Saturday, January 18, 2025 AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 23, Houston Texans 14 This was the third overall playoff meeting between the Chiefs and Texans. The Chiefs won the first two playoff meetings, most recently the
2019 AFC Divisional Game, which the Chiefs won 51–31 in Kansas City en route to winning
Super Bowl LIV despite trailing 24–0 during the second quarter. In the regular season, the Chiefs defeated the Texans 27–19 in Kansas City during Week 16. The Chiefs, playing in their first meaningful game since Christmas Day, 24 days prior, received an immediate boost when kicker returner
Nikko Remigio returned the opening kickoff for 63 yards. A Texans unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play took the ball to Houston's 13-yard line. The Chiefs went three-and-out and kicked the field goal to take the early lead. The Texans responded with a
Kaʻimi Fairbairn field kick after a 10-play drive, tying the game.
Harrison Butker kicked the Chiefs into the lead on the next possession with a 36-yard field goal. A few possessions later, Fairbairn missed a 55-yard kick wide to the right, giving the Chiefs a short field. The Chiefs scored on this possession; a
Kareem Hunt short touchdown run at the goal line, which was highlighted by a
Patrick Mahomes pass and run to
Travis Kelce for 49 yards, the longest playoff reception in Kelce's career. Fairbairn snuck in a 48-yard field goal on the next possession just before halftime, to pull the Texans within seven points. The Texans opened the third quarter with the ball and scored on a
Joe Mixon 13-yard run to cap a 10-minute drive; however, Fairbairn missed the extra-point, leaving Houston one point behind, 13–12. The Chiefs responded with seven minute and 44 second drive, with a Mahomes to Kelce touchdown catch as Mahomes was falling to the ground. It was the duo's 18th touchdown connection, extending their playoff record for a quarterback and pass catcher. In the fourth quarter with 10:05 left in the game, the Texans failed on a fourth down on Kansas City 40-yard line. On the play,
C. J. Stroud was sacked by regular season team sack leader
George Karlaftis for 16 yards, the fourth sack of the game for Kansas City's defense. The teams exchanged three-and-outs before Harrison Butker extended the Chiefs lead to 23–12 with a field goal late in the fourth quarter. Stroud led the Texans to the red zone on the next possession, but an eighth sack against him forced him out of the game with an injury. On the next play, Fairbairn missed his third kick of the game, via a block by
Leo Chenal. Chiefs punter
Matt Araiza took a safety rather than punting the ball back to the Texans to end the game. The Chiefs became the first team in NFL postseason history to win while forcing no turnovers and being outgained by at least 100 yards. Previously, teams were 0–49. The game became controversial with viewers due to controversial penalties that were believed to benefit Patrick Mahomes. After what appeared to be a clean hit from Texans edge rusher
Will Anderson Jr. on Patrick Mahomes, officials penalized Anderson for roughing the passer, which gave the Chiefs a first down instead of a fourth and long. Anderson later said in his postgame interview that the game was "us vs. the refs"; Texans head coach
DeMeco Ryans was quoted as saying, "We knew going into this game that it was us versus everybody... And I mean
everybody." The Chiefs' 23–14 win gave them 16 playoff wins in the Mahomes–
Reid era. In addition, Andy Reid joined the 300-win club with the victory. Kansas City hosted the AFC Championship Game the next Sunday, in what was their seventh straight AFC Championship game, one short of the record set by the 2011–2018 Patriots.
