When the first round of NFL playoff action gets underway on Saturday, the day’s AFC matchups could be among the biggest of wildcard weekend.
In one game, there are two franchises — Las Vegas and Cincinnati — who are both desperately searching for their first playoff win in over a decade. Both teams finished the year 10-7, though got there very differently and with different storylines at play throughout the season.
BENDER: Power ranking each NFL QB in the postseason for 2022
The other matchup features the Bills and Patriots facing off against each other for the third time this season. The AFC East rivals played in two very different games both times out, with the Patriots running the ball at will in the first meeting and the Bills coming back and winning the second meeting handily.
Given what’s at stake for all four teams taking the field Saturday and the history and rivalries at play, the first day of wildcard action could be one of the best.
Sporting News has you covered with all the information you need to watch NFL playoff action throughout Saturday.
The first day of NFL action begins with a historic matchup. Las Vegas is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and just the second time since 2002 when they won the Super Bowl. Cincinnati, meanwhile, is back in the postseason for the first time since 2015 and hasn’t won a playoff game since 1991 when they were beat by the Raiders in the divisional round.
Under interim coach Rich Bisaccia, the Raiders went 7-5 and won their final four games to make the playoffs. They were a fairly middle of the road team this year, ranking 18th in scoring offense, 11th in total offense, 26th in scoring defense and 14th in total defense.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, improved drastically, going 10-7 this year after a 4-11-1 campaign last season. Much of that has to do with the connection between Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, as the team ranked seventh in scoring offense and 13th in total offense.
MORE: Bart Scott’s interesting advice for Josh Allen ahead of playoff matchup
Patriots vs. Bills
Date: Jan. 15, 2022
Location: Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, NY
Start time: p.m.
The primetime showdown of Day 1 of wildcard weekend should be a good one. The Bills and Patriots have faced off twice this season, playing very different games each time. The first game, New England won 14-10 in Bufalo after running for 222 yards and throwing the ball just three times.
After the game, Buffalo’s defensive stars in Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde were asked if they were embarrassed by the team’s run defense that night, while Sean McDermott downplayed the credit Bill Belichick deserved in that win.
The second go-round went the Bills’ way, as they beat New England 33-21 at Gillette Stadium in a game where they had 428 total yards of offense as Josh Allen threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns while Mac Jones was picked off twice.
What channel are NFL games on?
Raiders vs. Bengals
The first game of Saturday’s wild-card doubleheader will air on NBC.
Mike Tirico will handle play-by-play duties while Drew Brees joins him in the booth as an analyst, with Kathryn Tappen reporting from the sideline.
Patriots vs. Bills
The third meeting between the Patriots and Bills will air nationally on CBS
Ian Eagle will serve as the play-by-play voice as Charles Davis joins him as an analyst while Evan Washburn will be reporting from the sidelines.
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NFL live streams for playoffs
Each of the game will have live streams produced by their network’s streaming service that fans will be able to have access to, like Paramount Plus, Fox Sports Go and Peacock.
There are also several independent streaming options that will grant viewers access to all three games. Here’s a look at several options for streaming the NFL playoffs:
There are just 13 games remaining in the longest season in NFL history. Will any of them be played on Thursday night moving forward?
“Thursday Night Football” is something that football fans have gotten used to over the years. It has take some time, and the matchups aren’t always pretty, but rest assured that when it’s Thursday, football fans are ready to watch two NFL teams fight hard to win.
Unfortunately, they won’t get that opportunity this week. The 2022 NFL playoffs have begun and that means there will be no more Thursday night games for the rest of the season.
Here’s everything you need to know about “TNF” for the 2022 playoffs and what you can watch with the program finished for the season.
Is there a ‘Thursday Night Football’ game tonight?
No, there is not a “Thursday Night Football” game on Thursday, Jan. 13. “Thursday Night Football” is over for this season and won’t be back until the 2022 NFL regular season begins.
