Chiefs, Bengals, Eagles lead Cowherd's divisional round grades

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The NFL The divisional round concluded on Sunday after two days of highly anticipated matches, and four teams are one step closer to advancing to Super Bowl LVII at Arizona (Sun., Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

The first seed of the AFC Kansas City Chiefs beat the fourth seed Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20, while the third seed Cincinnati Bengals he took out the second seed Buffalo Bills by double digits, 27-10.

Elsewhere, the NFC is the top seed Philadelphia Eagles dominated the sixth seed New York Giants 38-7, and the second seed San Francisco 49ers defeated the fifth seed Dallas Cowboys19-12

On Monday’s “The Herd,” Colin Cowherd dished out grades for each team’s performance this past weekend.

Let’s go!

Colin Cowherd breaks down the divisional round ratings for each team

BOX

Key Stats: Patrick Mahomes played the entire second half after injuring his ankle and finished 22 of 30 for 195 yards and two touchdowns, including a score midway through the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference.

Pastor’s Thoughts: “Bye, they looked great early. They looked ready. They also went hard on Travis Kelce, so obviously they saw something on film. . . . Mahomes [is] 5-0 in the divisional round. … They caught the Jags a little off guard. … I think they had a pretty consistent pass.”

JAGUARS: B

Key Stats: The Jaguars got back to within three points early in the fourth quarter, but any chance of a comeback was crushed by two straight turnovers. Jamal Agnew knocked down near the goal line, followed by a Trevor Lawrence pick up

Pastor’s Thoughts: “I still think they’re in a rebuild. I think their offensive line needs help. They won a playoff game after having a bad record the last two years. … Relative to their roster, I thought it was a very good effort.”

BENGALS: A++

Key Stats: Despite dealing with a steady stream of snow flurries in frigid conditions, third-year quarterback Joe Burrow shredded Buffalo’s defense, completing 23-of-36 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, Burrow targeted eight different receivers to complement a dominant rushing attack (34 rushes for 172 yards and a score).

Pastor’s Thoughts: “I thought it was the best game plan of the weekend. I thought it was everything. Accurate passing: All three touchdown drives were 70+ yards. [They] outshot Buffalo 172-63. It falls [was] fired only once. I mean, it was really a masterclass in coaching, and they did. To have that kind of rushing performance with three safety offensive linemen, it was really impressive [performance].”

ACCOUNTS: D

Key Stats: Josh Allen went 25 of 42 for 265 yards, no touchdowns and an interception, which didn’t come until the 59th minute. However, by then, the Bills’ fate was already sealed.

Pastor’s Thoughts: “First series: three and out. [They] never adjusted Josh Allen led the NFL in picks and giveaways this season, including the playoffs. Here’s another number that’s a little scary if you’re a Bills fan: Josh Allen had the most games (eight) with a sub-60% completion percentage this season, including the playoffs. … There are boys doing 68%. … Josh Allen’s regression, it’s on his coaching staff.”

EAGLES: A++

Key Stats: The Eagles rushed for 268 yards on 44 carries, with 202 coming from the dynamic running back duo. Kenneth Gainwell i Miles Sanders. Also, Philly’s dominant offensive line: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo i Lane Johnson — pounded the Giants’ front line from start to finish.

Pastor’s Thoughts: “They had a plan and they executed it perfectly. They have 270 rushing yards. Four different players had a sack. … It was very obvious very early on what they planned to do and they executed it.”

GIANTS: F

Key Stats: Daniel Jones threw for just 135 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. The Giants had fewer total yards on offense (253) than the Eagles on the ground alone (268 rushing yards).

Pastor’s Thoughts: “I thought they gave up. Daniel Jones is 1-10 in his primetime career — more interceptions than touchdowns. He is who he is. If he was on the market, he [would] they have no takers. So, congratulations Giants [on] have what no one else wants. Also, against playoff teams, Daniel Jones is 7-19, and the few wins have mostly been narrow.”

49ers: B+

Key Stats: The rookie quarterback Brock Purdy he was 19 of 29 for 214 yards. The Niners had 327 yards of total offense compared to the Cowboys’ 282 and Purdy had no turnovers, compared to Dak Prescott’s two.

Pastor’s Thoughts: “They are 10-1 at home. [The] Heads [were] the last team to beat them. I didn’t think against Seattle early [that] they were great, unprovisional. I will say, in both games, excellent adjustments at half-time, but I thought in both games it was a bit difficult early on.

COWBOYS: B-

Key Stats: Prescott connected on 23 of 37 passes for 206 yards with one score and two interceptions, leading to six points for the Niners.

Pastor’s Thoughts: “I didn’t think they were terrible. I thought Dak battled. I thought they played a really good first half. Dak had 17 picks this year — he led the NFL. I thought it was a Dak problem. . . Everyone will point.to the last play where [Ezekiel Elliott] is transported by truck. This is a flag football play. … The bottom line is, for most of the game, they didn’t have Tony Pollard, a pitcher they didn’t trust, Dak was struggling, and they made it a very competitive game.”

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