NFL 2024 Divisional Recap

 Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action has come to an end. The divisional round is over and the eight teams that came into it prior to the weekend has now come down to four. The four teams moving onto the next round is the Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills. This recap post will document how these teams got there and the teams that lost to these teams. Let's get to work!

NFL Divisional Freaky Stat

The Houston Texans become the first team to put up 100+ yards than their opposition without giving the ball away and lose a game. Teams prior to that were 49-0. 

NFL Divisional Recap

Houston 14, Kansas City 23

Pick: Chiefs

The Texans left out in the cold in Arrowhead. CJ Stroud hit 19 of 28 passes for 245 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. The lone touchdown on offense was a Joe Mixon run of 13 yards. Houston would miss the extra point attempt. Mixon would get 18 carries for 88 yards in the game. CJ Stroud had a run of 28 yards that was the longest run in the game for them. He did have six carries for 42 yards in the game. Nico Collins had five catches for 81 yards in the game to be the leading receiver for the Texans. Houston at one point outgained the Chiefs in yards but in the most important statistic which is points. They lacked a bit of flare and daring in the game and did the right thing in keeping Patrick Mahomes on the sideline for 33:33 of gametime. Once again, points escaped them. The defense would get two points on a safety as Matt Araiza would run it back 18 yards into the Chiefs own endzone for a safety. The game kind of was a doomed from the start sort of deal as cornerback Kris Boyd was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct by throwing his helmet on the field. He would even push his Special Teams Coordinator Frank Ross. The play was on the opening kickoff where Boyd would force a fumble on Samaje Perine that was unfortunately recovered by the Chiefs. The helmet throwing and shoving was probably reaction on the fumble and he probably thought that the Texans recovered it. Still, keep your emotions in check. Outside of that, the Texans really couldn't generate enough offense and get points when they needed it most. So for the Texans, their season ends yet again in the Divisional round but put up 336 total yards. 

Patrick Mahomes hit 16 of 25 passes for 177 yards with a touchdown pass. The touchdown pass went to Travis Kelce, of course. Kareem Hunt had eight carries for 44 yards with a touchdown run that went to the right for a 1-yard score. Patrick Mahomes had the longest run in the game for the Chiefs with a 15-yard run. Travis Kelce had seven catches for 117 yards receiving in the game to be the leading receiver. He would also have the longest pass play for Chiefs on a catch that went for a 49-yard gain. Note that it wasn't the touchdown catch but the catch that he caught went for a 11-yard gain. Kansas City's offense looked rusty but they did get the points when it mattered most whether it is a field goal or a touchdown. They wouldn't put up a lot of yards in this game. The game came down to a few weird calls, especially the roughing the passer call that almost looked like helmet-to-helmet but hard to say for sure. There was another roughing the passer call where Mahomes was barely touched but two Texans defenders hit each other in the helmet. Mahomes appeared to slide on the play. It was enough for Troy Aikman to question the call. It certainly added to the conspiracy that the refs are in favor of the Chiefs. It seems wild that the Chiefs last playoff loss that wasn't the Super Bowl or the AFC Championship game was the Wild Card game against the Titans in 2017. That season was Patrick Mahomes's rookie season and wouldn't become the starter until the following season in 2018. Since then, Mahomes has taken the Chiefs to the AFC Championship every year since 2018. His team still has a shot to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. For the Chiefs, they move onto the next round with 212 total yards in the game. 

Next week:

