Let's see this field, because it snowed all last night. It looks OK, though it's snowing right now. Michele takes us underneath the field to show off the heating system. The Chiefs have Sammy Watkins back, but no Eric Berry, while Malik Hooker is out for the Colts. Colts get the ball first. There's the Eric Ebron Lions fans remember. Mahomes finds Hill and Kelce for consecutive first downs. Watkins with a big play to the Chiefs' 20. Is that a horse collar? It is. Damian Williams runs through the Colts for a touchdown. Another three and out for the Colts. Mahomes is the only guy I've eve seen who makes those sideways throws work. Mahomes run comes up short. Chiefs going on 4th and 1 and Williams runs through a wide-open hole. Reverse to Hill. If he doesn't get caught up in traffic... Touchdown!
It's kind of amazing how Mahomes manages to find people in even small spaces in the defense. Kelce with back-to-back catches. First quarter ends with the Colts having gained about six yards total.
Kelce picks up a 3rd and 9. Mahomes gets sandwiched between two players and is limping as he gets up. That rollout looked OK, but he's jogging off pretty slowly. Field goal is good (and helps the Colts as well.) This is the best the Chiefs' defense has looked all season. Mahomes back out and he looks OK. Colts jump offsides on 3rd and 4, giving the Chiefs a first down. Punt is BLOCKED! Touchdown Colts! My God, that's horrible protection. Goode came in untouched. Colts still struggling to contain Kelce, who picks up 30 yards. The Colts can't stop any of this. Mahomes rolls right... and scores. Legs look fine.
Two-minute drill working for the Colts. Rogers can't get out of bounds here. Do the Colts spike it? No, Luck finds Inman, who does get out of bounds. Eight seconds left, good for one play. Incomplete in the end zone. Viniatieri... CLANGS? It's over.
WINNER. Also, here's Al: "And folks, we have seen this before." Chiefs start the second half much the same way as they did the first. Chiefs go for it on 4th and short, and Williams spins through a Darius Leonard tackle to get a first down he shouldn't have gotten. Colts jump offside again, so this interception by Mahomes won't count. Chiefs then go for it on 4th and 5 and... get stopped? They get stopped. That was... strange. A flag after the play goes against the Colts but it's still their ball.
Waiting for them to do something with it. The wait will continue, apparently.
Mack finally gets off a good run but it'll come back because of holding. Justin Houston sacks Luck on 3rd and 6. Watkins fumbles! Colts ball! And the refs call it as such the first time. Two plays later, LUCK fumbles and the Chiefs recover. Dee Ford (who the Eagles drafted Marcus Smith over) forced it. Everything has gone wrong today.
Hill is called down by contact after this catch, correctly so. Chiefs punt. Two big runs from Mack. Touchdown Hilton. Viniatier misses AGAIN! Cut him. Chiefs keep it on the ground. Running Into the Kicker on 4th and 3? Not. Smart. Touchdown DARREL Williams, and he got a lot of help, including from Mahomes, who only threw one pass on this drive. That by itself is kind of a scary thought. (Chiefs 31, Colts 13)
Todd Gurley is back for the Rams, who get the ball first. Like the Chiefs, you have to cover
all of the Rams. Gurley getting fed. C.J. Anderson breaks one off. Pressure forces Goff to throw off target — I think he was actually going for Gurley in the end zone there. Field goal is good.
