The
National Football League playoffs
The National Football League (NFL) playoffs is the annual single-elimination tournament held to determine the league champion. The four-round tournament is held after the league's regular season. Since the 2020 season, seven teams from each of ...
for the
2022 season began on January 14, 2023, and concluded with
Super Bowl LVII
Super Bowl LVII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Confere ...
on February 12 at
State Farm Stadium
State Farm Stadium is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Glendale, Arizona, United States, west of Phoenix. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) and the annual Fiesta Bowl. It replaced Sun Devi ...
in
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...
, where the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
Established in 1959 ...
defeated the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
.
This was the first postseason under a new rule in which both teams will be assured one possession in overtime, even if the first team with possession scores a touchdown. However, no game went into overtime.
With Jacksonville and Kansas City facing each other in the AFC Divisional Round, Kansas City became the fourth team in NFL history (the other three being the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia, and Buffalo) to face every team within their respective conference in the postseason at least once.
Participants
Unused format changes following Week 17 canceled Bills–Bengals game
During the Week 17 game on January 2 between the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
and
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
, Buffalo safety
Damar Hamlin
Damar Romeyelle Hamlin (; born March 24, 1998) is an American professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pi ...
collapsed and remained motionless after making a tackle on Cincinnati wide receiver
Tee Higgins
Tamaurice William "Tee" Higgins (born January 18, 1999) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, where he won the 201 ...
. At the time of Hamlin's collapse, there was 5:58 remaining in the first quarter with Cincinnati leading 7–3. It was later revealed that he had suffered
cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...
and was in critical condition. The remainder of the game was then postponed for the rest of the night, and on the following day, the NFL initially said that it would not be resumed that week. Then on January 5, the league announced that the game would be
canceled entirely, and both teams would finish the regular season with only 16 regular season games, saying that it was "difficult, but necessary" under the "extraordinary circumstances".
The cancellation of the Bills–Bengals game, however, affected the playoff implications involving four teams: the Bills, Bengals,
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
Established in 1959 ...
, and
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
. Going into the game, Cincinnati held an 11–4 record and only needed a win to clinch the
AFC North
The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realign ...
division title over Baltimore (which was 10–6 after finishing their week 17 game and losing the conference record tiebreaker to the 10–6
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
for wild card seeding). The Bengals and the 12–3 Bills were also both fighting the 13–3 Chiefs for the top seed in the AFC.
Had Buffalo won the canceled game to go to 13–3, and both the Bills and Chiefs then ended the regular season at 14–3, Buffalo would have held the head-to-head victory tiebreaker over Kansas City. In addition, a Cincinnati loss to go to 11–5 would have resulted in the AFC North championship being decided by the Week 18 Ravens–Bengals game, with Baltimore having the head-to-head victory tiebreaker if both teams finished at 11–6. Had Cincinnati won the canceled game instead, not only would have they clinched their division title, but the Bengals would have held head-to-head victory tiebreakers over both the Bills and Chiefs if all three clubs ended at 13–4.
The league confirmed that to determine playoff matchups, seeding would still be determined by
winning percentage
In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...
, which the NFL has always formally used to rank teams. By canceling the game, the Bengals automatically clinched the AFC North division championship based on winning percentage. The Chiefs were then put into a position in Week 18 to clinch the AFC top seed with a win to go to 14–3, or for the Bills to finish at 12–4 with a loss.
Therefore during a special league meeting on January 6, NFL owners approved the following changes for this postseason to compensate for the missing aforementioned playoff implications of the canceled game:
* The AFC Championship Game would be held at a neutral site in the three circumstances:
** Buffalo and Kansas City both win or tie in Week 18, and both teams advance to the AFC Championship.
** Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati loses or ties in Week 18, and both Buffalo and Kansas City advance to the AFC Championship.
** Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati wins in Week 18, and Kansas City and either Buffalo or Cincinnati advance to the AFC Championship.
The site of the Wild Card game between Baltimore and Cincinnati would be determined by coin flip if:
* Baltimore and the Los Angeles Chargers both won in Week 18.
After Week 18 was played, only the first scenario—caused by wins by both Buffalo and Kansas City—could happen. Meanwhile, Cincinnati won their game against Baltimore. The league then announced on January 12 that
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Opened in 2017 as a replacement for the Georgia Dome, it is the home of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) and Atlanta ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
was selected to host a Buffalo–Kansas City AFC Championship Game if both teams advanced that far.
This plan went unused after the Bengals defeated the Bills in the Divisional Playoffs by the score of 27–10.
New postseason overtime rule
As approved by NFL owners at their meeting on March 28, 2022, this is the first postseason in which both teams are assured of one possession in overtime, even if the first team with possession scores a touchdown. This change was made in response to several recent games in both the regular season and the postseason in which the first team to possess the ball in overtime scored a touchdown and the other team did not have a chance to respond.
Bracket
Schedule
The playoffs began on January 14–16, 2023 with the Wild-Card Round, with three wild-card games played in each conference. In the Divisional Round, played January 21–22, the top seed in the conference played the lowest remaining seed and the other two remaining teams played each other. The winners of those games advanced to the Conference Championship Games which were played on January 29.
Super Bowl LVII
Super Bowl LVII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Confere ...
was played on February 12 at
State Farm Stadium
State Farm Stadium is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Glendale, Arizona, United States, west of Phoenix. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) and the annual Fiesta Bowl. It replaced Sun Devi ...
in
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...
.
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, January 14, 2023
NFC: San Francisco 49ers 41, Seattle Seahawks 23
San Francisco racked up 505 yards of offense,
as they overcame a first-half deficit by scoring 25 unanswered points during the second half.
Seattle gained 9 yards on the first play, but still had to punt as
Kenneth Walker III was tackled for a 1-yard loss by
Talanoa Hufanga
Talanoa Hufanga ( ; born February 1, 2000) is an American professional football safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the ...
and quarterback
Geno Smith
Eugene Cyril "Geno" Smith III (born October 10, 1990) is an American professional football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers, leading them ...
was sacked by
Arik Armstead over the next two plays. 49ers' quarterback
Brock Purdy then completed a 19-yard pass to
Brandon Aiyuk
Brandon Aiyuk (; born March 17, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Sierra College and Arizona State and was selected by the 49e ...
and
Deebo Samuel
Tyshun Raequan "Deebo" Samuel Sr. (born January 15, 1996) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks and w ...
ran for a 22-yard gain as the team drove 48 yards in 7 plays to take a 3–0 lead on
Robbie Gould
Robert Paul Gould III ( ; born December 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. He p ...
's 34-yard field goal. The Seahawks went
three-and-out again on their next drive, and San Francisco advanced the ball upfield for another touchdown, taking advantage of a 68-yard run by
Christian McCaffrey
Christian Jackson McCaffrey (born June 7, 1996) is an American professional American football, football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal footbal ...
and an 18-yard reception by running back
Elijah Mitchell
Elijah I. Mitchell (born May 2, 1998) is an American professional football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.
Early life
Mitchell grew up i ...
. Purdy finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey, giving San Francisco a 10–0 lead with 5:11 left in the first quarter.
Seattle responded by moving the ball 78 yards in 14 plays; Walker rushed the ball 5 times for 22 yards, the last carry a 7-yard touchdown run that cut the score to 10–7.
The 49ers countered with Purdy completing 3 passes for 51 yards and rushing for 13 to push their lead up to 13–7 on Gould's 33-yard field goal halfway through the second quarter. The Seahawks took the ball back and drove to a 14–13 lead, advancing 71 yards in 5 plays and scoring on Smith's 50-yard pass to
DK Metcalf
DeKaylin Zecharius "DK" Metcalf (born December 14, 1997) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels f ...
. Following a punt from each team, Purdy completed a 31-yard pass to Aiyuk and an 18-yard pass to Samuel, setting up Gould's 46-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the half.
Seattle receiver
Colby Parkinson returned the ensuing
squib kick 14 yards to the Seahawks' 38-yard line.
On the next play, Smith rushed for 9 yards, with an unnecessary roughness penalty against
Jimmie Ward
James Ward (born July 18, 1991) is an American professional football safety for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Northern Illinois Huskies, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers ...
adding another 15 yards and enabling
Jason Myers to kick a 56-yard field goal that gave the Seahawks a 17–16 lead at halftime.