Houston: eat BBQ or something.
Kansas City: Conference Championship vs Buffalo

TW: 1-0

Washington 45, Detroit 31

Pick: Lions

Washington shocks the world in the Motor City. Jayden Daniels hit 22 of 31 passes for 299 yards with two touchdowns. The two touchdowns went to Terry McLaurin and Zach Ertz. Brian Robinson Jr. had 15 carries for 77 yards with two touchdown runs. Daniels had 16 carries for 51 yards in the game. Austin Ekeler had six carries for 47 yards in the game and had a run of 35 yards that was the longest run in the game. Dyami Brown had six catches for 98 yards that was the leading receiver for the Commanders. Terry McLaurin's touchdown was the longest play for a pass with the 58-yard gain score. Washington's defense got in with the scoring as well as they had a pick-six on a Jared Goff pass that was returned by Jartavius Martin for a 40 yard score. The Commanders would go toe-for-toe with the Lions in the game. They would match their drives with touchdowns and would play gritty. Turnovers by the Lions would give the Commanders their means to the win. Credit to the Commanders defense for really putting the hurt on the Lions. Same for the offense as they really took it to a Lions defense that was somewhat getting better. They took a Vikings team to task and limited their team to just nine points in Week 18. I guess the homefield advantage did affect the Lions in this game. For the Commanders they had 481 total yards in the game and move onto the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1991 season where they won Super Bowl XXVI. 

Jared Goff hit 23 of 40 passes for 313 yards with a touchdown pass and tossed three interceptions. The touchdown pass went to Sam LaPorta on a 2-yard short pass. David Montgomery played quarterback and tossed a pass for a 20-yard gain. Jared Goff was injured in the pick-six play and would have to sit for a time. Teddy Bridgewater would play and toss a pass for a 3-yard gain. He would help orchestrate a scoring drive that would yield a Jameson Williams run of 61 yards that resulted in a touchdown which was the longest run in the game for the Lions. Teddy Bridgewater had coached a high school team to a state title a few months ago. Jahmyr Gibbs had 14 carries for 105 yards with two touchdowns. Amon Ra St. Brown had eight catches for 137 yards in the game and had a catch that went for a 34-yard gain that was the longest pass play for the Lions. What can be said about this game? The Lions would turn the ball over too much, they likely underestimated how good the Commanders offense was. The three Goff interceptions included an interception thrown by Jameson Williams and there was also a fumble on Jared Goff where he was strip sacked. Ball control which had been their forte for most of the season fell apart this time around. Anything that could go wrong went wrong for them. Despite that, the two teams did put on a good show with offense. They had 76 combined points while getting 1,002 yards of offense combined. The Lions just got outclassed and outfought by a team which hadn't won a playoff game prior to last week in 20 years. For the Lions, their magical season ends on a whimper as they have to lick their wounds and prepare for next season while compiling 521 total yards. 

Next week:

Washington: Conference Championship @ Philadelphia
Detroit: eat some Little Caesar's or something

TW: 1-1

LA Rams 22, Philadelphia 28

Pick: Eagles

The Eagles survive one last Rams drive. Matthew Stafford hit 26 of 44 passes for 324 yards with two touchdowns. The touchdowns went to Tyler Higbee and Colby Parkinson. The Higbee touchdown came on a 4-yard play to the left. The Parkinson touchdown came on a 4-yard touchdown down the middle of the field. That last touchdown went on the 2nd to last Rams drive. Kyren Williams had 19 carries for 106 yards in the game and had a run of 30 yards that was the longest run play for the Rams. Puka Nacua was the leading receiver for the Rams with six catches for 97 yards. The longest pass play was a catch by Demarcus Robinson that went for a 48-yard gain. The Eagles and the elements would be the adversaries for the Rams and they took it to the Eagles. In the end of things, they couldn't stop or slow down Saquon Barkley. The last Rams drive started on their 18-yard line a few short passes guided them to the 31. On a 3rd down and 10, Stafford hit Nacua for a 11-yard pass. The big play was a Nacua catch on the next play for a 37-yard gain. The killer of the drive was a false start penalty and a sack for a loss of nine yards. The sack happened on a 3rd down. On the last play of the Rams season, Matthew Stafford attempted to throw a pass to Nacua for the dagger but it was defensed by Jalen Carter. A Jalen Hurts kneel and the season was over. Despite going 0-2 on the season and then 1-3 and make it here is nothing short of a miracle. For the Rams, their season ends in snowy Philly with 402 total yards. 