The official “Thursday Night Football” program will return to action in Week 2 of the 2022 NFL season, per usual. There will be a Thursday night game, the NFL’s season opener, in Week 1, that will likely feature the Super Bowl winner against a projected top title contender. That said, that game is technically a “Sunday Night Football” broadcast, so “TNF won’t officially return until Week 2 of the 2022 season. But there will be Thursday football starting in Week 1.
The last “TNF” game of the season aired on Dec. 23, when the Titans beat the 49ers 20-17 in a back-and-forth battle. The NFL doesn’t schedule Thursday games during the playoffs so that teams can have adequate time to rest, recover and prepare for their next opponent.
That said, the NFL will host a “Monday Night Football” game for the first time during the 2022 NFL postseason, so fan will get three days of NFL broadcasts this week with games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
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Sports on TV today
With no more “Thursday Night Football” and the college football season over, football fans are going to be out of luck if they are looking for a live football game to watch tonight. That said, there are some other sports that could potentially fill the void, with the NBA and NHL making up most of the best offerings available.
Here’s a look at what you can watch during the time slot normally occupied by “Thursday Night Football.”
NBA: Bucks vs. Warriors (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) and Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers (10 p.m. ET, TNT)
NHL: Bruins vs. Flyers (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
NCAAM: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State (7 p.m., ESPN2), UCLA vs. Oregon (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) and Gonzaga vs. BYU (11 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
NFL WILD-CARD PICKS: Against the spread | Straight up
ORCHARD PARK – Saturday night time, the temperature is expected to be in the solitary digits and the wind chill in the minus 10-15 assortment at kickoff time of the AFC wild-card match in opposition to the New England Patriots.
It will stop up becoming one particular of the coldest online games at any time played in Buffalo, just one of the coldest in NFL heritage.
The place will it stop up ranking on the Bills’ all-time list? It is in all probability heading to be top five.
Here’s a look back at the three coldest Bills’ house games on history.
Jan. 15, 1994: Expenses vs. Raiders
You have heard the famed Marv Levy line, “When it is too tricky for them, it’s just appropriate for us.” This was the day he shipped it.
The temperature at match time was zero and the wind chill was minus-32. In conditions of the wind chill range, it was the third-coldest in NFL record at the rear of only the 1981 AFC Championship Game – Chargers at Bengals, minus-59 levels and the 1967 NFL Championship – Cowboys at Packers, minus-48. In phrases of temperature, it’s the fifth-coldest sport.
At any time the challenging dude, Costs quarterback Jim Kelly reported, “It was not that undesirable, but in the second fifty percent, my palms were getting authentic chilly.”
One indicator inside of the stadium read through, “Just freeze, toddler,” a just take on Raiders’ operator Al Davis popular indicating, “Just get, newborn.”
To their credit rating, the guys from Los Angeles gave the Expenses a heck of a fight, but in the conclude, Buffalo gained 29-23. “I hardly ever genuinely permit cold climate impact me,” Thurman Thomas said as soon as when recalling that working day. “But I keep in mind it being very, pretty chilly.”
“You figure that maybe on a day like right now that 23 details would be enough to get,” reported Raiders QB Jeff Hostetler, the similar man who had overwhelmed the Expenditures in Super Bowl 25 playing for the Giants. “We shot ourselves in the foot on offense and we killed ourselves by not producing some performs and getting also a lot of penalties.”
Dec. 26, 1993: Costs vs. Jets
That video game against the Raiders surpassed the report that had been established significantly less than 3 months previously when the Payments gained their fifth AFC East division title with a 16-14 victory over the Jets in a game that begun at 9 degrees with a wind chill of minus-28.
For that a person, a Christmas Eve snowstorm dumped additional than 20 inches of snow in Orchard Park and the crew had to summon the public’s aid – on a holiday – to shovel out the stadium.
“I advised them I hope our team displays as a lot spunk tomorrow as you’re demonstrating ideal now,” coach Levy said as he viewed hundreds of men and women on Xmas Day helping out. “I appeared up and had a terrific admiration for these people. They were being a significant part of the excitement of the afternoon.”
