NFL Playoff Takeaways: Divisional Round

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The divisional round has come to an end, and now we’re left with four teams who are trying to claim the Super Bowl.

But did any of them show concerning flaws?

Let’s dive into divisional round weekend.

Ravens defeat Texans 34-10

Baltimore Ravens

I said it earlier this year, and I’ll say it again now.

This is the best football Lamar Jackson has played in the NFL.

I didn’t care about his stats compared to 2019 then, and I don’t care about them now when he ended up with 250 yards of offense (which is insane that that’s a bad thing compared to his 2019 season).

He’s playing better ball.

But even past Jackson, the Ravens starting defense has now faced a Kyle Shanahan style offense 3 games in a row, and they have absolutely dominated all three of them.

I do not see a flaw in this team.

Houston Texans

I said it last week. This team was playing with house money.

Did they want a better showing against the AFC’s best than the offense being held out of the end zone? Yeah, probably.

But it is impossible to look at the grand scheme of this team and not feel extremely confident going forward.

They just aren’t at the Ravens level yet.

To be fair, I don’t know who is.

49ers defeat Packers 24-21

San Francisco 49ers

Kyle Shanahan finally got his first win when trailing by 7 points or more in the 4th quarter, and what a time to do it.

Still, there have to be concerns with how the 49ers played Saturday night.

Quarterback Brock Purdy did not have a good game, and despite his struggles in a one score game the Niners continued to lean on him instead of McCaffery.

Shanahan’s dependence on his gameplan almost cost the Niners again, and this isn’t new to him.

Mike McDaniel has these problems, and Bobby Slowik did as well on Saturday with the Texans.

Shanahan’s did not want to venture from his specific game plan, and it almost cost him.

If he still doesn’t adjust, it’s hard to see the Niners winning it all.

Green Bay Packers

Much like Houston last week, I said that Green Bay was playing with house money.

No matter what happens, they can’t be disappointed.

I was right about Houston.

I was wrong about Green Bay.

The Packers dropped two easy interceptions, one of which was a likely pick 6, missed a field goal, and only wound up with 21 points despite 6 of their 9 drives ending inside the Niners 25 yard line.

The Packers were, without a shadow of a doubt, the better team on Saturday and that game was theirs to win.

Poor execution ruined it for them.

Lions defeat Buccaneers 31-23

Detroit Lions

These aren’t your father’s Lions.

After a win last week, and facing the Buccaneers who they were clear favorites over, it felt natural to wonder if the Lions would have a bit of a letdown.

It was all there for the taking, too.

Baker Mayfield and the Bucs had some great scoring drives which could suck the life out of the building and worry Lions fans.

But again, these are not your father’s Lions.

Every time the Bucs scored, the Lions answered right back with a vengeance.

Dan Campbell’s coaching style has translated flawlessly to the team, and it’s an absolute joy to watch.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Safe to say, the first year post Tom Brady went pretty well!

Baker Mayfield seems to have revitalized his career, they won the division again and were within one score of an NFC championship game, and all in a year where people expected nothing of them.

Do I feel as confident in them as I do the Texans or Packers? No.

But their performance in the postseason showed that sometimes you just have to get into the dance.

Chiefs defeat Bills 27-24

Kansas City Chiefs

I get that football fans don’t like the Chiefs.

They’re on TV all the time. They win a lot. Taylor Swift is annoying you.

Blah blah blah.

This was a down year for the Chiefs. There were clear problems on the Chiefs. They had to go on the road for the first time in the Mahomes era and play a red hot Bills team!

Doesn’t matter.

They’re back in the AFC title game again.

I’m not going to try and change your mind about the Chiefs. You do not have to like them by any means necessary.

But if you don’t respect them? At that point, you’re just stubborn.

Buffalo Bills

It’s truly hard to see where the Bills go from here.

Even with everything going their way in the standings to get this home playoff game, a home playoff game they actually played very well in, it still wasn’t enough to get past the Chiefs.

Last night felt like a game that showed it just isn’t going to happen for this Bills regime.

This is going to be an interesting offseason for sure.