Many expected this year to be one of the most wide open for Super Bowl hopefuls that we've seen in quite some time. When the dust settled, the top seeds mostly took care of business. The divisional round had more than its share of sloppy performances and double-digit wins, making it fun but slightly anticlimactic. Here are my reactions to the weekend's playoff action.
Broncos 33 Bills 30
First and foremost, congratulations to the Broncos as they advance to host the AFC Championship Game. This was an exciting but ugly playoff game, full of contradictions. Josh Allen entered the postseason as the best player in the AFC playoff field, yet he turned the ball over four times. Denver's defense was widely viewed as elite, but despite forcing five takeaways, it still surrendered 30 points. Bo Nix struggled when the Bills brought pressure. And while I'm not a referee, and I fully understand the steps involved in determining what constitutes a catch, I firmly believe that in overtime, Brandin Cooks secured the pass, was down by contact, and then had the ball wrestled away. Obviously, the referees saw it differently. Many fans agreed with the referees. The only thing that matters is the call on the field. All of these factors serve as a reminder of why we love the NFL: there is rarely a predictable or boring storyline.
Defensively, Denver deserves immense credit for forcing five takeaways, four of which came from Josh Allen. Winning teams take the ball
Many expected this year to be one of the most wide open for Super Bowl hopefuls that we've seen in quite some time. When the dust settled, the top seeds mostly took care of business. The divisional round had more than its share of sloppy performances and double-digit wins, making it fun but slightly anticlimactic. Here are my reactions to the weekend's playoff action.
Broncos 33 Bills 30
First and foremost, congratulations to the Broncos as they advance to host the AFC Championship Game. This was an exciting but ugly playoff game, full of contradictions. Josh Allen entered the postseason as the best player in the AFC playoff field, yet he turned the ball over four times. Denver's defense was widely viewed as elite, but despite forcing five takeaways, it still surrendered 30 points. Bo Nix struggled when the Bills brought pressure. And while I'm not a referee, and I fully understand the steps involved in determining what constitutes a catch, I firmly believe that in overtime, Brandin Cooks secured the pass, was down by contact, and then had the ball wrestled away. Obviously, the referees saw it differently. Many fans agreed with the referees. The only thing that matters is the call on the field. All of these factors serve as a reminder of why we love the NFL: there is rarely a predictable or boring storyline.
Defensively, Denver deserves immense credit for forcing five takeaways, four of which came from Josh Allen. Winning teams take the ball away, while losing teams give it away, and it's hard to imagine many instances, if any, where a team loses the turnover battle by four and still wins. The fact that this game even went to overtime with Buffalo giving the ball away that often was remarkable.
The Broncos also showed resilience after losing wide receivers Pat Bryant (concussion) and Troy Franklin (hamstring) early in the game. Against a strong Buffalo secondary, Marvin Mims and Lil'Jordan Humphrey stepped up in key moments. Looking ahead, Denver would certainly benefit if either injured receiver is able to return next week. However, the biggest development following the game was the revelation that Bo Nix broke his ankle on one of the final plays. Despite having major issues when facing pressure, he made several outstanding throws and played a very good game overall. Nix was a big reason the Broncos won, but now, Denver faces an uphill battle with Jarrett Stidham set to start at quarterback in the AFC Championship Game.
One area of concern moving forward is the Denver rushing attack. Against one of the weaker run defenses in the league, both RJ Harvey and Jaleel McLaughlin each broke off one long run but were otherwise ineffective. Unless J.K. Dobbins (foot, IR) is able to return, the Broncos could struggle to consistently move the ball on the ground next week.
As expected, James Cook had a strong day running behind Buffalo's physical offensive line against a smaller Denver front. Josh Allen again leaned on Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid as his only reliable pass catchers. However, with a chance late in the fourth quarter to go up by a touchdown, which would have made it a nine-point game with a successful two-point conversion, the drive stalled and Buffalo settled for a field goal. Otherwise, when Josh Allen was not giving the ball away, he moved the offense with little resistance. The good news for Denver's defense is that it will face a much more favorable matchup next week against the Patriots.
Seahawks 41 49ers 6
The Seahawks have been an excellent team all season, and playing at home with an extra week of rest against a 49ers squad dealing with more injuries than I care to recount made this the easiest prediction of the week. Seattle was never going to have much trouble advancing.
That reality became clear immediately. On the opening kickoff, Rashid Shaheed returned it for a touchdown. In the first quarter alone, the 49ers also lost a fumble and turned the ball over on downs. An early 17-point Seattle lead effectively ended the game, as San Francisco was never going to be competitive while playing from behind.
Much like the Week 18 matchup between these teams, the Seahawks' rushing attack had little trouble dismantling this depleted version of the 49ers defense. Zach Charbonnet unfortunately exited with a first-half knee injury, but Kenneth Walker (116 rushing yards) more than picked up the slack, posting his highest rushing total of the season and scoring three touchdowns. With the game firmly in control, Seattle needed very little from its passing attack.
San Francisco was without George Kittle, and an offense that managed only three points against Seattle (in Week 18) was never going to find answers in the rematch against an excellent, fully rested Seahawks defense.
Patriots 28 Texans 16
The Patriots earned home-field advantage and fully embraced the sloppy New England weather on their way to a comfortable win. Both quarterbacks were careless with the football, but C.J. Stroud's pick-six set the tone early. Stroud finished with four interceptions, while Drake Maye threw only one, though he did lose two of four fumbles.
