NFL Playoffs 2018 Recap; How To Watch Divisional Round Games

NEW ORLEANS, LA — The wild card round of the NFL playoffs is nearly in the books and fans got their moneys-worth — for the most part — with a dramatic comeback win in Kansas City and a dominating upset in Los Angeles.

The playoffs got off to a hot start on Saturday with the Kansas City Chiefs sprinting out to a 21-3 lead over the Tennessee Titans at halftime. On their second scoring drive of the game, Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith capped off the drive with a touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce in the end zone for Kelce's first career playoff receiving touchdown.

But if the first half belonged to the Chiefs, the second half belonged solely to the Titans. The Titans received the football first in the third quarter and drove down the field largely on the shoulders of running back Derrick Henry. Then, on third-and-goal from the 6-yard line, quarterback Marcus Mariota scrambled out of the pocket and unwisely forced a pass into the end zone that Chiefs cornerback Darrelle Revis deflected. But the ball returned to sender — right back into the hands of Mariota, who ran in for an unlikely touchdown.

Best TD ever! pic.twitter.com/cn3XCxLSZc
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) January 6, 2018

The stifling Titans defense didn't allow the Chiefs to score even once in the second half, and managed to claw all the way back to take the lead, capping off the big comeback with a beautiful touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Decker. The Titans won 22-21.

The Titans will now travel to Foxborough, Massachusetts, to play the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday. The game will air on CBS.

Later on Saturday, quarterback Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons took on Jared Goff and the surprising Los Angeles Rams. The Falcons struck first on the strength of their defense and leg of kicker Matt Bryant, who banged home two field goals from 29 yards and 51 yards out, respectively, in the first quarter. The Falcons then went up 13 points early in the second quarter when running back Devonta Freeman ran in a touchdown from 3 yards out.

But the Rams stormed back to bring the score within three after a touchdown pass in the end zone to wide receiver Kuper Cupp and a subsequent field goal just before halftime.

Bryant added a pair of field goals in the third quarter to put the Falcons up by nine, but the Rams again answered with a field goal of their own in the fourth quarter to bring the team within a touchdown of the lead. But Ryan tossed a short touchdown pass to sprinting wide receiver Julio Jones late in the game to seal the game, and the Falcons won 26-13.

The Falcons will now travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles at 4:35 p.m. Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. The game will air on NBC.

In what ended up being the least exciting game of the weekend, quarterback Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars took on quarterback Tyrod Taylor and the Buffalo Bills in Jacksonville. It took nearly 28 in-game minutes for the first team to score, but Bills kicker Steven Haushka finally broke the tie, banging a 31 yard field goal through the uprights. Not to be outdone, Bortles — using his legs for much of the drive — drove the Jaguars down to the Bills' 27 yard line, setting up a 44 yard field goal for kicker Josh Lambo, which he successfully knocked through just before halftime.

The last score came with less than a minute to go in the third quarter. After three unsuccessful tries at getting in the end zone, Bortles and the Jaguars offense went for it on fourth-and-goal rather than kick a tiebreaking field goal. Bortles managed to sneak a play-action pass to tight end Ben Koyack to take the lead. And that would be all the team needed, ultimately defeating the Bills 10-3.

The Jaguars will now travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14, at Heinz Field. The game will air on CBS.

The final game of wild card card weekend on Sunday evening lined up as perhaps the most explosive game of all, featuring a battle of two prestigious quarterbacks, one, a former league MVP in Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, and the other, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, a former Super Bowl MVP.

The longtime veteran Brees got the upper-hand early in this game, tossing a pair of touchdowns — including an 80-yard bomb to ex-Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. — in the first half. Newton and the Panthers managed to put together three scoring drives of their own though, resulting in nine points off of field goals from kicker Graham Gano — including one from 58 yards out.

With the score at 24-19 midway through the fourth quarter, Brees drove his team down the field and rookie running back Alvin Kamara punched it in for what should've been a back-breaking late touchdown to push the score to 31-19. But Cam Newton responded almost immediately with a 56 yard pitch-and-catch touchdown to rookie running back Christian McCaffrey to make the score 31-26. Newton and the Panthers got the ball back with just 1:51 left in the game at the 31 yard line and Newton immediately slung a pass to wide receiver Devin Funchess to get to mid-field. After a 21 yard pass and a subsequent defensive holding call, the Panthers got the ball on the 21 yard line with less than a minute to play. A huge intentional grounding call pushed the Panthers to an impossible 3rd and 23 from the 34 yard line and the team was unable to score. Final score: Saints win 31-26.

The Saints will travel to Minnesota to play the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 4:40 p.m.

Photo credit: Gerald Herbert/Associated Press