Image Courtesy of Jacob Sandoval

The Divisional Round will take place on the weekend of January 20th to see which of these four teams will advance to the Championship Round.

The NFL regular season has concluded; now it is time for the playoffs. The Wild Card Round began on January 13, 2023, and ended on January 15, 2023. The Wild Card Round is where teams, depending on their seed position, play against each other in an elimination game. The number one seed in the AFC and NFC are given byes from the Wild Card Round and are automatically in the Divisional Playoff Round. The NFL playoffs have four games: the Wild Card Round, the Divisional Round, the Conference Championship, and the Super Bowl. The matchups for this round were the Browns vs. Texans, Dolphins vs. Chiefs, Packers vs. Cowboys, Rams vs. Lions, Steelers vs. Bills, and Eagles vs. Buccaneers.

“My favorite game from this weekend was the Packers vs. Cowboys game as it was great seeing the Cowboys lose in the playoffs again,” said Giselle Castrejon (12).

Castrejon was referring to the Dallas Cowboys home game played at AT&T Stadium against the Green Bay Packers, which turned out to be a historic game. Jordan Love, the Packers quarterback, threw for 272 yards and completed three touchdown passes. Along with Dak Prescott, the Cowboys quarterback, threw for 403 yards, three touchdown passes, and two interceptions. The Packers came into this game as underdogs, while the Cowboys were undefeated at home this season. They had won all eight games that they played at their stadium. The game would ultimately end with the Packers winning 48-32, advancing to the next round. They would then become the first 7th seed to win an NFL playoff game.

“I think the Lions can continue their Cinderella story run in the playoffs after beating the Rams on Sunday,” said Nikolai Caro (12).

The Detroit Lions would have a home playoff game for the first time in over three decades with their opponents, the L.A. Rams. This Cinderella story is due to the Lions winning their division for the first time in over 30 years. Now, their fans think they have a chance at the Super Bowl. Jared Goff, the Lions quarterback, threw for 277 yards and had one touchdown pass. Opposing Matthew Stafford, the Rams quarterback, threw for 367 yards and had two touchdown passes. The game would end with the Lions winning 24-23 and will advance to the next round.

The NFL Divisional Round took place on January 20th and 21st. The matchups are the Texans vs. Ravens, Packers vs. 49ers, Buccaneers vs. Lions, and Chiefs vs. Bills.