The stadium looked like an igloo, and it definitely felt like just one, but Steve Christie warmed anyone when he created a 40-lawn field goal with 3:48 left to enjoy to place the Charges, and then Cary Blanchard of the Jets missed what would have been a match-winning 42-yarder with 53 seconds to go.
“My toes have been so numb, I could not sense the ball,” Christie claimed. “You know the place the ball is, you hope you know where by your foot is, and hopefully the two will meet up with. I knew it was likely to be a challenging working day and sad to say for Blanchard, it was harder for him than it was for me. But that’s our edge participating in at Prosperous, we’re applied to the frozen turf.”
Dec. 11, 1988: Costs vs. Raiders
Pity the bad Raiders who were dependent in Los Angeles from 1982 by way of 1994 and took place to be the opponent for two of the 3 coldest Expenditures video games. You know Davis was none also pleased about it.
The Bills had previously clinched their very first AFC East division title given that 1980 and now ended up in place to clinch homefield benefit all through the AFC playoffs with this 37-21 victory in excess of the frostbitten Raiders. Alas, they lost the period finale at Indianapolis which gave Cincinnati homefield, and the Costs in the long run went to Riverfront Stadium for the AFC title game and missing 21-10.
In this Raiders activity, the temperature was 11 degrees with a minus-14 wind chill, so the Costs turned to their potent managing sport and Thomas and Robb Riddick merged for 150 of Buffalo’s 255 rushing yards and Kelly threw for just 128.
Regardless of the cold, a group of 77,348 showed up and that authorized the Charges to established what was then the NFL’s all-time one-time attendance document, pushing the gate to 622,793 for the eight home video games.
The Los Angeles Situations documented that for the journey, the Raiders packed 1,700 pounds value of gloves, boots, parkas, scarfs, thermal underwear, and ski caps. It didn’t help.
Raiders protection Vann McElroy said of the problems, “We don’t have to are living in this things. I signify, this is sort of like a factor where by you do it 1 working day and you get out. It was type of enjoyable.”
In Wordle, you have 6 guesses to figure out the 5-letter phrase.
James Doubek/NPR
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James Doubek/NPR
In Wordle, you have 6 guesses to figure out the 5-letter term.
James Doubek/NPR
A very simple word sport is the latest social media and pop society phenomenon: Wordle.
The undertaking is to guess a five-letter phrase. You have six attempts. Immediately after just about every guess, the tiles improve hues to present which letters are not in the word (grey), which letters are in the phrase but in the completely wrong place (yellow) and which types are the right way in the term and in the correct situation (inexperienced).
Some men and women can earn in a couple of minutes. For some of us, it usually takes … for a longer time.
As soon as you end, you can article on Twitter how lots of guesses it took without having spoiling the challenge for other people. It really is the very same word each individual working day for absolutely everyone, and you can participate in only at the time a day.
The no cost recreation was produced by program engineer Josh Wardle of New York Town, who built Wordle — a riff on his title — at first for his associate, Palak Shah, who is a lover of word game titles. Shah also assisted with some of the progress.
The app genuinely began choosing up steam in Oct, and as of Monday it has far more than 2.7 million gamers, Wardle advised NPR’s Early morning Version.And Wardle did it with out ads or gimmicks. You never have to indicator up with your e-mail or give personal data to play.
“Earning Wordle I exclusively turned down a bunch of the matters you are intended to do for a cellular sport,” Wardle told NPR. He intentionally did not include press notifications, allow end users to enjoy endlessly or make in other instruments generally utilized now to pull users into playing applications for as very long as doable.
Wardle mentioned the rejection of those people engagement tips may possibly have fueled the game’s popularity just after all — “where the rejection of some of those factors has really captivated folks to the game mainly because it feels very harmless and it just wants you to have enjoyable with it.”
Nonetheless, the rapid interest can be overpowering.
