Benedict Bermange
Cricket Statistician
NFL playoff stats: Patrick Mahomes edges Josh Allen in quarterback classic in divisional round
Benedict Bermange picks out the best stats from the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, including another defeat for the Tennessee Titans as No 1 seed, and the San Francisco 49ers improving their playoff record against Aaron Rodgers to 4-0
Last Updated: 26/01/22 11:58am
Sky Sports Cricket statistician - and big Buffalo Bills fan - Benedict Bermange dives into the NFL playoffs and picks out the best stats from each week...
All four Divisional Round games were decided with no time left in regulation (or in overtime), the most such walk-off finishes in an entire postseason in NFL history.
The Cincinnati Bengals won their first playoff road game in franchise history at the eighth attempt as they upset the Tennessee Titans in Nashville by a score of 19-16. This will be their first appearance in the AFC Championship Game since 1988, when they beat the Buffalo Bills 21-10 to advance to Super Bowl XXIII - where they'd lose to the San Francisco 49ers.
Bengals rookie kicker Evan McPherson won the game with a 52-yard field goal as time expired to complete his fourth successful kick in four attempts in the game. He was also 4-for-4 on field goal attempts in their Super Wild Card victory over the Las Vegas Raiders and became the first kicker with at least four field goals in two playoff games in the same season.
The Bengals won despite Joe Burrow being sacked nine times, the most he has been a sacked in a game in his career and tied for the most any quarterback has been sacked in a playoff game. The only other QB to win a playoff game after being sacked as any as nine times was Len Dawson in the 1966 AFL Championship Game in which the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Bills 31-7.
Tennessee Titans playoff defeats when No 1 seed in AFC
- 2021/2: went 12-5 lost 19-16 to No 4 seed Bengals in Divisional Round
- 2008/9: went 13-3 lost 13-10 to No 6 seed Ravens in Divisional Round
- 2000/1: went 13-3 lost 24-10 to No 4 seed Ravens in Divisional Round
The Titans have now failed to win a playoff game in each of the three seasons where they have finished as the No 1 seed in the AFC.
The San Francisco 49ers upset the Green Bay Packers 13-10 at Lambeau Field to advance to the NFC Championship Game for a 17th time, setting a new record for teams in the Super Bowl era.
Most Conference Championship game appearances in NFL history
| Team | No of Championship games |
| 49ers | 17 |
| Steelers | 16 |
| Cowboys | 16 |
Aaron Rodgers suffered his fourth career playoff defeat to the 49ers, becoming the first quarterback to lose four playoff starts against any one team in NFL history. The 49ers' special teams blocked both a field goal and a punt in the victory, the first team to achieve that in a playoff game for 30 years.
The Los Angeles Rams just held on to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-27 to move to 3-0 against them in postseason history.
Cooper Kupp continued his record-setting season with 183 receiving yards, the second-most by any Rams player in a postseason game, only trailing Tom Fears, who had 198 receiving yards from seven catches in the 24-14 victory over the Chicago Bears in 1950.
Tom Brady suffered his first defeat in the divisional round of the playoffs after nine successive victories in the round dating back to 2011, the longest winning streak by any quarterback in any playoff round in history. He was also flagged for the first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in his entire NFL career - in his 365th game. It proved costly, as it moved the Buccaneers back from the Rams' 35-yard line to midfield and ended with a missed 48-yard field goal.
The Rams became the first team since the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1975 AFC Championship Game to lose four fumbles in a postseason game and yet still win. They will host the NFC Championship Game at their home SoFi Stadium, with the stadium also hosting the Super Bowl - the first time that a Conference Championship game and Super Bowl will be held at the same venue in the same postseason.
The Chiefs and Bills combined for 25 points in the final two minutes of regulation in their thrilling contest - the first playoff game in history with three go-ahead touchdowns scored in the final two minutes of regulation.
Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen provided the first instance in the Super Bowl era of both quarterbacks having at least 300 passing yards, at least three touchdown passes, no interceptions and at least 60 rushing yards.
Gabriel Davis of the Bills became the first player in NFL postseason history to register four touchdown catches in a game. There had been 18 occasions in which a player had caught three in a game. The last player to have at least 200 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns in any NFL game was Jerry Rice in 1990 for the 49ers against the Atlanta Falcons.
The NFL playoffs continue this weekend when the Kansas City Chiefs host the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game live on Sky Sports NFL from 8pm Sunday, followed immediately after by the San Francisco 49ers at the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game at SoFi Stadium.
