Most head-scratching moments from NFL divisional round: Patrick Mahomes enjoying, coaching blunders make record - CBS activities

On Saturday, we witnessed Patrick Mahomes hobbling up and down the field at Arrowhead Stadium to lead the Kansas metropolis Chiefs returned to their fifth consecutive AFC Championship in a 27-20 win against the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars. We also noticed the Philadelphia Eagles tie their largest margin of victory in a playoff online game in franchise history with their 38-7 curb-stomping of their NFC East rival, the big apple Giants.

Sunday around the NFL became fairly wild as neatly. The Cincinnati Bengals marched into Buffalo and trounced the bills, 27-10, to keep away from a impartial web site AFC Championship game. The Cowboys had diverse chances, but they could not overcome an harm to operating again Tony Pollard, in addition to their poor execution, of their season-ending 19-12 loss on the San Francisco 49ers. 

The 2d week of the NFL playoffs included the league's eight most elite groups, so there changed into undoubtedly some high-level football being performed. however, there was also a number of confounding football as smartly throughout the weekend. listed below are one of the head-scratching choices that passed off this divisional circular weekend.

Chiefs' managing of Patrick Mahomes' damage

every Chiefs player, instruct and fan skilled their worst nightmare within the Chiefs' 27-20 win within the opening game of the divisional round playoffs on Saturday afternoon: an damage to Mahomes. The 2022 first-crew All-professional passer got sandwiched by two Jacksonville Jaguars defenders as he threw a circulate, causing his leg to bend at a painful perspective. Mahomes firstly grabbed both his right knee and ankle in anguish after the play.

notwithstanding Mahomes requested head instruct Andy Reid to live in the online game, it changed into head-scratching to look him pass around like he become taking part in hop-scotch to execute basic, under-core handoffs to his running backs. He didn't acquire any brace earlier than going back out for the next play, now not missing any time. Mahomes then got his ankle taped and came back in the online game, continuing to now not pass over any plays. 

eventually, the Chiefs inserted again up quarterback Chad Henne into the video game. Henne, who led Kansas city to victory within the 2020 AFC divisional circular towards the Cleveland Browns after a Mahomes damage, led Kansas metropolis on a 98-yard touchdown force that he capped off with a one-yard landing pass to tight conclusion Travis Kelce. That move marked Henne's first touchdown in his playoff career. 

The video game turned into tied at 7-7 when the harm passed off. The Chiefs became that power right into a box aim to make it 10-three and extended their lead to 17-7 after Henne's first-profession postseason TD flow. Yet, Mahomes went back on to the field to delivery the 2d half. Mahomes was still hopping around whereas working beneath-center handoffs close the intention line in the fourth quarter. The presumptive league MVP's mobility was evidently hampered via the damage, as none of his 18 passes have been backyard of the pocket following the injury.

Patrick Mahomes before/after damage

Comp/Att

10/12

12/18

attempts backyard pocket

6

0

standard time to throw

3.12

2.57

Passer score

121.2

103.5

while it is the postseason, it turned into still bizarre seeing the Chiefs risk an extended-term damage to the face of their franchise. Mahomes carrying on with to hobble round on his injured ankle throughout the divisional circular game could put him in a worse spot for the AFC championship online game as neatly subsequent week, a game he says he'll play in after being diagnosed with a excessive-ankle sprain. 

Andy Reid loses timeout over needless challenge

facing second-and-seven from their personal 23 with 7:48 remaining in the third quarter, Chiefs running returned Isiah Pacheco caught a swing circulate towards the left sideline from Mahomes and received six yards, getting marked simply short of the road to gain for a primary down. Reid decided that as an alternative of facing third-and-inches, having two performs to get simply below a yard, he would reasonably have the primary down automatically. 

With the name on the box being in need of a primary down, Reid obligatory undeniable video proof to win the problem, whatever that did not turn up, so Kansas city lost a timeout and a problem early into the closing 30 minutes of motion. The Chiefs then opted to run an immediate snap to tight end Noah gray with a purpose to select up the first down that become stuffed by using the Jaguars line of defense. Kansas city then punted seeing that it become already backed up in its personal conclusion of the container. That sequence marked just a few terrible coaching decisions when it comes to play-calling and timeout usage that didn't come to be hurting Chiefs this week, but that classification of sequence may come returned to burn them in opposition t the Bengals, the group that ended their season a year in the past in the AFC Championship.

Bengals large receiver Ja'Marr Chase blows by using defenders on an everyday basis for broad-open touchdowns, as his six receiving ratings of fifty or extra yards are probably the most in the whole NFL considering he entered the league in 2021. youngsters, his 28-yard landing to begin the AFC divisional round matchup between the Bengals and the bills changed into atypical as a result of he was stunningly huge OPEN in opposition t a secondary that ranked interior the appropriate 10 for the fewest passing touchdowns allowed within the average season.

It regarded there become a coverage bust in the middle of Buffalo's zone insurance, but having said that, or not it's nonetheless head-scratching to look this type of high-profile proper alternative THAT open in a divisional circular playoff video game. Seeing the play in dots form, courtesy of NextGen Stats, makes the shielding coverage look much more intellect-numbingly off.