“It going viral isn’t going to feel fantastic to be sincere. I really feel a feeling of responsibility for the gamers,” he instructed The Guardian. “I come to feel I definitely owe it to them to maintain factors working and make absolutely sure everything’s operating effectively.”
But Wardle explained he has in particular liked tales of how the sport has served men and women preserve connected.
“They’ll have a loved ones chat team where by they share their Wordle benefits with a single another,” Wardle told NPR. “And specially during COVID, it remaining a way for men and women to connect with buddies and family members that they couldn’t otherwise see, and it just supplies this actually quick way to touch foundation with others.”
Method: vowels or consonants?
Fb enthusiast teams have now cropped up, even though quite a few articles and gamers present their have system guidelines.
Making use of as numerous vowels as attainable in the 1st guess is one particular tactic — “adieu” delivers 4 of them. One more method is to test making use of as numerous prevalent consonants as doable with a term like “snort.”
The recreation uses frequent 5-letter terms as its responses, Wardle informed the Situations, and he took out the probability of really obscure phrases no just one would at any time guess.
You can find also a “difficult manner,” wherever any yellow or inexperienced letter has to be utilised in subsequent guesses.
If you guess the term in just six attempts, the recreation gives you the option of sharing your prowess on social media. The figures in the tweet shown in this article, as this reporter inevitably uncovered, indicate it was match No. 203 and I guessed the appropriate reply in 3 of 6 tries:
I don’t know what this means but I was pretty impressed with myself: Wordle 203 3/6
The simplicity, level of popularity and scarcity of the match — with only one likelihood to participate in a day — has made available copycats a lot of possibility to build their individual variations, including with the capacity to participate in unlimited video games.
Of class, you can also choose some time when you’re concluded and check out out the NPR puzzle in its place.
The college football champion for the 2021 season was crowned in Indianapolis on Monday night as SEC rivals Alabama and Georgia meet in the playoff’s national title game.
The meeting was a rematch from last month when the Crimson Tide took down the then-No. 1 Bulldogs, 41-24, that earned them a place in the playoff and gave coach Nick Saban his fourth victory in four tries against former assistant Kirby Smart.
Georgia brings an end to a 41-year drought between titles that dates back to the freshman season of all-time great Herschel Walker in 1980. The Bulldogs also lost to Alabama in the 2017 title game, the other previous meeting of conference foes in the national championship.
The long wait is over for Bulldogs fans after 41 years without a national title. With an offense that dominated in the last third of the game, Georgia wore down Alabama in the fourth quarter and scored three touchdown on four possessions to put them ahead 26-19 late and then Kelee Ringo sealed the 33-18 victory with 79-yard interception return off an errant pass by Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young.
The running game was key as the Crimson Tide defense appeared to wilt late. James Cook and Zamir White found consistent room and Stetson Bennett delivered two key touchdown passes to complete a comeback after Alabama had taken an 18-13 lead in the fourth quarter.
Celebrations in Athens should be intense after the long overdue championship drought that started when Hershel Walker and Georgia won in 1980 was finally over.
The loss denies Alabama its seventh national title under Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide showed cracks throughout the season but played outstanding in the SEC title game and in the semifinal against Cincinnati. They just fell short with the loss of star receiver Jameson Williams hampering an offense that was already without John Metchie. The Bulldogs were deeper and made the key plays to put this one away.
It took almost 40 minutes but the Bulldogs offense has woken up. Stetson Bennett hit Brock Bowers in the flat and Bowers sprinted 15 yards for the end zone untouched. That’s three touchdown drives for Georgia on its last four possession. Bulldogs lead 26-18 with 3:33 left.
Ball now in Bryce Young’s court. Alabama needs touchdown and two-point conversion to tie things.
The Bulldogs and Stetson Bennett didn’t hang their heads after a miscue led to Alabama taking the lead in the fourth quarter. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken decided to live and die with his quarterback, calling for five consecutive pass plays.
A catch by Jemaine Burton and pass interference call moved them into Alabama territory before Bennett found Adonai Mitchell for a 40-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone. A two-point conversion attempt failed, making it 19-18 Georgia with 8:09 left.