However, the 49ers started the second half with three touchdowns and a field goal over their next four possessions. On their first drive of the half, the 49ers had a 15-play, 75-yard drive with Purdy completing passes to
George Kittle and Samuel for gains of 23 yards and 21 yards, respectively, before taking the ball into the end zone himself a 1-yard run. Seattle's ensuing possession ended when
Charles Omenihu
Charles Omenihu (born August 20, 1997) is an American professional American football, football defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns football, Texas Lon ...
forced a fumble from Smith that
Nick Bosa
Nicholas John Bosa (born October 23, 1997) is an American professional American football, football defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, O ...
recovered for the 49ers at their 30-yard line. San Francisco then drove 70 yards in 8 plays, the longest a 33-yard catch by
Jauan Jennings. Purdy finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell, and then threw a pass to Kittle for a 2-point conversion, giving the team a 31–17 lead. Following a Seattle punt, Purdy threw an 8-yard pass to Samuel, and with blocking from Kittle and Aiyuk,
he took it to the end zone for a 74-yard touchdown.
On the first play of Seattle's next possession,
Deommodore Lenoir
Deommodore Lenoir (born October 6, 1999) is an American professional football cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, and was selected by the 49ers in the fif ...
intercepted a pass from Smith
and returned it 6 yards to the Seahawks' 37-yard line. The 49ers then drove 24 yards and scored on Gould's fourth field goal, this one a 31-yard kick that gave the team a 41–17 lead with less than 5 minutes left.
Seattle then drove 76 yards in 15 plays, the longest a 24-yard catch by
Cade Johnson
Cade Johnson (born April 10, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at South Dakota State.
Early life
Johnson grew up in Papillion ...
, and scored the final points of the game on Smith's 3-yard touchdown pass to Metcalf.
Purdy—a rookie in his 6th NFL start—finished the game 18-for-30 for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns,
while also rushing 4 times for 16 yards and a touchdown; McCaffrey rushed 15 times for 119 yards,
while also catching 2 passes for 17 yards and a touchdown; Samuel was the team's top receiver with 6 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing 3 times for 32 yards and Omenihu had 2 sacks and a forced fumble.
For the Seahawks, Smith finished the day 25-for-35 for 253 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception, while also rushing 4 times for 28 yards; Metcalf was his top receiver with 10 receptions for 136 yards and 2 touchdowns.
AFC: Jacksonville Jaguars 31, Los Angeles Chargers 30
Jacksonville overcame five first-half turnovers and a 27–0 deficit to win on
Riley Patterson
Riley Patterson (born September 7, 1999) is an American professional American football, football placekicker, kicker. He played college football for the Memphis Tigers football, Memphis Tigers and has previously played in the NFL for the Detro ...
's walk-off field goal. This was the third largest comeback in NFL postseason history.
On the second play of the game, Jaguars quarterback
Trevor Lawrence
William Trevor Lawrence (born October 6, 1999) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Considered among the highest-touted college football prospect ...
's pass was intercepted by
Drue Tranquill, who returned it 15 yards to the Jacksonville 18-yard line. This set up
Austin Ekeler's 13-yard touchdown run to give the Chargers a 7–0 lead. Then on Jacksonville's next drive, Lawrence was intercepted again, this time by
Asante Samuel Jr., who returned the ball 16 yards to the Los Angeles 39. From there, quarterback
Justin Herbert
Justin Patrick Herbert (born March 10, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks football, Orego ...
completed 3 passes for 40 yards on a 57-yard drive to go up 10–0 on
Cameron Dicker's 22-yard field goal. Following a punt from each team, Samuel recorded his second interception, returning this one for 4 yards to the Jaguars 16-yard line. Ekeler then took the ball to the end zone with three consecutive carries, the last one a 6-yard touchdown run that gave the Chargers a 17–0 lead with 37 seconds left in the first quarter.
Jacksonville was quickly forced to punt and the Chargers drove back for more points, this time going 67 yards in 13 plays, including Herbert's 23-yard completion to tight end
Gerald Everett
Gerald Rashard Everett (born June 25, 1994) is an American professional football tight end. He played college football at South Alabama, and was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft. He has also played for ...
to convert a 3rd-and-11. On the last play, he hit Everett again for a 9-yard score, increasing the team's lead to 24–0.
Jamal Agnew
Jamal Agnew (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional football wide receiver and return specialist for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the San Diego Toreros. On September 26, 2021, ...
gave the Jaguars a chance to respond by returning the kickoff 52 yards to midfield. But after two incompletions, Lawrence threw his fourth interception of the day and third overall to Samuel. Then Jacksonville turned the ball over again when
Chris Claybrooks muffed a Jags punt and
Amen Ogbongbemiga recovered it on the Jaguars 6-yard line. Three plays later, Dicker kicked a 23-yard field goal to give Los Angeles a 27–0 lead with 4:28 left in the half. Jacksonville had to punt on their next drive, but their defense forced a crucial three-and-out that included a stop on 3rd-and-1, forcing a
J. K. Scott punt that went just 34 yards before
Tevaughn Campbell returned it 4 yards to the Los Angeles 47-yard line. Lawrence subsequently led the Jaguars 47 yards in 8 plays, including a 12-yard completion to
Marvin Jones on 4th-and-1, to score on a 9-yard touchdown pass to
Evan Engram
Evan Michael Engram (born September 2, 1994) is an American professional football tight end for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels, earning first-team All-American honors ...
, making the score 27–7 going into halftime.
Los Angeles took the second half kickoff and drove to the Jacksonville 38, but were stopped there and decided to punt. Scott's kick pinned the Jaguars on their own 11-yard line, but it didn't stop them from driving 89 yards in 17 plays. Lawrence completed 8 passes for 68 yards on the drive, the last a 6-yard touchdown completion to Jones that cut their deficit to 27–14. Herbert struck back with a pair of completions to Everett for gains of 21 and 25 yards to set up Dicker's 50-yard field goal, putting the Chargers up 30–14. Agnew returned the kickoff 36 yards to the Jaguars' 32-yard line. From there, Jacksonville drove 68 yards in 7 plays to score on Lawrence's 39-yard touchdown pass to
Zay Jones, making the score 30–20 after the 2-point conversion failed.
Los Angeles got the ball back with 40 seconds left in the third quarter and managed to run the clock down to under nine minutes with a 17-play drive to the Jaguars 22-yard line, but came up empty when Dicker's 40-yard field goal went wide left. Jacksonville took over and drove 64 yards in 11 plays, with Lawrence completing a 21-yard pass to Engram and 3 passes to
Christian Kirk
Christian Davon Kirk (born November 18, 1996) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies football, Texas ...
for 35 yards, the last a 9-yard touchdown catch. Chargers defensive end
Joey Bosa
Joseph Anthony Bosa (; born July 11, 1995) is an American professional football defensive end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was selected third overall b ...
was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play, moving the ball to the 1-yard for the
point after touchdown
The conversion, try (American football), also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, extra point, two-point conversion, or convert (Canadian football) is a gridiron football play that occurs immediately after a touchdown. The scoring team att ...
. The Jaguars took advantage of the penalty by going for two, scoring on Lawrence's 1-yard run to cut their deficit to 30–28 with 5:30 left in the game.
On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, Herbert was sacked for an 8-yard loss by
Roy Robertson-Harris
Roy Robertson-Harris (born July 23, 1993) is an American professional football defensive end for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UTEP Miners. Robertson-Harris has previously played in ...
. He managed to complete passes on his next two plays, but they were not enough for a first down, and so the Chargers punted with 3:20 remaining. Jacksonville then put together a 10-play, 61-yard drive for the game-winning score. Three completions for 24 yards and an 8-yard run by Lawrence brought up first down at midfield. A few plays later, they faced a crucial 4th-and-1 on the Chargers 41-yard line.
Travis Etienne
Travis Etienne Jr. (born January 26, 1999) is an American professional football running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers and was selected by the Jaguars in ...
took a pitch and ran around the right side of the line for a 25-yard gain to the Chargers 16. After running the clock down to the final seconds, Patterson's 36-yard field goal gave the Jags a win as time ran out. It is the largest blown lead in Chargers history as they became the first team to lose a playoff game with a turnover margin of +5.
