FOURTH AND MONDAY
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NFL divisional playoff breakdown: Greatest weekend in postseason history?
USA TODAY
The NFL divisional playoff round is in the books. Here are the highlights as the conference championship matchups were set in dramatic fashion:
- Was this the greatest NFL postseason weekend ever?
- The Chiefs defeated the Bills in what was an instant playoff classic.
- Aaron Rodgers and the Packers face what will be an eventful offseason.
- There was another Tom Brady first.
After what was a bonkers divisional playoff round in which all four games came down to the final play, the road to Super Bowl 56 is down to the conference championship games. NFC West rivals the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers will meet again, and the Kansas City Chiefs are in the AFC championship game for the fourth consecutive year and will host the Cincinnati Bengals, a franchise that hasn't played in the conference title game since the 1988 season.
Divisional playoff analysis
- 32 things we learned: With all four divisional playoff games going down to the wire, this weekend was perhaps the most scintillating in NFL postseason history.
- Winners and losers: Credit the Chiefs' coaching staff for that epic win. The NFL's overtime rules face more scrutiny.
- Matthew Stafford finally gets to 'steal somebody's soul': Stafford, in beating Bucs and Tom Brady, showed why the Rams traded for him. They thought the grizzled veteran could put them over the top, Jarrett Bell writes.
- How 49ers pulled off an all-time stunning playoff upset: Resilience has been the theme of the 49ers' season, and that mindset paid off in a major way in San Francisco's upset of the top-seeded Packers, Mike Jones writes.
- Aaron Rodgers 'silenced' from Super Bowl platform: 49ers kicker Robbie Gould did the NFL a favor by keeping Rodgers from the Super Bowl, Nancy Armour writes.
- Why Aaron Rodgers must shoulder blame for Packers' brutal loss: Suddenly, and unexpectedly early, the franchise-shifting decisions of the 2022 offseason are on the Packers and Rodgers, Pete Dougherty writes.
- Packers should trade Aaron Rodgers to strengthen defense: Packers GM Brian Gutekunst should trade Rodgers in offseason to build his defense into a unit that can carry team for years to come, Tom Silverstein writes.
- Aaron Rodgers' next team? Here are eight possible fits if the quarterback leaves the Packers.
- Faith in Ryan Tannehill weakens with Titans' window shrinking: A painful playoff loss and three interceptions moved Tannehill's struggles from a 2021 annoyance to a primary topic in 2022 for Titans, Gentry Estes writes.
Divisional playoff's biggest moments
- The Chiefs and Bills shrugged off the controversy over the NFL's overtime rules.
- Patrick Mahomes told Joe Burrow that the Bengals and Chiefs would meet again: "See y'all in the playoffs."
- Tom Brady was noncommittal about his NFL future after Sunday's loss to the Rams.
- Antonio Brown celebrated the Buccaneers' playoff elimination.
- Tom Brady was hit with the first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of his NFL career.
- The Packers' radio call of the 49ers' winning field goal and the Buccaneers' radio call of Cooper Kupp's big late-game catch were so sad.
- A shell-shocked Aaron Rodgers was uncertain of his NFL future after the Packers' stunning playoff loss.
- The Packers' most eventful offseason in 15 years begins now that the team has been eliminated from the playoffs.
- The Packers had just 10 players on the field for the 49ers' game-winning field goal.
- Bengals kicker Evan McPherson called his shot before making the game-winning 52-yard kick against the Titans.
Divisional playoff rundown
Sunday
- Kansas City Chiefs 42, Buffalo Bills 36 (OT): The Chiefs reached the AFC championship game for the fourth consecutive season after this classic playoff showdown.
- Los Angeles Rams 30, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27: Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champions were clipped by the Rams in an NFC divisional playoff result that was almost too wild to believe.
Saturday
- San Francisco 49ers 13, Green Bay Packers 10: A robust defensive showing and game-changing plays from their special teams units led to a late-game momentum shift and paved the way for the 49ers' stunning victory.
- Cincinnati Bengals 16, Tennessee Titans 13: The Bengals upset the AFC's top playoff seed and will play in the franchise's first AFC championship game since the 1988 season.
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