Tag: AFC wild card

WATCH: Every highlight from Chiefs’ playoff run to Super Bowl LVIII

Check out every highlight from the #Chiefs’ playoff run to Super Bowl LVIII.

The Kansas City Chiefs punched their ticket to Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday night with a 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game.

While the defending Super Bowl champions have looked like a world-beating squad for the better part of the last month, their path to face the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 11th was paved with adversity.

After defeating the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card round of the AFC playoffs, Kansas City had to win two tough road games against the Buffalo Bills and Ravens to earn their shot at second-consecutive title.

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All of the Chiefs’ biggest stars made clutch plays in key situations to get Kansas City back into the Super Bowl, and their collective effort made for exceptional entertainment as fans watched them fight for a chance at history.

Check out all of the Chiefs’ top highlights from their playoff run to Super Bowl LVIII below:

Former Rutgers football star Isiah Pacheco on the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense: ‘When you’re having fun, you can go out there and execute’

Isiah Pacheco had a strong game for the Kansas City Chiefs,

Isiah Pacheco was strong for the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night in an AFC Wild Card win over the Miami Dolphins. A former standout at Rutgers, Pacheco did a lot of hard running in the 26-7 win.

It is a second-straight game for Isiah Pacheco where he has run the ball and been effective. In Week 16, he had 130 rushing yards on 18 carries to propel the Chiefs to a win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Not too bad, for a seventh round pick in the 2022 NFL draft out of Rutgers.

In the AFC Wild Card round, Pacheco had 89 rushing yards on 24 carries. He had a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help the Chiefs pull away for good.

With kickoff temperatures at -4° with a wind chill at -20°, it was certainly an unusual week of preparation for Pacheco and his Chiefs teammates.

“This week has been nothing put preparation, and it’s been fun,” Pacheco told reporters after the game.

“When you’re having fun, you can go out there and execute and good things will happen. Today, that’s what happened.”

Pacheco has been banged up this year, with shoulder, concussion and quad injuries coming in rapid succession since Week 14. He has missed two regular season games in that stretch.

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The win over the Dolphins was a dominant performance from Pacheco and the Chiefs’ offense. They held a decided edge in first downs (25:13) and total offense yardage (409:263).

“It feels great. You’ve got guys who are working hard, picking one another up,” Pacheco said.

“You feel that team energy, that team bond, you have guys fighting for the moment.”

Scroll down and check out the best photos from Isiah Pacheco’s performance in the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC Wild Card win over the Miami Dolphins!

Bills wild card matchup vs. Steelers postponed due to winter storm

Due to the winter storm, the Steelers-Bills wild-card game officially has been postponed to 4:30 ET on Monday.

The Baltimore Ravens may have to wait until Monday evening to find out who they’ll face in the AFC’s divisional round of the playoffs after the Bills and Steelers wild card matchup was postponed until Monday afternoon.

Sunday was supposed to be the fourth playoff meeting between the two teams and the first to be played in Buffalo’s intense winter weather.

AccuWeather forecasts predicted a high of 24 degrees on Sunday, with winds gusting near 50 miles per hour.

Couple that with the predicted seven+ inches of snow at Highmark Stadium Sunday, and it set up for a disastrous afternoon for everyone involved.

As the AFC’s top seed, Baltimore could potentially face Pittsburgh for the second time in three weeks if the Steelers can pull the upset.

The Ravens could also be staring at another matchup with the Cleveland Browns if they’re able to defeat the Houston Texans on the road.

The Bills will pay you $20 an hour to shovel their stadium ahead of Wild Card weekend blizzard

Enterprising fans have the chance to capitalize on the ugly weather we’re set to see this Wild Card weekend.

We could be in for some ugly weather in Buffalo this week for a Wild Card showdown between the Bills and Steelers, but if you’re an enterprising local fan, you may be able to capitalize.

The Bills are offering fans $20 an hour to shovel snow at Highmark Stadium on Saturday night ahead of Sunday afternoon’s game. According to a team release, complimentary food will be provided as well as breaks in warm areas.

The snow shovelers could become a necessity. With the so-called “Arctic Blast” set to bring extreme cold temperatures to much of the United States this weekend, Buffalo will be no exception.

According to WGRZ in Buffalo, highs on Sunday will be in the low 20s with wind chills reaching into the single digits. Lake-effect snow could bring more than a foot to the area over the weekend, with several inches forecast to accumulate on Sunday by game time.

It’s not even the playoff game forecast to be dealing with the most extreme temperatures this weekend as Fox 4 in Kansas City forecasts highs of 5 degrees and a wind chill of -12 degrees at kickoff of Saturday night’s game against the Dolphins.