Lawrence completed 28 of 47 passes for 288 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 4 interceptions, and rushed once for 8 yards. Etienne was the top rusher of the day with 20 carries for 109 yards and caught a pass for 12 yards. Engram had 7 receptions for 93 yards and a score. Agnew returned 4 kickoffs for 134 yards. Herbert finished 27 of 43 for 273 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing 3 times for 12 yards. Everett was his top target with 6 catches for 109 yards and a score. Samuel had 3 tackles and 3 interceptions. Ekeler, who had 1,637 yards from scrimmage and 107 receptions during the season, scored two touchdowns, but was held to just 13 carries for 35 yards and 2 receptions for 8 yards. Chargers coach
Brandon Staley
Brandon John Staley (born December 10, 1982) is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the Los Angeles ...
was later quoted as saying that "we
choked", a sentiment also said by linebacker
Kyle Van Noy
Kyle Van Noy (born March 26, 1991) is an American professional football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Van Noy played college football for the BYU Cougars. He was selected in the second round of the 20 ...
.
Following the game, Los Angeles fired
offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
Joe Lombardi and passing game coordinator & quarterbacks coach
Shane Day.
Sunday, January 15, 2023
AFC: Buffalo Bills 34, Miami Dolphins 31
Despite having to start third string quarterback
Skylar Thompson, falling behind 17–0, and being outgained in total yards 423–231, Miami still managed to keep pace with the heavily favored Bills, falling just short when Buffalo's defense stopped them on consecutive plays when facing 3rd-and-1 on their final drive. This became the longest home game in Bills history, at 3 hours and 53 minutes.
Buffalo started the game with a drive to the Dolphins 32, but lost the ball due to an incompletion on 4th-and-3. Following a punt, Bills quarterback
Josh Allen
Joshua Patrick Allen (born May 21, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wyoming Cowboys football, Wyoming Cow ...
completed passes to
Stefon Diggs
Stefon Marsean Diggs (born November 29, 1993) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins footbal ...
for gains of 20 and 52 yards before connecting with tight end
Dawson Knox in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown. Then safety
Dean Marlowe
Dean Marlowe (born July 25, 1992) is an American former professional football safety. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent following the 2015 NFL draft. He played college football for the James Madison Dukes.
Early ...
intercepted a pass from Thompson and returned it 10 yards to the Miami 23-yard line,
James Cook
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
's 12-yard touchdown run that put the Bills up 14–0. Miami was quickly forced to punt again, and the Bills stormed back for more points, this time driving 57 yards in 12 plays, with Allen completing 3/5 passes for 41 yards and rushing for 8, before
Tyler Bass
Tyler Royce Bass (born February 14, 1997) is an American professional football placekicker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Southern Eagles and was selected by the Bills in th ...
' 40-yard field goal gave the team a 17–0 lead with 12:49 left in the second quarter.
The Dolphins finally managed to respond on their next possession. Thompson start it off with a 20-yard completion to
Durham Smythe, and later threw one to
Tyreek Hill
Tyreek Hill (born March 1, 1994) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Garden City Broncbusters, Oklahoma State Cowboys, and West ...
for a 19-yard gain on the Bills 16-yard line.
Jason Sanders
Jason Thomas Sanders (born November 16, 1995) is an American professional football kicker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos.
Early life
Sanders attended and play ...
finished the drive with a 40-yard field goal that cut the score to 17–3. On the Bills ensuing drive, Allen threw a pass that was intercepted by
Xavien Howard and returned 49 yards to the Buffalo 47, leading to Sanders' 48-yard field goal that made the score 17–6 following a 23-yard drive. Buffalo then went three-and-out, and
Cedrick Wilson returned their punt 50 yards to the Bills 27-yard line, resulting in Sanders' third consecutive field goal, this one a 39-yard kick, that reduced their deficit to 17–9. Then Allen threw another interception, this one to
Jevon Holland, who ran it back 29 yards to the Buffalo 18. This time the Dolphins managed to get the ball into the end zone, scoring on Thompson's 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Mike Gesicki
Michael William Gesicki (born October 3, 1995) is an American professional football tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He was selected in the ...
. He also threw a pass to Hill for a 2-point conversion, tying the game at 17 with 33 seconds left in the half. Still, Buffalo managed to retake the lead at 20–17 before halftime, with Allen completing two passes for
Gabe Davis
Gabriel Davis (born April 1, 1999) is an American professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the UCF Knights and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft. Davis has been nicknamed "Big ...
for gains of 33 and 17 yards on the way to Bass' 39-yard field goal.
Miami took their first lead of the game, 24–20, just one minute into the second half when safety
Eric Rowe sacked Allen and forced a fumble, which
Zach Sieler picked up and returned 5 yards for a touchdown. But later in the quarter, cornerback
Kaiir Elam intercepted a pass from Thompson on the Dolphins 33-yard line, leading to Allens' 6-yard touchdown pass to
Cole Beasley
Cole Dickson Beasley (born April 26, 1989) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver. He played college football at SMU Mustangs football, Southern Methodist University and was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undra ...
that gave Buffalo the lead back, 27–24. Following a Miami punt, Allen completed passes to
Quintin Morris
Quintin Morris (born January 21, 1999) is an American professional football tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Bowling Green, and signed with the Buffalo Bills in 2021 as a ...
and Beasley for gains of 12 and 29 yards before finding Davis in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown completion, increasing Buffalo's lead to 34–24.
Miami responded on a drive where Thompson completed 4/5 passes for 59 yards on the way to
Jeff Wilson's 1-yard touchdown run, narrowing the gap to 34–31 with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Following three drives without points,
Sam Martin's 44-yard punt gave the Dolphins the ball on their own 14-yard line with 4:24 on the clock. Thompson's 25-yard completion to
Jaylen Waddle on 3rd-and-10 advanced the team to the 39. After an offsides penalty and an incompletion, his 14-yard pass to Waddle brought up 3rd-and-1 from the 48. On the next play,
Salvon Ahmed was stuffed for no gain by linebacker
Matt Milano
Matthew Vincent Milano (born July 28, 1994) is an American professional American football, football linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boston College Eagles football, Boston ...
. Now with just 2:29 left and no timeouts, Miami had to go for the conversion. However, they were pushed back 5 yards by a delay of game penalty before they could run their next play. Then on 4th-and-6, Thompson's pass was incomplete, enabling Buffalo to take over and run out the rest of the clock, picking up their last needed first down with two runs by
Devin Singletary for 11 total yards.
Allen was 23/39 for 352 yards and 3 touchdowns, while rushing 4 times for 20, but was intercepted twice and lost a fumble. Diggs was the game's leading receiver with 7 catches for 114 yards, while Davis had 6 for 113 and a score. Milano had 10 tackles (8 solo) and 2 sacks. Thompson threw for 220 yards and a touchdown, but completed just 18 of 45 passes and was picked off twice. Hill was the Dolphins leading receiver with 7 receptions for 69 yards.
NFC: New York Giants 31, Minnesota Vikings 24
The Giants had won two of the first three playoff meetings with the Vikings, all played in New York, most recently a 41–0 Giants victory in the
2000 NFC Championship. In Week 16 of the regular season, the Vikings beat the Giants 27–24 in Minneapolis. This was the Giants' first playoff game in six years, and the first for the Vikings in three years. It was also the Vikings' first home playoff game since the
Minneapolis Miracle
The Minneapolis Miracle (also known as the Minnesota Miracle) refers to the final play of a NFC divisional playoff game played between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 1 ...
. This was the first career postseason game for both
Brian Daboll
Brian Michael Daboll (; born April 14, 1975) is a Canadian American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive coordina ...
and
Kevin O'Connell as head coaches. This was the first playoff game between the Giants and the Vikings to be played in Minnesota.
The Vikings started with the ball and moved downfield with ease.
Kirk Cousins
Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans football, Mi ...
was 7/7 for 48 yards on the opening drive, including four completions to
Justin Jefferson
Justin Jamal Jefferson (born June 16, 1999) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers football, LSU Tiger ...
