5 winners and 2 losers from the NFL Divisional Playoffs

That was one of the greatest games we have ever seen.

We all knew Bills vs. Chiefs was going to be the marquee game of the weekend, but nobody predicted the game we ended up getting. What promised to be a battle of Kansas City’s high-powered offense and the stour Buffalo defense quickly turned into a three-plus hour symphony, a love letter to football, one of the greatest games in NFL history,

I know there’s considerable bad feelings about the game ending with a sudden death touchdown in overtime (which we’ll get back to), but instead of focusing on the disappointing close, we need to appreciate what we all got to witness. That game was everything anyone could ever want in a game. The beauty wasn’t just the hell-bent, maniacal final minutes that saw the lead change three times in less than two minutes, and end in a field goal to send it to overtime.

That entire passage was fun, but so much of what made this game fascinating came in the 58 football minutes that preceded it. We had two teams throwing their biggest haymakers and continually hitting a brick wall. Kansas City’s high-powered offense was mostly contained, forcing Patrick Mahomes to be the Chiefs’ leading rusher. It highlighted Buffalo’s defensive prowess. Meanwhile we had Josh Allen being forced to improvise under a pass rush that understood they had to get the job done, because the secondary behind them had holes.

Regardless of what the score showed it really felt like Buffalo’s game. The cadence and pace early made it feel like the Chiefs were being sucked into the Bills’ world. Early on this wasn’t a big-play game, and Mahomes wasn’t gashing the defense for the 15-25 yard gains he’s known for. Buffalo took him into deep water, and it wasn’t quite as pronounced on the other side of the ball.

That’s not to say that Josh Allen was “better,” as much as this was just two amazing quarterbacks playing equally well, and it all just felt like we were waiting for the floodgates to bust open. Considering the situation logic told us that the Bills defense would hold out longer than KC’s.

The tenor of the game really changed with 1:56 left in the third quarter when Allen hit Gabriel Davis on a 75 yard strike. It came at a time where the Bills were on the ropes and one more stalled drive felt like it would hand the win to the Chiefs. This was a statement play. One that told everyone that Buffalo had the potential to strike out of anywhere, and it seemed to light a fire under both teams. The fourth quarter was hard-hitting and brutal, sapping every bit of energy from both defenses, which led to the offensive onslaught to close the game.

In the end this was not a case of either defense playing poorly. It was just two of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks going absolutely nuts like a game of H.O.R.S.E playing out on prime time TV. Anything you can do, I can do better — and whether it was through the air, or with their legs, Mahomes and Allen reaffirmed that the NFL is in good hands when the league’s aging stalwart QBs hang it up. Conceptually it feels like Mahomes should be the stat king in this matchup, but the final result was razor thin.

Patrick Mahomes: 33-of-44, 378 yards (8.6 yards-per-attempt), 3 TD, 0 INT — 123.1 passer rating
Josh Allen: 27-of-37, 328 yards (8.9 yards-per-attempt), 4 TD, 0 INT — 136.0 passer rating

The entire affair left all of us with our hearts in our throats, and I cannot imagine what it was like for fans of either team. Actually, yes I can, their heart rate probably looked identical to the win probability chart at the end of this game.

I just want to say thank you to the Chiefs and Bills for giving us that. In a league where so often we just want to see a game end and bemoan things dragging out, the entire world wanted to see more football from both teams. That’s just beautiful.

Loser: The NFL’s overtime rules

Yes, we’re back at this discussion — and we’re going to have this discussion whenever a game ends like this. Unless you’re a Chiefs fan, nobody is satisfied with how that game ended.

Sure, you can do the mental gymnastics of saying “Buffalo had a chance to stop Mahomes, and they couldn’t,” but at that point in the game both teams were gassed defensively. Whoever won that toss was probably going to score a touchdown based on the prior five minutes of football, so seeing it end like that was unsatisfying.

However, I need to make one thing abundantly clear here: Buffalo wanted it this way. Not the players, nor the coaches, but Buffalo’s ownership has routinely voted against any kind of changes to the NFL overtime format.