Cooper gets caught a yard short. Cowboys go for it (Aikman doesn't approve) and Elliott picks it up. Holding on the Rams adds yardage. Cooper makes the catch and outruns everyone to the end zone. The Cowboys are getting to Goff early here. This isn't pass interference because the ball had already "arrived." Rams convert a 4th and 1. Toss to Josh Reynolds gets 12. Anderson's been killing it. Goff with a laser to Cooks in the end zone, but Joe and Troy think it'll be called incomplete. Yeah, that's not a catch. Cooks can't make a catch in the opposite corner and the Rams kick another field goal. This feels like too much Higbee for the Rams. Anderson finds a hole and bulls to the 1. He scores on the next play. He ain't 225 anymore, Troy. LeBron in the house! Ebukam drops an interception. I'm not as confident as Buck was that it was a pick-six, but even so. Rams take over. Costly penalty by Byron Jones gives the Rams a first down. Touchdown Gurley! The Rams have a veteran-filled offensive line, and after some early issues with blitzes, have started beating the Cowboys up. Zeke with a nice run. Weird call as Dak is ruled in the grasp after La'el Collins (who remains sorely overmatched as a tackle) gets pushed into him. Rams get the ball back without any time outs. That incompletion was the best possible outcome for Goff, as that was supposed to be picked. Why are they throwing over the middle? Legatron's attempt is short. 20-7 Rams at halftime. Gurley with a quick run out of bounds. Anderson has given the Rams' running game a boost, and protected Gurley in the process. Goff fumbles the snap, but falls on it. Field goal is good. Jack Youngblood couldn't wear 85 today. (Probably 58.) Prescott throws on the run and hits Gallup at the Rams' 2. No idea what McVay's challenging here — the ball never hit the ground. Call confirmed. Touchdown Elliott. Cowboys going for two way too early here. Still, they get it. How were the Rams not offside? Oh, they were. OK. Goff misses deep downfield.
What was that? These teams haven't met in the playoffs in 33 years. Aaron Donald wrecks Zeke for a four-yard loss. This is a catch, but it's short of a first down. Quarter change and the Cowboys go for it on 4th and 1 from the Rams' 35. Elliott gets NOTHING. Rams ball! Jet sweep to Woods gets 10 as Buck wonders if they got away with a false start. More Anderson. Woods gets inside the 20. We've seen a lot more Woods and a lot less Cooks in the second half. As I say that, he gets it on a reverse and makes it first and goal. Rams try and fail again to draw the Cowboys offsides.
Rams line up to go for it, give it to Anderson, who... gets it? He did! He came out of the pile on the other side. Touchdown Rams. Dak throws one up into the end zone and Cooper draws a flag. It's ruled pass interference (and NOT illegal contact), and the Cowboys will get the ball at the 1. Zeke gets stuffed and the clock keeps running. Prescott scores on a sneak. Cowboys line up to kick the extra point. Wait, what?
Of course, there's the clock problem: down 9 with 2:11 left, they won't have time to score twice if they go for two and don't get it. Onside kick doesn't work. Goff takes a bootleg for a first down and now none of that matters. The Cowboys aren't getting the ball back. The Rams set a playoff rushing record, braking the one they set against... the Cowboys. CENSORS. Goff: "He's right, though." Cooper and Peters get into it at game's end. (Rams 30, Cowboys 22)
Edelman gets open on the sideline for a first down. White juggles this third-down catch before holding on. That's a late pass interference flag. Michel punches it in from the 1.
Hunter Henry is actually active for the Patriots. Mike Williams times his jump perfectly but can't bring in the deep ball. He catches the next one but gets hurt in the process. Keenan Allen gets free for a touchdown! It looks like Gilmore bit on something — Romo thinks Rivers got him to look off. Tied at 7. Edelman stays making big plays. White has six catches already. Michel finds space, gets to the corner, and gets the pylon for a touchdown.
Now Philip Dorsett's getting involved, which is never a good sign. Touchdown Dorsett! This has stopped going well for the Chargers. Mike Williams with a first-down catch. This drive also peters out. White with a 40-yard catch and run. I'm actually surprised Michel got caught from behind. Touchdown Burkhead and this feels over.
Chargers muff the punt! Is it still inbounds? It's ruled out of bounds, and the Patriots challenge. Steratore thinks it's Patriots ball. And it is. Call overturned.
Brady throws a dart to a double-covered Edelman. Michel follows Gronk and Develin blocks into the end zone. 35-7 and the Chargers are just getting beat up. THEY GOT THE BALL BACK? Christ.