, before he converted a quarterback sneak on 2nd-and-goal to give the team a 7–0 lead. The Giants, however, immediately responded with an 85-yard drive. After an opening play holding penalty,
Daniel Jones gained 56 yards running and passing over the next four plays, the longest a 22-yard throw to
Darius Slayton
Darius Slayton (born January 12, 1997) is an American professional football wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and was selected by the Giants in the fif ...
. On the next play,
Saquon Barkley
Saquon Rasul Quevis Barkley ( ; born February 9, 1997) is an American professional American football, football running back for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany ...
ran 29 yards to the endzone untouched to tie the game. Then the Vikings went three-and-out after failing to convert a flea flicker. Jones immediately connected with Slayton on a 47-yard catch and run. Then Barkley rushed for a 16-yard gain before Jones' 14-yard touchdown pass to
Isaiah Hodgins gave the Giants a 14–7 lead. After another punt, the Giants went on a 20-play, 85-yard drive that lasted nearly 11 minutes, but had to settle for a 25-yard
Graham Gano
Graham Clark Gano (; born April 9, 1987) is a Scottish–American professional football placekicker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was signed by the B ...
field goal after a touchdown was called off by an illegal shift penalty by
Daniel Bellinger. Cousins started connecting with
T. J. Hockenson on the next drive with completions of 27 and 28 yards, then found
K. J. Osborn open for a 9-yard touchdown to make the score 17–14 before halftime.
The Giants extended their lead to 24–14 on the first drive of the third quarter when Jones hit Bellinger for a 9-yard touchdown pass after a 24-yard run by Barkley and a 32-yard catch by Hodgins. Cousins and the Vikings responded with another touchdown, this time to tight end
Irv Smith after a 19-yard completion to Hockenson on 3rd-and-7, along with a 25-yard pass to
Adam Thielen
Adam John Thielen (born August 22, 1990) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Minnesota State Mavericks football ...
. After giving up points on the first four Giants drives, the Vikings defense finally stopped the Giants on a third-down sack of Jones by
Danielle Hunter. Sensing an opportunity to take control of the game, the Vikings went on a long and methodical drive that extended into the 4th quarter. On 3rd-and-9 at the Giants 24, Cousins completed a pass to Hockenson and was tackled by
Xavier McKinney and
Tony Jefferson
Tony Lemar Jefferson Jr. (born January 27, 1992) is an American professional football safety for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners and signed with the Arizona Card ...
. Initially ruled a first down, replay confirmed Hockenson was tackled half a yard short of the line to gain. The Vikings lined up for a QB sneak and got the first down, but were flagged for a false start by OT
Christian Darrisaw
Christian Darrisaw (born June 2, 1999) is an American professional American football, football offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies football, Vir ...
.
Greg Joseph kicked the ensuing 38-yard field goal to tie the game at 24 with 12:34 to play.
Jones connected with Slayton and
Richie James
Richard Rhondel James Jr. (born September 5, 1995) is an American professional football wide receiver. He played college football at Middle Tennessee and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft. He has a ...
on consecutive plays to move the ball to midfield. Then Hodgins made a toe-tapping grab on the sideline to put the Giants in Vikings territory for a 19-yard gain, then Barkley took a screen pass 10 yards into the red zone after a key block by
Kenny Golladay
Kenny Golladay (born November 3, 1993) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He has previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions and New York Giants. He played college football for the North ...
. James had a 4-yard catch on 3rd-and-5, and the Giants opted to go for the first down instead of the field goal, which Jones converted on a QB sneak. Barkley scored his second touchdown of the game on the next play on a 2-yard run to give the Giants a 31–24 lead with 7:47 on the clock. Then the Vikings went three-and-out. The Giants tried to burn clock and score to put the game out of reach, but Slayton dropped a potential game-winning catch and run on 3rd-and-15. The Vikings only got one first down on their final drive on a roughing the passer penalty on
Dexter Lawrence
Dexter Lawrence II (born November 12, 1997), nicknamed "Sexy Dexy", is an American professional American football, football nose tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tig ...
. Cousins's third down attempt was batted down by
Cordale Flott. On 4th-and-8, Cousins was forced to check down to Hockenson with McKinney in pursuit. McKinney made the tackle 5 yards short of the first down and the Giants got the ball back. The Vikings had no timeouts and the Giants kneeled the clock out.
The Giants advanced to play the Philadelphia Eagles and won their first playoff game since
Super Bowl XLVI
Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
in the 2011 season. Daniel Jones orchestrated his sixth game-winning drive of the season and became the first person in NFL history to accumulate 300-plus passing yards, 75-plus rushing yards, and 2-plus passing touchdowns in a playoff game. His 379 scrimmage yards in a playoff game set a franchise record by a Giants quarterback. Saquon Barkley only ran the ball 9 times for 53 yards, but tacked on two scores and an additional 56 yards on 5 catches. Kirk Cousins played well for the Vikings, throwing 273 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. T.J. Hockenson was the Vikings leading receiver with 129 yards on 10 catches and Justin Jefferson, despite his opening drive, only finished with 47 yards on 7 catches. Isaiah Hodgins had his first career 100-yard receiving game and finished with 8 catches, 105 yards, and a touchdown despite revealing he played through an ankle injury.
AFC: Cincinnati Bengals 24, Baltimore Ravens 17
In a second half dominated by defense, Bengals defensive end
Sam Hubbard's NFL postseason record 98-yard fumble return touchdown gave the team a lead they would never give up, enabling them to win despite gaining just 234 offensive yards.
Cincinnati running back
Joe Mixon rushed 3 times for 19 yards and caught 2 passes for 9 as the team advanced 54 yards in 15 plays to score on
Evan McPherson
Evan McPherson ; (born July 21, 1999) is an American professional football placekicker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators before being drafted by the Bengals in th ...
's 39-yard field goal on the game's opening drive. On the fifth play of Baltimore's ensuing drive, reserve linebacker
Akeem Davis-Gaither intercepted a pass from
Tyler Huntley
Tyler Isaiah Huntley (born February 3, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback. Nicknamed "Snoop", he played college football for the Utah Utes football, Utah Utes, leading them to Pac-12 South Division titl ...
on the Bengals 40-yard line. Cincinnati quarterback
Joe Burrow
Joseph Lee Burrow (born December 10, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, O ...
subsequently completed 7/7 passes for 69 yards, the last a 7-yard scoring completion to
Ja'Marr Chase that put the Bengals up 9–0 after McPherson missed the extra point, his fifth missed extra point kick of the season.
Taking the ball back seconds into the second quarter, Baltimore went on a 20-play, 72-yard drive that took 10:03 off the clock, the longest playoff drive in franchise history. Running back
J. K. Dobbins carried the ball 5 times for 20 yards and scored on a 2-yard catch from Huntley by managing to barely stretch the ball across the goal line as he was being tackled, making the score 9–7 with less than 5 minutes left until halftime. At the end of the Bengals next drive, safety
Kyle Hamilton forced and recovered a fumble from tight end
Hayden Hurst on the Cincy 44-yard line. Baltimore then drove 40 yards in 9 plays, the longest a 19-yard completion from Huntley to
Josh Oliver, and took a 10–9 lead on
Justin Tucker
Justin Paul Tucker (born November 21, 1989) is an American professional football kicker. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2012, spending 13 seasons with the ...
's 22-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the quarter.
After forcing the Ravens to punt, Cincinnati started the second half with a 15-play, 88-yard drive. Burrow completed 6/6 passes for 65 yards, including a 19-yard pass to Chase and an 18-yard throw to Hurst on the Baltimore 1-yard line. Burrow scored a touchdown with a QB sneak on the next play. His ensuing 2-point conversion pass to Tee Higgins was incomplete, but a penalty of defensive back
Marcus Peters
Marcus Peters (born January 9, 1993) is an American professional football cornerback. He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft and has also been a member of the Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Ravens, and ...
gave Burrow another chance, and his next pass to Higgins was good, giving the Bengals a 17–10 lead. The Ravens quickly stormed back to tie the game 17–17, with Huntley throwing a 27-yard completion to Dobbins and a 13-yard pass to
Gus Edwards before hitting
Demarcus Robinson
Demarcus Dontavian Robinson (born September 21, 1994) is an American professional football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators. He was selected by the ...
with a 41-yard touchdown bomb.
