If you didn't have your eyes glued to the TV yesterday, honestly, you missed a pair of games that couldn't have been more different if they tried. We’re talking about a heart-stopping overtime thriller in the thin air of Denver and a total, absolute demolition up in the Pacific Northwest. If you’re searching for who won last night in NFL action, the short answer is the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. But man, the "how" and the "what's next" are where it gets really crazy, especially for the folks in Colorado who are currently celebrating a win while holding their collective breath over a massive injury.
Denver's Bittersweet Overtime Escape
The Denver Broncos are headed to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in a decade, having just outlasted the Buffalo Bills 33-30 in an overtime classic. Empower Field at Mile High was vibrating. But here is the thing: the biggest story isn't even the win itself. It's the fact that star quarterback Bo Nix, who has been the engine of this 15-3 season, broke his right ankle just moments before the game-winning kick.
Sean Payton had to drop that bombshell in the postgame presser, and you could just feel the air leave the room. Nix actually stayed in to take the final knee that set up Wil Lutz's 23-yard field goal. That is some serious "tough cookie" energy, as Payton put it.
Why the Bills are Heading Home
Buffalo has to be kicking themselves. Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns and 283 yards, but the turnovers were just a nightmare. Five of them. You basically can't win in the playoffs when you give the ball away five times.
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- The Overtime Pick: Ja’Quan McMillian wrestled the ball away from Brandin Cooks at the Denver 20-yard line. If Buffalo holds onto that, they probably kick a field goal and we're talking about a different winner.
- The First Half Swing: Denver scored 10 points in the final 22 seconds of the second quarter.
- The Run Game: James Cook actually had a great night with 117 yards, but his early fumble really set a bad tone for the Buffalo offense.
The Seahawks Left No Doubt
While Denver was a nail-biter, the nightcap in Seattle was a bloodbath. The Seattle Seahawks absolutely dismantled the San Francisco 49ers 41-6. It wasn't even competitive after the first quarter. Rashid Shaheed took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, and Lumen Field never got quiet after that.
The 49ers looked like a shell of themselves. Brock Purdy was under constant fire, getting sacked by Leonard Williams for a 14-yard loss and throwing a pick to Ernest Jones IV. Seattle’s defense, which people are already starting to call the "Legion of Boom 2.0," held the Niners to just two field goals.
Kenneth Walker III was the workhorse here, racking up 116 yards and two scores. Sam Darnold didn't have to be a hero; he just had to be efficient, which he was, finishing with 124 yards and a nice touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
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What This Means for the Bracket
So, who won last night in NFL play now holds the keys to their respective conferences. Because the Broncos and Seahawks were both #1 seeds, they’ve earned the right to host the Championship games next Sunday, January 25.
- AFC Championship: Denver Broncos vs. Winner of Texans/Patriots (3 p.m. ET on CBS).
- NFC Championship: Seattle Seahawks vs. Winner of Rams/Bears (6:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
The big question mark now is Jarrett Stidham. With Bo Nix officially out for the rest of the playoffs, the Broncos' Super Bowl hopes rest on Stidham's shoulders. It’s a brutal twist of fate for a team that finally looked like the powerhouse of the AFC. Meanwhile, Seattle looks like a freight train that nobody wants to stand in front of.
If you are looking to stay ahead of next week's lines, keep a close eye on the injury reports coming out of Denver. The spread for the AFC Championship is going to swing wildly depending on how the market reacts to the Stidham news. For the NFC, expect Seattle to be heavy favorites regardless of who wins between the Rams and Bears today.
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Check the final scores one more time:
- Broncos 33, Bills 30 (OT)
- Seahawks 41, 49ers 6
Now, we wait to see who joins them after today's Sunday doubleheader. Keep your eyes on the Texans-Patriots game at 3 p.m. to see who has to travel to Mile High next week.