The Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles held on to clinch nail-biting victories in the NFL play-offs and move within one win of the Super Bowl.
The Bills won 27-25 in a much-anticipated Divisional Round game with the Baltimore Ravens after the Eagles clinched a 28-22 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Both Sunday’s games were played in snow, with Baltimore’s trip to Buffalo seeing quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, the leading contenders to be named this season’s Most Valuable Player, go head-to-head.
And it was Allen who came out on top as the Bills set up another post-season match-up with the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time defending champions, for a place in Super Bowl 59.
It was an agonising end to the season for Baltimore as tight end Mark Andrews dropped a two-point conversion that would have tied the game with 1:33 remaining.
Jackson won his second MVP award last season – and could well earn another when the winner is announced during Super Bowl week – yet seven years into his career, the NFL’s biggest game continues to elude him.
Not only is the 28-year-old still to reach the Super Bowl but he has only played in one AFC Championship game, losing to the Chiefs last season.
Instead, this year Kansas City will host Buffalo in the AFC Championship game next Sunday, while Philadelphia will welcome the Washington Commanders for the NFC Championship.
Turnovers cost Ravens in battle of MVP contenders
MVP votes have already been cast so Allen and Jackson knew Sunday’s game would have no bearing on the winner. This was about their legacy.
They have been two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks since both being drafted in 2018 but like Jackson, Allen is also yet to reach a Super Bowl.
This will be the fourth time in five years that Buffalo will face Kansas City – and the Chiefs won all three of their previous match-ups, including an AFC Championship game in 2021.
Now Allen has another shot at toppling the Chiefs and their two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes, after continuing his fine form this season.
The 28-year-old had two rushing touchdowns to help Buffalo into a 21-10 at half-time, while Baltimore’s three turnovers proved costly.
Jackson had struck first, finding Rashod Bateman for a 16-yard touchdown before the Bills hit straight back with Ray Davis punching it in from a yard.
The Ravens quarterback coughed up an interception and a fumble on Baltimore’s next two drives, with Bills linebacker Von Miller recovering the latter to set up the chance for Allen’s first score.
After a Baltimore field goal cut the lead, Allen again barged into the end zone on short yardage to put Buffalo in charge at the interval.
The Ravens have had the league’s best rushing offence and they got their run game going in the third quarter, claiming a field goal and a Derrick Henry touchdown.
They failed to convert a two-point attempt to draw level, before a Bills field goal made it 24-19. Then, with eight minutes remaining, Terrel Bernard punched the ball from Andrews’ hands and recovered the fumble to give Buffalo the chance to add another field goal.
Baltimore had 3:29 to salvage their season and Jackson cut the deficit by firing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely.
Needing the two-point conversion to level the game, he seemed to have connected with Andrews but the ball squirmed from the tight end’s grasp on the goalline and the Ravens’ season was over.
Barkley bursts prove decisive for Eagles
In Sunday’s other game, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley may have been this season’s rushing leader but it was his quarterback Jalen Hurts who made the first burst in Philly against the Rams, scoring a 44-yard touchdown on the opening drive – the longest run of his career.
Los Angeles replied with a Tyler Higbee touchdown before Barkley broke through for a 62-yard score. He finished with 205 rushing yards – the fifth best in post-season history.
The Rams kicked a field goal to cut the half-time deficit to 13-10 and, as the snow got heavier after the interval, both teams settled for a field goal in the third quarter.
Hurts injured his knee on that Eagles drive, and on their next possession he was trapped in his own end zone for a safety, cutting the score to 16-15.
The Rams then fumbled on successive drives, with the Eagles punishing each error with a field goal, and the game appeared to be over after Barkley raced clear again, this time from 78 yards to make it 28-15 with under five minutes left.
However, Los Angeles hit straight back with a Colby Parkinson touchdown and then forced a swift three-and-out from the Eagles, meaning they got the ball back with just over two minutes left.
Matthew Stafford, who led the Rams to Super Bowl glory in 2022, has produced 51 game-winning drives and the veteran quarterback seemed set for another when Puka Nacua made a superb catch on his shoulder to take the Rams to Philly’s 21-yard line.
But the Eagles defence stood firm to ensure they reached their second NFC Championship game in three years, having ultimately lost to Kansas City in Super Bowl 57.
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