One of the craziest terms in the National Football League is the name of the second weekend of the postseason and one needs to question why it is called a Divisional Playoff when teams seldom play opponents from their division in the games. Anyways, here are the top five storylines from the weekend that was in the NFL.
5) Three notable hirings. Off the field, there were three interesting hirings from around the league. The Atlanta Falcons have hired Tennessee Titans offensive co-ordinator Arthur Smith as their new head coach. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions have named Los Angeles Rams Director of College Scouting Brad Holmes as their general manager, and the Carolina Panthers have named Seattle Seahawks Vice-President of Football Operations Scott Fitterer as their general manager.
4) Bills beat the Ravens in a snoozefest. Heading into the weekend, many anticipated the Buffalo Bills game against the Baltimore Ravens would be the most exciting game. Instead, it was the dullest. In a defensive battle, the Bills won 17-3. The game changed in the third quarter. That is when Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw an interception to Taron Johnson, who had a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown. Shortly after Jackson left with a concussion, and there was no more scoring after that.
3) Health of Patrick Mahomes. In the Kansas City Chiefs 22-17 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a concussion. The Chiefs were able to hang on to win, but it would be a tall task to expect that Chad Henne is going to beat the Buffalo Bills next week. We do not know now if Mahomes will be in the AFC Championship Game next week.
2) Is this the end for Drew Brees? There is speculation at this time that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees might be retiring at age 42. On Sunday, it was a struggle for the NFL veteran as he threw three interceptions in a 30-20 New Orleans loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
1)Legend of Tom Brady continues. There may be talk of Drew Brees retiring, but 43-year-old Tom Brady is far from done. On Sunday, Brady was involved in three Buccaneers touchdowns in a 10-point Tampa Bay win. With the victory, Brady joins Johnny Unitas as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to start a conference championship game in three separate decades. The Buccaneers will now play the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship, after the Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.
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