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Coming off a wildly unpredictable regular season, the NFL kept the thrills coming in the opening round of the playoffs last weekend.
On Saturday, the heavily favoured Los Angeles Rams needed a last-minute touchdown to beat Carolina, and the Chicago Bears rallied from an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun rival Green Bay. On Sunday afternoon, reigning MVP Josh Allen overcame injuries to seemingly every part of his body to lead Buffalo past Jacksonville before San Francisco eliminated Super Bowl champion Philadelphia. The action finally cooled down on Sunday night as New England won a rock fight against the L.A. Chargers, and then Houston smothered Pittsburgh on Monday night to end Mike Tomlin’s 19-year tenure as the Steelers’ head coach.
Meanwhile, the top-seeded Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks sat back and enjoyed the bye week they earned by finishing first in their respective conferences. But the AFC and NFC champs rejoin the fray this weekend, when we’ll find out the final four contestants for a trip to Super Bowl LX in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Here’s a quick look at each second-round matchup:
Buffalo Bills (12-5) at Denver Broncos (14-3)
Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET:
Already dealing with a bad foot, Josh Allen is now listed with three injuries after banging up his throwing hand and getting his left knee wrenched during Sunday’s 27-24 win over Jacksonville. Plus, his comically inept receiving corps is even thinner after Gabe Davis and Tyrell Shavers both tore an ACL against the Jags. Allen, who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another last week, may need to summon another superhuman performance on a short week at Mile High against the well-rested Broncos, who are slight favourites in unproven QB Bo Nix’s second career playoff start.
San Francisco 49ers (12-5) at Seattle Seahawks (14-3)
Saturday at 8 p.m. ET:
The Niners did us all a favour last week by knocking out the joyless Eagles 23-19 as do-everything running back Christian McCaffrey caught two TD passes — one from receiver Jauan Jennings on a 29-yard trick play. Now they go up the Pacific coast to face Seattle, which is favoured by a touchdown and might be the best team in the league. The Seahawks have arguably the top defence along with a solid offence featuring dynamite receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Question is, will suspect QB Sam Darnold fall apart in the playoffs again?
Houston Texans (12-5) at New England Patriots (14-3)
Sunday at 3 p.m. ET:
Everyone made fun of New England’s schedule this season, and for good reason. But the surprise AFC East champs silenced their critics with a convincing 16-3 win over the Chargers, making L.A.’s supposed star quarterback Justin Herbert look like a rookie while second-year Patriots QB Drake Maye played like a seasoned vet. Maye will have a chance to really prove himself against the Texans’ defence, which lived up to its reputation as perhaps the fiercest in the league with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns in Monday’s 30-6 suffocation of the Steelers. But he might not need a ton of points if Houston’s sub-par offence is without star receiver Nico Collins, who suffered a concussion on Monday. At the moment, New England is favoured by a field goal in what should be a low-scoring affair.
Los Angeles Rams (12-5) at Chicago Bears (11-6)
Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET:
Bears QB Caleb Williams is a Rorschach test for football fans, both talented and flawed enough that you can see whatever you want to in him. Last week’s game against Green Bay was a prime example: the Bears had six points through the first three quarters before Williams made some electrifying throws to rally his team to a 31-27 win. The Rams could be the most balanced team in the league, but MVP-favourite quarterback Matthew Stafford has looked a little off at times in recent weeks, and now he takes his 37-year-old bones up to the frigid Windy City. L.A. is favoured by 3½ in this battle of explosive offences.
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