 record against Philly in their last 5 meetings. Daniel Jones only threw for 135 yards and an interception, and Saquon Barkley had only 61 rushing yards. The Giants had only 118 rushing yards to Philadelphia’s 268. Up next for the Giants this offseason is making decisions on Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. Barkley and Jones took huge strides this season, but are they worth another contract? In my opinion, Barkley is but Jones isn’t.
The Giants could easily take a QB like Tanner McKee from Stanford or Hendon Hooker from Tennessee in round 2 to fix their QB problem for a cheaper price, but Barkley returned to rookie for this season, and I don’t think that he’ll ask for too much money due to his lackluster 2021 season. The Eagles will stay in Pennsylvania for the conference championship vs. San Francisco.
Kansas City Chiefs 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 20Â GEHA at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Tragedy has struck Arrowhead. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes injured his ankle in a 7-point win over Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The game was closer than the final score suggests, with Duvall having 3 chances to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, down ten points, but only mustering up a singular field goal. An interception by T-Law and a fumble by backup running back Jamal Agnew killed two of Jacksonville’s final 3 drives. We all saw Kansas City’s win coming from a mile away, but we were all blindsided by an injury to Patrick Mahomes. The official diagnosis is a high-ankle sprain, which will severely limit his mobility for the AFC Championship game against Cincinnati. According to healthline.com, if you try to move with the ankle whilst injured, pain will be caused “just above the area of inflammation and swelling” so this will be something to monitor going forward.
Jacksonville exceeded expectations this season and will look to build on their solid 2022 campaign with some good free agency signings and solid draft day decisions.
Cincinnati Bengals 27. Buffalo Bills 10Â Highmark Stadium, Buffalo
The Bengals walked into Buffalo a beat the Bills up and down the field all day. Cincy’s banged-up offensive line proved to be no problem for Joe Burrow, who averaged 2.6 seconds until release, his lowest all season. Joe Mixon had over 100 yards of rushing, and Samaje Perine added 33 more. Buffalo would have lost by 21 if not for a bad call taking away a Ja’Marr Chase touchdown late in the second quarter. Cincinnati cornerbacks Eli Apple and Cameron Taylor-Britt blanketed the field defensively, not allowing a single 40-yard play. Buffalo’s rushing attack was even worse, mustering only 3.3 yards a carry, with only 64 yards. Cincinnati will travel to Missouri to play Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC Championship next weekend. As for Buffalo….
“Every year, it’s the same exact thing.”
-Buffalo Bills Receiver Stefon Diggs on their playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals
Is it time to panic, Buffalo? For three straight years, Buffalo has been touted as the “team to beat” in the AFC, and here are the results:
2020: Lost to Kansas City in the Conference Championship
2021: Lost to Kansas City in the Divisional Round
2022: Lost to Cincinnati in the Divisional Round
The Cap Crunch is coming for Buffalo, and they need to maximize their current Super Bowl window. If Diggs’ quote is any indication, then players in Buffalo are a little tense about their recent playoff failings. One could argue that Diggs is talking about how he also dealt with playoff in Minnesota before being traded to Buffalo, but this year seems like a frustrating setback for Buffalo, given that they took Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to overtime last year. Buffalo NEEDS to make a splash in free agency if they want to knock off Mahomes and Burrow, but will they? Or will they let another offseason pass by without any meaningful additions?
San Francisco 49ers 19, Dallas Cowboys 12Â Levi Stadium, Santa Clara
Dem Boys were embarrassed on Sunday against the Niners. Dak Prescott is set to make 49 million dollars this year. Brock Purdy is set to make 900,000 dollars. But hey, I guess once the Cowboys found something that they were good at, they stuck with it. Unfortunately, that thing happens to be losing to the 49ers in the playoffs. Brent Maher missed his only extra point of the day, and the game was grueling slugfest up until San Francisco scored a touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter to blow the game open. The Cowboys attempted a hilarious last play that involved Ezekiel Elliott lining up as a center, which obviously did nothing of note.
Dallas and January disappointment goes together better than vanilla and chocolate. Dallas will have to do some deep reflection in the offseason, while San Francisco will travel to Pennsylvania to try and punch their ticket to the Super Bowl against the Eagles.
MY PREDICTIONS:
AFC CHAMP: BENGALS. Before the Mahomes injury, it was a toss-up, but with his mobility severely limited, the Bengals are a pretty safe pick.
NFC CHAMP: EAGLES. Brock Purdy didn’t play all too well against the Boys in last week’s contest, and Haason Reddick should get after him enough to allow Philadelphia a chance to win.
