NFL Playoffs – Start of the Divisional Round NFL version 2024-2025 this Saturday with two first matches before the rest this Sunday.
It’s finally here for this weekend of the NFL 2024-2025 Divisional Round, which many observers often consider to be the best NFL weekend of the season. On the starting line this Saturday, the two number 1 seeds from each conference. The Kansas City Chiefs, after three weeks of rest for their starter, faced the Houston Texans while the Detroit Lions welcomed the Washington Commanders of young Jayden Daniels to their lair at Ford Field.
(1) Kansas City Chiefs 23 – 14 Houston Texans (4)
Between two teams who stood out during the regular season much more for their defensive performances rather than offensive ones, the start of this Divisional Round is marked by pressure from both defenses. The Texans manage to perfectly hamper Patrick Mahomes while the Chiefs, true to form, are very effective in defense on third attempts! Result: both teams have to be content with points coming from the foot of their kicker during the first 15 minutes (6-3).
Sluggish offensively as often since the start of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs then rely on the Mahomes-Kelce connection to advance the attack in the Texan defense. An advance concluded on the ground by Kareem Hunt which gives the Chiefs a little breathing room. However, the Texans did not decide to give up and, despite the still persistent defensive pressure from the Chiefs defensive line, managed to score a new field goal to put Houston back one possession away at the break. this Divisional Round meeting (13-6).
Unwilling to give up in this Divisional Round, the Houston Texans will return to the field with the intention of bringing down the double reigning champions more than ever. At the end of a magnificently constructed drive lasting more than 10 minutes, Joe Mixon, very useful since the start of the match, found the Chiefs end zone. Only problem, Fairbairn is not as precise as usual and does not manage to tie the two teams in this meeting (13-12).
This is the moment chosen by Patrick Mahomes to transform into Superman in this Divisional Round. Caught at the legs, the Chiefs quarterback manages to throw an acrobatic pass towards the inevitable Travis Kelce to give some air to the reigning champions (20-12). The moment also chosen by Steve Spagnuolo’s defense to put even more pressure on CJ Stroud and prevent the Texans from coming back to the score despite a final safety at the last second of play (23-14)!
Pushed to their limits during this Divisional Round meeting, the Kansas City Chiefs relied on their defense and the Mahomes-Kelce connection to seek a 7th straight qualification for the AFC conference final. For Houston, the step was still a little high during this Divisional Round but CJ Stroud’s teammates will be able to leave these playoffs with their heads held high, they who played eye to eye with the reigning champions throughout the game despite a kicker which will have cost them precious points.
(1) Detroit Lions 31 – 45 Washington Commanders (6)
This will undoubtedly be the biggest surprise of this Divisional Round and one of the most resounding performances during the NFL playoffs in recent seasons: the Washington Commanders knock off the Detroit Lions, number 1 seed in the NFC conference, in a breathtaking encounter.
-In preparing for this Divisional Round meeting, we expected that the Washington Commanders’ ground defense, which was far from being one of their strengths this season, would suffer against the Detroit Lions accustomed to dominating their opponents in this area. of play. On this point, we were not wrong since the Lions amassed no less than 201 yards rushing in just 23 balls carried! A total which would undoubtedly have been much higher if the Lions had not had to run behind the score for almost the entire game.
Because if the running game worked for the Lions during this Divisional Round, it is the only reason for satisfaction for the Michigan franchise. Jared Goff, very good and in the conversation for a time for the MVP title, missed his game as has already happened to him several times this season with no less than 3 interceptions. Worse still, the trick plays, a true trademark of Ben Johnson and Dan Campbell, led to disasters like this interception thrown by Jameson Williams.
Opposite, the Washington Commanders played to their strengths during this Divisional Round. Making an impact in the running game with the Daniels – Robinson duo, the players from the federal capital also avoided costly mistakes! Thus, the Commanders did not throw any interceptions and committed no fumbles while they caused 5 turnovers among the Detroit Lions. Add to this the emergence of Dyami Brown who finished with almost 100 receiving yards (98 to be precise) and you get the cocktail of a resounding victory for the Commanders.
Thanks to this victory in the Divisional Round, the Washington Commanders will experience their first conference final since… the 1991 season! A real surprise that sounds like a bolt from the blue in this season’s NFL. For the Lions, the shower is freezing while the franchise seemed to have everything in place to finally be able to qualify for the Super Bowl in its history. But the NFL playoffs are cruel and the Lions have just learned that the hard way. There is no doubt that they will return next year but that they will be expected even more around the corner.
Photo credit: © Denny Medley-Imagn Images
