NFC Divisional Playoff
Atlanta-36 Seattle-20
1) The Seahawks looked like they came ready to play, and they went down the field and scored a TD on their first drive on a Russell Wilson to Jimmy Graham hookup to take a 7-0 lead. You wondered if the Seahawks were going to mean all business and take the game over.
2) The Falcons responded right back with a TD drive of their own to start the game and tied it at 7 on a sweet little pass play from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones.
3) The game turned on the following sequence: After Seattle took a 10-7 lead, they forced an Atlanta punt, and Devin Hester retuned it for an 80 yard return down to the Atlanta 7, but the play was called back due to a hold on the return. The Seahawks were backed up to their own 7 and two plays later, Wilson tripped over his own lineman and fell in the endzone and was tackled for a safety to make it 10-9. The Falcons got a field goal on the ensuing drive after the free kick to make it 12-10.
4) The Falcons then turned it on from there. After a Seattle 3 and out, the Falcons scored another touchdown near the end of the half on a 99 yard drive that was capped off by a Tevin Coleman 14 yard reception from Matt Ryan. It was 19-10 going into the half, and the Falcons were getting the ball to start the half and they went 75 yards on 13 plays and Devonta Freeman punched it in to make it 26-10, and that pretty much put the game away.
5) Seattle proved that it was a good team, but just not a good enough team to compete in the NFC this year. They weren't better than Atlanta and they had their nice home win over a weak Detroit team in the Wild Card round, but it wasn't going any further. Now, they can retool for a run next year, but they clearly weren't one of the top teams in their conference.
6) The Falcons offense continued their epic run this season and they looked like a well-oiled machine in this game. Matt Ryan was sensational and you have to like the way that Kyle Shanahan crafted the offensive gameplan. It was a great performance, they were the better team, and they showed it in this game.
AFC Divisional Playoff
New England-34 Houston-16
1) You never had the feeling that the Patriots were going to lose this game but somehow it was closer and in striking range for longer than anyone expected.
2) The Pats started the game the way they wanted. A 13 yard TD pass from Tom Brady to Dion Lewis and then Lewis took a kick return back 98 yards to make it 14-3 late in the first quarter.
3) Brady didn't have his greatest playoff game ever and a pick early in the 2nd quarter made led to a Texans field goal to make it 14-6. After a Patriots fumble on the ensuing kick, the Texans turned it into a touchdown when Brock Osweiler hit C.J. Fiedorowicz on a 10 yard TD to make it 14-13 and they were actually giving the Pats a game.
4) Give the Texans defense credit because they didn't a good job on the Patriots for the most part. A key sequence was when they forced a punt and took over at the Pats 49 near the end of the half, but they went 3 and out and punted it back to NE. The Pats ended up getting a FG for a 17-13 lead at halftime.
5) After the Patriots made it 24-13 on a Brady to James White TD to make it 24-13 with 9 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, Will Fuller dropped a perfect pass from Osweiler and the Texans were forced to punt. After the Texans picked off Brady late in the 3rd quarter, they had to settle for a FG and it was 24-16. That was there chance to pull this game out somehow.
6) With 12 minutes to go in the game, Osweiler got picked off by Logan Ryan and he returned it to the Houston 6. Up 24-16, now the Pats had a chance to make it a two score game and they did when Dion Lewis put it away from a 1 yard run to make it 31-16.
7) The Patriots weren't going to lose this game, and since they didn't play as well as they would have liked, this will give them motivation as they head to the AFC Championship Game for the sixth straight year, which is just unheard of in this era of the NFL.
NFC Divisional Playoff
Green Bay-34 Dallas-31
1) We knew that this had the chance to be the best game of the weekend and it was. What a fantastic game and about as crazy of a finish as you can imagine. A classic game all the way around.
2) The Packers and Aaron Rodgers continued their hot hand and jumped out to a 21-3 lead on the Cowboys. Three drives for the Packers and three touchdowns. After trailing 3-0, they silenced the crowd with a Rodgers to Richard Rodgers 34 yard hookup, a Ty Montgomery 3 yard run, and another Montgomery 1 yard TD run to take the commanding lead early. I thought at that point that we were in for another blowout this weekend.
3) Give Dallas and Dak Prescott credit. They rallied from the big deficit to get back in the game. Prescott hit Dez Bryant on a 40 yard TD to make it 21-10 on the next drive. That was a huge response from the Cowboys and after they added a field goal late in the first half, you thought that this was going to be a close game again.
4) After Rodgers carved up the Cowboys secondary to start the second half, he finished off the drive with a beautiful play fake and a short touchdown pass to Jared Cook and a 28-13 Packers lead. I kind of thought might have been the dagger for Dallas, and I really thought they were done when Prescott was intercepted by Micah Hide on a WR screen on the ensuing drive in GB territory.
5) This is where game turned: Up 28-13 and late in the 3rd quarter, Rodgers got picked off at the Dallas 14 by Jon Heath with 2:31 left in the third quarter. The Cowboys went right down the field aided by some clutch throws by Prescott to Jason Witten and he hit Witten again for a 6 yard TD pass to make it 28-20 with 11:39 to go in the game. After a sack on 3rd down by Barry Church on the next drive, the Cowboys took over with 9:14 to go at their own 20. They went right down the field again and they scored on a 7 yard pass from Prescott to Bryant to make it 28-26. Then, they tied it on the two-point conversion with a sweet QB draw by Prescott with 4:08 to play in the game. What a comeback by the Cowboys and it all started with that interception by Heath.
