NFL divisional round playoffs: Overreactions, big questions - ESPN

The divisional round of the NFL playoffs kicked off Saturday afternoon with the Chiefs topping the Texans 23-14 to advance to the AFC Championship Game. Then the Commanders punched their ticket to the NFC Championship Game on Saturday night, beating the Lions 45-31.

What are the lessons from each divisional round matchup, and what's next for these teams? We asked NFL analyst Ben Solak and national insider Dan Graziano to help size up each game and look forward from all angles. For Texans-Chiefs and Commanders-Lions, Ben answered one big remaining question and Dan judged the legitimacy of one potential overreaction.

Let's jump in, making sense of the Commanders' wild upset of the Lions and Travis Kelce's big performance for the Chiefs.

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Texans-Chiefs | Commanders-Lions

Overreaction? The Lions have already blown their best shot at a Super Bowl.

Not an overreaction. This is a team that was up 17 points in the NFC Championship Game on the road against the 49ers a year ago and blew that lead. Then they rolled into Saturday night as the No. 1 seed in the conference and heavy favorites over the visiting Commanders, and they turned the ball over five times and couldn't stop Jayden Daniels and the Washington offense. They committed bad penalty after bad penalty. They tried trick plays that didn't work. It was a disaster of an evening for a team that was the best in the NFC all season, even as injuries ravaged its defense.

The story of the 2024 Lions could end up being that all those injuries wrecked a special season. It could be that Daniels is just so much better than any of us ever thought he would be and that this is the game that launches a legendary QB career and a new golden football era in Washington. The