NFL Divisional Round Recap

Connor Coppola, Staff Writer

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first game of the weekend on Jan. 21. The Jaguars went into Arrowhead Stadium after completing the third largest comeback in NFL playoff history last weekend against the Los Angeles Chargers but faced a tall task going against the #1 seed in the AFC. Patrick Mahomes, the star quarterback for the Chiefs, suffered a right ankle sprain in the first quarter, which took him out of the game until the second half. The Chiefs held off the Jaguars for the rest of the game behind the standout performance from TE Travis Kelce, who finished with a career-high 14 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Kansas City won the game 27-20 and will now face the Cincinnati Bengals next on Jan. 29 at home, for a place in the Super Bowl.  

The New York Giants travelled to Philadelphia to face their rivals, the Eagles. The Eagles were up 28-0 by halftime. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles went on to win the game 38-7 and will now face the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game next Sunday.  

The first game on Jan. 22 was a rematch of the Monday Night football game from week 17 in the season, which was cancelled due to the tragic injury of Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Joe Burrow finished with 242 yards and 2 touchdowns and Joe Mixon had 105 rushing yards, as the Bengals ended up winning 27-10. Cincinnati will now go to Kansas City to face the Chiefs, a rematch of last year’s AFC championship game.  

The final game of the weekend was between the 49ers and the Cowboys, to determine who would be facing the Eagles next weekend. Dak Prescott threw two interceptions and one touchdown against the number 1 ranked defense in the NFL. The last pick in the 2022 NFL draft Brock Purdy remains undefeated in his NFL career, throwing for 214 yards and leading the 49ers to a 19-12 win and a spot in the NFC championship game. They will now face the Eagles on Sunday for a chance at the Super Bowl.