By Brandon Simmons
Bengals Grab First Playoff Win in Over 30 Years
For the first time in 31 years, the Cincinnati Bengals have won a playoff game, beating the Las Vegas Raiders 26-19. It looked like a game that the Bengals would run away with, jumping to a 20-6 lead in the first half, but the Raiders kept fighting back despite coming up short late in the 4th quarter. Cincy QB Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase made an instant connection in this game. Chase put on a show for all 4 quarters with 9 catches for 116 yards while Burrow finished the game throwing 24/34 for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On paper, these two teams may have been evenly matched but the game is what separated them. The Bengals looked prepared and more disciplined from the jump. They were going through their aerial attack as usual, but they also found balance in the run game with running back Joe Mixon, who finished the game with 17 rushes for 48 yards. That was another difference that sort separated the two teams. While Las Vegas QB Derek threw for 310 yards, he did it off 54 pass attempts and only 29 completions. They seemed to under-utilize running back Josh Jacobs, who rushed 13 times for 83 yards, but could have been used a little bit more. The Raiders could not get anything right on offense until the end of the 2nd half when Vegas QB Derek Carr connected with wide receiver Zay Jones for a TD. It helped keep the lead relatively close, but they could not overcome the plethora of mental errors, including penalties that negated big gains. The Bengals took advantage of this as they were focused and executed their gameplan well to bring Cincy its first playoff win since 1991.
Bills Mafia Mobs All over the Patriots
The Buffalo Bills demolished the New England Patriots in their Wild Card game 47-17. It was the third time that each team faced each other this year and was obviously the most lopsided decision of the season series. It was a game where the Bills could do no wrong in all facets of the game. Bills quarterback Josh Allen led the charge throwing 21/25 for 38 yards and 5 touchdowns, including rushing for 66 yards. He spread the ball around to plenty of Bills receivers, including tight end Dalton Knox who had 5 catches for 89 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the ground, Buffalo outgained the Patriots for the first time in this series. Defensively, the secondary generated 2 picks with safety Micha Hyde snatching one and cornerback Levi Wallace. This unit also racked up 3 sacks with 1 apiece by Boogie Basham, Star Lotuleilei and Jerry Hughes.
The Bills simply put on a dominant performance against their division rivals. They were on point offensively, defensively and a little bit of special teams, where Hyde ran back a huge punt return. It just goes to show that the playoffs can be a different animal than the regular season. This was the same Patriots team that went into Buffalo and ran through the Bills for over 200 yards. They could not replicate that success in the 2nd matchup and could not do it either in this game. Buffalo has been regarded as one of the more complete teams this season, so when they lock in, they can be dangerous on all levels. The Patriots are a good team, but the competition only gets tougher; Buffalo will have to bring this same energy and effort to their next opponent.
Brady and the Bucs are Flawless in Their Performance
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Philadelphia Eagles 31-15 and it was not even as close as the score indicated. In fact, the Eagles were shut out 31-0 until the 4th quarter where the Bucs pretty much mailed it in, but the Tampa defense delivered haymakers right on time. Bucs safety Antoine Winfield and defensive tackle Steve McLendon each had a sack while safety Mike Edwards and linebacker Shaq Barrett each collected an interception, including the latter who had an amazing tip pick on a 4th down. It wouldn’t be right to leave Brady who had a marvelous game himself. The Tampa Bay QB threw 29/37 for 271 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also fed Bucs wide receiver 9 catches for 117 yards for one of those touchdowns. Both the completions and receptions were playoff records for the Bucs.
The Bucs defense came out in this game and performed immensely. All day they mixed their coverages to take away the main receivers for the Eagles, Devante Smith and Dallas Goedert. With those two largely removed from the gameplan, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts struggled to find open receivers down the field. Eagles running back Miles Sanders did make his return from injury in this game, but Philly used him too little and too late for him to become a factor. The only criticism that the Bucs would receive is that they kept Brady in for the whole game. He could’ve suffered an injury, especially with the Eagles applying pressure all day and generating 4 sacks. It was a good thing that did not happen but even better for them they secured the win, awaiting their next opponent.
