by Suzanne Jackson
The divisional rounds of the NFL playoffs recently finished with the Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, and the San Francisco 49ers moving on to their respective conference championships.
In the AFC, the Bengals beat the Buffalo Bills 27-10. Star quarterback Joe Burrow completed 23 of 36 passing attempts and had 242 passing yards. Cincinnati extended their franchise-best win streak to 10 wins, and they haven’t lost since October of 2022. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase led Cincinnati with five receptions for 61 yards and had the first touchdown of the game.
In the other AFC game, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Towards the end of the first quarter, Mahomes was tackled and sustained an ankle injury. Fortunately for the Chiefs, an x-ray following the injury revealed that nothing was broken and Mahomes was allowed back into the game. The team was able to score an additional touchdown that finalized their victory.
In the NFC, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts won his first career playoff game and led the team to victory over the New York Giants with a final score of 38-7. Hurts completed 16 of 24 passing attempts with 54 passing yards and three total touchdowns. On the other side of the line, the Philadelphia defense was able to get five sacks on Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, leading them to their ultimate victory.
The San Francisco 49ers took on the Dallas Cowboys and took home the 19-12 victory. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy went 18 for 29 on passing attempts and threw for 241 yards. Purdy has come to the forefront of the league against all odds after starting as the third-string quarterback and being labeled as “Mr. Irrelevant” after being the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. With injuries earlier in the season to starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, Purdy took the starting spot and was able to win his first five starts with the 49ers. The 49ers defense was able to get two picks of Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott that changed the momentum of the game and allowed them to get the win to advance to the NFC championship.
On Sunday, January 29 the Philadelphia Eagles will play the San Francisco 49ers at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia at 3:00 p.m. EST in the NFC championship. The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Cincinnati Bengals at 6:30 p.m. EST at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday in Kansas City in the AFC championship.