6) The rest of the game was just ridiculous. The Packers drove into Dallas territory on their next drive aided by a weak pass interference call, but the drive stalled when Ty Montgomery got blown up on a run and Rodgers missed Davante Adams on a 3rd and 11. They settled for a field goal and somehow Mason Crosby hit a 56 yarder to take a 31-28 lead with only 1:33 left in the game. What a clutch kick by Crosby in that spot.
7) The Cowboys and Prescott responded once again. He hit Terrence Williams for 24 yards in the first play and hit Jason Witten for 11 yards on the second play of the drive. For some reason, Dallas spiked the ball on the next play, which was a 1st and 10 at the GB 40 with 1:07 left and timeout left. I don't know why they did that and they could have continued with the no-huddle and they were moving the ball at will on the Packers at that point. Two plays later, they didn't get the first down and had to settle for a Dan Bailey 52 yard FG, which he made in that spot to tie it at 31 with 35 seconds left. Unfortunately, they left too much time for Rodgers on the clock.
8) After getting sacked at the GB 32 and having to take a timeout with 12 seconds left, Rodgers pulled off another miraculous, unbelievable, and insane throw to Jared Cook for 36 yards to the Dallas 34 with only 3 seconds left. Rodgers was rolling left, threw it across his body about 36 yards in the air on a line and Cook made a sliding catch and got both feet down while going out of bounds. It was about a great of a throw you can make and an even better catch. It will long be remembered as one of the greatest throws in playoff history and might be the best throw of Rodgers career. Crosby nailed the 51 yarder on a knuckle ball kick and GB won 34-31. What a game and it featured 3 FGs over 50 yards in the last minute and a half. Just incredible.
9) For the Cowboys it is extreme disappointment. They were the #1 seed and were a five point favorite to advance. They lose a heartbreaker on a day that Dak Prescott was great, Ezekiel Elliot was great and they rallied from a 21-3 hole. It will be a very tough offseason for the Cowboys until next fall, and they fail once again to reach the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1995.
10) What can you say about Rodgers at this point? He has been playing like the best QB on the planet and this just one of those performances that you will remember forever. You have to like his chances next week in Atlanta as they try to get to the second Super Bowl with him as their starting QB. What a game.
AFC Divisional Playoff
Pittsburgh-18 Kansas City-16
1) This game got moved from 1:00pm on Sunday to 8:30 on Sunday night due to the threat of an ice storm in Kansas City. Some people are saying the NFL did it as a way to make an excuse to put this game at night to try and experiment with a Sunday night Divisional Playoff game, but I'm not sure that was the case. They saw a possibility of some bad weather and decided to switch the game. I didn't mind the switch with Martin Luther King Day giving me the next day off anyway. I kind of liked the switch.
2) The Steelers dominated this game upfront all night long. They controlled the ball and the only reason why this game was close was because they settled for field goals. They settled for a FG on their opening drive to make it 3-0, and they gave up an Alex Smith TD pass to Albert Wilson and they were trailing 7-3. They really dominated the game from that point. LeVeon Bell had 170 yards rushing on 30 carries. They had 389 yards of total offense to the Chiefs 227. They made it 7-6, then took a 9-7 lead, then 12-7 at the half and a 15-7 with 10 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. KC finally got a FG with 10 seconds left in the 3rd quarter to stop the scoring run and make it 15-10 heading into the final quarter.
3) Give Steelers kicker Chris Boswell credit. He set a NFL record with 6 field goals made and he accounted for all of the points for the Steelers, and all of his kicks were made with ease.
4) The Chiefs were down 18-10 with 9:49 left in the game when they took over at their own 25. They marched 75 yards on 13 plays but took 7:06 seconds on the drive. They converted two 4th downs on the drive. The first one was on a 4th and 8 from the Pitt 38 when Alex Smith hit Chris Conley for a gain of 12. After an unnecessary roughness get the chains moving, the Chiefs converted another 4th and 2 when Smith hit fullback Anthony Sherman for 3 yards down to the Pitt 1 yard line with 3:29 left in the game. On the next play, Spencer Ware plunged in to make it 18-16 with 2:43 left in the game. Smith converted the 2-point conversion to tie the game, but the Chiefs LT Eric Fisher was called for holding on James Harrison and the play was nullified. Smith's pass on the next 2 point play was knocked away in the back of the endzone. The criticism of the Andy Reid is the fact that this drive took so long to get the plays in. The plays were coming in so late. They also had to use their second timeout to set up their 4th and 2 play inside the five. It just took too much time and they had no wiggle room if they gave up one first down to the Steelers on the next drive.
5) Ben Roethlisberger didn't have his best game but like we have seen before, he sometimes saves his best for the end of the game. Big Ben hit a crossing Antonio Brown (With Justin Houston in coverage for some reason) for a key first down on 3rd and 3 at their own 12. That play put the game away and sent the Steelers to Foxboro for a date with the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game and their first appearance in the title game since 2010. At 4-5, the Steelers were in trouble, but they won seven in a row to finish 11-5 and now have won nine in a row as they try to get back to the Super Bowl for the ninth time in team history.
6) For the Chiefs it is another disappointing home loss in the playoffs for their franchise. Just like 1995, 1997, and 2003, the Chiefs had a bye and lost their first playoff game at home. The Steelers were generally considered the better team, but KC went 12-4 and was considered one of the few teams that could knock off the Patriots in the AFC. They are now 1-3 under Andy Reid in the playoffs and they are heading home thinking about that holding call on the 2 point play that would have tied the game.
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