The defense is still winning the playoffs.
The San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals advanced to the conference championship games on Sunday with strong defensive performances.
On Saturday night, the Philadelphia Eagles also played great defensively.
While the focus is on offense led by star quarterbacks, defense matters.
That was evident in the NFL Divisional Round this weekend.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s aggressive squad scored two turnovers in the fourth quarter, helping Kansas City beat Jacksonville 27–20 in Game 1.
“We focused throughout the week, especially the week we had a day off, focusing maybe on hitting the ball a little more, or jumping the ball, or just catching the ones that we are given,” said Chiefs midfielder Nick Bolton. “I’ve given up one before, but that’s one of those things that you have to keep going, and in the playoffs you find out they count twice when you get them.”
The offense of Jalen Hurts and the Eagles was unstoppable, especially dominating the giants on the ground with a 268-yard dash. But Philadelphia’s defense, which was No. 2 in the league this season, was frankly lousy in a 38-7 rout of New York.
After an impressive 301-yard pass in an upset over 13-win Minnesota, Daniel Jones had no chance against Haason Reddick and the ferocious D.
Jones was sacked five times, made a choice, converted only 55.6% of the passes and looked lost. The Eagles held the Giants for only 227 yards.
“Jonathan Gannon puts these guys in great positions,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said of his defensive coordinator. “Of course we have great players. … But this guy is an incredible coordinator. … He’s going to be the head football coach in the National Football League because of what he does. This guy is a stallion. He is a stallion.
The Cincinnati defense had the most impressive all-around of any given their opponent. The Bengals stopped a dynamic offense from Josh Allen and Buffalo in a 27–10 win. The Bills were just 4-for-12 on third downs, lost three times and only made a second-half field goal.
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo put the Bengals in a position to constantly pressure Allen and knock him out of the rhythm. Allen only had one pass late in the game, but he misfired on a few shots and didn’t click his receivers. Allen lowered his head and did not look up when wide receiver Stephon Diggs approached him on the bench and yelled at him several times in the middle of the fourth quarter.
“He wants the ball,” Allen said of Diggs, who only had four receptions for 35 yards. “And whatever happens, we couldn’t pass the ball to him tonight, we’ll have to learn from that.”
The Bengals will face the Chiefs again in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship, which was won by Cincinnati. Burrow 3-0 vs Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs.
In the final game of the weekend, the 49ers’ top defense embarrassed Dak Prescott throughout the 19–12 win, forcing the Cowboys to two interceptions and holding for just 282 yards. San Francisco had a few more trade opportunities but couldn’t hold on to a couple of picks.
Niners defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, a candidate for multiple head coaching positions, improved his position with another stellar game plan.
“I’m pretty sure DeMeco will have a head coach job after this year,” Niners defenseman Jimmy Ward said. “You see it with the call to play. We went in there and shut down a playoff team and one of the best teams in the league this year.”
Next for the 49ers is a trip to Philadelphia to face one of the league’s most comprehensive offense in the NFC championship game.
“Get the popcorn ready, man,” Ward said. “The heavyweight fight is right here. Get ready. It will be a good show.”
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Follow Rob Maaddy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/robmaaddi
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