NFL 2023 Divisional Playoff Recap

 Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action has come to an end. 

NFL Divisional Playoff Freaky Stat

The Baltimore Ravens will get to host the AFC championship game for the first time in their history. You have to go back to the 1970 Baltimore Colts hosting the AFC championship game for the last time that a Baltimore-based team had hosted a conference championship. They hosted the NFL championship game in 1959 and 1968. 

NFL Divisional Playoff Recap

Houston 10, Baltimore 34: TW: Ravens; CV: Texans

It was a slow start but the Ravens will get to host their first championship game in Ravens history. CJ Stroud wouldn't be much of a factor in this game. He hit 19 of 33 passes for 175 yards and rushed for nine yards. His running back help was a hinderance as Devin Singletary rushed for 22 yards on nine carries. It would be a special teams touchdown that would get the Texans going on a Steven Sims 67-yard punt return shortly before halftime. It would be the last time the Texans score for the rest of the 2023 season. Houston's offense was held to 213 total yards. The recipe for the Texans struggles on offense was keeping the running game in check while being forced into long 3rd down situations. Sustaining drives was also a topic of conversation as the Texans were held to just 22:25 time of possession with only 10 first downs. Lamar Jackson was spectacular in his first playoff game since 2021. The passer hit 16 of 22 passes for 152 yards with two touchdowns. The runner also scored two touchdowns while achieving the 100-yard mark. The first passing touchdown went to Nelson Agholor for a short, 3-yard play down the middle in the 2nd quarter. The second touchdown went to Isiah Likely for a 15-yard touchdown where Likely had to leap to grab the ball. Jackson's runs for scores were from 15 and 8 yards. In previous games, turnovers were where the hurt came on the Ravens, in past playoff games Jackson's turnovers came to seven. Jackson had zero turnovers in this one. Baltimore would find success in running the ball as a collective the Ravens ran for 229 yards. Justice Hill rushed for 66 yards. Gus Edwards rushed for 40 yards. Newly acquired Dalvin Cook had 23 yards rushing. Baltimore had success in getting first downs as they had 22 first downs and held the ball for 37:35. For the Texans, their magical season ends in defeat but their future is bright with a rookie head coach and quarterback. For the Ravens, they move on and host an AFC championship game for the first time in their history and the first since January of 1971. 

Next week:
Houston: eat Texas barbeque or something
Baltimore: Conference championship vs Kansas City

TW: 1-0; CV: 0-1

Green Bay 21, San Francisco 24: TW: 49ers; CV: 49ers

Dre Greenlaw called game. Jordan Love went to rainy Santa Clara and did eh. He hit 21 of 34 passes for 194 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The two interceptions were grabbed by linebacker Dre Greenlaw. One of them was the game-sealing one for the Niners on a pass down the middle off of a really awkward Love throw. The first touchdown went to Bo Melton for a big 19-yard play. The second touchdown went to Tucker Kraft for a 2-yard play. Aaron Jones rushed for a big game with 18 carries for 108 yards including a 53-yard run. Romeo Doubs had four catches for 83 yards. The Packers had their chances to win. Whether it be the missed or dropped passes for interceptions that Brock Purdy threw. Or the Anders Carlson field goal that was missed and gave the Niners a chance to get the go-ahead touchdown. It felt that despite the turnovers, the Packers were probably the better team. Special teams played a part as Kiesen Nixon returned two kicks for 73 yards, one kickoff return came on a return that came down to the 49ers 20-yard line. They definitely almost pulled off the upset win. The Packers hit 330 yards of offense in the game. Brock Purdy got it done when it mattered most. He hit 23 of 39 passes for 252 yards with a touchdown pass to George Kittle on a 32-yard pass where the tight end was moving left and right to get to the endzone. Christian McCaffrey rushed for 98 yards on 17 carries. He rushed into the endzone on 39 yards and then the 6-yard touchdown that put the Niners in the lead for good. San Francisco got 356 total yards in the game. The Niners struggles really stem from not getting enough production in the passing game. They were mostly held in check by the Packers pass defense. Penalties also played a part as the Niners were flagged six times for 83 yards. They also punted four times compared to the Packers only punting once. For the Packers, their surprise season ends on a sour note but the future is bright in the first year of the Jordan Love era. For the Niners, they will host the NFC championship game for the first time since 2019 and will play in their fourth championship game in five years. 

Next week: 
Green Bay: eat some cheese curds or go to Bucks game.
San Francisco: Conference championship vs Detroit

