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Saturday Games
Buffalo 27, Indianapolis 24
Buffalo Knocks Off Indianapolis & Earn First Playoff Win in 25 Years
They did it!
Yes, the Buffalo Bills, fresh off their most successful regular season since the salad days, when this franchise kept reaching the Super Bowl year after year (and infamously not winning any of them) have now won a postseason game for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Back then, the Bills still had most of the personnel from those Super Bowl days, with legendary names like Marv Levy, Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, Cornelius Bennett, and Steve Tasker still very much active.
The lineup obviously has changed quite a bit since then. Unfortunately, so have the results over the past couple of decades and change. Indeed, the Bills had gone the better part of two decades without qualifying for the postseason, before breaking that four seasons ago. This year, they qualified for the third time in four seasons, and managed to win the AFC East division title for the first time since the 1995-96 season with a very impressive 13-3 mark, the best record the team has enjoyed since they finished 13-3 in back-to-back seasons in 1990 and 1991, the first two seasons of their run of four straight Super Bowl appearances.
Yet, their success this season would not feel complete if they failed to follow that up with a playoff win.
This was not an easy win. Indeed, the Colts proved tricky, and kept answering back, just when it seemed like the Bills had done enough to finally pull away, and put the game more or less out of reach.
Case in point, the Bills managed to make it a two-possession game with just over eight minutes left after placekicker Tyler Bass managed to split the uprights on an impressive 54-yard field goal attempt. Time was running out on the Colts, and it seemed that maybe this would be it. The Bills would be on their way.
But then the Colts marched all the way down the field, quickly and seemingly a little bit too easily. It culminated in a 27-yard touchdown pass to Jack Doyle from veteran quarterback Philip Rivers, formerly of the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers. The 76-yard touchdown drive took only five plays and ate up less than two minutes of clock time, and the game suddenly was, once again, uncomfortably close.
The Bills were moving the ball on the ensuing drive, and again, appeared to be on their way to at least a field goal, which would have forced the Colts into a position of needing a touchdown. Then, however, Josh Allen managed to break through a sure sack by stepping backwards, only to find himself taken down by yet another Colt defender, for an even bigger loss than it would have been originally. Just like that, it was 2nd and 33, and Buffalo was well out of field goal range. They made up some of the lost yardage, but not enough for either a first down or a field goal attempt, and the Colts were going to get the ball back.
Finally, though, the Bills defense managed to step up and hold the Colts. Indy ran out of both opportunities and time, as they failed to convert a Hail Mary miracle attempt on 4th and 11 from midfield with four seconds left, on what was to prove to be the last play of the game. The ball was swatted harmlessly down onto the field, icing the historic victory for the Bills, who now move on to host a divisional round game next week. It remains to be seen who their opponents will be, however.
The Colts offense was difficult to manage on this day. They held onto the ball for over 34 minutes, and 472 yards and 27 first downs. Quarterback Philip Rivers completed 27 of 46 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Pittman Jr. was his favorite target, grabbing five receptions for 90 yards. Jonathan Taylor added 78 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries.
For the Bills, Josh Allen enjoyed an impressive day. He completed 26 of 35 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing, with 54 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries. His favorite target when throwing was Stefon Diggs, who had six receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown.
My pick: Accurate
LA Rams 30, Seattle 20
Rams pound out a win in Seattle
Two division rivals who proved to be quite close whenever they got together this season squared off, with the result being clearly in favor of the team that did not get the division title.
Yes, the Rams came out swinging, having clearly felt that they were the better of the two teams, despite a loss just a few weeks ago in this same venue that effectively clinched the NFC West division title for the Seahawks. But the Rams were not dissuaded, and obviously wanted to prove something and make a statement in this game.
And they did, controlling the ball for over 33 minutes, producing 333 yards - over 50 yards more than Seattle managed - and also earned 16 first downs, to just 11 for the Seahawks. Additionally, Seattle committed two turnovers, while the Rams managed to avoid committing any.
Los Angeles came out ready to play for this game. They jumped out to a 13-3 lead, and the Seahawks were forced to play catch up the rest of the way. And they never really quite did catch up. They closed the margin at times to make it a relatively close game, but the Rams were able to keep them at arm's length. By halftime, the Rams held a 20-10 lead, and Seattle only scored a field goal to get to within a touchdown by the end of the third quarter.
In the final quarter, the Rams managed to add a field goal to increase their lead to 10 once again, and then added a touchdown with under five minutes left in the game to take a commanding 30-13 lead, effectively putting the game out of reach and icing the win. Seattle managed to score one more touchdown to give them just a little bit of life, but they were unable to do anything more for the rest of the game.
Coming in as a backup, Jared Goff proved to have some big plays in him yet. He completed 9 of 19 passes for 155 yards and one touchdown. Cooper Kupp was his favorite receiver, with four catches for 78 yards. Cam Akers proved devastating on the ground, collecting 131 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. The Seattle defense simply could not stop Akers.
Veteran quarterback Russell. Wilson did not have an awful day for the Seahawks in a losing cause. He completed 11 of 27 for 174 yards, with two touchdowns, but one costly INT that directly led to a Rams touchdown. His favorite receiver on this day proved to be DK Metcalf, who grabbed fice catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns, which was a solid day. Seattle running back Chris Carson picked up 77 yards on 16 carries.
This was the first home playoff loss for Seattle since back in 2004, when they also lost to the Rams (they were the St. Louis Rams back then). This solidifies this as a comeback season for the Rams, who made it to the Super Bowl two seasons ago. For the Seahawks, this season felt very successful, as they finished 12-4 for the first time since the 2014-15 season, when they made it to the Super Bowl for a second season in a row, and just narrowly missed winning back-to-back titles, after the infamous 2nd and 1 decision that still seems to plague this franchise ever since.
My pick: Inaccurate
Tampa Bay 31, Washington 23
Tom Brady Earns First Playoff Win With Second Team
This was not really the way that I expected this game to play out. Admittedly, I had assumed that Tamp would take a sizable early lead and then more or less cruise to a relatively easy victory. They did get a decent lead early, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter, and enjoying a relatively commanding 18-7 lead by halftime.
As it turns out, Washington fought back. They kept playing, kept fighting hard, and turned it into a close game.
Still, however, the Buccaneers were not to be denied. The Bills were not the only team to end a long drought in terms of playoff wins, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned the first franchise postseason win since they won Super Bowl XXXVII, which remains the franchise’s only title in it’s history.
They did it by producing over 500 yards of offense, and by hanging on when it was most necessary, and scoring 13 points in the final quarter, after Washington had closed to within 18-16 in the third quarter, to finally ice it.
Veteran quarterback Tom Brady, who is 43 years old, enjoyed an impressive day. He completed 22 of 40 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target was Mike Evans, who grabbed six receptions for 119 yards. On the ground, Tampa’s Leonard Fournette added another 93 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries.
It was a complete effort for the explosive Bucs, who enjoyed some success against Washington’s elite defense.
As for Washington, Taylor Heinicke earned respect from many with his performance. He completed 26 of 44 passes for 306 yards, with one TD and one INT. He also led the team in rushing, picking up 46 yards and one touchdown on just six carries. Cam Sims led all receivers on the team with seven receptions for 104 yards.
My pick: Accurate
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