Following a Bengals punt, Baltimore got the ball with 54 seconds left in the third quarter and launched a drive deep into the red zone. After a 25-yard completion to
Mark Andrews, Huntley took off for a 35-yard run before
Jessie Bates managed to tackle him at the Bengals 2-yard line. Two plays later on 3rd-and-goal from the 1, Huntley attempted to stretch the ball over the line of scrimmage, but linebacker
Logan Wilson knocked the ball out of his hands, right into the arms of Hubbard, who raced 98 yards down the field for a touchdown to put the Bengals ahead at 24–17 with 11:54 left in the game.
The defenses from both teams then took over as both teams punted twice. With 3:25 left on the clock, Ravens receiver
James Proche returned
Drue Chrisman's 49-yard punt 16 yards, with a penalty against defensive back
Daxton Hill adding another 5 and giving Baltimore the ball on the Bengals 46-yard line. Huntley led the team to a first down on the Bengals 17-yard line, personally converting a 4th-and-1 with a 4-yard run along the way. But over the next 3 plays, Huntley threw incompletions and a holding penalty on lineman
Kevin Zeitler
Kevin Zeitler ( ; born March 8, 1990) is an American professional football guard for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers, and earned consensus All-American honors. He w ...
pushed them back 10 yards. Now faced with 4th-and-20 from the Bengals 27 with 8 seconds left, Huntley was chased back to midfield before he launched a
hail mary pass
A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with a very small chance of achieving a completion (American football), completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes r ...
to the end zone. The ball was deflected in the end zone and then bounced off the fingertips of Proche as he attempted to make a diving catch, enabling Cincy to narrowly escape with the win.
Burrow completed 23/32 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 9 yards and a score. Chase was the game's leading receiver with 9 receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown. Starting in place of the injured
Lamar Jackson
Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (born January 7, 1997) is an American professional football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, winning the Heisman T ...
, Huntley finished the day 17/29 for 226 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while also rushing 9 times for 54 yards. Dobbins had 13 carries for 62 yards and caught 4 passes for 43 yards and a score. Hamilton had a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and 9 total tackles (5 solo).
Monday, January 16, 2023
NFC: Dallas Cowboys 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14
Dallas dominated the game, running up a 24-point lead and keeping the Buccaneers scoreless until 5 seconds remained in the third quarter. The only downside for the Cowboys was the performance of kicker
Brett Maher, who missed the extra point kick on their first four touchdowns. His four misses were an NFL postseason record. This would end up being
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...
's final game before his retirement two weeks later.
The game started out sluggish as both teams failed to gain any net positive yardage on the first four drives. On the next possession, Dallas moved the ball 65 yards in 8 plays.
Tony Pollard rushed 4 times for 25 yards, while quarterback
Dak Prescott
Rayne Dakota Prescott (; born July 29, 1993) is an American professional football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, twice earning first-team ...
completed passes to
Michael Gallup
Michael Gallup (born March 4, 1996) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Butler Grizzlies and Colorado Stat ...
and
Noah Brown for gains of 15 and 18 yards before connecting with tight end
Dalton Schultz in the end zone for a 22-yard score. Tampa Bay took the ball back and drove to a 2nd-and-goal on the Cowboys 5-yard line. But on the first play of the second quarter, Tom Brady was intercepted in the end zone by safety
Jayron Kearse
Jayron Kearse (born February 11, 1994) is an American professional football safety. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Early life
A native of F ...
. It was Brady's first red zone interception in his three seasons as the Bucs quarterback, a fact highlighted by commentator
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster for ESPN.
The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for Fox's Nati ...
's statement before the play: "Inside the red zone—that's where they are, that's why the fire the cannons and that's where Tom Brady just simply does not turn the ball over."
After the turnover, Dallas drove 90 yards in 16 plays, the longest a 34-yard completion from Prescott to tight end
Jake Ferguson
Jonathan Quinn "Jake" Ferguson (born January 18, 1999) is an American professional football tight end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and was selected by the Cowb ...
. Prescott finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-goal, increasing their lead to 12–0. Following a punt, Prescott completed 8/8 passes for 83 yards, including three to Schultz for gains of 20, 6, and an 11-yard touchdown pass, putting the team up 18–0 with 34 seconds left in the half.
Dallas scored again on their first drive of the third quarter. Prescott completed a 26-yard pass to Schultz on the first play, and later picked up another 26 yards on a pass to
CeeDee Lamb
Cedarian DeLeon "CeeDee" Lamb (born April 8, 1999) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners football, ...
, while Pollard rushed four times for 30 yards. Prescott finished it off with a 2-yard touchdown toss to Michael Gallup for a 24–0 lead. Later in the period,
Bryan Anger's 42-yard punt pinned the Buccaneers back on their own 5-yard line. But this time they managed to score, with Brady completing 7/8 passes for 92 yards, the last a 30-yard touchdown to
Julio Jones
Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones Jr. ( ; born February 8, 1989) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Atlanta Falcons. He played college foo ...
that made the score 24–6 after a failed 2-point attempt.
KaVontae Turpin
KaVontae Lamon Turpin (born August 2, 1996) is an American professional football wide receiver and return specialist for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs.
Turpin joi ...
returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the 32-yard line. From there, Dallas drove 68 yards in 11 plays, with Prescott completing four passes for double-digit gains, the last an 18-yard touchdown completion to Gallup that made the score 31–6 and put the game out of reach. All Tampa Bay could do with the time remaining was convert
Deven Thompkins' 14-yard punt return into a 52-yard drive to score the final points on Brady's 8-yard touchdown completion to
Cameron Brate
Cameron Brate (born July 3, 1991) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Harvard Crimson football, Harvard Crimson.
E ...
and subsequent 2-point conversion pass to
Mike Evans.
Prescott completed 25/33 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing 7 times for 24 yards and another score. Schultz was his top receiver with 7 receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns, while Pollard rushed for 77 yards and caught 3 passes for 12. Brady finished his last game completing 35 of 66 pass attempts, just two attempts short of the all-time record, for 351 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
Chris Godwin
Rod Christopher Godwin Jr. (born February 27, 1996) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany L ...
was the Bucs leading receiver with 10 receptions for 85 yards, while Jones had 7 for 74 and a touchdown. Thompkins returned 3 kickoffs for 58 yards and 3 punts for 34.
Divisional playoffs
Saturday, January 21, 2023
AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 20
Despite an injury late in the first quarter to starting quarterback
Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II ( ; born September 17, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Mahomes has led the Chiefs to seven consecutive AFC Championship Game app ...
, Kansas City gained a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and held on to win by forcing turnovers on two of Jacksonville's final three drives, advancing them to their fifth consecutive AFC title game.
After Jacksonville punted on the opening drive, Mahomes completed 7 of 8 passes for 69 yards, the last a 6-yard touchdown throw to tight end
Travis Kelce
Travis Michael Kelce ( ; born October 5, 1989) is an American professional American football, football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NF ...
. Jamal Agnew returned the kickoff 63 yards to the Chiefs 39-yard line. From there the team got to the end zone in seven plays, with Travis Etienne's 19-yard run setting up Trevor Lawrence's 10 yard touchdown pass to Christian Kirk that tied the score 7–7. Mahomes responded by completing 6 of 7 passes for 27 yards and rushing for 10 yards to lead the team to a 10–7 with
Harrison Butker's 50-yard field less than a minute into the second quarter. However, he suffered an ankle injury on the drive and missed the next series.
At the end of the Jags next possession,
Logan Cooke's 39-yard punt pinned Kansas City back at their own 2-yard line. But the Chiefs, now led by
Chad Henne
Chad Steven Henne (; born July 2, 1985) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines foo ...
, still managed to drive 98 yards in 13 plays, featuring a 39-yard run by
Isiah Pacheco. Henne finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kelce, giving the team a 17–7 lead with 3:58 left in the quarter. Jacksonville responded with Lawrence completing 3 passes to Kirk for 26 yards on a 52-yard drive the ended with Riley Patterson's 41-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 17–10 going into halftime.