The elements will be out in full force this weekend, but that may work to your benefit if you live near Buffalo and have nothing to do during a frigid Saturday night.

20 potential free agent targets for Vikings from Saturday’s Wild Card round

Taking a look at some of the top potential free agent fits for the Minnesota Vikings from Saturday’s Wild Card games

The 2024 Minnesota Vikings team is likely going to look a lot different than the 2023 squad. Whether that’s a good or bad thing remains to be seen, but change is inevitable in the NFL from year-to-year. Minnesota is going to have a lot of difficult decisions to make in the offseason, chief among them is what are they going to do with the Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter situations.

These are two very different situations, but both need resolution nonetheless. On the one hand, Cousins clearly makes the Vikings’ offense run to a degree that is exceptionally hard to replicate. We saw it over and over again this season. Despite the Vikings staying in the playoff race until the very end, they were a markedly different team with Cousins out.

On the other hand Danielle Hunter was a force for the Vikings defense this season, and had arguably the best year of his career. Both players are in line for significant paydays, and Minnesota has to choose whether or not they’re going to be the ones to cough up the money. Additionally, Minnesota has a number of other potential free agents to make decisions on, and there’s bound to be significant roster churn.

Some of that churn will come via the 2024 NFL draft, but a large part of it is going to come through free agency. With that as our backdrop, let’s take a look at some of the top potential free agent fits for the Vikings — five from each team — playing in Saturday’s Wild Card games.

Updated look at Bills’ playoff odds in sportsbooks

Updated look at #Bills’ playoff odds in sportsbooks:

The Buffalo Bills went toe-to-toe with NFL’s best team this season, the Philadelphia Eagles. Even though they fought well they ultimately lost in overtime to a Jalen Hurts touchdown.

The Eagles won 37-34 in overtime.

Buffalo is now an even 6-6 heading into its Week 13 bye, and their record truly indicates their performances throughout the 2023 NFL season. And Bills fans are left with the week off to think whether their team is even likely to make the playoffs.

But for those still Bill-eving and interested in placing wagers, it could be profitable move to bet on Buffalo at this point. Odds are now much longer for the team to make the playoffs.

But first, a look at the analytics:

New York Times Playoff Simulator

After Sunday’s loss, the New York Times playoff simulator has drastically reduced the Bills’ chance of making the playoffs. Buffalo’s current odds of making the playoffs is at 14 percent.

Unlike Bills games earlier this season, the offense played fantastic football, perhaps due to changes in the staff supporting quarterback Josh Allen. And when playing against the Eagles, who have only lost one game this season, fantastic football needs to be played by everyone. The Bills defense, naturally, had their work cut out for them and tried their best to stop perhaps the strongest team in the league.

The New York Times playoff simulator works by using an Elo rating system combined with information from betting markets to estimate every NFL teams’ chance of winning. The Elo rating system calculates the relative skill of teams within the NFL. The simulator estimate odds by randomly simulating the remainder of the season thousands of times and counting how often all NFL teams would make the playoffs.

According to the simulations, the Eagles have a greater than 68 percent chance to be the No. 1 seed. That’s how good the team that the Bills faced. And, had the Bills won the game against the Eagles, they would have had a 43 percent chance of making the playoffs.

Instead, the Bills currently have a 14 percent chance. With a fractional chance that they, like the Eagles are predicted to do, of getting the top seed, with the reward of a first-round bye.

The first-round bye goes to the first-place seed in each conference. Currently, the Baltimore Ravens have the best record in the AFC at 9-3. The Bills are currently outside of the playoff spots and would not qualify for the postseason.

According to the simulator, the Bills have what is essentially a must-win game against the 2022 Super Bowl Champions Kansas City Chiefs following their bye week. Starting with a win against the Chiefs would see their odds of making the playoffs jump to 24 percent. A loss to the reigning Super Bowl champions would see the odds drop to 5 percent.

FanDuel

The supercomputer might say one thing, but football markets are feeling differently than the simulations. The betting market is much more optimistic of the Bills chance to not only make the playoffs, but win the division, and even the Super Bowl.

Despite the loss to the Eagles, the Bills currently have a +360 odds to make the 2023 NFL playoffs. This amounts to a 21.74 percent chance. The betting market also believes the Bills have a 10 percent odds (+900) of winning the AFC East vs. the NYT simulator which had the Bills at a 3% chance.

