CNN
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On Sunday, in both Philadelphia and upstate New York, it came down to the final drives in the snow with freezing temperatures making the ball slippery and tough to handle.
It was January football at its very best: Dramatic, unpredictable and back-and-forth heavyweight fights.
In the first bout, the Philadelphia Eagles survived a late charge by the Los Angeles Rams to win by a score of 28-22. The Eagles’ had thought they put the game away on a long run from Saquon Barkley but the Rams made it interesting late, driving all the way down the field looking for a winning touchdown until they couldn’t complete one final pass in a Philly snowstorm.
In the late game, it was the Buffalo Bills surviving a late rally by their opponent, the talented and tough Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens scored a touchdown with 1:33 to go to come within two, but their star tight end Mark Andrews bobbled the two-point conversion and couldn’t haul it in, costing his team a chance to send it into overtime.
The Bills and Eagles now advance to the conference championship. The Washington Commanders will come to Philadelphia to play the Eagles at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, followed by the Bills traveling to Kansas City to face the Chiefs at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Here’s what to know from Sunday’s dramatic games:
The temperature was below 20 degrees at kickoff and a light snow was falling at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, as the Bills and Ravens locked horns in one of the most anticipated divisional round games in recent memory.
When the dust settled, the Bills did just enough to outduel the Ravens in an epic battle that lived up to the hype.
With a pair of leading MVP candidates going head-to-head at quarterback and a shot at the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship on the line, the stakes couldn’t have been higher.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens got the first possession and showed why they’re one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses as Jackson led an opening drive culminating in an 11-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Rashod Bateman.
Next, it was the Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s turn, and he responded in kind as he led a scoring drive of his own to tie the game up at 7-7 with a one-yard touchdown run from Ray Davis.
If there has been one consistent knock against two-time league MVP Jackson, it’s been that he doesn’t always play his best football on the biggest stage.
Jackson gave his critics more ammunition in the first half with a pair of costly mistakes.
After the Bills TD, Jackson aimed for Bateman on a deep pass but sailed the ball far over his receiver’s head and into the arms of safety Taylor Rapp, though Buffalo failed to convert the turnover into points.
On the Ravens’ next possession, Jackson was sacked by Bills safety Damar Hamlin and fumbled the football. Buffalo linebacker Von Miller scooped the ball up and ran it down to the Baltimore 24-yard line.
The Bills took advantage this time, as Allen powered in a one-yard touchdown run.
After a Ravens field goal, Buffalo gave themselves some breathing room with another scoring drive on their ensuing possession.
The Bills asserted their ground game dominance on a nine-play, 70-yard drive that ended with another Allen TD, this time on a four-yard keeper just before the half ended.
Buffalo took a 21-10 lead into intermission – the largest halftime deficit for the Ravens all season, according to CBS.
But like the bout most fans were expecting, the Ravens had a counterpunch in the second half, and it came in the form of running back Derrick Henry.
Henry racked up 58 yards on the Ravens’ first two possessions of the second half, which resulted in a pair of scores – a 47-yard field goal by Tucker and a five-yard TD run from Henry – as Baltimore cut the Bills’ lead to 21-19.
Buffalo was able to stem the tide with a scoring drive of their own that churned four and half minutes off the clock and culminated in a booming 51-yard field goal from Tyler Bass to make the score 24-19 Bills.
The Ravens offense was on the move again when disaster struck. After Jackson completed a pass 16 yards downfield to Mark Andrews, Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard punched the ball out while the tight end was fighting for extra yards.
Bernard recovered the fumble near midfield, setting up another Bass field goal to extend the lead to 27-19 with just 3:29 left in the game.
After some miscues earlier in the game, Jackson was lights-out on the Ravens’ final drive.
Jackson picked the Bills defense apart, deftly moving around in the backfield, buying time and finding open receivers downfield on an eight-play, 88-yard drive.
Jackson capped the drive with a pinpoint throw to Isaiah Likely for a 24-yard touchdown to make the score 27-25.
On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, Jackson rolled out and tossed a short pass to a back-pedaling Andrews, but the tight end bobbled and dropped the ball as he fell across the goal line.
Tucker attempted an onside kick for Baltimore, but Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas recovered to snuff out any chance of a Ravens miracle.
The Bills ran the clock out to secure a hard-fought 27-25 win and set a date with the Chiefs with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
After the game, Allen did not hold back on his admiration of his counterpart Jackson.
“I just got so much respect and love for him, the way he plays the game,” Allen told CBS. “He’s a true competitor. He’s a true football player. One of the greatest ever step on the football field, so nothing but love.”
Per the NFL, Allen now has seven playoff rushing scores in 12 games after two against the Ravens, tying him for second all-time in postseason QB rushing TDs with Tom Brady, who did it in 48 playoff games. Steve Young holds the record with eight in 22 postseason games.