Mahomes returned to the game in the second half, but still was visibly hampered by the injury. Both Kansas City and Jacksonville punted on their first two possessions. Chiefs receiver
Kadarius Toney
Kadarius Toney (born January 27, 1999) is an American professional football player who is a free agent. He played college football for the Florida Gators and was selected by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. He previ ...
returned Jacksonville's second punt 11 yards to the KC 39-yard line. On the next play, Mahomes completed a 27-yard pass to tight end
Noah Gray, setting up Butker's 50-yard field goal that gave the team a 20–10 lead with 12 seconds left in the third quarter.
Now down two scores, Jacksonville stormed back with their longest drive of the game, going 80 yards in 10 plays. Lawrence completed passes to Zay Jones for gains of 12 and 37 yards, while also scrambling for an 11-yard gain. Kirk also made a big play with an 18-yard run on an
end-around
The end-around is a play in American football in which an end or wide receiver crosses the backfield towards the opposite end of the line and receives a handoff directly from the quarterback. The receiver then may proceed to do one of two thing ...
play that gave the team a first down on the Chiefs 4-yard line. Etienne ran the ball in for a touchdown on the next play, making the score 20–17. But Kansas City struck right back, driving 70 yards in 13 plays, with Mahomes completing two passes to Kelce for 26 yards and one to
JuJu Smith-Schuster for 16 yards. Following a 14-yard run by Toney on an end around, Mahomes finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, putting the team up 27–17 with just over 7 minutes left to play.
Agnew returned Kansas City's kickoff 42 yards to his own 45-yard line, with only Butker's touchdown-stopping tackle preventing him from taking it all the way. After that, Lawrence completed a 16-yard pass to Evan Engram and an 18-yard pass to Jones before his 11-yard run gave the team a first down on the Chiefs 9-yard line. On the next play, Agnew caught a pass, but lost the ball while being tackled by
L'Jarius Sneed
L'Jarius Sneed ( ; born January 21, 1997) is an American professional American football, football cornerback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football, Lo ...
, Chiefs linebacker
Nick Bolton recovered the fumble. After the Jaguars defense forced Kansas City to punt, Chiefs defensive back
Jaylen Watson intercepted a pass from Lawrence that enabled the team to run the clock down to 1:04. Once Jacksonville got the ball back, Lawrence completed 3 passes for 37 yards to set up Patterson's 48-yard field goal, but the team failed to recover the onside kick, which allowed Kansas City to run out the clock.
Mahomes completed 22 of 30 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 8 yards. Pacheco was the top rusher of the game with 12 carries for 95 yards, and caught a pass for 6 yards. Kelce caught 12 passes for 98 yards and two scores. Lawrence finished his second playoff game completing 24 of 39 passes for 217 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. He also had 3 carries for 26 yards. Etienne was the team's leading rusher with 10 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 3 passes for 18 yards. Agnew returned three kickoffs for 131 yards, and three punts for 23 yards, and had 7 yards from scrimmage.
NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 38, New York Giants 7
The Eagles dominated the game, outgaining the Giants in total yards 413–227 and scoring touchdowns on four of their first five possessions. The Eagles were particularly effective on the ground, racking up 268 rushing yards, the second highest postseason total in franchise history.
The Eagles started off the game with a 10-play, 75-yard drive featuring a 40-yard pass from
Jalen Hurts
Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL).
Hurts began his college football career with the Alabama Crims ...
to
DeVonta Smith
DeVonta Smith ( ; born November 14, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he recorded over 1,800 ...
. His 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Dallas Goedert
Dallas Christopher Goedert ( ; born January 3, 1995) is an American professional football tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, and was sel ...
gave the team a 7–0 lead. New York took the ball and drove to a 3rd-and-3 on the Eagles 35-yard line. But over the next two plays, quarterback Daniel Jones was sacked twice, first by
Josh Sweat and
Haason Reddick
Haason Samir Reddick (born September 22, 1994) is an American professional football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Temple Owls, and was selected by the Arizona Ca ...
, and the second time by Reddick to force a turnover on downs. Philadelphia then drove 52 yards in 9 plays to take a 14–0 lead on Hurts' 9-yard touchdown pass to Smith. On New York's next drive, Jones threw an interception to
James Bradberry, though the Eagles could do nothing with the ball and had to punt.
In the second quarter, Eagles running back
Miles Sanders
Miles Adam Sanders (born May 1, 1997), nicknamed "Boobie Miles", is an American professional football running back for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of t ...
carried the ball 6 times for 43 yards on a drive that ended with
Boston Scott's 3-yard touchdown run, putting the team up 21–0. The next time they got the ball, the Eagles advanced 67 yards in 15 plays, the longest an 18-yard run by Sanders. Hurts finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, giving the team a 28–0 lead going into halftime.
New York finally managed to score in the third quarter, moving the ball 88 yards in 11 plays, including a 39-yard run by Saquon Barkley.
Matt Breida's 8-yard touchdown run made the score 28–7. But in the final quarter, Philadelphia put the game completely out of reach on a drive where
Kenneth Gainwell rushed 6 times for 49 yards to set up
Jake Elliott's 30-yard field goal. The next time New York got the ball, they turned it over on downs on their own 36, leading to the final score of the game on Gainwell's 35-yard touchdown run.
Hurts finished his second playoff game with 16/24 for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns, while adding another 34 yards and a score on the ground. Gainwell, who rushed for only 240 yards during the season, was the game's leading rusher with 10 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown, while also catching a 9-yard pass. Sanders had 17 carries for 90 yards. Jones was limited to just 15/27 for 135 yards with 1 interception.
Sunday, January 22, 2023
AFC: Cincinnati Bengals 27, Buffalo Bills 10
Cincinnati gained 412 yards of offense, jumped to an early 14–0 lead, and held on for a solid win, never leading by less than 7 points after that as they advanced to their second consecutive AFC championship game. Their offensive line, missing three starters with injuries, proved up to the challenge as they only gave up 1 sack, while the team rushed for 172 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. This was the team's fifth postseason victory over the last two seasons, the same number of wins the team had in their entire history prior to then.
Cincinnati took the opening kickoff and stormed 79 yards in 8 plays, with Joe Burrow completing 4/4 passes for 64 yards, including a 23-yard completion to
Tyler Boyd, and finish the drive with a 28-yard touchdown throw to Ja'Marr Chase. Buffalo quickly had to punt and the Bengals marched back to score again, this time moving the ball 64 yards in 12 plays. Joe Mixon started the drive with two carries for 21 yards, while Burrow completed 5/5 passes for 41, ending on his 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Hayden Hurst. By the time the first quarter ended, Buffalo trailed 14–0 and had gained just 8 total offensive yards.
Buffalo finally managed to get rolling on their first drive of the second quarter, scoring on a 17-play, 85-yard drive. Josh Allen completed passes to Stefon Diggs and
Khalil Shakir
Khalil Shakir (born February 3, 2000) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Boise State Broncos and was selected by the Bills in the fif ...
for gains of 16 and 23 yards, while also converting a 4th-and-1 with a 2-yard sneak before taking the ball into the end zone himself for a 1-yard rushing score. Cincy countered by moving 70 yards in 16 plays, the longest an 18-yard pass from Burrow to Hurst. Evan McPherson finished the drive with 28-yard field goal, giving the Bengals a 17–7 lead with 1:43 left in the half.
Buffalo cut their deficit down to 7 points on the first drive of the second half, with Devin Singletary rushing 3 times for 16 yards and Shakir catching a pass for 17 on the way to Tyler Bass' 25-yard field goal. But this would be as close as they would get, as Cincinnati scored again on their next possession. This one went for 71 yards in 17 plays, with Mixon rushing 5 times for 25 and finishing it off with a 1-yard touchdown run that put the team up 24–10. Then Buffalo went three-and-out, and Sam Martin's 43-yard punt gave the Bengals the ball on their 37-yard line on the last play of the third quarter.
