Divisional Playoff Recap: No More Excuses

Well, Buffalo Bills and fans, you're out of the playoffs, you're out of luck, and most of all, you're out of excuses.

This was the Bills' best chance to finally exorcise the demon known as the Kansas City Chiefs. We know the history. They faced each other twice in the playoffs before. The first time was the 2020 AFC Championship, which KC won. At that time, the Bills were getting their feet wet as a perennial AFC superpower. The following year was a different story. 2021 AFC Divisional Playoff; high scoring battle, Gabe Davis scored four touchdowns in that single game--or as I love to call it, an Al Bundy. Here's the thing: Al Bundy's team didn't allow the opponent to tie the game in the final 13 seconds of regulation. Of course, overtime saw KC win the toss and go all the way, prompting a lot of crying from Bills fans about the OT rules, leading to the NFL changing them again. Last year, the Bills didn't even get to KC, because they lost at home in the same round, this time against the Bengals. Ouch.

So this year was supposed to be it. It's not Arrowhead this time. The Bills were hosting KC this time, and they were pretty strong for the most part. A halftime lead, a four point lead after the third quarter. Yes, KC scored early in the fourth, but the chances were there. Then the other shoe dropped. A fake on 4th and 5 on their own 30, with Damar Hamlin running the ball. KC's fumble past the goal line resulted in a touchback, giving the Bills a golden ticket and a chance to at least tie it with a field goal.

Speaking of...

This young man, who really needs a friend right now, is Tyler Bass. He's been the Bills' kicker since 2020, and regarding this season, he's made 24 out of 29 field goals for a percentage of 82.8. He's made four out of six from the 40s, and in this game, he was enlisted to kick a 44 yard field goal to tie the game and possibly result in overtime if the Bills defense held. The kick was up, and...

...wide right.

The two most hideous words in the English language to the city of Buffalo. KC took over, got the clinching first down, and that was it. This was Buffalo's best chance to take down KC, and they absolutely blew it. Bass' miss resulted in comparisons to Scott Norwood, who's potential game winning kick in Super Bowl XXV went, well, you know. Even before that miss, too much shit went wrong for the Bills in that fourth quarter. The bottom line is this: the Bills and their fans are out of excuses. This was not in Arrowhead, there was no overtime. This current Bills tenure as an AFC superpower is an absolute failure. They had their chances, and absolutely choked.

Divisional Playoff Weekend kicked off with the Baltimore Ravens hosting the Houston Texans, and I did have 2019 in my mind as the game began. 2019 was the last time the Ravens had the #1 seed. That was the team who won 12 straight games, but fizzled in the Divisional Playoff. Lamar Jackson's playoff history has been used many times to discredit him, yet Josh Allen has an even worse playoff history, and no one really bats an eye. Hmmm. So Lamar decided to do what he's done for his entire career: silence the doubters. The Ravens dominated the Texans on both sides of the ball, giving up very little on offense. Houston's only touchdown came via a punt return, and Lamar threw and ran all over them; en route to a 34-10 win.

The Ravens are in the AFC Championship for the first time since 2012, which ended with Baltimore winning the whole thing. Lamar threw for 152 and 2 touchdowns, and ran for 100 and 2 more. But remember, folks, "Lamar's not a quarterback." I've told people that Lamar and Josh Allen play the same exact way, but they tell me that Allen's a QB, Lamar isn't. Well, Lamar's in the AFC Championship, Allen isn't. Check and mate.

As for the Houston Texans, they had quite the dream season. Won 3.5 games last year, only to win 10 this year and capture the AFC South. I do expect the Texans to continue this type of play, especially with a young star QB in CJ Stroud. The AFC South will be quite interesting.

The Detroit Lions' dream season continues. The Lions hosted the NFC Divisional Playoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC Central reunion. It was also a battle between the first two teams to ever have winless seasons; the Bucs' inagural season (1976) saw them finish 0-14, while the Lions went 0-16 in 2008. This was a back and forth game that was tied after each of the first three quarters, but the Lions would take over in the fourth. A 17-17 tie would become a 31-17 lead for Detroit. Tampa Bay found the end zone, but couldn't get the two-pointer, though they would have one more chance in the final moments. Unfortunately, Baker Mayfield's pass ended up intercepted, and that clinched it for the Lions.

The Lions are in the NFC Championship for only the second time in franchise history (the Conference Championship debuted in 1970), with their only other appearance coming in 1991. As for the Bucs, this was a good season for them. Yes, they won a bad NFC South, but they turned it into something, nearly reaching the Final Four for the first time since 2020.

Last, but not least:

So let's not beat around the bush: the San Francisco 49ers edged the Green Bay Packers, 24-21, in the NFC Divisional Playoff. Am I down that our season's over? Yes. That's the only negative I'm taking from this. This season was an absolutely beautiful dream. Think about it. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Packers. Jordan Love was supposed to be an experiment this season, his first official one as a starter. Yes, we started shaky. And yeah, I had to hear all of my fellow so-called "Packers fans" shoot down Love with accusations of being a bust, also saying that "we shouldn't have traded Rodgers." Plain in short, those "Packers fans" acted like a bunch of spoiled babies.

In response to this, I literally screamed, "BE PATIENT!!!" Season wasn't even half over, yet those fake fans were really screwing with my well being as a Packers fan. So I got away from all of that bullshit as fast as possible. A funny thing happened after that: Love was winning...big time. An amazing road Thanksgiving win over the Lions. A huge win on primetime over the Chiefs! A clutch win in Minnesota to stay alive, and finally, a home win over the Bears to reach the playoffs in his first season! Even better, Love's first playoff game saw him pick up where Rodgers left off in tearing down Jerry World. Love came within a hair of actually reaching the NFC Championship. Think about that. With huge shoes to fill on a hallowed franchise, Jordan Love almost played for the conference. Even now, there's a long line full of those same fake fans who called Love a "bust"; they're looking to kiss Love's backside now.

The bottom line: we have a lot to be happy about, Packers fans. Love passed all of the tests with flying colors, in Year One! The future is bright for us. As I said before, be patient. As for the Niners, it's off to their third straight NFC Championship and fourth in five years, but they are still looking to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 2019. This is exactly what they wanted when they got the #1 seed, because they've been quite salty since losing in Philly last year. Now they have the title game on their turf.

The Final Four in the 2023 NFL season is all set. The Conference Championship round will take place on Sunday, January 28, and it will kick off with the AFC Championship between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Chiefs making their sixth straight appearance. After that, it's the NFC Championship between the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions. The winners, of course, will face each other in Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas.

If you like this story, click the heart and the subscribe button, and feel free to comment below! Tips and pledges would be greatly appreciated, but only if you want to do so!