TW: 2-0; CV: 1-1

Tampa Bay 23, Detroit 31: TW: Buccaneers; CV: Lions

Derrick Barnes makes the play that will live in Detroit sports lore for decades to come. Baker Mayfield hit 26 of 41 passes for 349 yards with three touchdowns but also tossed two interceptions. One of those interceptions came to Derrick Barnes as I mentioned before. The first touchdown came to Cade Otton in the 2nd quarter on a short 2-yard pass play. The 2nd touchdown went to Rachaad White on a red zone trip for a 12-yard score. The third touchdown went to Mike Evans on a 16-yard score. They didn't score again after 4:37 left in the 4th quarter. Rachaad White rushed for 55 yards on nine carries. The Mayfield to Mike Evans connection was prosperous for the Buccaneers as the wide receiver caught eight passes for 147 yards. Tampa Bay had 408 total yards in the game. The theme for the Buccaneers in the game was not sustaining drives and not keeping the football in their hands by not turning the ball over. Sacks played a part as Mayfield was sacked four times. Jared Goff played well in the game. He hit 30 of 43 passes for 287 yards with two touchdowns. The first touchdown went to Josh Reynolds for a 9-yard score up the middle. The 2nd touchdown went to Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 9-yard score where the Sun God was found on the right side of the field. It would be the score that gave the Lions the 31 points. The Lions running game would find the endzone as well. The first rushing touchdown went to Craig Reynolds on a play up the middle, for a 1-yard score up the Buccaneers throats. It was Reynolds only carry in the game. Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 74 yards with a touchdown. The touchdown was a 31-yard power run to the left. David Montgomery rushed for 33 yards on 10 carries. Amon Ra St. Brown caught eight passes for 77 yards. The Lions offense had 391 total yards of offense in the game. The success to the Lions in the game was the ability to sustain drives as they had 32 minutes of possession time. They had success on 3rd down as they had 6 of 14 conversions while the Buccaneers had 4 of 12. The Lions could've put forth more points as they had finished with 3 of 4 chances in the redzone and 2 of 3 in goal-to-go situations. It felt a bit closer than it seemed for sure. For the Buccaneers, their season ends in the Motor City but have something to build on into 2024. For the Lions, they will go to the NFC championship game for the first time in 33 years as they travel to San Francisco to meet the 49ers next Sunday. 

Next week: 
Tampa Bay: watch a Lightning game or something

Detroit: Conference championship @ San Francisco

TW: 2-1; CV: 2-1

Kansas City 27, Buffalo 24: TW: Bills; CV: Chiefs

Tyler Bass, meet Scott Norwood. You might get along quite nice. Patrick Mahomes entered his first road playoff game. The passer did fine as he hit 17 of 23 passes for 215 yards with two touchdowns. Much to everyone's surprise, both of the touchdowns went to Travis Kelce for 22 and and 3-yard scores. Isiah Pacheco rushed for 97 yards on 15 carries. He scored the last touchdown of the game for the Chiefs on a 4-yard run that gave the Chiefs a 27-24 lead. Travis Kelce had five catches for 75 yards. The key to the Chiefs offense was ensuring that they didn't turn the ball over while getting the ball to their key pass catchers. The Bills defense couldn't stop Patrick Mahomes as they had plenty of banged up players. Kansas City finished the game with 361 total yards. There was a miscue as Mecole Hardman tried to reach for the endzone but fumbled the ball into the endzone. Thus it was a result of a touchback and the Bills ball. Josh Allen had a solid game. He hit 26 of 39 passes for 186 yards with a touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir. The touchdown came to Shakir on a pass that looked like Shakir had to catch it with his tippy toes. It was the last Bills score of the season. Josh Allen the runner had 72 yards rushing with two touchdowns. The Allen touchdowns came on plays for 5 and 2-yard plays. James Cook had 61 yards rushing on 18 carries. Ty Johnson had 40 yards rushing with 7 carries. Buffalo had 368 total yards in the game. The issues for the Bills stem on special teams. They decided to go for a fake punt but sadly that backfired. Granted the ensuing Chiefs possession lead to the Hardman touchback. A lot of blame will go to Tyler Bass who missed the field goal but I think the Bills sequence of plays prior to the field goal was head scratching. The first down play was a James Cook run for 1-yard gain. The 2nd down play was a deep pass play to Shakir that ended up being an incompletion. The 3rd down play was a pass play that ended up being a throwaway. Definitely a questionable sequence of plays. The 44-yard field goal try wasn't a guarantee as the wind was blowing a fair bit from left to right. Unfortunately, he might get the blame for most of the Bills woes. For the Chiefs, they move on and play the Ravens in the AFC championship game next Sunday. For the Bills, the season ends in another heartbreaking way and will have some big decisions to make in the offseason. 

Next week: 
Kansas City: Conference championship @ Baltimore

Buffalo: eat some buffalo wings at B dubs or something

TW: 2-2; CV: 3-1

Records

Cardinal Viking:

2023: 
Week 1: 10-6

Week 2: 10-6

Week 3: 8-8

Week 4: 13-3
Week 5: 6-8

Week 6: 9-6

Week 7: 4-9

Week 8: 10-6

Week 9: 8-6
Week 10: 6-8

Week 11: 7-7

Week 12: 9-7

Week 13: 9-4

Week 14: 5-10

Week 15: 10-6

Week 16: 10-6

Week 17: 7-9

Week 18: 6-10

Super Wild Card Weekend: 3-3

Divisional Playoff: 3-1

Total: 153-129

2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
2021: 167-104-1
2022: 157-112-2

My record: 

2023:
Week 1: 9-7

Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 11-5

Week 4: 14-2

Week 5: 7-7

Week 6: 8-7

Week 7: 5-8

Week 8: 10-6

Week 9: 9-5
Week 10: 7-7

Week 11: 11-3

Week 12: 8-8

Week 13: 9-4

Week 14: 4-11

Week 15: 10-6

Week 16: 9-7

Week 17: 9-7

Week 18: 10-6

Super Wild Card Weekend: 4-2

Divisional Playoff: 2-2

Total: 167-115

2012: 164-90-2

2013: 162-92-1

2014: 172-83-1

2017: 164-92

2018: 156-98-2
2019: 161-94-1

2020: 167-88-1 

2021: 173-98-1
2022: 166-103-2

See you all on Wednesday/Thursday/Friday for the Conference Championship picks post! Enjoy your week!

-Tom