Jordan Stephenson
South Bureau Chief
The best time of the NFL season is the NFL playoffs, and it officially started Jan. 11 at 4:30 p.m., with two thrilling AFC matchups on deck; Chargers at Texans and Steelers at Ravens. The playoffs are where the best teams and players lock in physically and mentally 100 percent to essentially do everything in their power to win a Super Bowl. Then on Sunday Jan. 12, there were three more thrilling playoff games that took place: Broncos at Bills, Packers at Eagles, and Commanders at Buccaneers. Lastly, on Monday, Jan. 13, was the Vikings vs the Rams, and it unfortunately had to move to Arizona because of the extremely sad Los Angeles wildfires.
The NFL Playoffs officially began with Wildcard Weekend, on Saturday with two AFC playoff games. The first game that day was the Chargers at Texans, and the Texans stifled the Chargers by defeating them 32-12. The reason the score was so lopsided was because Justin Herbert threw a staggering four interceptions, Derek Stingley Jr. had two of his own; also, Joe Mixon had 119 scrimmages yards with a touchdown, and Nico Collins had seven receptions 122 receiving yards and a touchdown. The second game that day was Steelers at Ravens, at 8p.m., and the Ravens ran early and often on their division rivals by defeating them 28-14. The Ravens basically had 300 rushing yards, and the Steelers had only a whopping 29 rushing yards, with dominating them with 186 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Also, Lamar Jackson had 256 passing and rushing yards combined (81 rushing yards), with two passing touchdowns.
NFL Wildcard Weekend continued Sunday with three intriguing games which consisted of: Broncos at Bills at 1p.m. on CBS, Packers at Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on FOX, and Commanders at Buccaneers at 8 p.m. on NBC. The Bills dominated the Broncos from start to finish, by defeating them 31-7, with Josh Allen having 318 passing and rushing yards combined with 2 touchdowns, and with James Cook having 120 rushing yards with a touchdown. The Eagles defeated the Packers in a low scoring defensive game 22-10, because Saquon Barkley had 123 scrimmage yards, Jalen Hurts had two passing touchdowns, and the Eagles dominant defense forced three interceptions from Jordan Love. Lastly that night, the young Commanders defeated the Buccaneers 23-20, in an extremely closely contested clutch game. Jayden Daniels had 304 passing and rushing yards combined with two touchdowns, Terry McLaurin and Dyami Brown both having 89 receiving yards with one touchdown apiece. Also, Bobby Wagner having a crucial fumble recovery from Baker Mayfield, and with Zane Gonzalez hitting a game winning field goal that “doinked.” Lastly, on Monday night on ESPN, the Rams extremely annihilated the Vikings, with a score of 27-9 mainly because they evidently weren’t prepared for the moment. Matthew Stafford had 209 passing yards with two touchdowns, DE Jared Verse had a 57 fumble recovery touchdown, and Cobie Durant had an interception from Sam Darnold.
The trade deadline earlier in the season was another busy deadline, similarly to last year’s trade deadline mainly because of the the playoff contenders that wanted to bolster their roster for a potential championship run, and it helped most if not all the playoff teams to at least compete, especially with unforeseen injuries. The Jets traded Mike Williams to the Steelers for a 2025 5th rounder. Since most of the Chiefs receivers were extremely injured, they decided to finally trade for DeAndre Hopkins by sending the Titans a 2025 conditional 5th rounder. Also, the Chiefs added to their dominant defense by trading for Joshua Uche, from the Patriots for a 2026 6th rounder. The Lions had to make a trade after their all-pro DE Aidan Hutchinson suffered a fractured tibia and fibula, so they finally traded for Za’Darius Smith from the Browns by sending a 2025 and 2026 5th and 6th round pick and receiving a 2026 7th rounder. To get another number one receiver after already trading away Stefon Diggs, the Bills decided to trade for Amari Cooper from the Browns for a 2025 and 2026 3rd and 7th rounder, while also receiving a 2025 6th rounder. The surprising Commanders traded for all-pro CB Marshon Lattimore and a 2025 5th rounder, by sending a 2025 3rd, 4th, and 6th round picks. The Vikings bolstered their O-line by trading for Cam Robinson and a 2026 conditional 7th rounder, by sending a 2026 conditional 3rd rounder to the Jaguars. The Hopkins and Coopers trades were also made weeks before the trade deadline, for injuries and depth reasons. Also, most of these playoff teams picked up free agents and waiver wires for their playoff run.
The Eagles, Lions, and Commanders are definitely “the cream of the crop” in the NFC. Coming into this season, but the Lions have elevated themselves over everyone in the NFC. The Eagles have been playing complementary football the past few weeks, especially with Saquan Barkley and Halen Hurts dominating. The “Cardiac” Commanders defeated the Lions 45-31, in a thrilling and extremely high scoring playoff game mainly because their defense and especially their offense was dominating on all cylinders. Daniels had 350 passing and rushing yards combined with two passing touchdowns, Brown and McLaurin had 98 and 87 receiving yards respectively with one touchdown combined; Brian Robinson Jr. had two rushing touchdowns, and their defense having four total interceptions with three interceptions from Jared Goff. Most people were glazing the Lions, and now they folded and choked under the immense pressure. The Eagles defeated the Rams in an extremely physical playoff game 28-22, with the Rams comeback falling short in the clutch, also with Barkley dominating the Rams with 232 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns. Now the Eagles will face off with their divisional rival in the NFC Championship game.
The Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens are definitely “the cream of the crop” in the AFC. They have been the most consistent teams, in an extremely competitive AFC conference. The Bills are one of the most balanced offensive and defensive teams, with Josh Allen still playing dominant as usual. The Ravens have basically the most dominant offense because of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, but a defense that has been leaking to say the least, which is why Jackson is basically the leading MVP candidate. Lastly, the most anticipated dominant team and player matchup, was Allen and the Bills vs Jackson and the Ravens, in another close and thrilling playoff game the Bills defeated the Ravens 27-25, with the Ravens comeback falling short because of Mark Andrew’s dropped two point conversion, after catching the touchdown pass from Jackson on the previous possession. Allen had two rushing touchdowns and only 147 passing and rushing yards combined, also their dominant defense forced two fumbles and one interception from Jackson, who had a fumble and interception. Allen vs Mahomes playoff rematch once again, and finally back in the AFC championship game like a few years ago.
The Chiefs had a bye week, because they ended the season 15-2, but didn’t look as dominant as other seasons, especially offensively. Their dominant defense is solidified in the top five, but their offensive weapons including Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt, definitely needs to be more consistent. Patrick Mahomes is still great, even though he didn’t lead in any statistical categories. The Chiefs finally were back in the playoffs to try and three-peat on Jan. 18, and they defeated the Texans 23-14 in an closely contested game for most of the game. Travis Kelce had obviously his best game of the season, with seven receptions for 117 yards with a touchdown, and Patrick Mahomes had 191 passing and rushing yards combined with a passing touchdown.
caption: Andrew’s crucial drop sets up Chiefs vs Bills playoff rematch. Photo courtesy of ESPN.com
