NFL Playoff Takeaways: Division Round

Photo from Jay Biggerstaff of USA Today

I spent every Tuesday this NFL season talking about how the regular season had bored me, while also saying that I hoped the lack of fully dominant teams will make for an exciting postseason.

Boy oh boy did the NFL deliver this weekend…

Here’s what we learned.

Bengals defeat Titans 19-16

How about that Bengals defense?

Yeah I know I know. It’s funny to make fun of Tannehill for the turnovers and all that.

But let’s give some credit to the Bengals defense, who made incredible plays to force interceptions, including the final one leading to the game winning field goal.

Not only that, but they completely shut down a fully rested Derrick Henry as well.

Joe Burrow got sacked 9 times, and the Bengals defense kept them in that game.

You have to be pleased with a performance like that.

That defense combined with Burrow and the offense makes them a complete football team.

And they’ll need to be since they’re headed into Kansas City.

49ers defeat Packers 13-10

This was the perfect loss for Aaron Rodgers, if such a loss ever existed.

He didn’t play his best, but people will continuously criticize the weather and the special teams while looking at Rodgers base stats which were far from terrible.

None of the blame will be put on him, which is good because we all know he can’t handle someone thinking poorly of him.

If you’re a Niners fan, you should feel like you’re playing with house money.

Jimmy G was horrible, and despite that you still went into the Frozen Tundra and upset the 1 seed.

They now face the Rams which are a great matchup for them, and they have a better quarterback waiting in the wings just improving day by day.

The future is very bright for the Niners, and they could even win the Super Bowl this year.

Rams defeat Buccaneers 30-27

It felt like that Tom Brady voodoo magic was coming and that we were powerless to stop it.

But the Rams overcame it, and the trade for Stafford continues to look worth it, even with the struggles at the end of the season.

This is why they brought him in.

Now McVay needs to overcome his biggest nemesis; Kyle Shanahan.

Chiefs defeat Bills 42-36

Remember what I said above? How I felt this season was kind of boring?

The reason for that is due to constantly hearing about how great quarterback play has been in the NFL this season, and me personally not seeing that.

Whether it be due to injuries or just struggling on the field, I felt the standard of QB play dipped this season, and that had a key factor in it being less enjoyable.

But last night? Last night was exactly what everyone said the NFL was like these days.

Two superstar quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, being essentially perfect over the course of 60 minutes. Multiple what should have been game winning drives in the final two minutes and overtime.

That was the best NFL game I remember watching in recent history, and I’m not sure it’s close.

Chiefs and Rams a few years back on Monday Night Football was fun, but the stakes weren’t THIS high.

I feel awful for Bills fans, and it’s another reminder that the NFL has dumb overtime rules that need to be fixed, but that was a legendary game of football.

That was the game that reminded me why I love this sport.

This whole weekend was.