Even with an ankle, Patrick Mahomes is still good at football.
Mahomes, with an assist from backup quarterback Chad Henne, helped the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20 Saturday in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
A few hours later, the Philadelphia Eagles outscored the New York Giants 38-7.
There will be two more games on Sunday with Buffalo hosting Cincinnati and San Francisco hosting Dallas.
The Chiefs and Eagles did not have to play during last weekend’s wild-card round because the top-seeded team in each conference received a divisional-round bye.
None of the equipment looked rusty.
The Chiefs had some nervous moments against the Jags, particularly after Mahomes limped off the field with an ankle injury in the second quarter. Henne, a 37-year-old backup, filled in admirably while the former MVP was out and threw a touchdown pass to put the Chiefs ahead 17-7.
Mahomes returned in the second half and did just enough to lead the Chiefs to victory. He completed 22 of 30 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
The Eagles had no problem getting past the Giants, jumping out to a 28-0 halftime lead. Philadelphia had more touchdowns (four) in the first half than New York’s first downs (three).
Saturday’s relatively drama-free day of football was very different from last weekend’s wild-card round, when no advantage was certain.
The Bills blew a 17-point lead before rallying to beat Miami. That narrow escape came less than 24 hours after the Jaguars overcame a 27-point deficit against the Los Angeles Chargers in one of the most impressive rallies in playoff history.
Multiple games were decided in the final minutes. The Bengals beat the Ravens 24-17 after Sam Hubbard returned Baltimore quarterback Tyler Huntley’s fumble 98 yards for a tie-breaking touchdown in the fourth quarter, a surprising turn of events after the Ravens were ready to take the lead.
Here are some other things to know during the postseason:
WHAT IS THE NEXT PROGRAM?
SUNDAY
Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills, 3 pm EST, CBS/Paramount+
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers, 6:30 pm EST, Fox, Fox Sports
WHAT IS THE FORMAT OF THE PLAYOFFS?
This is the third straight year of the current playoff format, which includes the top seven teams from both the AFC and NFC.
The winners of all four divisions in both conferences automatically get the top four seeds, regardless of record, and then the top three teams with the best record that did not win their division are the wild card selections. That’s why it’s fairly common for a wild-card pick to have a better record, but a worse playoff berth, than a team that finished as the division winner.
The No. 1 seeded team in each conference advances to the second round, i.e. the Chiefs and Eagles, while No. 2 hosts No. 7, No. 3 hosts No. 6 and No. 4 hosts No. 5 over wild card weekend.
The NFL reseeds teams after each round of the playoffs. That means no matter how the bracket started, the lowest ranked team always travels to the highest ranked team.
There are four rounds to the playoffs: the wild card round ended last weekend, the divisional round is this weekend, the conference championship games are on January 29, and the Super Bowl is scheduled for February 12. in Glendale, Arizona.
WHAT CHANGED WITH THE CANCELLATION OF BILLS-BENGALS?
Players and fans watched in horror Jan. 2 as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the Cincinnati field when his heart stopped and he received CPR before leaving the field in an ambulance. For the next week, those same players and fans reacted with joy to the news of Hamlin’s recovery.
Even better news came last weekend: Hamlin visited his teammates at the Bills facility for the first time since he was released from a Buffalo hospital.
The cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game due to Hamlin’s medical scare could bring about a big change in the AFC playoff format.
The AFC championship game will be played at a neutral site if the Bills beat the Bengals on Sunday, according to a rule adjustment approved by NFL owners. That’s because Buffalo (13-3) played one game less than Kansas City (14-3) and missed out on the No. 1 seed. The Bills beat the Chiefs 24-20 on October 16 and would have held the tiebreaker if the teams had finished with the same record. Buffalo lost 42-36 at Kansas City in a divisional-round classic last season.
The Chiefs would host the AFC title game against any other team, including the third-seeded Bengals (12-4).
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