NFL play-offs: Buccaneers steamroll Eagles as Bills set up Chiefs clash

Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns to lead the resurgent Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 32-9 wildcard playoff victory over Jalen Hurts and the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

The Bucs (10-8) won for the sixth time in seven games to advance to a NFC divisional round matchup on the road next Sunday against the Detroit Lions (13-5), another team – like the Eagles – that stymied Mayfield during the regular season.

David Moore scored on a 44-yard reception in the first quarter. Rookie Trey Palmer broke the game open with a 56-yard catch-and-run for a TD that put the Bucs up 25-9 late in the third quarter. Both receivers took advantage of a porous, poor-tackling Eagles secondary to make their way to the end zone.

Mayfield, the 2018 No 1 overall draft pick who’s playing with his fourth team in less than two years, completed 22 of 36 passes without an interception. He capped his first playoff appearance since the 2020 season with a 23-yard TD pass to Chris Godwin.

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“We’ve fought so hard to be at this point, to get a chance to be in the playoffs, and I’m so proud of this team tonight, the way we came out and started fast ... We can play better than we did tonight but it’s on to the next one in Detroit,” said Mayfield after the game.

It was a disappointing finish for Philadelphia (11-7), who lost to Kansas City in last year’s Super Bowl and then spent spent much of this season resembling a club focused and determined to get back to the title game.

Pittsburgh Steelers 17-31 Buffalo Bills

Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and scored on a franchise playoff-record 52-yard touchdown run, and the Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in an AFC wildcard playoff game that was postponed a day because of a lake-effect blizzard.

The Highmark Stadium stands erupted with snow being tossed into the air like confetti when Allen threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir with 6:27 remaining that restored a two-touchdown lead for Buffalo. Shakir caught the pass at the 10-yard line, and then slipped Minkah Fitzpatrick’s tackle attempt by spinning around before outracing the rest of the Steelers defenders into the end zone.

The second-seeded Bills (12-6), who closed the regular season with five straight wins, advance to host Patrick Mahomes and the No 3 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round on Sunday night. The Bills have longed for a home playoff game against the Chiefs after their 2020 and 2021 seasons ended with playoff losses at Kansas City.

“It’s going to take a team effort, they’re playing really good football right now, we know what type of team they have, what type of quarterback they have in Pat [Mahomes] over there, so we’re going to need everyone in Bills mafia to support us,” said Allen after the game.

Allen finished 21 of 30 for 203 yards and ran for 74 yards on eight carries, becoming the first quarterback in NFL playoff history to throw three or more TD passes while rushing for 70 or more yards and a score.

Mason Rudolph threw two touchdown passes in his first playoff start for the Steelers (10-8), but Pittsburgh were too inconsistent on both sides of the ball to keep up with Allen and the Bills. The Steelers lost their fifth straight playoff game; the franchise’s most recent postseason victory was exactly seven years ago.

The Steelers came out flat, allowing Buffalo to score touchdowns on three of their first five possessions and build a 21-0 lead on Allen’s electrifying touchdown run midway through the second quarter. But Pittsburgh got back into the game by blocking a field goal attempt late in the second quarter, leading to a touchdown.

Rudolph, a longtime backup, took over for the injured Kenny Pickett and ineffective Mitch Trubisky to lead the Steelers to three straight wins to close the regular season and was given the playoff start even after Pickett recovered from an ankle injury.

Buffalo had a to wait an extra day to host the Steelers after a dangerous snowstorm that dumped more than 2ft of snow on the region, leading the NFL to bump the game from its scheduled Sunday afternoon start.

The elements didn’t play much of a factor. Though temperatures were around 17F (-8C), the skies were clear and there was only a slight breeze blowing in off Lake Erie.

NFL divisional playoffs

January 20th: Houston Texans v Baltimore Ravens – 9.35pm Irish time

January 2st: Green Bay Packers v San Francisco 49ers – 1.15am

January 21st: Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Detroit Lions – 8pm

January 21st: Kansas City Chiefs v Buffalo Bills – 11.40pm