NFL divisional round playoffs: Overreactions, big questions

Sunday 19th January 2025 07:20 PM

Dan Graziano
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Dan Graziano

senior NFL national reporter
- Dan Graziano is a senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, covering the entire league and breaking news. Dan also contributes to Get Up, NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, Sunday NFL Countdown and Fantasy Football Now. He is a New Jersey native who joined ESPN in 2011, and he is also the author of two published novels. You can follow Dan on Twitter via @DanGrazianoESPN.
I am Solak
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I am Solak

ESPN
- Ben Solak joined ESPN in 2024 as a national NFL analyst. He previously covered the NFL at The Ringer, Bleeding Green Nation and The Draft Network.

Jan 19, 2025, 06:40 PM ET

The divisional round of the NFL playoffs kicked off Saturday afternoon with the Chiefs topping the Texans 23-14 to advance to the AFC Championship Game. Then the Commanders punched their ticket to the NFC Championship Game on Saturday night, beating the Lions 45-31. Washington will play the Eagles, who won 28-22 against the Rams on Sunday afternoon.

What are the lessons from each divisional round matchup, and what’s next for these teams? We asked NFL analyst Ben Solak and national insider Dan Graziano to help size up each game and look forward from all angles. For Texans-Chiefs, Commanders-Lions and Rams-Eagles, Ben answered one big remaining question and Dan judged the legitimacy of one potential overreaction.

Let’s jump in, making sense of the Eagles’ pass game, the Commanders’ wild upset of the Lions and Travis Kelce’s big performance for the Chiefs.

Jump to a matchup:
Texans-Chiefs | Commanders-Lions
Rams-Eagles

Overreaction? The Eagles need a lot more from their passing game to beat Washington.

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