Georgia was trying to protect its 13-12 lead early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Stetson Bennett broke the pocket under pressure. Hit as he was in a throwing motion, the ball went forward and tumbled toward the sideline. Brian Branch recovered for the Crimson Tide, though it was unclear what the call was. Referees ruled after a long replay review that the ball went to Alabama at the Bulldogs 16.
Four plays later, Bryce Young hit Cameron Latu on third down for a touchdown to push the Crimson Tide ahead with 10:14 left. The lone bright spot for the Bulldogs is they stopped the ensuing two-point conversion and kept the score at 18-13. Just one score away from taking the lead. Now can their offense do enough to find the end zone?
Alabama responds with … another field goal
Make that four field goals for the Crimson Tide as yet another drive stalls close to the Georgia end zone. Bryce Young had two throws to put Alabama ahead before Alabama coach Nick Saban decided to kick a field goal and cut his team’s deficit to 13-12 with just under 13 minutes left to play.
Massive possession upcoming for Georgia. Need to take time off the clock and possibly get some points.
After a 67-yard run by James Cook put the Bulldogs in scoring position, his senior sidekick Zamir White scored on a 1-yard touchdown run giving the Bulldogs their first lead at 13-9 with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
Pressure is squarely on the Alabama offense that has just three field goals so far.
Without their two top receivers, the Crimson Tide needed to change some things with their offense starting on their 2. Offensive coordinator got running back Brian Robinson established on the ground early on the latest drive before mixing in short passes to Robinson and wide receivers.
It got the Georgia defense off balance and fatigue seemed to set in. But the Bulldogs did eventually stiffen when Alabama reached their 30 to force a field goal. Will Reichard’s attempt was blocked and the score remains 9-6 in favor of Alabama with 3:18 left in the third quarter.
The Crimson Tide ran 17 plays for 68 yards and took 7:45 off clock and ended with no points.
Bryce Young made his first mistake of the game, forcing a deep throw to Jahleel Billingsley as Georgia had two people in position to make the play. Christopher Smith made the interception at the Alabama 43, giving the Bulldogs great field position.
It’s a rare miscue for the Heisman Trophy winner, who entered the game with 46 touchdown passes and just five interceptions. But with his two best receivers sidelined, he seems to be struggling with the connection to the inexperienced reserves on field.
The Crimson Tide’s defense quickly got the ball back for Young, forcing a three-and-out by Georgia. A deep punt pinned Alabama on its 2 to start the next possession.
Nobody reached the end zone in the first 30 minutes but there were five scoring drives as Alabama had three field goals and Georgia had two, making the score unexpectedly 9-6. Not that there was supposed to be a shootout.
The running games for both teams were nonexistent, leaving the quarterbacks to make much of the big plays. Bryce Young threw for 206 yards and appeared more comfortable than counterpart Stetson Bennett. The loss of receiver Jameson Williams makes the Crimson Tide thin with experience at the position. That will be something to watch in the second half. Georgia gets the ball to start the second half. That drive could be critical as field position can be key if the offense continue to bog down.
If you like defense and physical play, this game is over you. It’s a change from shootouts in previous editions of the title matchups. Welcome to SEC football.
The Crimson Tide look poised to extend their lead to 10 after Cameron Latu’s 61-yard catch and run put them inside the Georgia 10. However, Latu dropped a sure touchdown on the second snap after his big play. Alabama was forced to kick its third field goal of the game and increase its lead to 9-3 with 7 minutes left in the second quarter.
It was a big escape for the Bulldogs, who are struggling on offense and couldn’t afford to go down 10 points. Instead, it is still a one-score game even though the Crimson Tide have mostly dominated things.
No touchdowns so far as the game nears the midway point of the second quarter. There have been three field goals, however. Will Reichard converted a 45-yard field goal for the last points as Alabama leads 6-3. The scoring drive was marred by the injury to Crimson Tide leading receiver Jameson Williams on a 40-yard reception that set up the score.