Now, Buffalo going toe to toe with a Super Bowl caliber team in the Eagles shows that they can hang with the best of the best. Could they run the AFC table and book their place in Super Bowl LVIII?

According to FanDuel, the Bills have a 5 percent chance (+1900) of winning the AFC Championship and a 3 percent chance (+3300) of winning this year’s Super Bowl.

Now, betting markets aren’t designed to truly highlight people’s thoughts on what a team is capable of, but designed to have people bet as much as possible. Always gamble responsibly if you choose to gamble.

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Ravens must be prepared for Chargers WR Keenan Allen

The Baltimore Ravens will need to have an answer for Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen in Week 12.

The Baltimore Ravens will need to have an answer for Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen in Week 12. Allen scorched the Green Bay Packers for 10 receptions and 116 yards last weekend and will be looking for more success today.

Ravens’ defensive back Marlon Humphrey has been playing with a nagging injury over the last three weeks and is marked as questionable for today’s matchup. Whether Humphrey suits or not, the Ravens would be wise to double-team Allen with help coverage over the top. While the Ravens do rank No. 3 in pass yards allowed per game, a few blowout victories make their game averages skewed in this category.

Certainly, the strength of the Ravens’ defense lies in its disruptive pass rush and ability to stop the run.

On the road today, they must be prepared for Chargers head coach Brandon Staley and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to air the ball out. The Ravens do not want this game to become a shootout.

Bills’ Josh Allen on Dolphins: ‘They probably want to right their wrong’

#Bills’ Josh Allen on #Dolphins: ‘They probably want to right their wrong’ (via @TejasVemparala):

The Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills face off this Sunday since their entertaining, high-scoring 2022 Wild Card playoff game.

The pair are wrestling for control of the AFC East.

Last season’s playoff game between the two ended in a Buffalo 34-31 win at home. Considering that the Bills knocked out the Dolphins, whether revenge is on Miami’s mind has been a conversation topic and Bills quarterback Josh Allen weighed in.

“We understand that this is a team that’s playing well and they’re coming into our house.” said Allen said via video conference. “And the implications of what happened last year in the playoffs – they probably want to right their wrong.”

In that playoff contest, the Dolphins were down starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The backup quarterback Skylar Thompson, a relative unknown, got the starting nod. The Bills narrowly won.

All considered, Miami is leaning more toward Sunday just being another day at the office.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel had said that the revenge factor is not as important to his team.

“If you need to be motivated for a game like this, check your pulse.” McDaniel said.

We’ll have to watch and see if the emotional do play a part or not at Highmark Stadium in Week 4.

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Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel on Bills: ‘If you need to be motivated–Check your pulse’

#Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel on Bills: ‘If you need to be motivated–Check your pulse’ (via @TejasVemparala):

Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills fans alike are looking forward to this Sunday’s showdown between two fantastic teams. The pair will wrestle for control of the AFC East.

So is Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.

The matchup is the first time the two teams have faced off since 2022. As is usually the case because Buffalo and Miami play twice each and every year as divisional rivials.

However, last season was different. There was a third meeting in the postseason, one which the Bills won.

Considering that, revenge could be on Miami’s mind… but not McDaniel. He said he doesn’t need it.

This one is already big enough.

“If you need to be motivated for a game like this, check your pulse. Or maybe consider a career adjustment,” McDaniel said via ESPN. “You sign up to play the best and I think (the Bills) have been that.”

In that playoff contest, the Dolphins were down starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Instead, backup Skylar Thompson, a relative unknown, got the nod.

The Bills won, but narrowly, it was a 34-31 final.

McDaniel, much like Bills head coach Sean McDermott, both understand the importance of getting ahead of a division rival and leading the division early in the season. That’s all the motivation needed.

Likewise, Tagovailoa seems to echo this mentality of taking care of business and not focusing on other factors:

“We got to beat these guys. They’re the next team up, so we know all of us have to be ready,” Tagovailoa said.

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NFL fans roasted the Chargers’ receipts hype video after their epic meltdown against the Jaguars

The Chargers kept receipts of everything people said. And they were all right.

NFL hype videos are great. When done properly, they’ll have even the most casual non-athletes ready to run through a brick wall.

Sometimes, they can backfire.

The Los Angeles Chargers’ hype video for their playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday did both. The video featured a bunch of receipts being printed with critical quotes from sports pundits.

The video probably fired up the team’s fanbase, but it also provided bulletin board material for the rest of social media once the team blew a 27-0 lead to lose to the Jaguars for one of the worst beats ever. As it turns out, those receipts were an accurate accounting of the team.

NFL Twitter had fun with this one.