NFL Divisional Playoffs 2021: A Weekend to Remember

Image courtesy of Tulsa World

By Jack Cherico 

Once winter comes around and the temperature gets colder, the NFL playoffs heat up. After a relatively quiet wild card weekend, during which the Patriots, Eagles, Steelers, and Raiders went home, the NFL divisional playoffs hosted some of the best games most fans have ever seen.

The divisional playoff games started with the AFC North champions, Cincinnati Bengals, taking on the Number 1-seed Tennessee Titans. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 348 yards, albeit no touchdowns, while wide receiver and potential Rookie of the Year candidate Jamar Chase had 109 receiving yards on the day. The Titans were given a boost with the return of their star running back Derrick Henry, who was tearing up opposing defenses before his foot injury in late October. However, due to two critical interceptions by Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill, the Bengals snuck out of Music City with a 19-16 walk-off win.

The next game of the divisional playoffs was a matchup between the underdog San Francisco 49ers and the Number 1-seed Green Bay Packers, led by MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers. Football is a game of three phases—offense, defense, and special teams—so a team has to execute all three to win. Green Bay could not get anything going on offense aside from a first-drive touchdown, and the Pack made multiple critical special teams mistakes, including a blocked punt by San Francisco to tie the game up in the 4th quarter. The snow was coming down on Lambeau Field with a 0-degree real-feel temperature, which constituted prime conditions for Rodgers and the Packers. However, the Niners came out on top with a 13-10 walk-off field goal from future Hall-of-Fame kicker Robbie Gould. After another disappointing playoff exit for Rodgers, he will take the offseason to evaluate if he would like a change of scenery going into next season. 

The first divisional game on Sunday this week was the Los Angeles Rams against the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers led by quarterback Tom Brady. The Rams have had a fantastic season so far with the acquisition of former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, whose 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns on the year have put LA in a position to succeed. The game started slow, with LA running away with the lead to make it 20-3 going into halftime. Nevertheless, as many fans have seen before, Brady will not go down without a fight. With a few fumbles from running back Cam Akers and offensive player of the year candidate Cooper Kupp, the Buccaneers were able to tie the game up at 27 apiece. However, Stafford knew precisely where to find Kupp, his number-one target, and gave him the redemption he needed, throwing two long passes to set LA up with a 30-yard field goal attempt. Kicker Matt Gay drilled the kick, sending the Super Bowl champs home and throwing Brady’s hopes for another Super Bowl into the wind. 

The final divisional game of the weekend was the best matchup of the week: an AFC championship rematch between the AFC East champ Buffalo Bills and the AFC West champ Kansas City chiefs. This was the most evenly matched game of the weekend, and everyone knew it would come down to the wire. Bills quarterback Josh Allen has had a career year, while Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been phenomenal his entire career. Both teams battled back-and-forth the whole game, but in the last two minutes, things got a little crazy. There were three lead changes, one tie, and 25 points scored in the final two minutes of regulation, an utterly unprecedented string of events. Bills receiver Gabriel Davis put up a postseason record of four touchdowns to give the Bills a fighting chance against the offensive juggernaut of the Chiefs. Buffalo took a 3-point lead with 13 seconds on the clock, but somehow, someway, it was still too much time for Mahomes. Two quick passes later, and KC was in a position to nail a field goal and send the game to overtime. It seemed like the fate of everyone in western New York relied on the coin toss, and they were sadly disappointed when the Chiefs won the toss and got the ball first. Mahomes was able to find tight end Travis Kelce in the end zone to sink the Bills 42-36 and put an end to one of the best football games I have ever seen. 

This NFL playoff divisional round was insane, and NFL fans cannot wait to watch these teams battle it out in the conference championship.