Williams caught 40-yard pass over the middle of the Georgia defense but as he was twisting to avoid the tackle attempts of two defenders he went down holding his knee. Williams was helped off the field and went to the injury tent on the sideline for evaluation.
Besides Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, Williams was easily the biggest offensive weapon for the Crimson Tide this season with 1,507 yards and 15 touchdowns entering tonight’s game. Alabama is also without its other starting receiver John Metchie III, who tore his ACL against Georgia in the SEC title game.
ESPN reporter Holly Rowe reported in the third quarter that Williams would not return.
The first signs of life for the Bulldogs offense as Stetson Bennett hits George PIckens with a deep ball for 52 yards to the Alabama 29. They’d get closer to the end zone before the Crimson Tide stiffened and Jack Podlesny kicked a 24-yard field goal to even things at 3-3 with 12:35 left in the second quarter.
The pass to PIckens is significant as the deep ball could loosen things up for the Georgia running game that has been bogged down. Bulldogs have 11 yards on eight attempts. The ground hasn’t been much better for Alabama, which has 16 yards on six carrie
Three of the last four possessions have ended without first downs as both teams struggle to run the ball effectively and there is little time to throw. It’s not a huge surprise with the talent on both defenses and this is the way things started in the SEC championship game. A feeling-out process for sure.
Georgia has one yard offense after its two drives. Stetson Bennett still has not completed a pass. It’s early and things should loosen up as game wears on.
It was a quick three-and-out for the Bulldogs on their opening possession as quarterbStetson Bennett was sacked on their first play. Bennett scrambled on second down to make for a manageable third down but then threw incomplete under pressure. Forced to punt, Jake Camarda delivered a 55-yard boot that flipped field position after a field catch. Alabama starts on its own 20 with 8:10 left in the first quarter.
It’s 3-0 for the Crimson Tide after taking the opening kickoff and driving 56 yards in 14 plays before the series stalled. Will Reichard delivered a 37-yard field goal with 9:55 left for the first points of the game.
Alabama mixed run and pass for most of the possession, getting off quick passes as Georgia tried to bring pressure on Bryce Young. The Bulldogs had an touchdown overturned, but stiffened within 20 yards of the end zone. Not a bad start for the defense as it tries to reverse its struggles from the earlier meeting.
On the fourth play from scrimmage, it appeared the Bulldogs got on the board first when Jordan Davis hit Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. The ball appeared to be fumbled and was picked up by Nakobe Dean and returned for a touchdown. However, replay review showed Young had his arm coming forward and it was ruled an incomplete pass.
The bright spot for Georgia? Early pressure by the Bulldogs front that was lacking in last month’s game.
It’s almost time to kick things off with the national championship on the line. Natalie Grant delivered a stirring rendition of the national anthem before both teams took the field. Alabama went first before Georgia entered with cameras flashing.
Georgia calls tails and wins the coin toss. Bulldogs elect to defer, which means Alabama and Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young take the field first. A good early look at how the Georgia defense will adjust after allowing 41 points in last month’s game.
Look for an early feeling-out period when the Alabama and Georgia meet on Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship game. The Crimson Tide will look to see what the Bulldogs learned from last month’s loss. How Georgia tweaks a clearly flawed game plan — and how Alabama responds to a new defensive approach — might be the factor that ultimately decides this matchup of SEC powers. But it’s not the only ingredient needed to win. Boiled down, these are the steps that will pilot the Bulldogs or Crimson Tide to the top of college football.
These teams played just over a month ago for the SEC championship, and Alabama won in convincing fashion, 41-24. That won’t happen in this edition. Remember what happened the last time these schools squared off in the FCS championship four years ago. That one was nothing short of an instant classic, with Alabama rallying for a 26-23 overtime win on a walk-off TD pass.
We can’t promise a similar finish, but we do know that both teams have a whole lot of talent. Both coaching staffs have had several weeks to pore over the footage from this season’s previous encounter, so there will certainly be some adjustments on each side. In theory, this one should be a lot more competitive.
