The divisional round, which is widely regarded as the best weekend on the football calendar, is in the books and it did not disappoint. Whatever you were looking for as a fan could be found in some capacity throughout these four games, including upsets, snowy weather, high-octane offenses and stellar play on defense. There were also some sensational individual efforts.
While some of these contests unfolded as most expected, there were certainly some surprises along the way providing us with some definitive answers to questions we had entering the slate. Below, we’ll highlight some of the things we learned from yet another wild weekend of playoff football.
Travis Kelce can still flip the switch
At 35 years old, Travis Kelce is closer to the end of his career than he is the beginning. With that in mind, there’s always the question surrounding the legendary tight end of whether or not he can still be a game-wrecking force when the situation calls for it. Over the last few years, Kelce has picked his spots throughout the regular season. Last season, he was able to flip the switch once the lights got bright and helped Kansas City to another Super Bowl title. As we stepped into these playoffs, those same questions — wondering if he could flip the switch — were looming, and he answered them with flying colors.
In Kanas City’s win over the Texans, the tight end registered a season-high 117 yards on seven catches to go along with a touchdown. That’s his ninth career playoff game with 100 or more receiving yards, which surpassed Jerry Rice for the most all time.
One of the big storylines entering Sunday’s playoff matchup between the Rams and Eagles was whether or not Barkley could come close to his dominant showing against Los Angeles from earlier this season. Well, it looks like he can/did. Back in Week 12, Barkley rushed for 255 yards against the Rams, and then followed that up with a 205-yard rushing performance in the divisional-round win. Those totals on Sunday were the fifth-most rushing yards in a playoff game all time.
If you account for his previous totals, Barkley totaled 534 scrimmage yards against the Rams this season, which is the most against a single team in a season since 1950 (including playoffs).
While Daniels played at LSU and has been in many hostile environments in his playing career, Saturday’s playoff matchup at Ford Field against the Detroit Lions was arguably the biggest stage of his life. And he didn’t blink. Daniels led the Commanders into Detroit and pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. He completed 22 of his 31 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns in the winning effort while adding 51 yards rushing.
Daniels is only the second rookie to defeat the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, and the sixth rookie to start in a conference championship game. He’s also the third player in NFL history to have at least 500 yards passing, 75 rushing yards, four passing touchdowns and zero interceptions through two games of a postseason, joining Patrick Mahomes (2019) and Josh Allen (2021). He’s tied with Ben Roethlisberger for the most wins by a rookie (14) in NFL history, and if he breaks the record he’ll also become the first rookie to ever start in the Super Bowl.
Lions could not overcome slew of injuries
Every team deals with injuries, but the Lions seemed to be particularly snakebitten on the defensive side of the ball throughout the season. Aidan Hutchinson going down with a significant leg injury was the headliner throughout the season, but various other injuries across the roster started to pile up, leading to questions as to whether or not Dan Campbell’s club — a betting favorite to win the Super Bowl — could withstand it. Those injuries didn’t subside, either, with starting corner Amik Robertson going down early in Saturday’s playoff matchup against Washington. That latest injury was one of the many straws that broke the camel’s back and led the Lions to playing practice squad players in a playoff game. That was ultimately a piece to their demise in the upset loss.
Ravens are their own worst enemy
The Baltimore Ravens outgained the Buffalo Bills 416-273, converted seven of their 10 third down opportunities, and averaged 7.3 yards per play during Sunday’s playoff matchup. Despite that, they were sent packing, largely because they beat themselves. Baltimore committed three turnovers which led to 10 points scored by Buffalo in what proved to be a two-point loss. On top of giving the ball away, the Ravens couldn’t execute when they needed to the most. After orchestrating an 88-yard touchdown drive and set up with an opportunity to tie the game, Lamar Jackson hit an open Mark Andrews for the would-be score, but the veteran tight end (who also fumbled earlier in the game) simply dropped the catch.
This is eerily similar to Baltimore’s AFC Championship loss to the Chiefs last year where mental mistakes and turnovers cost the Ravens a chance at a Super Bowl title. If they had been just a little more careful with the football in this game and executed simple plays live the 2-point attempt above, there’s a strong possibility they advanced.