In 2010 the Bills were one of four teams who voted AGAINST having the overtime change to a sudden death touchdown. If they had their way the Chiefs would have only needed a field goal to beat them on the opening drive of overtime.

In 2019 THE CHIEFS submitted a proposal to modify overtime so both teams would get a possession. This gained no traction or support. The Bills were once again one of the teams that voted against it.

In 2021 the Ravens and Eagles submitted a joint proposal for a wild new overtime system called “spot and choose,” which would have turned overtime into a fun gamble of possession vs. field positioning. After that didn’t pass, again with the Bills not supporting it, then Ravens submitted a separate proposal for a 7:30 overtime with no sudden death. This was also voted down.

So, while we can get all angsty about how overtime felt “wrong,” the reality is that NFL owners have the opportunity to change this. Time and time again the Bills have opted to keep the status quo. I’m sorry it burned them, but fans should point their ire at their own leadership, not at the rule for being “unfair.”

Yes, overtime should absolutely change though. Unsatisfactory conclusions to amazing games is just not good for the sport.

Winner: Sportsmanship

If this isn’t one of the best damn highlights of the weekend, I don’t know what is.

Winner: Stefon Diggs’ tackling form

Some jerkoff decided they wanted to be the star at the close of the game and jumped the fence and ran onto the field. This is bad at the best of times, and in a game like this it’s just selfish and stupid.

Thankfully Stefon Diggs’ was there to rock him.

Loser: Aaron Rodgers

I’m not going to lie, I’m super happy we don’t need to talk about or hear from Aaron Rodgers for a while. Personal issues with his stupidity aside, he simply played a really bad football game on Saturday for someone who is the runaway NFL MVP.

There’s this scene from the 2000 Steven Soderbergh film Traffic which has always stuck with me. James Brolin’ character is sharing an anecdote about politics in which he explains a story he heard about former Soviet Union head Nikita Khrushchev. In it he details that upon being forced out, Khrushchev wrote two letters. He told his successor Leonid Brezhnev to open the first letter when he got into a jam, then to open the second letter when he got in hot water again. The first letter said “blame everything on me,” the second read “sit down and write two letters.”

Aaron Rodgers is on letter seven.

Every single time the Packers falter there’s a reason for the mistake that extends beyond Rodgers. It’s either the coaching, or the defense, or a lack of weapons. To many the excuse against the 49ers was special teams, which undoubtably became a deciding factor in the game.

In order for special teams to become a factor in the first place, someone didn’t do their job. That person was Rodgers. It’s not too much to ask a QB of his caliber to throw a touchdown against a team that allowed 25 through the air during the regular season. It’s not expecting the moon to throw for more than 225 yards in a home playoff game. Packers fans should be okay asking that he not lock onto Davante Adams with laser vision and refuse to look at anyone else, regardless what the defense is giving.

The failure against San Francisco was a true team effort, and that absolutely includes Rodgers. The difference is there’s an expectation of getting more. Instead it’s unclear what his legacy will be other than “amazing regular season QB who won one ring.”

That’s a damn shame, but he is absolutely partially to blame.

Winner: Matthew Stafford

The Rams are huge winners, not only because they beat the Buccaneers, but because of the 49ers upset win. Removing the Packers was huge, but the 49ers have been a real fly in their ointment all season.

It’s set up a really fascinating NFC Championship game, but for now Matthew Stafford can appreciate being one game from the Super Bowl. The change of scenery has paid dividends for him, and the Rams — making this one of the best feel-good stories of the year.

Winner: The Cincinnati freaking Bengals

Last, but by no means least, we have the Bengals. I’m not going to lie, I expected them to win on Saturday, mostly because I didn’t have any faith left in the Titans. Still, this young team is not hitting the AFC Championship two years after being the worst team in the NFL.

It’s the ideal turnaround story and shows that anything is possible in the NFL with sensible management and leadership. Regardless of what happens next week every team in the league should study how this team rebuilt from destitution to this.

I know it’s an outside chance, but we really could have a 49ers vs. Bengals Super Bowl. Imagine telling someone that would be the game six months ago.