Joe Burrow was sacked nine times and the Bengals still won.
The 49ers totaled 212 yards and still won.
The Rams turned the ball over four times in a stretch of 28 minutes and still won.
The Chiefs relinquished a lead twice within the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and still won.
Three games ended when the visiting team won on a field goal as time expired. The only home team to win (K.C.) did so with the help of a game-tying field goal as time expired.
The action during the NFL’s divisional round weekend, especially the last couple minutes of each game, was of the edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting variety.
The Bengals and Titans got things going late Saturday afternoon in Nashville. Burrow hit the deck nine times as Tennessee equaled the NFL playoff record for sacks, accomplished four times previously and most recently in 1994. Jefferey Simmons had three of the Titans’ nine sacks.
Evan McPherson’s 52-yard field as time expired rendered the Bengals’ offensive issues moot in a 19-16 win. It was McPherson’s fourth field goal of the game, making him the first kicker in league history to boot at least four field goals in multiple games during a single postseason. The former Florida Gator also had four against the Raiders in Cincy’s wild card win.
In Saturday’s nightcap, Robbie Gould drilled a 45-yard field goal as time expired at frigid and snowy Lambeau Field to give the 49ers a 13-10 win over the Packers. Gould is 20-for-20 on field goals in his postseason career and Saturday’s game-winner came nearly 15 years to the day of his first playoff game-winning boot, which lifted the Bears to an overtime win against the Seahawks in a wild card game.
Aaron Rodgers fell to 0-4 against San Francisco in the postseason. It is the most losses without a win by a starting quarterback against an opponent in the playoffs since 1950.
It did not appear as though Sunday would provide anything near the level of drama as Saturday. That certainly appeared to be the case at least in the afternoon game, when the Rams had a 27-3 lead over the Buccaneers in the latter stages of the third quarter at Raymond James Stadium.
Los Angeles, though, played giveaway with three second-half turnovers, including running back Cam Akers being stripped by Ndamukong Suh with 2:25 remaining. (Akers also fumbled at the Tampa Bay one-yard line in the final seconds of the first half.) The Bucs, with possession at the Rams’ 30, tied it up seven plays later to complete a 24-point comeback in a matter of 17:20.
That left 42 seconds for the Rams to get into field goal position. With Cooper Kupp inexplicably running loose in the Bucs secondary on receptions of 20 and 44 yards, they did just that. A 30-yard field goal by former Buc Matt Gay as time expired allowed the Rams to escape with a 30-27 win.
Tom Brady-led teams are now 95-2, regular season and playoffs, when they get at least three takeaways.
The Chiefs and Bills could not possibly provide such excitement in Sunday’s nightcap, could they? Not only did the teams engage in a frantic fourth-quarter finish in Kansas City, but they did so in jaw-dropping variety as the teams combined for 25 points and three lead changes in the final 1:54.
After Josh Allen connected with former UCF star Gabriel Davis on a 19-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left to give the Bills a 36-33 lead, Davis’ NFL playoff record fourth TD catch, it looked as though Buffalo was on its way to the AFC championship game.
Not so fast. Patrick Mahomes drove the Chiefs 44 yards on three plays to set up Harrison Butker’s game-tying 49-yard field goal as time expired. The Chiefs won the overtime coin toss marched down the field (8 plays, 75 yards), and won on Mahomes’ eight-yard TD pass to Travis Kelce.
The Chiefs’ breathtaking win capped a weekend of NFL playoff action, in which the winning score came on the final play of each game, which will be talked about for many years to come.
It also sets up a championship Sunday with the Bengals and Chiefs (3:00, CBS) playing for AFC supremacy in Kansas City and the Rams hosting the 49ers in the NFC title game (6:30, Fox) matchup.
Thanks to ESPN Stats & Info for assistance.
Visit Tampafp.com for Politics, Tampa Area Local News, Sports, and National Headlines. Support journalism by clicking here to our GoFundMe or sign up for our free newsletter by clicking here.
Android Users, Click Here To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. It’s Free And Coming To Apple Users Soon