When asked about the upcoming showdown with the NFL’s reigning dynasty, Allen did not give the Chiefs any bulletin board material.
“I just know we’re going to work hard. We’re going to have a heck of a week. We’re going to enjoy this one tonight and turn our attention to the Chiefs tomorrow,” Allen said.
“We know what they are. They’re the perennial of what you want to be in the NFL. You got to beat them to get past them.”
The Chiefs have knocked the Bills out of the playoffs three of the past four seasons, but Buffalo dealt Kansas City one of its only two losses in Week 11 of the regular season.
In a game where harsh winter weather and an injury to quarterback Jalen Hurts made the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense one-dimensional, MVP-candidate running back Barkley literally carried the Eagles to a 28-22 win over the Los Angeles Rams and a berth in the NFC Championship game.
The Eagles had an astonishing 285 rushing yards in the game, headlined by 205 yards from Barkley, who had touchdown runs of 62 and 78 yards in the game.
Coming into a cold Lincoln Financial Field far away from home, the Los Angeles Rams embraced their role as an inspiration to their home city with wildfires continuing to impact Southern California. The Eagles showed no sympathy, scoring a quick TD on a 44-yard touchdown run from Hurts.
The Rams didn’t seem fazed by Philly’s fast start. LA quarterback Matt Stafford led the team down the field on a calculated 13-play, 67-yard drive that culminated with a short TD toss to tight end Tyler Higbee to make it 7-6 Rams.
The defenses settled down and forced subsequent punts but another big, long play from Philadelphia got the home crowd back on their feet.
Toward the end of the first quarter, Barkley made his presence known with a dashing run through a seemingly helpless Rams defense for a 62-yard touchdown to put the Eagles back on top 13-7.
After the Rams tacked on a Joshua Karty 30-yard field goal to bring Los Angeles to within three, the snow started to really fall at ‘The Linc’ as the Eagles took a 13-10 lead into halftime.
The snow intensified during the intermission, and when play resumed snow blanketed the playing field. The Eagles grounds crew had to hustle to clear snow off the hash marks, sidelines and numbers on the field during stoppages in play for the remainder of the game.
The Rams tied the game with a Karty field goal, but the Eagles answered once again as Elliott came through for Philly with a field goal of his own to retake the lead at 16-13.
The field goal came at a cost for the Eagles though, as Hurts appeared to injure his knee when he was sacked awkwardly two plays prior to the score. Hurts didn’t seem himself the rest of the game after that play.
On the Eagles’ next possession, the hobbled quarterback was sacked in the end zone for a safety that brought the Rams to within one point at 16-15.
With the Rams appearing to pick up momentum, the Eagles defense came up huge.
Defensive lineman Jalen Carter punched the ball out of the hands of LA running back Kyren Williams, and it was scooped up by Isaiah Rodgers, who returned it inside the Rams’ 10-yard line. The Eagles converted the turnover into a 23-yard field goal from Elliott to make the score 19-15.
The Philadelphia defense forced another Rams fumble on the ensuing possession when Nolan Smith sacked Stafford and knocked the ball loose, and Zack Baun dove on it. The Eagles capitalized with another field goal from Elliott to extend their lead to 22-15.
Barkley delivered the dagger on the Eagles’ next offensive possession.
With the injured Hurts seemingly unable to throw the ball effectively, Barkley took the handoff on the first play of the drive and rumbled 78 yards to the end zone to give Philly a seemingly commanding 28-15 lead. This was not the first time that Barkley ran roughshod over the Rams this season. In a Week 12 showdown, Barkley had 255 rushing yards and a pair of TDs against Los Angeles.
Barkley became the first player in NFL history with 200+ scrimmage yards in a game against the same opponent in both the regular season game and a playoff game in the same season, according to the NFL.
The Rams rallied late, scoring a touchdown to cut the lead to six and then getting the ball back before the two-minute working with a chance at a game-winning drive.
Stafford led the Rams down to the Eagles 13-yard line, but Carter delivered another big play for the Eagles, sacking the quarterback to force a fourth-and-11 with the game hanging in the balance.
On fourth down, Stafford’s pass sailed over the head of receiver Puka Nacua, and the Eagles took over on downs with just 26 seconds remaining.
One kneel-down from Hurts was all it took to send Philadelphia to a 28-22 victory and a date with their NFC East rival Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game next Sunday.
Buoyed by the big win, Barkley and Hurts were all smiles after the game.
Saquon Barkley, who became just the ninth 2,000 yard rusher in NFL history this season, said he enjoyed the atmosphere on Saturday, telling NBC, “The elements were great, but the atmosphere was even better. Our fans are amazing. It was a close one, but that’s playoff football, and at the end of the day, we got the job done.”
“I don’t know if it’ll snow next week, but rain, sleet, or snow, the Eagles train to go,” Hurts told NBC.
When asked if Hurts loved to play in the snow, he answered, “I love playing football.”
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