Former Florida and South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier expects a rematch reversal when No. 1 Alabama faces No. 3 Georgia in the national championship on Monday. The Crimson Tide defeated Georgia 41-24 to win the SEC Championship on Dec. 4, but Spurrier has been bullish on the Bulldogs’ title chances throughout the season, and the first result didn’t dissuade his thinking.
“They’re due for the football gods to maybe smile on them this time,” Spurrier said.
The drama about the ultimate teams that would make the N.F.L. postseason was not cleared up until finally the previous possible second of the common time, when the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday evening on a subject aim on the previous enjoy of overtime to declare just one of two remaining wild card berths in the A.F.C.
The Raiders’ 35-32 defeat of the Chargers finished the period for Los Angeles, and due to the fact the Indianapolis Colts (9-8) were being upset by the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-14) previously on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1) sneaked into the playoff field on the toughness of a win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The Raiders and Chargers could have equally produced the playoffs with a tie, and for a great deal of overtime it seemed as if the groups could possibly be pleased without having a victory. But Daniel Carlson kicked a industry target as time expired to give Las Vegas the get, and a a little a lot more favorable playoff seeding.
The wild scenarios created the final video game of the period of abnormal consequence in the initially N.F.L. period with an expanded, 17-game normal year. The previous day of the time, which prolonged into the 2nd weekend of 2022, provided 5 A.F.C. groups fighting for the two remaining berths and the San Francisco 49ers taking the final place in the N.F.C. with a gain in opposition to the Los Angeles Rams.
2021 N.F.L. Season News and Examination
What occurred on Saturday
The two online games finished on Saturday went in accordance to seed, retaining the winners alive for bigger playoff seeding. The Kansas City Chiefs, who defeat the Denver Broncos, remained in the jogging for the top seed in the A.F.C. and a very first-spherical bye, and ended any long-shot likelihood that the New England Patriots or Cincinnati Bengals may take the No. 1 seed for them selves.
The late activity involving the playoff-sure Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles was mainly meaningless — and lifeless, due to the fact the Eagles rested their beginning quarterback, Jalen Hurts, and had a raft of Covid-19-connected absences — but it served identify both teams’ seeding in the N.F.C.
The Eagles, for instance, will perform the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4). The Bucs cruised into the postseason with an straightforward get at property that saw them established the team record for regular-season wins they experienced established in their Super Bowl-profitable time in 2002.
Sunday’s early online games
In the course of the early games on Sunday, the Tennessee Titans sewed up the No. 1 seed in the A.F.C. by keeping off the lowly Houston Texans. That wiped out Kansas City’s hopes for the leading seed and the to start with-spherical bye.
The Colts unsuccessful to clinch one particular of the two remaining A.F.C. wild-card berths by losing to the Jaguars, 1 of the league’s worst groups. A Colts victory would have shut the door on the playoffs for both of those the Ravens and the Steelers.
The Bengals (10-6) had already received the A.F.C. North, but with Kansas City’s acquire on Saturday, their sport in opposition to the Cleveland Browns did not aid their playoff seeding.
Sunday’s late afternoon game titles
The Buffalo Expenditures (11-6) and the Patriots (10-7), who experienced equally secured playoff spots before Sunday, were being battling for the A.F.C. East crown, which considerably affected their seeding. The Charges conquer the Jets (4-13) and the Patriots lost to the Miami Dolphins (9-8), handing the division crown to the Bills and forcing the Patriots to travel following weekend … to Buffalo.
The Arizona Cardinals (11-6) shed a chance to claim the N.F.C. West by falling short from the Seattle Seahawks (7-10), handing the divisional title to the Los Angeles Rams (12-5), who misplaced to the San Francisco 49ers (10-7) in time beyond regulation.
The 49ers’ victory also eradicated the New Orleans Saints (9-8), who defeat the Atlanta Falcons (7-10).
The Green Bay Packers (13-4) experienced previously clinched the leading seed and a initial-round bye in the N.F.C.
