Winners and losers from Saturday’s NFL divisional round games: Jayden Daniels shines, Jared Goff struggles

Neither No. 1 seed played extremely well during Saturday’s two divisional round playoff matchups. One top-seeded team advanced, while the other suffered a gut-wrenching loss. 

The Chiefs outlasted a spunky Texans team and will now await the winner of Sunday night’s game between the Bills and the Ravens. Kansas City will play in its seventh consecutive AFC title game and its sixth at Arrowhead. The Chiefs were the only top seed to advance on Saturday, though, as the Lions were stunned by the Commanders, who advanced to their first conference title game since 1991. 

Here’s a look at Saturday’s biggest winners and losers. 

Winner: Jayden Daniels

Daniels is having the greatest rookie season in NFL history. He was unflappable on Saturday night, going 22 of 31 for 299 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 52 yards on 15 carries while leading the Commanders to victory. 

One of Daniels’ biggest completions was a 12-yard dart to Terry McLaurin on a fourth-and-2 play that set up Jeremy McNichols‘ short touchdown run that gave Washington an insurmountable, 17-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Daniels and McLaurin had teamed up for a 58-yard touchdown earlier in the game. 

Loser: Jared Goff 

As good as Saturday night was for Daniels, it was equally that bad for Goff, who once again came up short in a big game. Goff’s rocky night included a pick six, an interception in the end zone just before halftime and an interception late in the game when the Lions were trying to pull off a miracle comeback. Goff also committed a fumble in the first quarter that set up Washington’s first touchdown. 

Goff is now 4-5 in the playoffs dating to his years with the Rams, who traded him to Detroit after Los Angeles coach Sean McVay apparently decided that Goff wasn’t capable of winning it all. The Lions may be thinking the same thing after Saturday night. The Lions appear married to Goff, however, after they signed him to a four-year extension last offseason. 

Winner: Kliff Kingsbury 

While Ben Johnson gets a lot of attention, his counterpart had a pretty good night. In fact, it seemed like everything Kingsbury called worked against a Lions defense that was on its heels the entire game. 

As was the case all year, Kingsbury wasn’t afraid to put the game on Daniels’ shoulders on several big possession downs. And unlike last week, Kingsbury’s offense established much-needed balance, as the Commanders ran for 183 yards and three touchdowns on 41 carries. 

All told, the Commanders’ 45 points were the most in franchise history for a road playoff game. That’s saying something, as Washington has a rich history that includes three Super Bowl wins. 

Speaking of Johnson, he is probably regretting his called trick play that called for Jameson Williams to throw downfield to Jahmyr Gibbs early in the fourth quarter and the Lions trailing by 10. Williams’ pass was picked off by rookie Mike Sainristil (one of his two picks on the night), and the Commanders scored a touchdown on their ensuing drive, extending their lead to 45-28. 

Loser: Lions defense

Detroit’s defense was the team’s biggest question mark entering the playoffs, and it was the main reason why the Lions joined the 2011 Packers as the only 15-win teams to lose their first playoff game. The unit, which has dealt with a myriad of injuries, simply couldn’t hang with Daniels and the Commanders offense. 

Specifically, the Lions’ pass rush was an issue that was never solved after Aidan Hutchinson suffered a season-ending injury in Week 5. The Lions struggled to put pressure on Daniels, who was not sacked. Detroit’s lack of a pass rush was especially felt on fourth down, as Washington was 3 of 4 on its fourth-down attempts. 

Winner: Travis Kelce

The Chiefs’ future Hall of Fame tight end broke Jerry Rice’s record by recording his ninth career 100-yard receiving game in the postseason. Kelce’s big night included the game-winning touchdown catch shortly after the Texans had gotten to within a point of the Chiefs. 

In all, Kelce caught seven passes for a season-high 117 yards. He also joined Rice as the only players in history with at least 20 career touchdown grabs. Kelce is three touchdown catches from taking that record from Rice, who is widely regarded as the greatest receiver of all time. 

Loser: Texans special teams 

It was a bad day at the office for Houston’s special teams units. They started the game by allowing a 63-yard punt return that turned into a 78-yard gain following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Adding insult to injury was Kris Boyd, who committed the penalty, shoving special teams coach Frank Ross on the sideline. 

The Texans later missed two field goals and an extra point attempt that would have tied the score in the fourth quarter. Houston’s poor special teams play undermined gritty efforts by its offense and defense. 

Winner: C.J. Stroud 

Stroud played well extremely well in a losing effort. Despite injuring his knee in the first quarter, Stroud consistently made plays in the air and on the ground, especially on possession downs. Trailing 13-3, Stroud led the Texans on consecutive scoring drives that included a 15-play, 82-yard drive that took over 10 minutes off the clock. 

The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year finished the game with 245 yards on 19 of 28 passing. He was also the game’s third-leading rusher with 42 yards on six carries. 

Loser: Officiating 

Unfortunately, questionable officiating was one of the main takeaways during and after the Chiefs’ win. Several questionable calls were made against the Texans that included multiple unnecessary roughness penalties against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. One of those penalties drew the ire of Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, who was on the call for ESPN. 

“We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game,” Texans pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. said afterward. 

Winner: George Karlaftis 

The Chiefs defensive end had a career-high three sacks that included one on fourth down with Kansas City protecting an eight-point lead. Karlaftis spearheaded a Chiefs pass rush that sacked Stroud eight times. Kansas City’s pass rush was one of the keys to the Chiefs’ win. 

Loser: Some betters in Texans-Chiefs

The Chiefs, who were 9.5-point favorites, had an 11-point lead late in the game after blocking a Texans field goal. But Kansas City gave up two points moments later after intentionally taking a safety. That decision had clear implications from a betting standpoint. 

Bettors that took Kansas City earlier in the week were still OK, though, as the Chiefs were initially tabbed as 8.5-point favorites.