3 stats that told the story of the NFL Divisional Round
A pair of seven-point triumphs, a decisive win by the defending AFC champions and a lopsided victory by NFC’s top seed summed up the Divisional Round.
A year ago, home-field advantage didn’t mean much when it came to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
In 2021, the Bengals won at Tennessee, the 49ers edged the Packers at Lambeau Field and the eventual Super Bowl champion Rams prevailed at Tampa. Only the Kansas City Chiefs held serve and it took an extra quarter to outlast the Bills.
This past weekend, the Chiefs, Eagles and 49ers all won in their own building. Meanwhile, Cincinnati went to Orchard Park and pushed around the NFC East champions.
So what else was worth noting in this year’s NFL Divisional Playoffs?
NFL Divisional Round: 3 stats that told the story in the playoffs
1. Running the rock
The ground game saw a bit of a revival around the league this season and four clubs that came out on top in this round finished with at least 30 running plays and a minimum of 110 yards rushing. The Chiefs (144), Eagles (268) and Bengals (172) all rolled up a least 140-plus, while Kyle Shanahan’s Niners gained 113 yards on 32 tries in the 19-12 victory over Dallas.
2. Efficient quarterback play
Patrick Mahomes wound up leaving his team’s tilt with Jacksonville so Andy Reid turned to Chad Henne for a spell. Those two quarterbacks combined for three scores and zero interceptions. Jalen Hurts and Joe Burrow each threw for two scores and weren’t picked off and the Eagles’ signal-caller also ran for a touchdown.
The Niners’ Brock Purdy didn’t throw a TD pass but also kept the ball out of the other team’s hands. When it came to the aerial game, the four winning teams got seven touchdown passes and zero interceptions from their quarterbacks.
3. Take care of the football
The only miscue by any of the four victorious teams in this round came on special teams. A fumbled punt return by San Francisco speedster Ray-Ray McCloud set up a Dallas’ field goal early in the fourth quarter.
On the other hand, the losing Jaguars (2), Giants (1), Bills (1) and Cowboys (2) each turned over the ball at least once.
Taking care of the football is usually the key to success in the NFL playoffs. There have been 10 postseason games played so far in 2022 and six of the winning clubs played turnover-free football.