They say Dorsett didn't get out of bounds here, and the Patriots run out of time, so it's only 35-7. Is Big Boi broke? He shouldn't need Maroon 5. Patriots run it on 4th and 2 from the Chargers' 20 because they can. Field goal is good. Romo on the Chargers' chances: "Just a touchdown here, and seven or 14 things go your way..." Pettiness is the only reason to challenge the end of this Mike Williams catch. Call stands. I mean, Williams gets it back. The Chargers are actually in the red zone here, not that it will matter. First and goal at the 1! Chargers call time out, for some reason. Gordon gets DENIED on first down. Oh, hey, a touchdown. Pats just converted a 1st and 20. Field goal is good and it gets chippy afterwards. Is... is it still the third quarter? I mean, it won't matter, but this should be a touchdown. There's still eight minutes left? Will this end before Eagles-Saints kicks off? (Barely.) This final score is deceiving as hell. (Patriots 41, Chargers 28)
Eagles win the toss and defer. Kamara returns the kickoff to the 35. Interception! LeBlanc picks off a deep ball and the Eagles take over. That looked underthrown. Dome just got that much louder. Foles to Ertz for a first down. Cameron Jordan saved a long gain on that Smallwood screen that still got them a first down. Touchdown Jordan Matthews! Looks like 26 on the Saints gave up on the route and Matthews ran away from him. Wild. Replay and Charles Davis explain that P.J. Williams looked back for some reason and Foles threw Matthews to the ball. Meanwhile, the Saints go three and out.
Agholor gets two first downs on this drive. Saints DT Sheldon Rankins is down, and they had to cart him off. Brandon Brooks down now for the Eagles. Cart is BACK out. Jebus. That was back-to-back plays, wasn't it? Ah jeez, Burkhardt with the "we won't show it again" speech. Jeffery with a big catch on the sideline. That's the second time a Saints' DB has lost sight of the ball and given up a big play because of it. Smallwood gets TO the goal line. Foles sneak. Touchdown! This is astounding.
Jenkins sacks Brees. Brees hits Thomas over the middle and the Saints finally have a first down. Fumble! Who's got it? The Saints may have gotten this back. There's also a flag, which gets picked up. They call two fumbles, and the Saints end up with the ball and a new set of downs. Davis doesn't think Graham actually had possession before he fumbled it back. Dean Blandino points out that it's automatically reviewed because it's a turnover, so he thinks it should be 4th down Saints. Review changes it to that. Saints punt. Foles throws up a jump ball that Lattimore picks off. Facing third and short, Cox blows the play up and Ingram gets stopped short. Taysom Hill fake punt keeper WORKS! Cox and Douglas down afterwards. Brees hits Thomas for 42. Now
Bennett's hurt. Taysom Hill with a run. Pass to Thomas, but he gets stopped at the 2 on third and goal. Saints going for it. Touchdown to Keith Kirkwood. Foles is acting like he's under more pressure than he is. That pass was to no one. Bradham with a nice open-field tackle on Thomas. Jernigan and Long team up to get a key sack. Jeffery falls backwards to make that catch. Not sure why the Saints are running the ball with only one time out. Kamara with his first reception, and if he hadn't run into his own man, he might have gotten eight more yards. Cox back in for the Eagles. Very surprised the Saints kicked it with 11 seconds left rather than take one more shot into the end zone. 14-10 Eagles at halftime. That's not how you start the second half. Ted Ginn back? Josh Hill beats Jenkins to the corner on 3rd and 3. Good play by Maddox to tip that away from Taysom Hill, who may have caught a touchdown.
Kamara beats Jenkins for a touchdown catch, but THAT gets called back for holding. Thomas gets 20 on 2nd and 20. Thomas AGAIN, this time on 3rd and 16. False start? This drive has been INTERMINABLE. Kamara... doesn't come close. Touchdown Thomas. My God.
Saints finally take the lead after all that. That took entirely too long, and the Saints may be more responsible for that than the Eagles.
That's good face guarding. Tate didn't even argue it. Big run by Ingram! Field goal is good. Foles misfiring now. The dream appears to be dead.
Saints take over with 8:45 left. There's nobody in this stadium that can cover Michael Thomas. Saints continuing to run and burn clock. Bennett with a critical tackle for loss on third down, making this a 52-yard attempt. Wide right! Eagles still have a chance with 2:59 left. A rare (for today) Ertz sighting. Intercepted by Lattimore! Right through Alshon's hands. And the house money runs out. Brutal.
Also a lot of talk about why the Eagles rushed to get that play off when it was in their best interest not to. I mean, that wasn't why that happened, but it's curious.
Kamara gets a first down and that's it. (Saints 20, Eagles 14)
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