Kansas City, Baltimore, Detroit and San Francisco win the Divisional Round: they are one step away from the SuperBowl.
Houston Texans-Baltimore Ravens 10-34 The Baltimore Ravens rely on Lamar Jackson and the running game in the final minutes to seal the Divisional Round victory. The 229 yards rushed on the ground, of which 100 by Jackson alone, got the better of a Texans defense that in the first half had managed to harness the attack of Ted Monken and his teammates – through blitzes and a defensive line which had created more than a headache for the Ravens QB. After a first half that closed at 10-10, theoffensive coordinator of Baltimore modified the game planpreferring shorter tracks to reduce the effectiveness of the pressure carried by the defensive coordinator by Houston Matt Burke. After Devin Duvernay’s 55-yard return, the Ravens went on a 17-0 run on their next three drives to open the second half, with a 15-yard touchdown catch by Isaiah Likely, another rushing touchdown thanks to the 8 yds gained by Jackson and the 43 yds field goal by the imperishable Justin Tucker.
The Ravens defense did an excellent job, making the evening difficult for quarterback CJ Stroud (19/33, 175 yds) and eliminating the connection with the wide receiver Nico Collins (5 receptions, 68 yds). The Texans’ offense closed the game without scoring a single touchdown (the last time? First game of the championship, again against John Harbaugh’s team), with the only try scored thanks to a return punt from 67 yards by Steven Sims. In the first half Demeco Ryan, Houston’s head coach, managed to cage Lamar Jackson using the weapon that on paper should have favored the Baltimore QB, namely the blitz, but in the second half, thanks to a clear general gap between the two teams and a correct offensive adjustment by the opponents, he had to capitulate, thus concluding his team’s run for the playoffs. Houston’s future is in good hands, given the performances expressed by a QB and a head coach who are both rookies, while Baltimore’s will always be at the M&T Bank Stadium next Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Green Bay Packers–San Francisco 49ers 21-24 Kyle Shanahan’s perfect machine risked jamming at the best moment against the #7 of the NFC, led by one of the many assistants who came out of his coaching tree, Matt LaFleur, only to then survive thanks to the touchdown of the usual Christian McCaffrey and the interception thrown by Jordan Love. With a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter, Shanahan and the 49ers ended a 30-game losing streak as they entered the fourth quarter trailing by at least seven points. Green Bay pays for the missed conversions in the red zone – 3 drives, instead of ending with as many touchdowns, ended with two field goals and a short fourth down conversion, combined with the missed field goal by Anders Carlson. However, a more than sufficient performance for the Packers, who were managing an upset thanks to the great 108-yard performance of the runningback Aaron Jones and the large battery of receivers involved by QB Jordan Love. Basically a rookie after having lived in the shadow of Aaron Rodgers in previous seasons, Love finished with an excellent 21/34 for 194 yards, two touchdowns but also two interceptions, including one in the final that definitively handed the victory to the 49ers.
In the fourth period the pressure began to mount both for the former Utah State player and for his equal opponent, Brock Purdy, who only managed to set the table for Christian McCaffrey’s last score of the game on the final drive. The former “Mr. Irrelevant”, 23/39 for 252 yards and 1 touchdown, despite the statistics, he struggled enormously to find his comfort zone in the pouring rain of Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers defense also seemed more than a step back, with the pass rush full of samples that failed to make a sufficient impact and disturb Jordan Love. Missed opportunity for the Packers, although they end the season with huge expectations for the years to come. The 49ers, however, will have to show a more convincing performance next week in the Championship Game against the Detroit Lions, hoping for a return of Deebo Samuel, who left after a handful of actions in this Divisional Round.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers–Detroit Lions 23-31 The Lions find themselves one win away from the Superbowl 31 thirty-one years after their only previous attempt. The 14-3 run in the final quarter is decisive, with the interception thrown by Baker Mayfield 1’33” from the end which definitively ended the hostilities. An almost balanced game, both in terms of time of possession (32 minutes to 28 for Detroit) and total yards gained (408 to 391 for Tamba Bay). Mayfield (26 /41, 349 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions) had to throw a lot to make up for his team’s poor rushing attack. The former Oklahoman’s favorite receiver was undoubtedly Mike Evans (8 receptions, 147 yards, 1 touchdown, but also caused an interception, after raising a throw from his QB in the first quarter collected by safety CJ Gardner-Johnson). For Detroit, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown concluded the scoring exchange that lasted until the third quarter.
The Lions’ offensive department finally unblocked itself in the second half, thanks to an attack line that managed to protect the quarterback very well Jared Goff (30 of 43 for 287 yards and two touchdowns). The 31 points scored are the result of the great work done byoffensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who not surprisingly is tempting many NFL benches for next season. Detroit comes into next Sunday’s Championship Round with the wind in its sails, aware of being the Cinderella among the four remaining contenders for the title: the challenge in Santa Clara against the 49ers promises to be very complicated, but with the two opposite performances shown in the Divisional Round, aiming for the first appearance in history at the Superbowl may not be a such a strange idea. Tampa Bay returns home with many positive feelings, starting from the performances of Mayfield – who presumably will remain in Florida for the next few years after signing a one-year contract worth $4 million for this season. The imperative is to re-sign Mike Evans, who will become a free agent this offseason.
Kansas City Chiefs–Buffalo Bills 27-24 The nemesis of these Bills is definitely the Chiefs, material executors of the fortunes of Josh Allen and his companions in three of the last four years. In the 2024 Divisional Round it was the field goal of Tyler Bass’ potential equalizer to put an end to hopes of advancing to the Championship Round, nullifying an excellent performance shown for the first 3 quarters. Josh Allen (26/39 for 186 yards, 1 pass received in the end zone by Khalil Shakir and 2 personal rushing touchdowns) he could honestly do little more: he managed the attack by dividing possessions among the available tight-ends and receivers, even in the absence of Gabe Davis. When the Kansas City defense decidedly tightened their shirts, they still managed to construct a field goal which was then missed by the kicker from 44 yards. The scream of joy from the home fans was pushed back down their throats by Steve Spagnuolo’s defence, defensive coordinator of the Chiefs: the Kansas City defensive line, second best in the season for points conceded to the opponents, again made the difference when the game was decided, with a pass rush on the shields especially in the decisive drive, after suffering the Buffalo runs in the first half.
In attack, Patrick Mahomes (17/23 for 215 yards with 2 touchdowns) found his usual snack companion in Travis Kelce with which to keep an attack afloat which, despite having risen at the right time, remains an unknown in terms of the reliability of the connection between QB and receivers. Kelce (5 receptions on 6 targets, 75 yards and 2 touchdowns), to the delight of Taylor Swift and his brother Jason Kelce, so drunk on alcohol that he remained shirtless in the stadium, continues to defy the gravitational laws, always managing to attract a tight marking on him before promptly managing to create separation with the same frequency after a few yards.
The Bills suffered a difficult defeat to accept, especially because it was not so different from the previous ones against the Chiefs. If possible it is even worse, because it is obtained at home. Kansas City emerges victorious from a Divisional Round played well, but which never really seemed to depend on the will of Mahomes and his teammates, also thanks to the time of possession clearly in favor of the Bills (37 minutes to 23). Kansas City will now travel to Baltimore to play a Championship Game which sees them as underdogs on paper. If there is one thing that this team has taught us over the years it is that in decisive moments it always manages to bring out the best performance.
Appointments – Championship Round (ITA times)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Baltimore RavensSunday 28 January at 9.00 pm;
Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ersMonday 29 January at 00.30.
2024-01-23 18:00:00
#NFL #Divisional #Scattered #Considerations
