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Saturday will hardly go down as the most memorable installment of NFL divisional round playoffs, though they probably helped set the stage for some compelling theater in next weekend’s championship round.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars never felt as close as the final score would indicate and was predominantly defined by the ankle injury suffered by K.C. QB Patrick Mahomes, the league’s presumptive MVP for the 2022 season.
Conversely, probable MVP runner-up Jalen Hurts, who missed a pair of late-season starts before returning (and looking rusty) in Week 18 with a tender throwing shoulder, appeared to recapture his mojo as the Philadelphia Eagles steamrolled the New York Giants 38-7.
A healthy Hurts and mangled Mahomes – expect daily updates on his ankle for the next eight days – will doubtless dominate the subplots heading into the championship round on Jan. 29. But Saturday did offer a lot more to sift through than the obvious winners and losers:
No. 1 seeds: By prevailing, the top-seeded Chiefs and Eagles snapped a recent hex for top-seeded teams, which had lost four in a row entering Saturday’s action – the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans both one-and-done in the divisional round last year. Still, no No. 1 seed has won the Super Bowl since Philadelphia did so five years ago and only one (2020 Chiefs) has played on Super Sunday since the NFL expanded to the 14-team postseason field starting in the 2020 season. Since the start of the 2018 campaign, top seeds are an aggregate 9-8.
The Kelces: Chiefs TE Travis Kelce and Eagles C Jason Kelce, both perennial All-Pros who are among the best to ever play their respective positions, both emerged victorious … leaving their extended family with a dilemma for next weekend, but the kind any parent would want to have. Travis Kelce finished the day with 14 receptions, two for touchdowns, and 98 receiving yards – extending his playoff record of games with at least 95 yards to seven. Jason Kelce anchored an offense that much more closely resembled the one that helped underpin a 13-1 start to the regular season. The Eagles finished with 416 yards, most on the ground, and Hurts was rarely touched in the pocket.
Patrick Mahomes: The presumptive 2022 league MVP improved to 5-0 in divisional round games despite suffering an ankle injury that prevented him – against his wishes – from completing the first half while he underwent testing. Despite clearly being hindered physically, both from a mobility standpoint and mechanically when attempting some passes, Mahomes completed 22 of 30 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. He’s one win away from leading K.C. to a third Super Bowl appearance in four years.
Chad Henne: The 15-year veteran and longtime Chiefs QB2 has an 18-36 record as an NFL starter, mostly split between his time with the Miami Dolphins and Jaguars. But Henne’s success as a reliever continues to be instrumental to Kansas City’s playoff fortunes. Two years ago, Henne – to borrow some baseball parlance – got the save in a divisional round defeat of the Cleveland Browns after Mahomes suffered a concussion. Saturday, Henne got a hold when Mahomes missed a pair of second-quarter series. The second « possession » only required a half-ending kneel-down from Henne. But on the other, he led a 98-yard touchdown drive – the longest in Chiefs playoff history – capped by a 1-yard TD pass to Kelce.
