By Brandon Simmons
49ers Run Vikings back to Minnesota
The San Francisco 49ers put on an impressive performance when they beat the Minnesota Vikings 27-10 in their divisional round game. Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo was able to cruise towards his playoff victory, driven by the defense and the incredible rushing attack.
The key reason for San Francisco winning this running the ball, in which they out-rushed Minnesota 186 to 21. Niners RB Tevin Coleman had 105 of those yards including 2 touchdowns. The ground game was everything for the 49ers. It helped them operate the play action passes so Jimmy G could throw the ball down the field and helped shaved time off the clock. On the touchdown drive in the 3rd quarter, San Francisco did nothing but run the ball, mostly with Coleman and a little help with RB Raheem Mostert. It shouldn’t go unnoticed that the defense was also in fire just as well. Niners CB Richard Sherman had the interception which set up that 3rd quarter touchdown drive. However, it was the defensive line kept applying the pressure on Vikings QB Kirk Cousins. The first sack, which came in the 2nd quarter, was key because it put the Vikings in a 2nd and 20 which turned into a 3rd and 20 and then a 3 and out. They ended up sacking him 6 times; 2 of those by defensive end Nick Bosa.
The 49ers played like a true number one seed and imposed their will on the Vikings. While it was a close game at halftime, the San Francisco defense was able to step up and dismantle the Vikings offense, to put the ball back in the hands of the 49ers offense to finish the job. Minnesota just did not have the juice in the 3rd quarter to get anything going offensively. It seems that once Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was being roughed up, it became harder for Cousins to utilize his other weapons. The 49ers took advantage of that and was able to put points on the board to put the game away.
Titans Run Away with 2nd Straight Upset
For the 2nd week in a row, the Tennessee Titans went on the road in the playoffs and knocked off a top seed behind the legs of running back Derrick Henry. Henry put on another rushing performance of almost 200 yards as they blew out the Baltimore Ravens 28-12. A lot can be said about this game, whether it’s the Titans winning this game or how the Baltimore Ravens failed to show up on time for this matchup.
Before going any further, most of the credit deserves to go to the Tennessee Titans defense. They went on the road and wrangle in an MVP candidate in Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. Everywhere that Jackson wanted to scramble with the football, the defense was able to meet him at the line of scrimmage and hold him to very few yards. This is what led him to staying in the pocket and having to throw the ball to someone other than his tight ends, which was not something he was used to. This also afforded Tennessee to apply pressure on him in the pocket, including 4 sacks, which 2 came from defensive tackle Jurrell Casey. Jackson also threw 2 interceptions, including the tipped drop off the hands of Ravens tight end Mark Andrews. The biggest key for the defense’s performance was their ability to stop the 4th downs. All season the Ravens made highlight reels for converting 4th downs; but tonight, the Titans defense stuffed them on all the attempts, making them go 0 for 3.
This would not be a complete review without giving some credit to Titans running back Derrick Henry and the offense. Henry ran through this defense for 190 yards and even had a touchdown pass himself. Surprisingly, the Ravens defense could not stop him, much less bring him down. On one of the runs, Henry is seen stiff arming Baltimore safety Earl Thomas twice. An even more impressive feat for the 2nd straight week is that Titans QB Ryan Tannehill was able to throw under 100 yards. Tannehill went 7/14 for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns. In his defense, it was his defense who gave him short field position so he wouldn’t have to go far for the score. On one of the 4th down stops, Tannehill took the opportunity to throw a play action TD pass
The Tennessee Titans were able to exude past the noise and enamor surrounding the Baltimore Ravens to get an impressive road playoff win. The Titans defense approached the challenge of stopping Lamar Jackson without an ounce of fear and it showed. The Ravens had nothing go right for them all night; their 4th down attempts were stuffed, and their explosive, playmaking quarterback was nothing close to his MVP self for most of the night. Sure, Jackson made some good throws and put up some decent numbers – 365 yards passing and over 100 yards rushing – but none of that could overcome the 2 picks and lost fumble. As a young QB, he is learning some very hard lessons about the regular season flash meaning nothing in the postseason. Last year, he had a good regular season, but poor performance in his first playoff start and took the L. This year he had a tremendous regular season, did better statistically in the playoff game but still took the loss. You could blame rust or inexperience, but Baltimore was just not the better team in this game and Tennessee was able to flourish because of it.
