We’re on our way to the championship on Sunday after the Chiefs, Bengals, Eagles and 49ers moved up with wins in the divisional rounds this weekend. We’ve highlighted the best performances during the regular season and now the best efforts in the playoffs deserve our MMQB honors.
Here are the divisional round positions:
Gary Gramling: Joe Burr, QB, Bengals. In a world where every quarterback seems to get help from a clever play-based system (thanks Mike Shanahan!), Joe Burrow is keeping his “post it, read the mail before the hit and tear it up” approach alive. If you ever wondered what a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning would look like in this era if they also had the perfect functional athletic performance for the job, this is Burrow. And again, on the road against the AFC blue team in the postseason, Burrow’s unique style of play won.
Burrow played flawless football, completing 23 of 36 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
Cream the Butcher / The Enquirer / USA Today Network
Connor Orr: Fred Warner, LB, 49 years old. When you can run one of the NFL’s best receivers man-to-man while isolating in the slot, you know you’re very valuable. Warner was all over the place on Sunday and made the kind of choppy plays that eventually handed the 49ers a trip to the NFC Championship Game. As the hysteria about off-the-ball linebackers died down a little over two years after the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl victory, Warner showed why you should hand over your fist for a good one.
Claire Quanah: Zack Taylor, Bengals coach. There are a lot of players on the Bengals who should be honored in Sunday’s game, but on top of it all is the main decision maker, and that’s Taylor. With the exception of maybe Joe Mixon (20 carries, 105 yards, TD), it wasn’t like there was one clear star in the win over the Bills. But the Bengals played with confidence, and that starts at the top. Their reliance on the running game (172 yards) was the right call of the weather, and with the (improved) performance of the offensive line in the divisional game despite being freshmen, both Joe Burrow and the rest of Cincinnati’s offense were set up for success. The Bengals nearly tripled Buffalo’s rushing touchdown (63) and captured eight overtimes.
Michael Rosenberg: Travis Kelsey, The Chiefs. Sometimes I wonder how we would see Kelsey in a world where Rob Gronkowski never played football. Are we going to have discussions about goats? Kelsey’s performance on Saturday was the stuff of legend: 14 goals in 17 on a day Kansas City needed him to be great. When Patrick Mahomes was out and Chad Heene led the Chiefs on a 98-yard touchdown run, Heeney threw four passes to Kelsey, including his first and last. Kelce is as good at opening up and making catches as any tight end in history. Show it again against Jacksonville.
John Blum: Chad Heene, QB, Chiefs. Henn had thrown every two passes all season in backup to Patrick Mahomes. But when the Kansas City quarterback suffered from an A.J Ankle sprain and called to the locker room by coach Andy Reid, Henne entered the game as backup at the 2-yard line. not important. Henne compiled a 12-play, 98-yard rush, the longest in Chiefs’ postseason history. Henne was so impressive that his old coach, Tom Coughlin, texted Reid after the game, “Whatever you pay him, he’s worth every penny.” Mahomes came back in the second period to finish the game. But Henne’s amazing drive was a big part of it The Chiefs won a trip to their fifth consecutive AFC Championship game Next sunday.
Mitch Goldich: The entire Eagles offensive line. When a running back has a big game, the smart thing to do in a post-game presser is to thank the O-line. When three running backs — in this case Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, and Kenneth Ginwell — combine to run it 35 times for 234 yards, average 6.7 yards per carry, and limit the defense to just one sack, you scream offensive line. The Eagles unit up front has been an asset to the team through multiple training regimes and quarterback changes. He is a major reason the Eagles got the top seed and was a clear advantage in it The Giants dominated divisional round win. Jason Kelsey and Lynn Johnson made the All-Pro Team of the Year, Landon Dickerson made the Pro Bowl, and Jordan Melata and Isaac Somalo earned the best O-line in football. Give them all the balls of the game, and then see what they do next week against a formidable 49ers defense.