Controversial TD overturn

at the beginning, Chase had caught his 2d touchdown of the first half Sunday, this time from 10 yards out on third-and-goal. youngsters, replay evaluate overturned the call on the field of a touchdown, and Cincinnati settled for a 28-yard container goal to take a 17-7 lead instead of a 21-7 lead. The NFL has re-written its trap rule a couple of times in contemporary years, primarily after backlash from the Cowboys and their fans when Dez Bryant's fourth-down capture with just more than 4 minutes left within the 2014 divisional circular changed into overturned on a replay assessment.

whereas it has when you consider that softened its stance on surviving the ground, the NFL is curiously nonetheless looking for perfection when it comes to the soccer's flow while securing a trap. it's reasonably comprehensible to return far from looking on the replay of Chase's near-rating and simplest see the call on the box, which turned into Chase hauling in another landing. 

Kyle Shanahan's first-half timeout utilization

Following Dak Prescott's 2nd interception of the first-half, the 49ers took over at their personal 28-yard line with 1:24 left within the first half of a tie video game. Head instruct and offensive play-caller Kyle Shanahan then opted for a curious sequence of play-calling: a run with large receiver Deebo Samuel and a run with running lower back Christian McCaffrey. these two performs won most effective 9 yards, making it appear like Shanahan become content material to enter the locker room tied at six. 

although, he then referred to as the 49ers' 2d timeout after those two performs, leaving his group a third-and-one with 30 seconds to head. Following the timeout, quarterback Brock Purdy threw a 10-yard flow to Samuel that reached their personal forty seven, and Shanahan called a further timeout. The preliminary two performs, adopted by the conversion, would lead most to suppose that was going to be it for the primary half. although, the 49ers then had zero timeouts and a primary down near midfield. It ended up all working out for Shanahan and San Francisco, as Purdy sandwiched a 21-yard completion to receiver Jauan Jennings in-between three incompletions, the ultimate of which sailed out of bounds with best a 2d left on the first-half clock. 

although the 49ers have been in a position to take a 9-6 lead into the spoil, it looked as though Shanahan could not make a decision what he wanted to do to end the half, resulting in some difficult timeout utilization and blended messaging.  

The Cowboys have been on the ropes after punting the soccer again to the 49ers trailing, 19-12, with simply over two minutes to go, but they nonetheless had 4 alternatives for the clock to be stopped between the two-minute warning and all three timeouts. Two or three first downs, if handled appropriately, would have sealed the game and stored the Cowboys from getting one remaining probability.

speedy-forward to 1:53 left within the game, and the 49ers facing a 2d-and-nine. The Cowboys had already used a timeout, so staying inbounds for an extra first down would have all however sealed the game. Mitchell checked the first field, blowing with the aid of the Dallas defense for a brand new set of downs. but right here become the problem: he went out of bounds. basically every time a player gets in that circumstance, they exit of their solution to do a baseball slide in the field of play to retain the clock moving, however Mitchell's adrenaline doubtless bought the best of him as he jogged out of bounds. That choice allowed the Cowboys to get the ball returned, and he is fortunate his defense stood tall. in any other case, he would be dealing with some uncomfortable suggestions entering the offseason.

49ers' conservative remaining offensive power

Kyle Shanahan receives praise for his offensive innovation, and rightfully so, however his play-calling on the closing force grew to be uber-conservative, and the possibility-averse play-calling allowed the Cowboys to get the ball again one ultimate time. After Mitchell picked up a first down, the subsequent three plays won a mixed zero yards: a Mitchell run up the center for one yard, an extra Mitchell run up the middle that went for no benefit, and a horizontal circulate from Purdy to McCaffrey that misplaced a yard. For all the movement and exciting utilization of his fullbacks, tight ends and receivers, Shanahan going run, run, circulate when one other first down would've ended the online game was bewildering.

Cowboys' cringeworthy conclusion to season

In school soccer, a participant can comprehensive a seize whereas getting just one foot down inbounds. youngsters, two toes are required to achieve this in the execs. It appeared as even though Schultz had a mind-fart related to those rules in a humongous spot. It looked as even though he at the start made a important 15-yard profit to get Dallas into Hail Mary latitude with six seconds left in the online game. unfortunately for the Silver and Blue, the Cowboys tight conclusion naturally did not get his 2d foot down upon assessment, pushing them again to their own 24-yard line.

Dallas perceived to choose to go together with a hook-and-ladder play to are attempting and score a miracle landing, but assorted components of the play resulted in the failed execution. the primary one is the usage of return man and wide receiver KaVontae Turpin because the participant to pitch the ball to a sprinting teammate. Turpin is the quickest player on the Cowboys, which means he may still have been the one receiving the pitch after the preliminary trap, no longer the one developing the play. The different flaw changed into Turpin's execution in the initiator spot given that he absolutely failed to get the ball out of his fingers short enough for even one other Cowboy to the touch the football. A failure in scheme and execution doomed the Cowboys' remaining play of their 2022 season.