The 2022-2023 National Football League (NFL) playoffs began with 12 teams: Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals.
The 49ers hosted the Seahawks in what most fans were sure was going to be a blowout. The 49ers were the clear favorites going into the game and plenty of fans had them as their Super Bowl favorite. The first half shocked many fans as the Seahawks had a one point lead over the 49ers going into halftime. The 49ers took over in the second half putting up a total of forty-one points in the game and only allowing the Seahawks to score six more.
The second game of the playoffs at first appeared to be a blowout, the Chargers were up 27-0 with a few minutes left in the first half. However, the Jaguars had other plans. They scored a touchdown with 24 seconds left in the first half giving them some momentum going into halftime. From there, the Jaguars held the Chargers to three points in the second half and slowly etched away at the Chargers lead. With three seconds left in the game, Jaguars kicker Riley Patterson sent the Jaguars to the Divisional Round, officially completing one of the largest comebacks in playoff history.
The Sunday games entertained fans across the country. The Bills barely made it past the Skylar Thompson led Dolphins winning 34-31. The Giants shocked the world defeating the Vikings 31-24 in Minnesota. Giants running back Saquon Barkley posted two touchdowns in the game, securing the win for the Giants. The Ravens put up a fight against the Bengals, however, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Jamarr Chase were too much for the Ravens to handle. The Bengals would win 24-17. The next day, the Cowboys, led by quarterback Dak Prescott’s five total touchdowns, as well as kicker Brett Maher’s four missed extra point attempts, walked all over the Buccaneers and won 31-14, concluding the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
In the Divisional round, the Jaguars once again fell behind early to their opponent. The Chiefs were too difficult of a match for the Jaguars and held off their attempted comeback, winning 27-20. Coming off the Giants big win against the Vikings, many fans thought the Giants would put up a good fight against the one seeded Eagles; that was not the case. The Eagles stomped on the Giants and won 38-7. Joe Burrow and the Bengals were once again too much for their opponent, defeating the Bills 27-10. The last game of the Divisional Round was a defensive one. The 49ers defense proved to be the more dominant of the two, and led the team to a 19-12 victory.
The Eagles-49ers National Football Conference (NFC) Championship game was a much anticipated one. Early into the game, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy got injured and from there the Eagles took over. The Eagles defense played lights out against backup quarterback Josh Johnson and won 31-7, clinching a spot in the Super Bowl. The American Football Conference (AFC) Championship was an extremely close game until the final whistle. With a few minutes left in the game, the Chiefs’ offense charged down the field and kicker Harrison Butker kicked the game winner with three seconds left on the clock. The Eagles will host the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.