Bills 27, Colts 24
The first game of the NFL Playoffs began with the Buffalo Bills securing their first playoff win since 1995, nearly 30 years ago. Bills QB Josh Allen had a stellar game to add to his already stellar season. He completed 26 passes out of 35 pass attempts as well as throwing for 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. Allen also did some damage rushing the ball for 54 yards and scoring 1 rushing touchdown.
The scoring began in first quarter of the game with fan favorite Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship kicking a field goal to give the Colts a 3-0 lead. The Bills then answered right back with a Josh Allen touchdown pass to TE Dawson Knox to give the Bills a 7-3 lead. The second quarter of the game began with future HOF QB Philip RIvers returning to the game and handing the ball off to RB Jonathan Taylor for a touchdown. This gave the Colts a 10-7 lead. The Bills then took advantage of a Colts' turnover on downs and scored a touchdown off of a Josh Allen rushing attempt to give the Bills the lead once again at 14-10.
The Bills did not take their foot off the gas in the third quarter as K Tyler Bass drills a field goal and QB Josh Allen finds NFL receiving yards and receptions leader Stefon Diggs for a 35-yard touchdown to extend the Bills lead to a comfy 24-10. The Colts did show fight in the fourth quarter with a pair of Philip Rivers TD passes but the Bills did not go scoreless as they kicked a field goal to make the score 27-24. That is the final score as the game ended with the Colts having a turnover on downs.
If this was the final game of Philip Rivers' career, he went out well. He completed 27 passes on 46 attempts while throwing for 309 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Philip Rivers definitely has a spot in Canton waiting for him when he decides to hang it up.
The Buffalo Bills will move on to face the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday at 8:15 PM ET.
Rams 30, Seahawks 20
The second game of Saturday featured a slight upset in a game where most thought the Seahawks would walk away with a victory.
The first quarter of the game went nearly uneventful with the only scoring coming for the Rams off of a field goal by kicker Matt Gay. The Rams jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Both teams picked up the scoring in the second quarter by starting out with field goals to make it a 6-3 Rams lead. The Rams then scored the first touchdown of the game off of a Russell Wilson pick 6 by Rams DB Darious Williams to make the score 13-3. The Seahawks then answered back with a touchdown pass from Wilson to WR DK Metcalf to make the score 13-10. The Rams then answered back with a touchdown run from RB Cam Akers to make the score 20-10.
The third quarter was nearly a repetition of the first quarter with both the Rams and Seahawks only scoring field goals. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 23-13 in favor of the Rams. In the fourth quarter, each team would only score one touchdown each as the game ended in a final score of 30-20 in favor of the Rams.
The Los Angeles Rams will move on to face the number one seed Green Bay Packers on Saturday at 4:35 PM ET.
Buccaneers 31, Washington Football Team 23
The final game of Saturday was more close than anyone would have expected. The NFC East has been unorthodox this season and the fact that this game was close added to the story.
The Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers got off to a 9-0 lead after a field goal kick by Ryan Succop and a touchdown pass from Brady to WR Antonio Brown. The Washington Football Team then punched right back with a rushing touchdown from RB J.D. McKissic to make it a 9-7 game. Tampa Bay started off strong in the second quarter as well with another touchdown pass from Tom Brady, this time to WR Chris Godwin to make it a 15-7 game. Kicker Ryan Succop wrapped up the Buccaneers scoring for the first half with a 23-yard field goal to make it an 18-7 game.
The Football Team came out of the locker room at halftime with more fight than the first half as they put points up on the board behind a field goal kick by Dustin Hopkins and a remarkable rushing touchdown by QB Taylor Heinicke to cut the deficit to 18-16. Tampa Bay would not be quiet throughout the third quarter as they got out a field goal kick by Ryan Succop to extend their lead to 21-16. In the fourth quarter, Tampa Bay scored a quick touchdown from RB Leonard Fournette to extend the lead to 28-16. Washington answered right back with a touchdown of their own to make it 28-23. That is all Washington would score as Tampa bay scored the final points of the game from a Ryan Succop field goal to make it a final score of 31-23 in a Buccaneers victory.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will move on to face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at 6:40 PM ET.