Chiefs Tomahawk Texans in the 2nd Quarter
The Kansas City Chiefs had a late start in their playoff game and ended up having an early finish. The Chiefs beat the Houston Texans 51-31 in a game that saw Kansas City fall down 24-0 but score 41 straight points. A week after the Texans put on an impressive come from behind performance to beat the Buffalo Bills, KC flips the script on them to get their playoff win.
It was a tale of 2 of quarters in the first half. The Texans came out in the 1st quarter and jumped to a 21-0 lead. They were propelled by two special teams plays: a blocked punt returned by Texans cornerback Lonnie Johnson and a muffed punt by Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Both plays resulted in touchdowns one way or the other. But in the 2nd quarter, the Chiefs special teams would answer back. KC receiver Mecole Hardman had a 27 yard return which helped the offense get a touchdown. When the Texans offense takes the field on the following drive, they try to avoid a 3 and out by running a fake punt, which was in their territory, but fail; this sets up the first of 3 touchdown catches by Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. On the kickoff after the score, Texans wide receiver DeAndre Carter fumbles the ball away and the Chiefs score another touchdown on the drive. Kansas City ends up getting the ball back before the 2 minute warning, starting at the ir own 1 yard line, then drive down to score a TD, which puts them up 28-24 going into halftime. They came in the 3rd quarter balancing their playcalling with runs and passes, to cruise on to 51 points.
The Chiefs caught some lucky breaks in that 2nd quarter and did not look back. This was not the same game from Week 6 where the Texans fell behind and were able to climb back in it; this was a matchup where the tables were turned but wobbled on the side of the Texans. Kansas City QB Pat Mahomes threw for 4 touchdowns in the 2nd quarter alone and really didn’t have to do much else after that. Houston was the victim of those bad breaks and their defense couln’t recover much after that. Credit to the Chiefs for seizing the opportunities laid out in front of them and being able to salvage the game in time to dominate the rest of the way.
Packers Dominate Early Then Late
The Green Bay Packers were almost the victims of a comeback until late in the 4th quarter. The Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-23 in game that was almost as close as the score indicated. Green Bay took over the first half by storming to a humongous 3 score lead. However, the 2nd half belonged to the Seahawks, who showed out in the 3rd quarter.
The Packers wasted no time in this game to get ahead. QB Aaron Rodgers came out firing on the first drive and his wide receiver Devante Adams for a 20 yard touchdown. In the 2nd quarter, Rodgers is still hitting Adams for some big plays but also gets a couple of touchdowns from running back Aaron Jones, to put Green By 21-3 at halftime. At this point, the Seahawks were unable to get a lot going on offense; then the 3rd quarter came around. Seattle QB Russell Wilson was able to elude the pass rush to give his team 3 straight touchdown drives in the half, including 2 in the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, the Seahawks got the ball back, only to take a sack by Green Bay linebacker Preston Smith and forced to punt. From there, Rodgers was able to convert a couple of 3rd downs, including one to Adams, in which he was matched up on a slot receiver and another by Packers tight end Jimmy Graham, who had a controversial ruling for his 3rd down conversion catch.
At the end of the day, the Packers were able to show up and make the right plays at the perfect time. Seattle did control most of the 3rd quarter but Green Bay was still able to get back on the field and extend the lead they already had. The Packers defense was all over Wilson as they generated 5 sacks; 4 of them of them coming from linebackers Preston and Zedarius Smith, who shared 2 apiece. Green Bay has been playing good on that side of the ball all year so it’s only right they would show up when it mattered most.