Despite the turnovers, Maye made a number of high-level throws that were the catalyst for New England pulling away. The trio of Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte, and DeMario Douglas all found the end zone and made enough big plays to overcome an excellent Houston secondary. The rushing attack, however, struggled for most of the game until Rhamondre Stevenson took over in the fourth quarter, helping the Patriots drain the clock and seal the win. Next week, this offense will be on the road, and if it repeats the mistakes from the first two playoff games, that could prove problematic against Denver's defense. The great news for the Patriots is that they will have a huge advantage at quarterback with Maye facing off against Jarrett Stidham.
Ultimately, playing without Nico Collins and then losing Dalton Schultz (calf) early left the Texans with very little margin for error. The remaining weapons are solid players, but they are best suited as secondary options. Xavier Hutchinson and Jayden Higgins were largely overmatched by New England corners Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis. Meanwhile, the Patriots defense played excellent football and made nothing easy for the Houston offense. After running the ball effectively last week, Woody Marks was unable to find success, forcing Houston into far too many obvious passing situations. Although the Texans tightened the score on a couple of occasions, they were never truly in the game from the middle of the second quarter onward.
Rams 20 Bears 17
This game was far messier than the final score suggests, but the Rams ultimately survived to escape with an overtime win. From the opening drives, both offenses struggled to find consistency, and coaching decisions on both sidelines played a major role in how the game unfolded.
Chicago set the tone early with its defensive approach. On the Rams' second drive, the Bears sent pressure and forced a quick three and out, then followed it up by attacking Matthew Stafford again on the next possession. Sean McVay allowed the Bears to dictate terms early, raising questions about the lack of quick answers such as hot routes or schemed throws. Through the first three drives, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams were not featured at all, with Adams seeing no early targets. Instead, the Rams leaned on Terrance Ferguson, Jordan Whittington, and Konata Mumpfield, an odd distribution given the stakes. Taking deep shots into heavy wind gusts also felt unnecessary, especially with Stafford missing several easy throws underneath.
The Rams defense helped keep the game manageable early. Los Angeles mixed in five-man fronts and benefited from a mistake on Chicago's opening drive, as Caleb Williams threw an interception to end the possession. The Bears quickly responded, though, with Williams delivering a perfect touchdown pass to DJ Moore to tie the game. Chicago later failed on a fourth and short run, and despite Colston Loveland seeing six targets through four drives, the Bears offense remained uneven. Williams threw another interception later in the game, although the Bears immediately got the ball back.
After an opening drive of more than 80 yards, the Rams offense stalled badly. Over their next seven possessions, they managed roughly 80 total yards. The breakthrough finally came on their ninth drive, a 91-yard touchdown march capped by a critical fourth and one run by Nacua that helped give Los Angeles a 17-10 lead late in the game.
Chicago had chances to respond. Late in the fourth quarter, the Bears reached first and goal but settled for three straight D'Andre Swift runs before Omar Speights jumped a middle route intended for Burden. With just over three minutes remaining, the Rams still held a seven point lead.
Los Angeles then had an opportunity to put the game away and failed to do so. Kyren Williams was knocked out of bounds on a chain moving run at the 2:07 mark, leaving Chicago with one timeout. Facing third and ten, McVay opted for a conservative run and chose to punt rather than try to end the game. That decision opened the door for the Bears.
Starting at midfield with 1:50 and one timeout, Williams moved Chicago effortlessly into the red zone. Time was never an issue. On fourth and four from the 14-yard line with 27 seconds left, the Rams appeared to have Williams trapped in the pocket. Instead, he escaped and threw an easy touchdown to Cole Kmet to force overtime. Defenses may need to start dropping eight and trusting a three man rush against Williams, because he makes these plays look routine. Only a handful of quarterbacks in the league possess that kind of talent, which makes last season's sack totals even more remarkable in hindsight.
Overtime brought more swings and questionable decisions. Chicago came out throwing, with Williams converting a third down using his legs and sneaking for a fourth and inches conversion. Then came a critical mistake. On first down near midfield, Williams took a deep 25-yard shot and threw his third interception of the night. It seemed as if the Bears could have been a bit more careful to get a game-winning field-goal attempt.
The Rams failed to capitalize immediately. McVay opened the ensuing possession by running the ball three straight times, an odd approach with the season on the line and Stafford and Nacua available. After getting the ball back- this time at their own 22, the Rams finally played with urgency and discipline. A Nacua run and a completion to Colby Parkinson jump started the drive, with three plays gaining more than 50 yards. Adams made an outstanding catch to push the Rams into scoring range. On third and six at the Bears' 43, Chicago brought a predictable blitz, and Nacua was the hot read to move the ball inside the 30.
After a couple of unsuccessful end-zone shots, Harrison Mevis drilled a 42-yard field goal to end it.
It was not pretty, but the Rams survived a game filled with missed opportunities, conservative decisions, and flashes of brilliance from one of the league's most dangerous young quarterbacks.
Conclusion
We're moving onto the conference championship round. Let's hope we have plenty of excitement to break down in next week's article. Keep an eye on RotoWire's NFL depth charts and Injury Report to stay ahead as the NFL season winds down.
