ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The NFL was still buzzing on Sunday about the Washington Commanders’ stunning upset of the Detroit Lions. There was no shocker like that from Sunday’s Divisional Round games, but there was no shortage of tension and high-level playmaking. And, in the end, the NFL has its conference championship matchups. One is a rematch of AFC behemoths that Patrick Mahomes predicted when the Chiefs lost to the Bills in November. As he embraced Josh Allen after that game, Mahomes whispered to him “We’ll do it again, baby.” And so they will.
In the NFC, the third installment of an NFC East grudge match, which the Eagles and Commanders split during the regular season. We have an entire week to think about those matchups. First, here are winners and losers from the best weekend of the season.
Winners
1) Josh Allen: Whether he is voted the league’s MVP or not, Allen is a singular, blunt force for the Bills. He bulled his way into the end zone for two first half touchdowns, carrying Ravens defenders with him on the second. Even more importantly, he avoided the kinds of mistakes that undid his counterpart, Lamar Jackson. After Mark Andrews fumbled midway through the fourth quarter, Allen led a surgical drive that ended with a field goal. The Bills had lost in the Divisional Round in each of the last three seasons. Allen made sure it did not happen again to set up a rematch with the Chiefs. When the Bills beat them in November, Allen made clear that the only thing that really mattered was if the Bills could do it in January. In what will be a legacy-defining game for Allen, we’re about to find out.
2) Sean McDermott: This was an important hurdle for McDermott, too. He said he considered going for it on fourth down instead of kicking the field goal to extend the lead to eight points in the fourth quarter. McDermott has often been accused of being too conservative, but in this case, he trusted the defense -- one that had mostly bottled up the Ravens -- to stop them from getting into the end zone twice in the final two minutes to tie the game. The Bills turned over a large chunk of their roster this season, shedding big names and going with younger players. There has been no step back. That’s thanks to Allen’s excellence and McDermott’s steadiness.
3) The Bills defense: The Bills heard it all week -- they were not big enough and fast enough to stay with Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson. As they went into the locker room, the Bills defenders made sure everyone knew they heard it. The Ravens had 176 rushing yards, but the Bills defense did enough to stop Henry and Jackson from taking over the game. During the regular season, the Ravens ran roughshod over the Bills, rushing for 271 yards. The presence of Matt Milano surely helped, but the Bills were also determined not to get run out of their own stadium.
4) Winter weather: If you’re a fan of wintry mix, Sunday was your day. This was not the big fluffy flakes of your childhood memories. This was cold, wet and sloppy. Fields in Buffalo and Philadelphia were coated, especially in Philadelphia, where the snow accumulated rapidly in the second half. Players slid, footballs dribbled away, defensive players in particular looked a step slow as footing worsened. With about 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the ball squirted out of Matthew Stafford’s hand when he was being sacked. When the elements are that bad, they test a team’s adaptability and the Eagles did a good job adapting, throwing short, safe passes near the boundary to set up a field goal. The Eagles have the advantage of practicing in bad weather and their field goal operation on Jake Elliott’s 37-yarder in the fourth quarter bore that out -- the Eagles were able to clear a small patch of turf, Braden Mann fielded two wobbly snaps for good holds and Elliott drilled the kick that gave the Eagles a seven-point lead.
5) Saquon Barkley: The only person who appeared unbothered by the conditions in Philadelphia was Barkley, whose 78-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter essentially sealed the victory for the Eagles and was a marvel of both speed and footing. Most daunting about him is that once he bursts through a hole, his speed allows him to pull away. He finished with 205 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Barkley has six touchdown runs of at least 60 yards this season. Four of them came against the Rams.
6) Eagles offensive line: Maybe the single best unit remaining in the postseason, its talent was most on display when Barkley took the ball in the first quarter, made one small cut, ran through one hole and took off for a 62-yard touchdown. The highlight was Mekhi Becton, his career once left for dead with the New York Jets where he was drafted to be the left tackle, annihilating a Rams defender in his path while playing right guard. With the passing attack struggling, every opponent knows the Eagles are going to lean on Barkley. It doesn’t matter. The offensive line can open holes for him anyway. As they did late in the fourth quarter when Barkley cut to the left, burst through another gigantic hole and sprinted for a 78-yard touchdown.
