3 key plays that decided the Conference Championship matchups

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In a weekend full of wild and exciting playoff football, here are three plays that we believe slingshotted their clubs to the conference championship games.

This year’s Divisional round of the NFL playoffs was chock-full of excellent football. Legitimately every single game played across the weekend was entertaining, excitement, and left every viewer feeling as if they may have watched another classic amongst their franchise’s long history. Unfortunately, not every team was able to come away with a victory. Only four of the eight teams could punch their ticket through to the AFC and NFC Conference Championship Games.

The margin for error seemed to be razor thin for almost every team. Three of the four games came down to one score, the exception being the Baltimore Ravens in their 34-10 victory over the Houston Texans.

The latter three were truly a fun watch from start to finish.

The Green Bay Packers held three different leads over the 49ers until the San Francisco defense made several big-time stops to not only take the lead but close out the game entirely.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills fought it out exactly the way you’d expect from two AFC powers. Josh Allen went toe-to-toe with the dynamic duo that is Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce but a 44-yard kick sailing wide right kept everyone from squeezing even more football out of them.

Then finally, the Detroit Lions outlasted a feisty effort from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were playing some inspired football as of late. Unfortunately for them, the young talent of Detroit was just too much in the end.

By the end of the weekend, there likely wasn’t a single unsatisfied football fans in the country (unless, you know, you were a fan of a losing team). Due to how entertaining it all was, I wasn’t going to turn down the chance to relive some of the biggest and most pivotal plays from this past weekend.

So before the AFC and NFC Championship Games officially kick off, let’s go ahead and revisit the plays I believe helped slingshot their respective clubs into the final four of the nfl playoffs.

Bucs vs. Lions

Jahmyr Gibbs’ 31-yard touchdown run

This matchup was tight through the first half of play. Despite an interception and missed field goal by the Bucs in the first 30 minutes, they still found themselves tied 10-10 with the Lions heading into halftime.

Up to that point, it sure felt like the Bucs were the lesser of the two teams offensively but their defense had played a heck of game thus far to keep giving Baker Mayfield and Co. the chance to hang tough.

The second half started with a combined three punts before the Lions finally broke through for a touchdown under four minutes left in the third quarter. The momentum felt massive for a Lions crowd that had watched their team find little to no separation from the opponent for nearly 45 minutes of regulation. Unfortunately that elation didn’t last long with the Bucs going 75 yards in seven plays to tie the score once again at 17-17.

On the ensuing drive, rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs essentially put the entire Lions offense on his back with four touches for 57 yards, including an electric 31-yard touchdown run to give the Lions the lead once again at 24-17.

While the touchdown wasn’t the last one scored by the Lions, nor was it the game-winner in the end, such a score — authored by a rookie running back many believed to have been drafted far too high this past April — must have been such a rewarding and invigorating play to watch.

Gibbs’ score seemed to revitalize the defense as the Lions finally managed to get a stop before going on to find the end zone once again. Despite a late score by the Bucs to get within eight points, the defense held on with a game-sealing interception by linebacker Derrick Barnes.

Chiefs vs. Bills

The Chiefs stopping a fake punt run by Damar Hamlin

The second half of the divisional round game between the Chiefs and Bills began with three consecutive scoring drives. The Chiefs took a 20-17 out of the gate, then the Bills made it 24-20, and then Kansas City bounced right back to retake the lead at 27-24.

On the Bills ensuing drive, the Chiefs defense forced what looked like a quick three-and-out as Buffalo failed to convert a third-and-5. When the Bills lined up to punt it away, instead of attempting to flip the field and play defense in a three-point game, they chose to snap the ball directly to safety Damar Hamlin who swept out to the left side with blockers roaming in front of him. Fortunately for Kansas City, their defense was prepared. Hamlin only got a yard or two as the Chiefs swarmed him almost immediately. The disaster of a play allowed the Chiefs to take over at the Bills 32-yard line.

Now, to be fair, the Bills got incredibly lucky that this sequence of events did not come back to bite them in the immediate. On the second play of the Chiefs’ drive, Isiah Pacheco ripped off a 31-yard run that took him nearly into the end zone, but before he got close to breaking the plane, the ball was knocked loose of his grasp and ricocheted through the back of the end zone.

The Bills obviously took over back at their own 25-yard line, but I’m not writing off how big of a confidence swing the Chiefs got from the Bills turning it over on downs in their own territory. It told Kansas City that the Bills were desperate that they didn’t trust their defense to get the needed stop when it mattered most. The Chiefs managed to ride that momentum into another fourth quarter punt before Buffalo went on their final and unsuccessful drive to take the lead late in the game

49ers-Packers

Anders Carlson’s missed field goal from 41 yards

Like the other two games mentioned in this piece, the divisonal round matchup between the 49ers and Packers was as exciting and close as the rest. As the underdog on the road against the Niners, Green Bay held three different leads throughout the game, including a 21-14 edge heading into the fourth quarter.

With two minutes remaining in the third, 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw picked off quarterback Jordan Love to halt a Packers drive near midfield. Seven plays later, San Francisco was good from 52-yards out to minimize the Packers lead to four.

Following both teams trading punts to start the final period, the Packers finally managed to find some momentum as they marched 67 yards in six plays thanks to a huge 53-yard run by running back Aaron Jones to begin the drive. When the offense was halted on third down at the Niners’ 31-yard line, kicker Anders Carlson trotted out to attempt a routine 41-yard field goal. Unfortunately the young kicker pushed the kick wide right to keep the Packers’ lead at 21-17.

Ultimately, the 49ers would go on to score following the miss to take a 24-21 lead on a 12-play, 69-yard drive capped off by a six-yard jaunt from Christian McCaffrey. When the Packers tried to rebuttal, Love was picked off by Greenlaw a second time to officially put an end to Green Bay’s dream season.

While Greenlaw’s interception is technically the more exciting play, a missed field goal cost the Packers a chance at overtime, regardless of the last score by the 49ers. Those missed opportunities that come back to bite you in the end are usually the ones you remember the most.