Commanders win in NFL playoff return, Bills and Eagles advance / Photo: Julio Aguilar - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Commanders win in NFL playoff return, Bills and Eagles advance
The Washington Commanders won their first NFL playoff game since 2005 as a 37-yard field goal from Zane Gonzalez, which went in off the upright, earned them a 23-20 win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild card round on Sunday.
Washington's rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns as the Commanders became the first road team to win in this year's playoffs and set up a divisional round clash with the NFC's top seed the Detroit Lions.
The game sprang into life at the end of the second quarter when, with Washington 10-3 up, Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield charged 18-yards up the middle, riding a tough tackle as he kept the drive going.
Mayfield finished off the drive with a perfect floated pass into the end zone to Mike Evans to send the teams into halftime at 10-10.
After a 22-yard Gonzalez field goal, Mayfield found Bucky Irving with a 4-yard pass to put the Bucs 17-13 up.
But Washington restored their advantage early in the fourth when, after a Mayfield fumble led to a turnover, Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin on a 5-yard touchdown pass.
But after Tampa Bay tied the game up with a Chase McLaughlin field goal, Daniels led a 10 play, 51-yard drive to leave Gonzalez with the final say -- which he provided albeit with some help from the upright.
"We've waited a long time for this moment, I am just so happy (for the fans)," said Daniels.
- Bills cruise -
Josh Allen threw two touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills trounced the Denver Broncos 31-7.
The win for second-seeded Buffalo sets up a blockbuster AFC divisional round clash next weekend against third seeded Baltimore, pitting Allen against the Ravens' reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson.
Allen finished with 272 passing yards from 20-of-26 attempts, with two touchdowns and no interceptions, along with 46 rushing yards.
Seventh seeds Denver rocked Buffalo with a touchdown on the first drive of the game, quarterback Bo Nix finding receiver Troy Franklin with a deep pass for a 43-yard touchdown to mute the home crowd.
The Bills responded with 10 unanswered points, Tyler Bass slotting a 26-yard field goal and James Cook skipping into the end zone for a five-yard touchdown.
Denver had a chance to tie the game on the stroke of halftime but Wil Lutz's 50-yard field goal attempt bounced back off the posts to leave Buffalo 10-7 ahead at half-time.
The Bills took a stranglehold on the game in the third quarter.
Bass slotted a 27-yard field goal to make it 13-7, and after the Bills defense forced another Denver punt, Ty Johnson snagged a superb catch inches off the ground at the back of the end zone from Allen's pass to make it 19-7. A successful two-point conversion put the Bills 21-7 up.
Allen tossed his second touchdown pass at the start of the fourth quarter, picking out Curtis Samuel for a 55-yard touchdown that took the score to 28-7.
Denver's offense continued to be stymied by Buffalo's defense, their impotence summed up by a failure to convert a 4th&2 situation on their next possession.
Allen and the Bills took that opportunity to extend the lead to 31-7 with Bass's third field goal of the game.
The result also means that the defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, will host the Houston Texans in the divisional round.
- Eagles advance -
The Philadelphia Eagles advanced in the NFC with a 22-10 win over a disappointing Green Bay Packers in a defensive grind.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts returned after missing the past two games following a concussion and he showed no signs of rust with an early 11-yard touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love had a tough day, throwing an early interception with Darius Slay snaffling up the pick.
Even when Love did manage to get Green Bay within field goal range, with a 13-play drive in the second quarter, Brandon McManus missed the kick from 38-yards.
Dallas Goedert put Philadelphia 16-3 up when he collected a pass from Hurts and then burst towards the end-zone, delivering two stiff arms to keep Carrington Valentine at bay as he made the score.
Josh Jacobs gave the Packers some hope with his one-yard rush after he had shown impressive power and strength on the previous play to break a series of tackles and make 31-yards.
But that was the last productive moment from the Packers with two Jake Elliott field goals wrapping up the win for the Eagles.
林-L.Lín--THT-士蔑報
