Winners and losers of Sunday’s NFL divisional round: Saquon Barkley carries Eagles and expensive Mark Andrews drop
Our Sunday NFL The Final Four was concluded with the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Los Angeles Rams 28-22 to earn a spot in the NFC Championship Game, while the Buffalo Bills punched their ticket to the AFC Championship Game by defeating Lamar 27-25. Jackson and Baltimore Ravens.
Both contests came down to the finish, with the Eagles’ red zone stand saving some embarrassment for Philly’s offense, while a Mark Andrews drop in the end zone cost Baltimore a playoff win. Let’s take a look at some of the winners and losers from Sunday’s divisional round.
Winner: Saquon Barkley and the Eagles rushing attack
Rams defensive players had not allowed 10 points in a single contest in four straight games entering Sunday. They allowed 13 points in the first quarter. how? The Eagles’ No. 2 rushing attack was on full display.
Jalen Hurts started the scoring with a 44-yard rushing touchdown on Philly’s opening drive, then Saquon Barkley ran away with a 62-yard touchdown run. Pain finished with 70 yards rushing and a touchdown on seven carries, while Barkley rushed 26 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns. The 205 yards rushing are the fifth-most in a playoff game all-time, and it’s Barkley’s second 200-yard rushing game of the season. Both came against the Rams.
This is notable because Philadelphia will host the rival Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game. Washington finished the regular season with the third-worst rushing defense in NFL (137.5 yards allowed per game).
Loser: Mark Andrews
To say Andrews had a nightmare fourth quarter would be an understatement. With the Ravens trailing by two points and approaching enemy territory, Andrews fumbled a possession after Terrell Bernard tipped the ball. This led to a field goal for the Bills, as Buffalo extended its lead to eight points.
The game wasn’t over at that point, as Baltimore still had 3:29 to lead the game. Jackson came in the clutch, went 88 yards down the field and found Isaiah for a likely touchdown. The Ravens needed the two-point conversion to tie the game, so Todd Monken gave Andrews a chance to redeem. He did not benefit from it.
After that touchdown, the Ravens were unable to recover the onside kick, and the game was over. Andrews wouldn’t forget this for the rest of his career.
“There’s no one who has a bigger heart, cares more, and fights harder than Mark,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh told reporters after the game. “We wouldn’t be here without Mark Andrews…Mark will handle it great because he’s a high-character person.”
The Eagles’ second-year defensive tackle had a legendary performance versus the Rams on Sunday. Carter had five total tackles, two sacks, one pass defensed, three QB hits, and a very important forced fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Rams’ offensive line struggled to contain the former Georgia Bulldog, including the play that may have decided the game:
Loser: Lamar Jackson
The “Playoff Lamar” narrative came up again in the first half of the Ravens’ matchup with the Bills, as Jackson threw an interception and fumbled a possession while Josh Allen rushed for two touchdowns to help secure a double-digit lead at halftime. However, Jackson came back in impressive fashion with a nine-point lead in the third quarter, and then of course led off what he hoped would be the tying goal late in the fourth quarter.
However, Jackson exits the divisional round as a “loser.” The two-time NFL MVP is now 3-5 in the playoffs, and the Ravens have a -12 turnover margin in their five playoff losses. Keep in mind that Jackson recorded multiple turnovers in 50% of his starts in the playoffs, and 15% of his regular season starts. The Ravens losing the turnover battle 3-0 was a big reason why Baltimore is now turning its attention to the offseason.
Verse’s Rams lost on Sunday, but they certainly played on a national stage. If you weren’t aware, the Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate said he hates Eagles fans before facing them in the divisional round, and he based his headline-grabbing comments by talking trash as soon as he arrived on the field for pregame warmups. Fierce blew kisses to Eagles fans before kickoff and tallied two clutch sacks in the first two quarters, making him the MVP. First rookie to record two sacks in a postseason game Since Nick Bosa in 2018, according to the Rams.
Verse and the Rams’ young defensive front have really come into their own over the past two weeks. Los Angeles recorded a total of 16 sacks in its two postseason games. That’s the most in a two-game span in playoff history, and ranks third-most in a postseason all-time, according to CBS Sports Research.
Loser: Nick Sirianni/Kelen Moore
It’s nothing new: Nick Sirianni and/or Kellen Moore drawing the ire of their fan base despite their winning effort. Philly’s offensive decision makers made some questionable calls in their divisional round win over the Rams.
At the end of the first half, Hertz was sacked and fumbled the ball. It was recovered by teammate Kenneth Gainwell, but Philly was now facing third-and-21 on the Rams’ 47-yard line. Instead of using his final timeout and trying to pick up some yards to get into field goal range, Sirianni allowed the clock to drop to three seconds for a Hail Mary attempt. Hurts then took another sack.
With 2:48 left in the fourth quarter and the Eagles up by six points, Hurts kept the ball out of play on second-and-7, but fooled no one and was sacked by Coby Turner. That sack led to a third-and-19, essentially ensuring the Rams would get the ball back. When Matthew Stafford recovered the ball, Los Angeles moved the ball all the way to the Eagles’ 13-yard line before the comeback bid fell short.
It reminded me of when the Eagles decided to pass the ball while they had a three-point lead with 1:46 remaining against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, instead of running the clock when they should have. Barkley’s costly touchdown led to the Eagles losing thanks to some heroics from Kirk Cousins. If the Eagles ran the ball forward on Sunday’s 2nd-7, they likely would have iced the game. Instead, they gave the Rams a chance to pull off a comeback victory. Can you imagine if LA pulled it off?
Winner: Bills
The Bills are clearly the winners as they are out of the AFC Championship Game, but zoom out and take a look at how this season has gone for Buffalo. How did Allen lose his two best receivers this season and improve on offense? It’s not as if the replacements for Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis are finished either. Rookie Keon Coleman caught one pass for five yards on Sunday, and trade deadline acquisition Amari Cooper didn’t catch any passes. However, the Bills still beat the Ravens in the divisional playoff round.
Many believe the Bills will take a huge step backwards in 2024 with all their losses on both sides of the ball. However, they are unbeaten at home and are now one match away from qualifying Super Bowlfacing a team they had already defeated earlier this season. Allen’s MVP campaign and how the Bills play overall is one of the big storylines of the 2024 season.