Ravens 20, Titans 13
This one of a few rivalry games on Wild Card Weekend was definitely a must-watch. From mild scoring, to clutch defense, and even some fun rivalry-like antics. This game had all of that.
The Tennessee Titans struck first in the first quarter behind a short touchdown pass from QB Ryan Tannehill to WR A.J. Brown to jump out to a 7-0 lead. The Titan defense then comes up big as Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson throws an interception caught by Titans CB Malcolm Butler. The Titans do capitalize off this mistake by managing to score points off of a field goal kick by K Stephen Gostkowski to extend their lead t0 10-0. The Ravens answer back with a field goal of their own from K Justin Tucker to cut the deficit to 10-3. The second quarter starts off in an electrifying fashion as Lamar Jackson uses his mobility to rush for 48 yards and a touchdown to tie the game at 10 apiece.
The second half started out with a bang for the Ravens as RB J.K. Dobbins rushes for 4 yards to score a TD to put the Ravens up 17-10. Both the Titans and Ravens scored their final points on field goals to make the final score 20-13. The Ravens then sealed the game on a Ryan Tannehill interception caught by CB Marcus Peters. After the play was over, the Ravens defense then danced on the Titans' logo at midfield and waved to the crowd.
The Baltimore Ravens will move on to face the Buffalo Bills on Saturday at 8:15 PM ET.
Saints 21, Bears 9
Quite possibly the most notable part of this game between the New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears was that it was broadcast on CBS and Nickelodeon as well. The Nickelodeon broadcast of the game brought slime in the end zone, Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky being named the first ever NVP (Nickelodeon Valuable Player), and even Spongebob in the goal posts while a field goal was being kicked. All that being said, the NFL on Nick broadcast was a hit.
The game itself started out with a fairly uneventful first half. The first quarter only brought a singular touchdown pass from Saints QB Drew Brees to WR Michael Thomas to give the Saints a 7-0 lead. The Bears did not score until the second quarter on a field goal by kicker Cairo Santos to make the score 7-3 in favor of the Saints.
The second half started out with more excitement than the first half with the Saints scoring a touchdown on their first drive on a pass from Drew Brees to WR Latavius Murray. Kicker Will Lutz' field goal kick was good to extend the Saints lead to 14-3. The Bears then had a quick 3 and out to give the ball back to the Saints. The Saints took up the remainder of the quarter with a near 9 minute drive that resulted in an Alvin Kamara rushing touchdown to extend the Saints lead to 21-3. In the fourth quarter, the Bears showed little life as they scored the final touchdown of the game. The Saints won by a score of 21-9.
The New Orleans Saints will move on to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at 6:40 PM ET.
Browns 48, Steelers 37
This playoff matchup between these two long time rivals started out with excitement from the very first snap. Steelers Center Maurkice Pouncey delivered a snap to QB Ben Roethlisberger that was over his head, which lead to Browns safety Karl Joseph recovering the fumble in the end zone for a Browns' touchdown. From that point on, the Browns took control for most of the game, taking a lead of 35-10 into the half. In the third quarter, the Steelers began to get on the comeback trail with a pair of passing TDs from Ben Roethlisberger to Eric Ebron and Juju Smith-Schuster. This made it a 35-23 game. The comeback was short-lived as the Browns began to pull away in the fourth quarter with a 40-yard touchdown run by Browns' running back Nick Chubb. Browns' kicker Cody Parkey put the finishing touches on the Browns win with a pair of field goal kicks. The Steelers would not go down without a fight with 2 receiving touchdowns by rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool.
The Browns won the game by a score of 48-37. QB Baker Mayfield completed 21 passes in 34 attempts as well 263 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns. Steelers QB Ben Roethlistberger completed an NFL playoff record 47 completions on another NFL playoff record 68 attempts as well at 501 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.
The Browns will face the number 1 seeded Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at 3:05 PM ET.
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