49ers Pull off Upset
The upset of the weekend belongs to the San Francisco 49ers for beating the Dallas Cowboys 23-17. The 49ers took on one of the most high-powered offenses and frustrated them all day. However, people will not be talking about the job the Niners defense did but rather they will be discussing the 4th quarter play the Cowboys ran at the end of the game. With 14 seconds left in the game, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott ran up the middle to get a closer shot at the end zone. However, when he slid with 8 seconds left, the offense ran up to the line but the ref did not touch the ball when Prescott placed it under center. The referee touching the ball took a couple of seconds off the clock and it eventually expired. But the controversial ending should not take away from San Fran’s performance. They jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the 2nd quarter before Dallas could score, and eventually took it to 23-7 in the 3rd quarter. The Cowboys struggled against the run, giving up 169 yards. This can be attributed to 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell and part-time running back, wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Mitchell totaled 96 yards on 27 rushes and Samuel had 72 on 10 carries. Defensively, they brought the house down on the Cowboys, racking up 5 sacks.
This is one of those games where people will ask if the 49ers won this game or if the Cowboys lost this game; honestly it would have to be the latter. The Cowboys defense struggled to stop the run, which extended a lot of drives and kept their offense off the field. The unit did hold San Francisco from scoring as many touchdowns as they wanted to, but the Cowboys offense could not capitalize off the favor. The big plays for Dallas’ offense was few and far in between. Their only touchdowns came towards the end of the 2nd and 4th quarters. This is not take away from the 49ers, because they should get a lot of credit for this win as well. They went on the road into a hostile environment, stayed true to their identity and executed their game plan.
Chiefs Send Roethlisberger off in Crushing Fashion
Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger might have played his last NFL game and it’s unfortunate that it had to be a crushing playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs Big Ben and the Steelers home after a 42-21 defeat on Sunday Night. It was a game that looked close early on but soon got away from the Steelers in the 2nd half. After going up 21-7 at the end of the 2nd quarter, Kansas City came out in the 2nd half and put up 2 straight touchdowns. The first went to guard Nick Allegretti and the 2nd went to wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes had a solid game throwing 31/40 for 410 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception. Tight end Travis Kelce finished as the game’s leading receiver with 5 catches for 108 yards and the touchdown he scored at the end of the first half.
The key to the Chiefs win was momentum. Kelce scored the TD at the end of the 1st half and it fired up the team. They came out in the 2nd half driving down the field and was able to push it in the endzone with Allegretti. On the ensuing defensive possession, the Chiefs were able to collect an interception, which set up the touchdown to Hill. The Steelers started this game playing the Chiefs tough, including Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt recovering a fumble and taking it in for a touchdown. Every other play for the Steelers seemed to come too late for them to get back in the game. Kansas City largely due to their explosive offense as expected, with big plays in the air and on the ground.
Rams Wipe Out the Cardinals
On the first ever playoff game played on a Monday Night, the Arizona Cardinals appeared to have a case of the Mondays. The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cardinals 34-11 in a game completely dominated by L.A. Quarterback Matthew Stafford had sort of a quiet outing throwing 13/17 for 202 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. But it was other members of this offense that had a lowkey performance. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp had 3 catches for 16 yards and a touchdown. His teammate, Odell Beckham, Jr., finished the game 4 catches for 54 yards and a touchdown, and even threw a 40 yard pass to running back Cam Akers, who returned tonight from an achilles injury and was a crucial part of this ground game. It’s hard to talk about the Rams dominating and leave out the defense. Rams defensive linemen Aaron Donald and Greg Gaines, as well as linebacker Von Miller all chipped in for 3 sacks. Cornerback David Long got a pick 6 in the 2nd quarter, which was the shortest interception returned for a touchdown in postseason history.
The Rams were in total control of this game in all facets, but the one thing that put things into gear was the run game. Akers returned from his achilles injury an acted like he never left. He poured in 17 attempts for 55 yards while Sony Michel ushered in 13 rushes for 58 yards. With the Rams dominating the ground game the way they did, Stafford was less at risk to throw picks like he was doing in the last few games of the season. More importantly, it wore down the Cardinals and kept their depleted offense on the sideline, which made it hard for them to get into a rhythm. Arizona had four straight 3 and outs to start the game and that is never a good thing to have in a playoff game. On paper, this looked like the potential of a tough, close battle but it turned into a tune up game to prepare the Rams for their divisional matchup against the Buccaneers.
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