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Winners and losers of Saturday’s NFL divisional round games: Jayden Daniels shines, Jared Goff struggles



Neither of the No. 1 seeds played very well during Saturday’s two divisional round playoff matchups. One higher-ranked team advanced, while the other suffered a heartbreaking defeat.

The Chiefs survived a brave Texans team and will now await the winner of Sunday night’s game between the Bills and Ravens. Kansas City will play its seventh consecutive AFC title game and sixth at Arrowhead. However, the Chiefs were the only top seeds to advance Saturday, as the Lions were stunned by the Commanders, who advanced to their first conference title game since 1991.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s biggest winners and losers.

Daniels is having the best rookie season in NFL history. He was unflappable Saturday night, going 22 of 31 for 299 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 52 yards on 15 carries while leading the Commanders to victory.

One of Daniels’ biggest completions was a 12-yard dart to Terry McLaurin on a fourth-and-2 play that set up Jeremy McNichols’ short touchdown run that gave Washington an insurmountable 17-point lead midway through the fourth. room.

Daniels and McLaurin had teamed up for a 58-yard touchdown earlier in the game.

As good as Saturday night was for Daniels, it was equally bad for Goff, who once again came up short in a big game. Goff’s tough night included an interception six, an interception in the end zone just before halftime and an interception late in the game as the Lions were trying to pull off a miraculous comeback. Goff also committed a fumble in the first quarter that set up Washington’s first touchdown.

Goff is now 4-5 in the playoffs dating back to his years with the Rams, who traded him to Detroit after Los Angeles coach Sean McVay apparently decided Goff wasn’t capable of winning it all. The Lions may be thinking the same thing after Saturday night. The Lions appear married to Goff, however, after signing him to a four-year extension last offseason.

Winner: Kliff Kingsbury

While Ben Johnson gets a lot of attention, his counterpart had a pretty good night. In fact, it seemed like everything Kingsbury called worked against a Lions defense that was on his heels all game.

As was the case all year, Kingsbury wasn’t afraid to put the game on Daniels’ shoulders on several big turnovers. And unlike last week, Kingsbury’s offense established some much-needed balance, as the Commanders rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns on 41 carries.

In total, the Commanders’ 45 points were the most in franchise history for a road playoff game. That’s saying something, as Washington has a rich history that includes three Super Bowl victories.

Speaking of Johnson, he’s probably regretting his trick play that required Jameson Williams to throw downfield to Jahmyr Gibbs early in the fourth quarter with the Lions trailing by 10. Williams’ pass was intercepted by rookie Mike Sainristil (one of their two picks of the night), and the Commanders scored a touchdown on their next drive, extending their lead to 45-28.

Loser: Lions defense

Detroit’s defense was the team’s biggest question mark entering the playoffs, and was the main reason the Lions joined the 2011 Packers as the only 15-win teams to lose their first playoff game. The unit, which has had to deal with a slew of injuries, simply couldn’t hold up against Daniels and the Commander’s offense.

Specifically, the Lions’ pass rush was an issue that was never resolved after Aidan Hutchinson suffered a season-ending injury in Week 5. The Lions struggled to pressure Daniels, who was not sacked. Detroit’s lack of pass rush was especially felt on fourth down, as Washington was 3-for-4 on its fourth down attempts.

The Chiefs’ future Hall of Fame tight end broke Jerry Rice’s record by recording the ninth 100-yard receiving game of his career in the postseason. Kelce’s big night included the game-winning touchdown catch shortly after the Texans got within one point of the Chiefs.

In total, Kelce caught seven passes for a season-high 117 yards. He also joined Rice as the only players in history with at least 20 career touchdown catches. Kelce is three touchdown receptions away from taking that record from Rice, who is widely considered the greatest receiver of all time.

Loser: Texans special teams

It was a bad day at the office for Houston’s special teams unit. They started the game by allowing a 63-yard punt return that turned into a 78-yard gain after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. To make matters worse there was Kris Boyd, who committed the penalty, pushing Special teams coach Frank Ross on the sideline.

The Texans subsequently missed two field goals and an extra point attempt that would have tied the score in the fourth quarter. Houston’s poor special teams play undermined the valiant efforts of its offense and defense.

Stroud played very well in a losing effort. Despite injuring his knee in the first quarter, Stroud consistently made plays in the air and on the ground, especially in moments of possession. Trailing 13-3, Stroud led the Texans on consecutive scoring drives that included a 15-play, 82-yard drive that took more than 10 minutes off the clock.

The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year finished the game with 245 yards on 19-of-28 passing. He was also the game’s third-leading rusher with 42 yards on six carries.

Loser: Arbitration

Unfortunately, questionable officiating was one of the major takeaways during and after the Chiefs’ win. Several questionable calls were made against the Texans that included multiple penalties for unnecessary roughness against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. One of those penalties drew the ire of Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, who was on the ESPN call.

“We knew it was going to be us against the referees before this game,” Texans pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. said. he said later.

The Chiefs defensive end had a career-high three sacks, including one on fourth down with Kansas City protecting an eight-point lead. Karlaftis led a Chiefs pass rush that sacked Stroud eight times. Kansas City’s pass rush was one of the keys to the Chiefs’ victory.

Loser: Some better in Texans-Chiefs

The Chiefs, who were 9.5-point favorites, had an 11-point lead late in the game after blocking a Texans field goal. But Kansas City gave up two points moments later intentionally taking insurance. That decision had clear implications from a betting point of view.

Bettors who picked Kansas City earlier in the week were still doing well, however, as the Chiefs were initially considered 8.5-point favorites.





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