Chiefs, Ravens, Lions, and 49ers Advance to NFL Conference Championships

We are down to the NFL’s version of the Final Four as we head to the conference championship games. Here’s a wrap up of the divisional playoff games on January 20th and 21st.

In the AFC, QB Lamar Jackson rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns and passed for two more to lead the top seeded Baltimore Ravens to a 34-10 win over the Houston Texans. The game was a lot closer than the score indicated for most of the contest, tied at 10 at the half, and 17-10 Baltimore after three quarters, before the Ravens put it away with a 17 point fourth quarter. The ravens defense held Houston to just 38 rushing yards and 213 total yards, while Baltimore had 352 total yards, including 229 rushing. But Houston is on the rise, winning the AFC South and finishing 11-8 (including playoffs) after winning just four games in 2020 and 2021 and going 3-13-1 last year.

In Buffalo, the Bills tried to do what they did on December 10th, that is beat the Kansas City Chiefs. But instead, the fans in Buffalo were subjected to yet another post season disappointment. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Travis Kelce to lead Kansas City to a 27-24 victory. It was the third time in the past four playoffs that the Chiefs eliminated the Bills. Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass missed a potential game tying 44 yard field goal with 1:47 left and Kansas City ran out the clock on five plays to seal the win. Buffalo’s play selection at the end of the drive that led to the missed field goal was a bit of head scratcher. With two minutes and two time outs left, ball on the 26 yard line, second and nine, QB Jake Allen threw an incomplete pass deep on second down, which was followed by another deep incomplete pass while under pressure on third down. Not sure why the Bills decided to go for it all instead of looking for another first down to continue the drive or at least to pick up more yardage for their kicker. At any rate, Kansas City will be at Baltimore on January 28th for the AFC Championship.

In the NFC, the #1 seed San Francisco 49ers hosted the Green Bay Packers. This was the 10th time the 49ers and Packers have met in the playoffs, all in the last 27 years. Green Bay had a 21-14 lead entering the fourth quarter, but San Francisco out scored Green Bay 10-0 in the fourth to come away with a 24-21 victory. Like Buffalo, Green Bay missed a field goal in the fourth quarter that would have given the Packers a 24-17 lead, and the 49ers capitalized on a game winning touchdown drive. An interception by Dre Greenlaw with 52 seconds left secured the victory for San Francisco.

The 49ers weren’t super sharp in this one but still found a way to win. But Green Bay exceeded most expectations by winning one playoff game and matching the top NFC seed for most of the game. The Packers had some dropped interceptions and a few other mistakes that the youngest team in the NFL might be expected to make. But after trading QB Aaron Rodgers to the Jets, new QB Jordan Love has stepped up and shown he can be one of the top signal callers in the league.

In Detroit, the Lions found themselves in unfamiliar territory. Having won their first playoff game in the Wild Card round, Detroit advanced to the divisional round for the first time since 1991, hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was 3-3 after one quarter, 10-10 at halftime, and 17-17 after three. But Detroit scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns and held Tampa Bay to one and claimed a 31-23 victory. Lions QB Jared Goff passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield passed for 349 yards and three scores, but was intercepted twice. Still, Mayfield had a great season and revitalized his career. The Lions are in the NFC Championship game on January 28th at San Francisco, the first time they’ve been in the NFC Championship game since 1991, when they lost to Washington. Detroit has never been to the Super Bowl, and last won an NFL Championship game—or even appeared in one–in pre Super Bowl era 1957.

Link to Tampa Bay–Detroit highlights