NFL Divisional Sunday Top Plays: Rams edge Bucs, Chiefs survive Bills
Saturday in the NFL was a treat for football fans. Sunday's action was even better.
After the 49ers and Bengals won thrillers on the first day of divisional-round action, the Los Angeles Rams visited the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and delivered an instant classic.
It was a wild contest, with the Rams ultimately surviving a monster comeback by the Buccaneers and holding on for a 30-27 win.
That game was followed by a titanic matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium, and it proved to be an absolute thriller.
The Chiefs outlasted the Bills 42-36 in overtime and will now play in their fourth consecutive AFC Championship Game.
Here are the top plays from Sunday in the NFL:
Kansas City Chiefs 42, Buffalo Bills 36
The Devin Singletary Show
The Bills' starting running back was the star of their opening drive, touching the ball six times for 41 yards and the first touchdown of the game.
Mahomes magic
Patrick Mahomes showed off his legs on the Chiefs' first drive of the game, scoring a touchdown on the ground to tie the score 7-7.
Great escape
His first touchdown came on the ground, so naturally, Mahomes' second would come through the air, where he evaded the Bills' pass rush to give the Chiefs a 14-7 lead.
Responding before the half
After taking an early lead, the Bills found themselves down late in the second quarter. They responded with a touchdown with 37 seconds left in the half to tie it at 14-14.
Turning on the jets
The Chiefs have weapons all over the field on offense, and it was Mecole Hardman's turn to make a play, scoring on a 25-yard run to extend the lead to 23-14.
Coming right back
For every Chiefs' score, the Bills had a response. Josh Allen connected with Gabriel Davis for a 75-yard touchdown to keep the Bills within arms reach.
Davis hat trick
For the third time on the day, Davis found the end zone. This time, he gave the Bills a 29-26 lead with 1:54 left in the fourth quarter.
Faster than a cheetah
With the game on the line, Mahomes went to Tyreek Hill for a 64-yard touchdown pass to give the Chiefs the lead with 1:02 left in the game.
One more for good measure
Davis had been the catalyst all game for the Bills, and he scored a fourth touchdown with 13 seconds remaining to give the Bills a 36-33 lead.
He became the first player in NFL history catch four touchdown passes in a playoff game.
Making the impossible, possible
With just 13 seconds on the clock, the Chiefs were somehow able to get into field goal range thanks to Mahomes, Hill and Travis Kelce.
The field goal forced overtime.
Walk-off win!
And when it got to overtime, Mahomes made sure the Bills wouldn't get another chance to score. He drove the Chiefs' offense down the field to score a touchdown on a pass to Kelce, winning 42-36 and advancing to their fourth straight AFC Championship Game.
Los Angeles Rams 30, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27
Testing the secondary
After forcing a punt on Tampa's first drive, Los Angeles took over and got the ball rolling early.
Matthew Stafford was poised in the pocket to start off, going 5-of-7 for 81 yards in a well-orchestrated push that ended in a chip-shot field goal.
Hi, my name is …
The Rams can beat you in a number of ways, and they showed that in their second possession with a well-drawn-up scoring play from Sean McVay designed for Kendall Blanton, who hauled in his first TD reception ever. What a spot to do so in.
Looking 'em off
Stafford was bound to go deep at some point in this one, and he found his favorite target with a doozy of a look-off to confuse Tampa's secondary, before dialing up a deep shot to Cooper Kupp, who made a man miss en route to a 70-yard touchdown.
Defense wins
If L.A. was going to win this game, it was going to have to stifle Tom Brady. It did so in the first half, thwarting Brady's final attempt for points before halftime with an impressive INT grab from Nick Scott.
Game of inches
L.A. had a chance to go up 27-3 following the INT, but Cam Akers fumbled near the goal line in what was an incredible save from Antoine Winfield Jr. Tampa temporarily stopped the bleeding, and headed into the break with a 20-3 deficit after recovering the fumble.
Not letting up
The Rams came out in the third quarter and continued to apply pressure on the Buccaneers, marching down the field on their second drive of the quarter to take a 27-3 lead.
Signs of life
After forcing a fumble to get the ball back, Brady and the Buccaneers' offense finally found the end zone at the end of the third quarter, cutting the Rams' lead to 27-13.
Back-to-back turnovers
Just when the Buccaneers appeared to have signs of life, Von Miller recorded a sack and fumble recovery to stall the Buccaneers' momentum.
But the Rams gave the ball right back, to give the Buccaneers another shot.
One strep closer
With the Rams seemingly in control of this game late in the fourth quarter, Brady connected with Mike Evans for a 55-yard touchdown to make it a one-possession game.
Another break
The Buccaneers needed a turnover to have a legitimate chance to tie the game after their previous touchdown, and that's exactly what they got with a forced fumble and recovery.
Playoff Lenny!
To tie the game and complete the comeback, Leonard Fournette scored his second touchdown of the game to knot the game at 27-all.
Old reliable
With the game on the line, Stafford leaned on Kupp to come through in the clutch.
Kupp made good on Stafford's faith in him, recording two huge catches to put the Rams in field goal range to walk away with a 30-27 win and advance to the NFC Championship Game.