The rest of the NFL playoffs have work to do after Saturday’s show.
San Francisco rookie quarterback Brock Purdy made his playoff debut, leading the 49ers to a 41-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Then Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars made a terrific 27-point comeback in a terrific 31-30 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night.
Games continue on three more Sundays: Miami in Buffalo, Baltimore in Cincinnati and the New York Giants in Minnesota. Weekend 1 wraps up Monday night with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the Dallas Cowboys.
But it won’t be easy to beat the Saturday night barnburner.
The Chargers took a 27-0 lead at the end of the second quarter after Lawrence threw four interceptions, including Asante Samuel’s three. The sophomore then responded with four TD passes, with Riley Patterson hitting a 36-yard field goal as time expired for the win.
Lawrence’s heroism may have overshadowed Purdy’s stellar playoff debut for the 49ers.
The rookie completed 18 of 30 passes for 332 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions to win his sixth straight start. The 262nd – and last – pick from last year’s Iowa draft. Purdy’s unlikely story began when he was forced to start with Jimmy Garoppolo after an injury in December.
The Seahawks led 17–16 and kept a close position for most of the three quarters, but the 49ers posted it late.
Kansas City took first place in the AFC overall standings with a 31–13 win over Las Vegas in Week 18. The first seed in the NFC was Philadelphia, who beat the Giants 22–16. These teams are given a day off before playing in the divisional round next weekend.
Seven of the 14 teams in this year’s playoffs didn’t make it to the field last season, leaving the NFL weekend a mix of traditional strong and underdogs.
Here are a few more things to know during the postseason:
WHAT IS THE WILD CARD SCHEDULE REMAINING?
SUNDAY
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills 1 pm ET CBS
New York Giants v Minnesota Vikings 4:30 pm EST Fox
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals 8:15 pm ET NBC
MONDAY
Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8:15 pm EST ESPN/ABC
WHAT IS THE PLAY OFF FORMAT?
This is the third year in a row in the current NFL playoff format, featuring the top seven teams from both the AFC and NFC.
The four division winners in both conferences automatically receive the top four seeds, regardless of record, and then the top three top-scoring teams that did not win their division are wildcarded. This is why wildcard picks quite often have a better record but worse playoff seed than the team that finished division winner.
The No. 1 seeded team in each conference advances to the second round – it’s the Chiefs and Eagles – while the No. 2 team takes on No. 7, No. 3 takes on No. 6, and No. 4 takes on No. 5 during a wild weekend.
After each round of the playoffs, NFL teams are reseeded. This means that no matter how the bracket started, the lowest seeded team will always advance to the highest seeded team.
The playoffs have four rounds: the wildcard round will take place this weekend, the division round will take place January 21-22, the conference championship games will take place on January 29, and the Super Bowl is scheduled for February 12 in Glendale, Arizona. .
WHAT HAS CHANGED WITH THE CANCELLED BILLS-BENGALS?
Players and fans watched in horror on January 2 as Buffalo Bills defenseman Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in Cincinnati when his heart stopped and he was given CPR before leaving the field in an ambulance. Over the next week, the same players and fans reacted with joy to the news of Hamlin’s recovery.
Even better news came on Saturday: Hamlin visited the Bills facility with his teammates for the first time since being discharged from the Buffalo hospital.
A person with direct knowledge of Hamlin’s schedule confirmed the player’s visit to The Associated Press. The man spoke on condition of anonymity because Hamlin kept his schedule and recovery under wraps.
Hamlin’s remarkable recovery helped keep him focused on the playoffs.
The cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game due to Hamlin’s injury could lead to one big change in the AFC playoff format.
The AFC Championship game will be played at a neutral venue if the Chiefs and Bills reach that point, in accordance with the rules adjustment approved by the NFL owners last Friday. That’s because Buffalo (13-3) played one less game than Kansas City (14-3) and missed the chance to earn the top spot. On October 16, the Bills defeated the Chiefs 24–20 and would have won the tiebreak had the teams finished with the same record. Buffalo lost 42-36 to Kansas City in last season’s classic divisional round.
The Chiefs will play the AFC title game against every other team, including the third-place Bengals (12–4).
WHAT ARE GOOD GAMES AFTER SATURDAY?
There is a good couple in the group, but a couple stands out.
— Cowboys in the Bucks: Brady endured his first losing season in his 23-year career, but even at 8-9, the Bucks won the NFC South. They will face the Cowboys, who were 12-5 and always get everyone’s attention. They will play on Monday evening.
– Ravens at Bengals: Rivals AFC North will meet for the third time this season on Sunday. The Baltimore Ravens will be without quarterback and former MVP Lamar Jackson due to a knee injury. Tyler Huntley will be at center instead, making his first start of the postseason. He will face the Bengals and Joe Burrow, who lost the Super Bowl to the Rams last season.
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AP Sports columnist John Vorow contributed to this report.
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