Atlanta Falcons 41
Philadephia Eagles 20
PHILADELPHIA - The Atlanta Falcons rolled into a hostile Philadelphia atmosphere and walked out leaving no doubt about who played better this Sunday. For the Falcons, Kyle Pitts was unstoppable with 119 yards and 3 touchdowns on the afternoon. With their 41-20 victory, Atlanta moves on the divisional round.
For the Eagles, the loss caps a promising first season for GM BD who assembled a division winning roster with a rookie quarterback. Will Levis showed enough promise to be the franchise QB moving forward. He will have a full compliment of offensive weapons at his disposal next year with Christian McCaffey, AJ Brown, and Devonta Smith.
Defensively, BD will be looking for upgrades and depth to improve upon a bottom tier unit. He now has the draft and free agency to improve this 10-7 unit.
"I feel like we had a pretty solid season. Could have been a bit better defensively," said BD. "However, I know we have a lot of potential and am looking forward to next season."
Baltimore Ravens 33
Cincinnati Bengals 32
CINCINNATI - Down five with 2:23 to go in the game, Jalen Hurts led his team on a 7-play, 83 yard touchdown drive to will his team past the Cincinnati Bengals 33-32.
The Hurts TD pass to HB Rachad White capped a frenzied comeback for the Ravens who trailed from the opening kickoff.
"Yeah, that was a gut punch (the opening kickoff return for a touchdown by Randall Cobb)," Hurts said. "It took us way too long to dig out of that hole."
With TE Mark Andrews not quite able to go, backup Daniel Bellinger fueled the Baltimore comeback with 147 receiving yards and a pair of TD catches.
After losing both regular season games against the Bengals, DeMeco Ryans and his team gave us arguably the most memorable 3GML playoff game of all time.
"This one will go down in history," Ryans said. "But it will really mean something if we can keep it going to the championship."
Baltimore will not head to San Diego to take on the AFC's #1 seed.
Carolina Panthers 10
Green Bay Packers 38
GREEN BAY - The Green Bay Packers easily handled the visiting Panthers 38-10 in chilly Lambeau Field. Isaiah Pacheco set the tone for the Packers who turned to the ground game for success. Pacheco ended with 151 yards and 3 touchdowns on the afternoon.
Defensively, the Packers picked off rookie Bryce Young 3 times, including two by linebacker Ernest Jones.
"That was awesome," Jones said. "Defense is peaking at the right time and we were ready to go this afternoon."
Green Bay stays at home next week to host the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round.
Kansas City Chiefs 40
Houston Texans 19
HOUSTON - The two-time defending Super Bowl champions attempt at a third straight title came to end Sunday in a 40-19 loss to the Chiefs. Houston, who battled key injuries all season just couldn't keep up with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
"We just hit the end of the road," Coach David Shaw said. "Super proud of this team's resolve."
With the loss Houston heads into the offseason with a huge question at quarterback. Aaron Rodgers is supposed to be back and healthy, but the Texans appear to be tired of his off field comments. Houston also holds the number two overall pick thanks to a previous trade with the Commanders, potentially making it easier to move on.
"Happy with the year considering all the injuries. Solid draft class coming up. Very very happy to have the second overall pick," said GM TH potentially hinting at the direction he will go at signal caller.
