National Football League playoff results: Patriots win with relative ease, Cardinals win wild one

“Whether we play here or whether we play there, we’re going to have to play really well”.

“You concentrate on getting better at your fundamentals, techniques and those great players you’ve got to play against”, he said.

A false start penalty on left tackle Eric Fisher followed. But they just couldn’t climb back to tie the game. Kansas City made it 27-20 on Charcandrick West’s 1-yard run, but Gronkowski smothered the onside kick to protect the lead.

“Time was of the essence”, Reid said of his team’s hurry-up offense during its last drive of the game, down 27-13. “I’m not sure they ran it one or two times”. Time was of the essence.

The Patriots controlled the Kansas City Chiefs in a 27-20 victory Saturday in the divisional round of the playoffs.

“(Bill) Belichick does a phenomenal job here and it gives us a great example of where we need to be, so this is a good experience for us and that’s the way we’ll take it. We’ll learn from our mistakes and how you have to play if you want to advance in the postseason. The team couldn’t capitalize on that possession and punted the ball back to the Patriots who quickly went three and out.

“I understood that this is probably the last opportunity that I will have a chance, a significant chance, to win a Super Bowl”, said Jackson, 32. The Chiefs then made it to the Patriots 16, but settled for a field goal. And they pulled off an impressive 98-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter to take a commanding 14-3 lead. Aaron Rodgers converted a 4th and 20, and then threw a 41-yard Hail Mary touchdown to force overtime.

It provided some hope for a banged-up offense that only received a handful of snaps from receiver Jeremy Maclin, who playing with a high-ankle sprain, and was also without running back Spencer Ware (ankle sprain) and starting center Mitch Morse (concussion) and guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (concussion).

The tight end had seven receptions for 82 yards.

“I was trying to make a play; I feel like it swung the game”, Davis said of his fumble.

“It’s tough for every player to go through injuries”, Edelman said. He leaned on two familiar – and previously banged up – options to win his record 22nd career playoff game. He directed an 11-play touchdown drive on New England’s first possession, all passing plays from the shotgun. Chris Conley also had five catches as Smith connected with 10 receivers.

A win for the Broncos will mean New England having to play in Denver next Sunday, while a Steelers victory will see the AFC Championship Game played in Foxboro.

The Patriots will meet the victor of Monday’s (AEST) game between Pittsburgh and Denver for a spot in Super Bowl 50 as they try to become the first repeat National Football League champs since they did it in 2003-04.

Tom Brady had his weapons back and the New England Patriots are heading to their fifth straight AFC championship game. “It’s pretty cool. It’s hard to do, man”.

After spending two weeks recovering from knee and back injuries, Gronkowski caught seven passes for 83 yards, including touchdowns from 8 and 16 yards out. Edelman’s impact on the Patriots’ offense was immediate and obvious; his first catch went for 11 yards on third-and-10 on the game’s first series.

The Patriots started off the game looking like the Patriots we saw in the first half of the season.

The drive was in danger of stalling at the Kansas City 35 when Chiefs linebacker Dezman Moses hit Brady late and was called for roughing the passer.

Four plays later, unable to find an open receiver, Brady took off for the corner of the end zone.

The Chiefs managed to keep him out, but only for one more play. He ran to his right, sprinting toward the end zone; when two defenders sandwiched him at the goal line and the side judge ruled Brady a few inches shy, the 38-year-old quarterback popped up and stalked toward the sideline. “We wanted to make sure we got our best personnel in for that play, and we didn’t get that done”. “The pain reached a point where it was time for me to come out of the game”.