NFC: Washington Commanders 45, Detroit Lions 31 This was the fourth overall playoff meeting between the Lions and Commanders. Washington won each of the three previous playoff meetings, with the most recent meeting being in the
1999 NFC Wild Card, where the then-Washington Redskins defeated the Lions 27–13 in Washington. Washington and Detroit did not meet in the regular season. A
Zane Gonzalez kickoff out of bounds gave the Lions the ball at their own 40-yard line, but they went three-and-out. On Washington's first possession, they failed on a fourth-down trick play involving backup quarterback
Marcus Mariota on Detroit's 28-yard line. The Lions scored a touchdown on the very next possession, highlighted by 48 all-purpose yards from running back
Jahmyr Gibbs on the possession, who also scored it on the short goal-line run. Zane Gonzalez kicked a field goal on Washington's next possession to carve into Detroit's lead, 7–3. Just before the end of the first quarter,
Jared Goff was sacked and fumbled deep into Washington's territory. This turnover turned into points (and a three-point lead), as Washington's next drive ended in a
Brian Robinson Jr. goal-line touchdown, which included the Commanders going for it on fourth down (and succeeding) for the fifth time so far this playoff. A
Sam LaPorta one-handed red zone catch from Goff immediately gave the Lions the lead back, 14–10. This was another short-lived lead, as the Commanders scored a minute and 21 seconds later on a Daniels screen pass to
Terry McLaurin for 59 yards. The following possession saw the Goff throw a pick-six to Commanders cornerback
Quan Martin, extending the Commanders lead, 24–14. On the interception run back, Goff was hit by
Frankie Luvu in the head and had to come out of the game. On the next possession, backup quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater came into the game and the Lions scored on a
Jameson Williams end-around for 61 yards, now trailing just by 3. A few moments later, Daniels hit
Dyami Brown for an over the shoulder 38-yard catch, in what was considered a "no-look" catch as safety
Kerby Joseph hit Brown's facemask before he could see the ball. Later in the possession, Daniels found veteran tight end
Zach Ertz for a 5-yard touchdown to extend their lead back to 10. Goff came back into the game and committed his third turnover on an interception by rookie cornerback
Mike Sainristil on a pass intended for Jameson Williams in the endzone. The Commanders took a 31–21 lead on the top-seeded Lions into halftime. Overall, in the second quarter, both teams combined for 42 points, the highest scoring second quarter in NFL postseason history. The teams also combined for 621 yards and seven different players scored a touchdown in the first half. Coincidentally, with
Tom Brady announcing the game for
Fox, it was the first playoff game to feature 600+ yards from both teams in a half since
Super Bowl LII, a game that Brady's Patriots lost. The Lions opened the scoring with an 11-play touchdown drive, with Gibbs scoring his second running touchdown of the game. On the drive, the referees called a facemask penalty on what would have been a third-down stop, although replay showed
David Montgomery shoulder pad was pulled, not his facemask. Additionally, on the drive, off of a pitch from Jared Goff, David Montgomery shoveled a pass to
Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 20-yard catch and run to covert a pivotal first down. Washington responded the next possession scoring a touchdown on a 1-yard run from Robinson to extend their lead back to 10, 38–28. A trick play by the Lions on their next possession this time backfired, as Jameson Williams threw an interception on a pass intended for Gibbs; it was an interception by Sainristil, his second of the game. Commanders furthered the lead on a
Jeremy McNichols 1-yard run, who was the eighth player in the game to score a touchdown. In the lead-up to the touchdown, the Commanders went for it again on fourth down with Daniels competing a pass to McLaurin on 4th-and-2 from Detroit's 13-yard line. It was their seventh time going for it on fourth down in the playoffs thus far. In the last 4:33 of the game, the Lions could only muster a field goal. Goff threw his third interception of the game (and fourth overall turnover, including his first quarter fumble) on the Lions last possession of the game. It was intercepted by safety
Jeremy Chinn for Washington's fourth interception of the game (including wide receiver Williams' interception). Daniels and the Commanders ran out the clock and they were onto their first NFC Championship Game in 33 years, with a commanding 45–31 upset of the Lions. The 45 points for Washington was the second most they had ever scored in the playoffs, the record score being the 1983 Divisional Round game versus the Los Angeles Rams, where they scored 51 points. With the Commanders' win, the
Dallas Cowboys now own the longest active conference championship appearance drought in the NFC, having last made it in
1995 and being the only NFC team yet to make a conference championship appearance in the 21st century. With the defeat, the Lions joined the
2011 Green Bay Packers as the only 15-win team to not win a game in the playoffs.
Sunday, January 19, 2025 NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 28, Los Angeles Rams 22 This was the fourth meeting between the Eagles and Rams in NFL playoff history, with the Rams having won two of the three prior matchups; the then-St. Louis Rams won 29–24 won the most recent playoff meeting in the
2001 NFC Championship Game at the
Edward Jones Dome in
St. Louis. In the regular season, the Eagles defeated the Rams 37–20 during Week 12 in Los Angeles. The Eagles and Rams traded touchdowns on their first possessions. The Eagles scored on a 44-yard run from quarterback
Jalen Hurts, while the Rams finished their drive off with a pass from
Matthew Stafford to tight end
Tyler Higbee. The score was not tied due to
Jake Elliott's missed extra point. The two teams then matched each other with punts. Late in the first quarter, the Eagles went in front with a 62-yard touchdown run from
Saquon Barkley; it was Barkley's third touchdown against the Rams this season, after breaking the Eagles single-game rushing record against them in Week 12.
