After months of hardwork, dedication and gruelling regular season matches, the NFL play-offs are finally here!
It was a special weekend for several sets of supporters, including Buffalo’s passionate following. It was the Bills’ first play-off appearance since 1999. Win or lose, it was always going to be a weekend to remember.
I’d also like to give a shout out to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team that fly over to London to play in an international series game every season. The Florida-based-franchise were searching for their first play-off win in almost a decade.
Talking of the post-season, it’s a first January fixture, in quite some time, for the Super Bowl-less Philadelphia Eagles. They’ll be hoping that back-up QB Nick Foles can take them all the way to the Promised Land.
Then we have the up and coming Los Angeles Rams, led by the ever-improving Jared Goff. Anyway, let’s dive right into the action.
AFC
Tennessee Titans 21-17 Kansas City Chiefs
This was an entertaining, well-fought match-up between two sleepers in the AFC. Personally, I thought Kansas City would come out on top, but credit to Marcus Mariota, who picked up the first play-off victory in his fledgeling career. He threw for just over 200 yards, with two TDs and one INT, but he played the situation perfectly.
Let’s not forget that he has the beast that is Derrick Henry in the backfield, who rushed for over 150 yards with one TD. Onto the next one the Titans go, and it doesn’t come any tougher than a trip to Foxboro’ to take on Tom Brady and co.
As for Kansas, it was a disappointing end to a campaign that started so brightly. Alex Smith actually played well, throwing for two TDs without an interception. However, when it mattered most, the Chiefs came up short.
Buffalo Bills 3-10 Jacksonville Jaguars
I think we all knew that the Bills and Jags game was going to be a defensive, low-scoring battle, but few predicted that only thirteen points would be scored. Home field advantage was an important factor, with Jacksonville coming out on the winning side.
Their Blake Bortles just couldn’t get it going through the air, but he was absolutely stunning with his legs, rushing for 88 yards and coming up big in the third down situations. The Jaguars head to the Steel City to go face-to-face with Big Ben and Pittsburgh.
Buffalo put up a fight, but they were always facing an uphill battle in the 2018 play-offs, purely because the quality just isn’t there. It was a positive season for them, though, and if they can land a franchise QB, perhaps we’ll be seeing them in the 2019 post-season.
NFC
Atlanta Falcons 26-13 Los Angeles Rams
Unfortunately for Los Angeles Rams fans, their team looked like a roster who hadn’t been to the post-season before, which Atlanta took full advantage of. Matt Ryan kept it clean, throwing one TD for over 200 yards, while relying heavily on an excellent run-game led by Devonta Freeman.
Second-year QB Jared Goff played just okay in his first play-off game, with Todd Gurley driving the Rams’ charge, rushing for over 100 yards, but it just wasn’t enough to get it done and their inexperience showed. I have no doubts that Goff and this young team will be back next year, though.
Carolina Panthers 26-31 New Orleans Saints
Talk about saving the best until last. It was the New Orleans Saints that were left celebrating after a scintillating 60 minutes of action. However, it wasn’t thanks to their dynamic running attack. In fact, the two-headed best of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram only rushed for 40 yards between them
It was all down to the underrated veteran Drew Brees, who’s throwing arm looked as good as ever – tossing for a huge 376 yards against an excellent Carolina defence. The Saints’ prize? A trip to Minneapolis to take on Case Keenum and the Minnesota Vikings.
As for Carolina, they fought valiantly. Cam Newton was the second best player on the field (behind Brees), and, quite frankly, he didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. The Panthers could find themselves in hot water, however, as it looked Super Cam wasn’t thoroughly evaluated regarding a concussion; something the National Football League take extremely seriously.
Well, there you have it folks. The first and second seeds from the AFC and NFC respectively, make their play-off bows next weekend fresh off a bye week, led by the reigning Super Bowl champions New England Patriots. Enjoy the Divisional Round and we’ll see you in seven days!
