Here are the biggest takeaways from the AFC divisional round playoff games:
Stroud Should Scramble More
He isn’t known for his scrambling ability, but Stroud has shown that when he does it, he can pick up big chunks of yards in key situations.
Mahomes Gets All The Calls
Call it a conspiracy if you want to, but Patrick Mahomes continues to get all the key calls to go his way. There were two terrible roughing-the-passer calls that completely changed this game.
Kelce Always Performs In The Playoffs
He put together a 100-yard performance in this game. He is now the all-time leader in receptions in the postseason. He had a solid season, but when the playoffs begin, he flips a switch.
Texans Have A Championship Caliber Defense
They won their wild-card game thanks to their defense, and their defense played exceptionally well in KC despite the scoreboard showing 23 points allowed. They allowed under 300 total yards. The Chiefs got most of their points thanks to bad penalties and/or great field position given up by the Texans offense or special teams.
Chiefs Trust Hunt More Than Pacheco
Although Hunt wasn’t on the roster when the season began, he earned himself a big role while Pacheco was injured this season. Hunt was the one who scored the TD in this game and had double the amount of yards as Pacheco. Hunt was the one who got the big yards for the Chiefs in the 4th quarter.
The Bills Running Game Is Overlooked
Of course, Josh Allen is part of this, but James Cook has taken a big step forward this season, Ty Johnson has been clutch, and rookie Ray Davis has chipped in, too. The Bills have been so reliant on Josh Allen doing everything for the offense, but the fact that the running backs now make such big contributions has made them a much more balanced and, therefore, better offense. James Cook is one of the best RBs in the league, even though he doesn’t get the fanfare that other elite backs get.
Rashod Bateman Is Underrated
He caught a TD in this game, caught a TD in the wild card game against the Steelers, and had double-digit TD catches in the regular season. He is an afterthought in the offense because of the run game, the TEs, and Zay Flowers (when healthy), but Bateman really took a step forward this season and stepped up huge in Zay Flowers absence.
Josh Allen Has Taken The Next Step
He isn’t turning the ball over; he spreads the ball around to all his playmakers, and he is as good as it gets when he runs with the football. He is nearly impossible to stop in the red zone, he leads long sustained drives, he doesn’t force throws anymore, and he systematically is able to pick apart even the best defenses. It’s one thing for him to do it in the regular season, but now we have seen him do it in both games this postseason. He didn’t throw for a ton of yards or a TD pass, but he made all the plays he had to, ran two TDs in on the ground, and has learned it’s more about winning than his overall stats.
Never Count Out Lamar Jackson
Lamar can’t seem to shake the post-season jitters label. He makes mistakes in the playoffs that he just doesn’t make in the regular season. We saw it happen in the first half of this game, but did he or the Ravens panic? No, they did not. They went into the half down 11 points, their largest halftime deficit of the season, and they came out of the half and scored on each of their possessions in the 3rd quarter to erase the deficit and get right back into the game. Later in the game, he led them down the field on a 90+ yard game-tying drive, but Mark Andrews dropped the 2-point conversion. This is a different Lamar than we have seen in years past.
Zay Flowers Is An X-Factor
The Ravens passing attack just isn’t the same without him. Even with Bateman having a nose for the endzone and Lamar being one of the best QBs in the league, not having a true number-one option at the WR position made all the difference. Without Zay, there isn’t a go-to option in the passing game for Lamar, and every QB needs one.