Jalen Hurts hit 15 of 20 passes for 128 yards and had a touchdown run while carrying the ball seven times for 70 yards. The big story for this game was Saquon Barkley who had 26 carries for 205 yards for two touchdowns. The two touchdown runs came on 62 and 78 yard plays. The latter being the longest run in the game for the Eagles. Barkley's performance was the 10th best performance by a running back in postseason play. Dallas Goedert had four catches for 56 yards in the game. The longest pass play was a catch by Goedert for a 31-yard gain. The weather for the game was partially alright but then as the temperature came to 33 degrees Fahrenheit the wet snow came. And then the wet snow turned the field into a winter wonderland. The Eagles would wind up going with a run game for most of the game as they only did 20 pass attempts and 34 rush attempts. The running game would answer the call and made use of it as much as possible. Another unit that would answer the call would be the Eagles defense as they forced and recovered two fumbles and sacked Stafford five times. They would bend but not break for most of the game. Jalen Carter would come into the clutch and defensed the last Rams play in the game. The Eagle season continues and will host the NFC Championship game for the 2nd time in three years. They will play host to a familiar foe in the Washington Commanders. For the Eagles they gained 350 yards of offense in the game. 

Next week:

LA Rams: help the people recovering from the LA wildfires or something
Philadelphia: Conference Championship vs Washington

TW: 2-1

Baltimore 25, Buffalo 27

Pick: Ravens

The Bills outlast the Ravens in Western New York. Lamar Jackson hit 18 of 25 passes for 254 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The two touchdowns went to Isiah Likely and Rashod Bateman. The Likely touchdown was the score that cut the lead down to a two-point game. The interception was taken by Taylor Rapp of the Bills. Derrick Henry had 16 carries for 84 yards with a touchdown run on a 5-yard run. The longest run was a 22-yard run by Justice Hill. Rashod Bateman had a catch that went for a 42-yard gain to be the longest pass play for the Ravens. The interception, the fumbles and the drops were the things that cost the Ravens in this one. Mark Andrews will sadly have nightmares from this game as he was the reason why the game remained a two-point advantage for Buffalo. His fumble on a catch he made was one of the biggest turning points in the game. Baltimore was having the momentum going for them and to do that hurt them. So my Super Bowl pick to represent the AFC and my Super Bowl winner pick is scrapped. Thanks Baltimore. Anyway, another postseason exit for the Ravens. Sadly it shouldn't be reflective of the regular season they had but football is a vicious game. For the Ravens, they had 416 total yards. 

Josh Allen hit 16 of 22 passes for 127 yards and rushed 10 times for 20 yards and two touchdowns. The two touchdowns were from 4 and 1 yard plays. Ray Davis had 4 carries for 29 yards with a touchdown run as well. The leading rusher was James Cook who had 17 carries for 67 yards. The longest run in the game was a Ty Johnson run that went for 17 yards. The leading receiver for the Bills was Khalil Shakir with six catches for 67 yards. He had a catch that went for a 34-yard gain to be the longest pass play for the Bills. Weather was chilly in Buffalo with a chilly 22 degrees Fahrenheit with some snow. At least enough for the field to have a little bit of white to it. It was also Lamar Jackson's coldest game in his career. It had some advantage for the Bills but they nearly blew it. Had it not been for Mark Andrews dropping the two-point conversion, it might've been a different story. The game really was more of a Ravens losing it than the Bills winning it. Buffalo will now go back to Kansas City, their own personal house of horrors in the playoffs, for the right to go to the Super Bowl next week for the AFC Championship Game. Next week will be a war in Arrowhead. For the Bills, they move onto the next round and had 273 total yards in the game. 

Next week:

Baltimore: hang out in the Baltimore Warehouse thing next to Camden Yards or something.
Buffalo: Conference Championship @ Kansas City

TW: 2-2

Records

2024:
Week 1: 14-2
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 10-6
Week 4: 10-6
Week 5: 3-11
Week 6: 13-1
Week 7: 13-2
Week 8: 9-7
Week 9: 12-3
Week 10: 10-4
Week 11: 11-3
Week 12: 7-6
Week 13: 14-2
Week 14: 11-3
Week 15: 13-3
Week 16: 12-4
Week 17: 12-4

Week 18: 9-7
Total: 193-80

Super Wild Card Weekend: 4-2

Divisional: 2-2

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
2023: 161-111

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

-Tom