Joshua Karty added a field goal for the Rams on their next possession to cut the Eagles' lead to 13–10. Neither team scored for the rest of the second quarter as the game went into halftime. With the field now covered in snow, the game became a defense and turnover battle in the second half. In the third quarter, both teams exchanged field goals to keep the Eagles lead to three points. With 26 seconds left in the third quarter, Hurts was sacked for a safety by Rams defensive tackle
Neville Gallimore to reduce the deficit to a single point. On the previous possession, Hurts seemed to injure his knee on a sack by
Jaylen McCollough. Now in the fourth quarter, with the weather conditions worsening, the Eagles capitalized on a
Kyren Williams fumble that saw the Eagles start at the 10-yard line of the Rams. The Eagles marched the ball to the Los Angeles 1-yard line, but a false start penalty from veteran lineman
Lane Johnson on fourth down led to Philadelphia electing to kick the short field goal. On the subsequent drive by the Rams, Stafford lost the ball on a sack which put the Eagles get the ball at the Rams 38-yard line; they drove down to have Elliott deliver a field goal to extend the lead to 22–15. After the Rams punted on a three-and-out,
Saquon Barkley broke the game open with a 78-yard touchdown run, his second rush of 70 yards or more against the Rams this season; however, Elliott missed another extra point for the second time of the game. Now trailing 28–15, the Rams went 70 yards in less than two minutes, culminating with a Stafford touchdown pass to
Colby Parkinson from 4 yards out to put the score at 28–22 with 2:48 remaining. After forcing a punt, Stafford and the Rams received the ball back with just over two minutes left. They drove the ball down the field, getting to the 13-yard line of Philadelphia with 1:14 to go; however, a
Jalen Carter sack of Stafford on third down and an incomplete pass on fourth down gave Philadelphia the win and their second NFC Championship berth in three seasons.
AFC: Buffalo Bills 27, Baltimore Ravens 25 This was the second overall playoff meeting between the Bills and Ravens. In their only other meeting, the Bills won the
2020 AFC Divisional Game, 17–3. In the regular season, the Ravens defeated the Bills 35–10 during Week 4 in Baltimore. This game featured the two favorites for the
NFL MVP, Bills quarterback
Josh Allen and Ravens quarterback
Lamar Jackson. Before the game, at a press-conference on January 13, Ravens head-coach
John Harbaugh, alongside the rest of the press-conference, laughed when a reporter called
Buffalo a "city of losers" in reference to a clip he made on his radio show As the Ravens took the field, the Bills played the clip from the radio show over the stadium loud-speakers resulting in a chorus of boos from fans. The Ravens received to start the game. The teams traded touchdowns on their opening dives, with a 16-yard Jackson pass to
Rashod Bateman being followed by a drive that ended with a 1-yard
Ray Davis rushing touchdown for the Bills. On the subsequent drive, Jackson threw an interception to Buffalo safety
Taylor Rapp; the Bills failed to score and punted after four plays. The Ravens started from their own 9-yard line and drove the ball all the way to the Buffalo 28-yard line but Jackson fumbled the ball when being sacked by
Damar Hamlin that saw
Von Miller recover the fumble and return it all the way to the Baltimore 24-yard line. Four plays later,
Josh Allen scored on a
tush push rush to give Buffalo the lead. The Ravens marched the ball down the field on their next drive (getting as close as the 2-yard line) before being stopped on the goal-line, which saw them decide to have
Justin Tucker kick a 26-yard field goal to narrow the deficit. The Bills responded by also marching the ball down the field (going 70 yards in 3:27) with Allen again scoring a rushing touchdown on a 4-yard play action draw that saw Buffalo go up 21–10 with 0:16 in the first half. The Bills received the ball to start the half but punted after three plays. The Ravens drove from their own 36-yard line to the Buffalo 27-yard line but could not get any further and elected to take the field goal by Tucker from 47 yards out to make it 21–13. The Bills continued to struggle, again punting on their next drive. The Ravens went 80 yards in seven plays, scoring off a
Derrick Henry 5-yard run; however, the two-point conversion attempt to try and tie the game was batted down by Bills linebacker
Matt Milano for an incompletion. Starting at their own 30, the Bills went 37 yards to setup a 51-yard field goal attempt by
Tyler Bass to put the score at 24–19 with 12:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the next drive, when Jackson completed a pass to tight end
Mark Andrews to the 44-yard line of Buffalo,
Terrel Bernard forced a fumble that he recovered to give Buffalo the ball. The Bills responded with a grinding drive of 52 yards that took five minutes off the clock that culminated with Bass making a 21-yard field goal (after Buffalo elected to kick on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line) with 3:29 remaining to give Buffalo a 27–19 lead. A subsequent penalty on the kick return meant Baltimore started at their own 12-yard line. The Ravens drove down the field quickly, going 88 yards in eight plays that saw Jackson throw a 24-yard pass to
Isaiah Likely in the end zone to cut the deficit to two. On the two-point conversion attempt, Jackson threw it to Andrews near the pylon, but Andrews dropped the pass. With 1:33 remaining, the Ravens attempted an onside kick, but
Rasul Douglas recovered it for the Bills. Buffalo had one 17-yard running play to burn the last Ravens timeout before kneeling the ball to end the game. The Ravens outgained the Bills in total yards (416–273) while punting zero times; however, they had three turnovers, while Buffalo had none. With the win, Buffalo will face Kansas City for the fourth time in the last five postseasons in the
AFC Championship Game; the last time Buffalo had played in the AFC Championship Game was in 2021
against the Chiefs. ==Conference Championships==