From there, Cincy drove 35 yards in 10 plays, 27 of them on four carries by Mixon. The Bengals also took advantage of a 26-yard pass interference penalty on
Jordan Poyer
Jordan Lynn-Baxter Poyer (born April 25, 1991) is an American professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Oregon State Beavers football, Oregon State, wh ...
on a play in which he also collided with fellow defensive back
Tre'Davious White
Tre'Davious White Sr. (born January 16, 1995) is an American professional American football, football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers football, LSU Tigers, ear ...
sending both of them to the sidelines with injuries and giving the Bengals a first and goal on the Bills 4-yard line. The defense still managed to keep Cincinnati out of the end zone, but McPherson's 20-yard field goal gave the team a 27–10 lead with just over 11 minutes left in the game. Buffalo took the ball back and drove to a 4th-and-6 on the Bengals 16-yard line. Allen attempted to pick up the first down with a pass to Gabe Davis, but cornerback
Eli Apple
Eli Apple (né Woodard, born August 9, 1995) is an American professional football cornerback. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, winning the 2015 National Championship before being selected by the New York Giants in the fir ...
broke it up to force a turnover on downs. Following a punt, Bengals rookie
Cam Taylor-Britt sealed the victory by intercepting a pass from Allen in the end zone with a little over 1 minute remaining on the clock.
Burrow completed 23/36 passes for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also rushing six times for 36 yards. Mixon rushed 20 times for 105 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 2 passes for 18. Allen completed 25/42 passes for 265 yards and an interception and had 8 carries for 26 yards and a score. Linebacker Matt Milano had 10 tackles (7 solo) and a sack.
NFC: San Francisco 49ers 19, Dallas Cowboys 12
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy's storybook season continued as he won his 7th consecutive start and became the first rookie quarterback to lead his team to a conference championship game since
Mark Sanchez
Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans ...
in the 2009 season.
Following several punts, 49ers defensive back Deommodore Lenoir intercepted a pass from Dak Prescott and returned it 6 yards to the Cowboys 21-yard line. Purdy subsequently managed to convert a 3rd-and-16 with a 17-yard completion to Brandon Aiyuk on the Dallas 10, but the team could still not dent the end zone and had to settle for Robbie Gould's 26-yard field goal with 2:16 left in the first quarter.
Dallas responded by moving the ball 79 yards in 17 plays, the longest being an 18-yard completion from Prescott to Noah Brown. He later finished it off with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz, giving the Cowboys a 6–3 lead after Brett Maher's extra point was blocked by
Samson Ebukam, Maher's fifth missed extra point of the postseason. The 49ers managed to tie the game by driving 41 yards in 12 plays, taking advantage of a 15-yard penalty against Dallas and a 17-yard reception by Deebo Samuel, scoring on Gould's 47-yard field goal. Dallas took the ball back and drove to the 49ers 18-yard line, only to lose it on an interception by linebacker
Fred Warner who returned it 16 yards to his own 28. Purdy then completed a 10-yard pass to Samuel and a 21-yard pass to Jauan Jennings, setting up Gould's 50-yard field goal to give the team a 9–6 lead on the last play of the half.
Dallas had to punt on their opening drive of the third quarter, but
Kelvin Joseph forced a fumble from returner
Ray-Ray McCloud, and
Damone Clark recovered it for the Cowboys on the San Francisco 21-yard line. This led to Maher's 25-yard field goal that tied the game at 9. McCloud returned their kickoff 53 yards to the Dallas 47, but the team could not gain a first down and had to punt. Following another punt, San Francisco retook the lead with a 14-play, 76-yard possession. The highlight of the drive was a 30-yard completion from Purdy to tight end George Kittle, who had to fully extend his arms and tip the ball to himself, bouncing it off his helmet before securing it for a catch. Christian McCaffrey finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, giving the team a 16–9 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter.
KaVontae Turpin returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to the Dallas 42, stopped from taking it all the way only by a tackle from Gould. From there, Prescott's three completions to CeeDee Lamb for 29 yards set up a 43-yard field goal to make the score 16–12. San Francisco then went on a 14-play, 64-yard drive, with Purdy completing a 17-yard pass to Kittle, while Elijah Mitchell carried the ball 8 times for 26 yards. Gould's 28-yard field goal put the team back up by 7 points with 3:08 left on the clock. The 49ers defense took over from that point, first forcing a punt, and later stopping Dallas on their own 32 as time expired in the game.
Purdy completed 19 of 29 passes for 214 yards, while also rushing for 8. Kittle was his top receiver with 5 receptions for 95 yards. Prescott completed 23 of 37 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing 4 times for 22 yards, but was intercepted twice. Lamb was the top receiver of the game with 10 receptions for 117 yards. Turpin returned 4 kickoffs for 120 yards.
Conference championships
:''As per an annual rotation used by the NFL since
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
and made official in
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, the
NFC Championship Game
The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...
was the first game played at 3:05 p.m. EST, followed by the
AFC Championship Game
The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...
at 6:40 p.m. EST.''
Sunday, January 29, 2023
NFC Championship Game: Philadelphia Eagles 31, San Francisco 49ers 7
San Francisco was unable to recover from injuries to quarterbacks Brock Purdy,
Josh Johnson,
Trey Lance
Trey Aubrey Lance (born May 9, 2000) is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Dakota State Bison, where he received the Walter P ...
and
Jimmy Garoppolo
James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed "Jimmy G", is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Panther ...
. With no more healthy quarterbacks on their roster, the team only mustered 164 yards of offense, while also committing 11 penalties for 84 yards.
Philadelphia running back Boston Scott started off the game with a 29-yard kickoff return to his 34-yard line. Quarterback Jalen Hurts subsequently completed 5/7 passes for 54 yards, the longest a 29-yard throw to DeVonta Smith, who made a one-handed catch on 4th-and-3 to give the Eagles a first down on the San Francisco 6-yard line despite replays showing that he did not complete the catch. Miles Sanders ran the ball into the end zone from there to give the team a 7–0 lead. San Francisco took the ball and drove to midfield, but then Haason Reddick sacked Purdy as he was winding up for a pass, and
Linval Joseph recovered it for the Eagles. Purdy's throwing arm was injured on the play, and he missed the rest of the half.
Several possessions later, 49ers punter
Mitch Wishnowsky's 38-yard kick pinned the Eagles back at their own 6-yard line. Philadelphia ended up punting back to San Francisco from their 2, and Ray-Ray McCloud's 9-yard return gave them a first down on the Eagles 46-yard line. Running back Christian McCaffrey went on to get the ball on six of the 49ers next seven plays, gaining 44 of the drive's 46 yards and finishing it off with a 25-yard touchdown run in which he evaded 4 tackle attempts on the way to the end zone. The score was now tied with about 7 minutes left in the second quarter, but Philadelphia would go on to dominate the rest of the game. On their next drive, they took advantage of 3 penalties against San Francisco, marching 66 in 20 plays, the longest a 17-yard run by Kenneth Gainwell. Sanders completed the series with a 13-yard touchdown run, giving the team a 14–7 lead. On San Francisco's ensuing possession, Johnson fumbled a snap in
shotgun formation
The shotgun formation is a formation used by the offensive team in gridiron football mainly for passing plays, although some teams use it as their base formation. Instead of the quarterback receiving the snap from center at the line of scrim ...
. Reddick recovered the ball on the 49ers 30-yard line, setting up Scott's 10-yard touchdown run that increased Philadelphia's lead to 21–7 in the closing seconds of the first half.
On San Francisco's opening drive of the half, Johnson was knocked out of the game with a concussion, forcing the sore-armed Purdy back in to lead the team's offense. He would throw only two passes for the rest of the game. Midway through the third quarter, the Eagles went on another long scoring drive, this one covering 72 yards in 16 plays, one of them a 17-yard completion from Hurts to Gainwell on 3rd-and-5. Hurts also had a 14-yard run to give the team a first and goal, and eventually took the ball across the goal line himself on a 1-yard run. Now down 28–7, San Francisco lost the ball on their next drive attempting to convert a 4th-and-3 on their own 47-yard line. Gainwell then ran down the clock with 8 consecutive carries for 30 yards, setting up the final points of the game on Jake Elliott's 31-yard field goal with 5:20 left in the game.