7) Jared Verse: If you’re going to tell opposing fans you hate them, you have to be prepared to back it up with your play. The Rams rookie did, notching two sacks, including the one that ended the first half when Jalen Hurts was looking for a Hail Mary opportunity and another midway through the second quarter when, on third down, Verse threw Hurts for a 9-yard loss that pushed the Eagles out of field goal range and forced a punt. Verse made himself a villain this week -- Barkley slowed down on his 62-yard touchdown run to taunt Verse as he gave chase -- but he also kept the Eagles from blowing the game open early.
8) The Rams: They started the season 1-4 after bidding farewell to one of the best defensive players ever, injected young players into their team, survived injuries to their star receivers, rallied to win the NFC West, and then endured the horror of the Los Angeles wildfires. They came up short but for what was supposed to be a transition season, this was an unqualified success.
Losers
1) Lamar Jackson: The hallmark of Jackson’s regular season, which earned him the first-team All-Pro nod and perhaps the MVP award, is that he put up incredible offensive numbers without making many mistakes. That fell apart quickly on Sunday. He threw a terrible pass for an interception (the Bills could not turn that into points) and fumbled while being sacked (the Bills scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive). Later, with the Ravens at second-and-goal from the 3-yard line, he took a 5-yard sack and the Ravens eventually had to settle for a field goal. It was the first game since last season’s AFC Championship Game in which Jackson had multiple turnovers. Jackson is now 3-5 in the postseason and until he gets to a Super Bowl, he’s going to face questions about whether he wilts in the biggest moments. Jackson was visibly angry after the game. “It’s f------ annoying. I’m tired of this s---,” he said.
2) Jalen Hurts' knee and some head scratching play-calling: He started the game with a touchdown run and stayed in after he was bent backwards late in the third quarter, but his mobility was compromised. That was clear immediately, when he was sacked in the end zone for a safety that narrowed the Eagles’ lead to one point. It was also clear when Philadelphia had goal-to-go early in the fourth quarter and did not attempt a Tush Push, opting for three straight Barkley runs. Finally, on fourth down, the Eagles tried the Tush Push, but were called for a false start. They got a field goal out of the drive. Then, with the Eagles trying to drain the clock, they inexplicably called a deep bootleg play that Hurts had no hope of executing, resulting in a 12-yard sack. The Eagles went from second-and-7 to third-and-19, necessitating a punt and giving the Rams the ball and a chance to win the game. Hurts was sacked a total of seven times and his mobility bears watching next week.
3) The Eagles passing game: A.J. Brown could have written a book with all the time he had on his hands Sunday. The elements surely played a role, but the Eagles’ passing game again posed no real threat, with Hurts finishing the game 15 of 20 for 128 yards and no touchdowns. That follows a 131-yard passing game against the Packers last week and a season in which the Eagles were last in the league in pass attempts and 29th in the league in passing yards. Brown dropped two passes, including one that might have gone for a touchdown -- he wound up with two receptions, including a critical 9-yard catch on fourth down during a fourth quarter drive that resulted in a field goal. Of course, a premier running game is a huge part of the reason why the Eagles don’t try to pass the ball now, but would Philadelphia be able to ramp up the passing attack if it needs to against, say, the dynamic passing attack of Jayden Daniels?
4) Rams offense: It hung in against one of the best defenses and in some terrible conditions. But the Rams also lost two fumbles and on the final drive, with Stafford throwing effortlessly in the snow, the offensive line was flagged for a false start on second down and then gave up a 9-yard sack to Jalen Carter on third down. Stafford’s fourth down pass was off target, but the damage had already been done.
5) Amari Cooper: Remember when the Bills traded for him? He was targeted once and had no receptions on Sunday.
6) Mark Andrews: The usually sure-handed Ravens tight end had two terrible mistakes that cost Baltimore points. He caught a pass in the middle of the field and instead of running straight ahead, where there were at least 10 yards of open space, he went backwards and fumbled when he was stripped by Terrel Bernard near midfield. That turnover led to three points for the Bills. Then, Andrews was wide open but dropped a two-point conversion attempt at the pylon that would have tied the game with less than two minutes remaining in the game.