Many people say, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish”. In the NFL, every team sets the goal to make it to the biggest game of the season on a Sunday night in February. Some teams may go undefeated all season and others make it as Wild Cards, but no matter how they make it, they all hope to be holding the Lombardi trophy when it is all said and done.

The first round of the NFL playoffs began with Wild Card Weekend on January 11^th and 12^th. Normally, based on the bracket, you would expect a 4th-seeded team to beat a 5th-seeded team, however this year in the NFC North, two teams had 14 wins and only one could win the division. After drafting a quarterback in the first round, Minnesota was looking like a serious threat with young JJ McCarthy, their new starting QB, fresh off a National Championship at Michigan. However, he went down early in the pre-season with a torn right meniscus, leaving former San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback, Sam Darnold to lead the Vikings this season. Despite these challenges, Minnesota ended the season 14-3 but was second in the NFC North after losing to the Lions in the regular season. On the contrary, the Rams began their season at 1-4. Many speculated they were not even in playoff contention. The team even began to consider trading one of their number one receivers, Copper Kupp. However, as the season went on, they found their groove and won five of their last six games before going into the playoffs. So, the Los Angeles Rams beating the Minnesota Vikings was a bigger shock than it may have seemed, simply going by the numbers.

Following Wild Card Weekend, the Divisional Round took place on January 18^th and 19^th. The number one seed was the Kansas City Chiefs  and they handled the Houston Texans quickly. This was expected since the Chiefs came off a bye week during the first round and their starters had been resting since their Christmas Day game. The Rams ran into the Philadelphia Eagles and Saquon Barkley, the new 2024 NFC Champions. Their momentum was stifled, but not without a fight in the downpour of snow. Then, our hometown heroes, led by their MVP candidate quarterback Lamar Jackson fell short to the Buffalo Bills 25-27. With two minutes left in the game, Jackson threw an interception and three-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews dropped a two-point conversion to tie the game. Finally, the biggest upset of the weekend came when the number one seed, the Detroit Lions, lost by two touchdowns to the Commanders and their rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels was a Heisman Trophy winner at LSU in 2023 and the second-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, behind Bear’s quarterback Caleb Williams. The Washington Commanders have not won in the Divisional Round and made it to an NFC title game since 1992, which was eight years before Jayden Daniels was even born. Unfortunately, that meant the 6th-seeded Commanders would visit the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

In my opinion, conference championship games are just as important and exciting to watch as the Super Bowl. This year, the two NFC competitors were separated by just 120 miles, a two-hour drive up I-95 from Northwest Stadium, formerly FedEx Field, to Lincoln Financial. After suffering a left knee injury, star quarterback Jalen Hurts was expected to wear a brace during the NFC Championship which seemed to be no hindrance to his winning performance on Sunday. Besides Hurts, the Philadelphia Eagles running back, Saquon Barkley has had an incredible season with 2,005 rushing yards, making him the ninth and newest member of the 2,000-yard club. Some other notable names with over 2,000 yards include Derrick Henry and Barry Sanders. Sadly, this game marked the end of the Commanders’ playoff run. Still, it was a spectacular season for their rookie quarterback and first-year head coach, Dan Quinn. Daniels set a rookie record for the most passing yards in the postseason during his first drive against Philly. The second conference game kicked off at 6:30 p.m. in Arrowhead Stadium with the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs meeting for the sixth time in the playoffs. The Chiefs came out on top 32-29 and will face the Eagles. The Chiefs hope to make NFL history and win three consecutive Super Bowls. Eight teams have made it to back-to-back Super Bowls, but Kansas City is on the brink of becoming a dominating playoff contender every season. MVP candidate quarterback Josh Allen threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns, but it was not enough to overcome their dropped passes, missed tackles, and failed two-point conversion attempt that could have given the Chiefs only a four-point lead before halftime. As well as Allen, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs uncommonly had multiple fumbles which broke their streak of eight straight games (regular and post season) without a turnover. Despite their challenges, Kansas City always finds a way to win. it should be noted that some credit their wins to recent speculations that the referees make decisions to benefit the Chiefs and turn a blind eye to penalties the home team committed on Sunday. However, Patrick Mahomes still earned his sixth fourth-quarter playoff victory breaking the ti and securing his team a trip to New Orleans on February 9^th.

The 2024-2025 NFL season has been an exciting ride, and fortunately for us, it is not over quite yet. The Super Bowl will take place at Caesars Superdome with a halftime performance by Kendrick Lamar and rumored guest SZA. No matter the outcome, the regular season and playoffs have set the stage for an interesting off-season, draft, and 2025-2026 season.