Hurts completed 15 of 25 passes for 121 yards, while rushing 11 times for 39 yards and a touchdown. Reddick had 3 tackles (2 solo), 2 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Purdy and Johnson combined for just 97 passing yards. McCaffrey was the sole offensive star of the day with 15 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown, along with 4 receptions for 22 yards.
After the game, it was revealed Purdy had suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and would have to undergo surgery in the offseason.
This was the first NFC championship game since the
2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL), and the first season of the 21st century. The league permanently moved the first week of the regular season to the weekend following Labor Day. In the wake o ...
to not be called by
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster for ESPN.
The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for Fox's Nati ...
and
Troy Aikman
Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from the Oklahoma Sooners, he play ...
following their move to
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
calling
Monday Night Football
''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
. Buck and Aikman worked for the
NFL on FOX
The ''NFL on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox NFL'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports and televised on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox broadcast network. ...
since the
2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League (NFL).
The league went back to an even number of teams with the addition of the Houston Texans; the league has remained static with 32 teams since. The clubs were ...
as the lead commentator team for the network.
AFC Championship Game: Kansas City Chiefs 23, Cincinnati Bengals 20
Skyy Moore's 29-yard punt return set up a 45-yard field goal for Harrison Butker with 3 seconds left to send Kansas City to their third Super Bowl in the last four seasons.
Cincinnati had to punt on their opening drive, and Kadarius Toney's 12-yard return gave Kansas City the ball on their own 36 yard line. A pair of 16 yard completions from Patrick Mahomes to Isiah Pacheco set up Butker's 43-yard field goal to give the team an early 3–0 lead. The Bengals quickly had to punt again and KC storm back for another score, with Mahomes completing 6/8 passes for 69 yards as the team advanced to the Bengals 9-yard line. Pacheco scored on a touchdown run, but it was called back by a holding penalty and the Chiefs ended up settling for Butker's field 24-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter. Kansas City had dominated the game up to then, gaining 110 yards and six first downs, while holding Cincinnati to 0 yards and one first down, sacking quarterback Joe Burrow three times.
Cincinnati responded on their next drive, as Burrow converted a 3rd-and-14 with a 16-yard pass to Tyler Boyd, and later hit him for a 24-yard gain to set up Evan McPherson's 30-yard field goal that made the score 6–3. Kansas City stormed right back 75 yards in 10 plays, including a 29-yard completion from Mahomes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. On the last play, he converted a 4th-and-1 with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce, giving the team a 13–3 lead. On the Bengals next drive, Burrow threw a pass that was intercepted by Jaylen Watson and returned 10 yards to the team's 39-yard line. However, their defense managed to force 3 incompletions and a punt, which
Tommy Townsend
Thomas Townsend (born November 12, 1996) is an American professional football punter for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida Gators, and was signed by th ...
sent out of bounds at the Bengals 5-yard line. Aided by a 20-yard pass interference penalty against
Bryan Cook that negated an interception by
Juan Thornhill, Burrow led Cincy 70 yards in 13 plays, completing 8/10 passes for 62 yards before McPherson's 20-yard field goal on the last play of the quarter sent the teams into their locker rooms with a score of 13–6.
After forcing the Chiefs to punt, Cincinnati tied the score on their first drive of the second half, moving the ball 62 yards in 9 plays and scoring on Burrow's 27-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins. But the Chiefs stormed right back to retake it at 20–13, with Mahomes completing 3 passes to Valdez-Scantling for 52 yards, the last a 19-yard touchdown completion on 3rd-and-10. After Cincinnati punted, Mahomes led the Chiefs to the Bengals 43-yard line. But with a minute left in the third quarter, he fumbled the ball while winding up for a pass without being touched. Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard recovered it on the KC 45-yard line. The team soon faced 4th-and-6 from the Chiefs 40, but Burrow managed to convert with a long pass to Ja'Marr Chase, who made a leaping catch between two defensive backs for a 35-yard gain. This set up
Samaje Perine
Samaje Perine ( ; born September 16, 1995) is an American professional football running back for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, and was selected by the Washingto ...
's 2-yard rushing score that tied the game at 20–20 with 13:35 left in the 4th quarter.
After a Chiefs punt, Burrow was intercepted by
Joshua Williams on the Chiefs' 14-yard line. Kansas City then drove a 3rd-and-12 on the Bengals 41. On the next play, Kansas City gained 4 yards and was penalized for holding. Rather than take the penalty, coach
Zac Taylor
Zachary William Taylor (born May 10, 1983) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. Beginning his NFL career as an offensive assistant, Taylor was the quarterba ...
decided to accept the results of the play, forcing Kansas City to decide on a punt or a long field goal. The Chiefs decided to punt, and got a big boost from Townshend, who kicked the ball out of bounds at the Bengals 6-yard line. Cincinnati subsequently drove to their own 35, featuring a 23-yard completion from Burrow to tight end Hayden Hurst on 3rd-and-16. But on 3rd-and-8, Burrow was sacked for an 8-yard loss by
Chris Jones, forcing the team to punt the ball back to Kansas City with 40 seconds left on the clock.
Skyy Moore returned Drue Chrisman's 54-yard punt 29 yards to the Chiefs 47-yard line. On the next play, Mahomes completed a pass to Pacheco for 6 yards. Then when faced with 3rd-and-4 with 17 seconds left, Mahomes scrambled 5 yards for a first down. Bengals defensive end
Joseph Ossai
Joseph Ossai (born 12 April 2000) is a Nigerian professional American football defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, where he was a consensus All-Amer ...
was penalized 15 yards for shoving Mahomes after he stepped out of bounds, giving Kansas City another 15 yards on the end of the run. Now with just 8 seconds left, Butker's 45-yard field goal gave the team a 23–20 win.
Playing on an injured ankle, Mahomes completed 29/43 passes for 326 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also rushing for 8 yards. Valdez-Scantling was the top receiver of the game with 6 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. Kelce had 7 catches for 78 yards and a score. Townsend planted 3 of his 4 punts inside the 20. Burrow completed 26/41 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. He was also the team's leading rusher with 4 carries for 30 yards, but was intercepted twice and sacked 5 times. Higgins was the Bengals leading receiver with 6 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Super Bowl LVII: Kansas City Chiefs 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35
Television coverage
All playoff games were televised nationally, split between the league's network television partners.
During Wild Card Weekend this postseason,
Fox
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush").
Twelve species ...
replaced
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
in televising two wild card games this year, with CBS airing only one wild card game.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
again televised two games, and
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
aired one game, simulcasted on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
, with a
Manningcast on
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially ...
.
Coverage of the AFC Divisional games was split between CBS and NBC while CBS had exclusive coverage of the AFC Championship Game. Meanwhile, Fox had exclusive coverage of both NFC Divisional games, the NFC Championship Game, and Super Bowl LVII.
Games will again be streamed on each broadcaster's sister platform (except for Fox's service
Tubi
Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...
which does not air any live games), with
Paramount+
Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...
simulcasted all CBS games,
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
simulcasted all NBC games, and
ESPN+
ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...
simulcasted the ESPN/ABC game (including
Manningcast coverage).
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
did not stream any games this postseason.
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
also did not air any games or alternate broadcasts this postseason, and opted instead to only do an alternative broadcast of a
Christmas regular season game.
For Spanish-language broadcasts,
Fox Deportes
Fox Deportes (formerly Fox Sports en Español) is an American pay television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming in Spanish, aimed at the Hispanic population in the United States. Launched in 1993, Fox Deportes, a divis ...
aired Fox games,
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
(select games) and
Universo
Universo is a supervillain appearing in DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of the Legion of Super-Heroes. He was created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan, and first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #349 (October 1966).
Fictional character biography
P ...
aired NBC games,
ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes (, ) is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the ...
will have ESPN/ABC games and CBS games was available over
SAP
Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...
.
Westwood One Radio Westwood may refer to:
Companies and brands
*Westwood, Baillie, 19th-century engineering and shipbuilding company, London
*Westwood One (1976–2011), a former American radio network based in New York City
*Westwood One, an American radio and medi ...
aired all playoff games on radio nationally alongside local radio stations airing their coverage locally.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:2022-23 Nfl Playoffs
Playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
NFL playoffs
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...