NFL playoff news, coaching updates: Commanders' doinked-in FG sends them to divisional round, Patriots hire Mike Vrabel

NFL playoff news, coaching updates: Commanders’ doinked-in FG sends them to divisional round, Patriots hire Mike Vrabel

Posted by Admin January 13, 2025 NFL

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NFL wild-card Sunday ended with a bang — or rather, a doink — as the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and became the only wild-card team over the weekend to win on the road.

Otherwise, thanks to home-team dominance, the Texans, Ravens, Bills and Eagles all advanced, ending the seasons of the Chargers, Steelers, Broncos and Packers, respectively.

But there’s still one more game to be played, as the Vikings and Rams face off Monday night in Glendale, Arizona due to the ongoing wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

Here’s a look at next weekend’s divisional-round matchups:

Saturday, Jan. 18

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans: 4:30 p.m. ET

Detroit Lions vs. Washington Commanders: 8 p.m. ET

Sunday, Jan. 19

Rams/Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 3 p.m. ET

Buffalo Bills vs. Baltimore Ravens: 6 p.m. ET

Meanwhile, the coaching carousel is still going round, with the Patriots being first off the board with the hiring of Mike Vrabel on Sunday. The Jets, Bears, Raiders, Saints and Jaguars are still interviewing candidates.

Follow along with Yahoo Sports as we track the latest coaching news and look toward the divisional round.

Live3 updates

A look at the NFL playoff bracket

Here’s where things stand going into Monday night’s matchup.

The NFL playoff bracket headed into the divisional round. (Yahoo Sports)

Mon, January 13, 2025 at 4:25 PM GMT+1

How will a neutral site impact Vikings-Rams matchup?
Mon, January 13, 2025 at 3:22 PM GMT+1

Commanders pull off thrilling wild-card win over Bucs

Generations went by in the NFL and one thing held true for all but a few outliers: Rookie quarterbacks struggled, they didn’t carry their teams to the playoffs and they surely didn’t go on the road in the playoffs and win.

There were some rookie QBs who started for very good teams and were parts of playoff appearances and even some wins. Few were the driving force behind those clubs. Not many rookie quarterbacks throughout NFL history have been Jayden Daniels.

He helped the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Bucs 23-20 on a Zane Gonzalez field goal that bounced off the upright and in as time expired in Sunday’s wild-card playoff game.

Daniels looks nothing like a rookie and hasn’t since very early this season. He looks like a superstar already. Daniels was a key, yet again, in the Commanders’ win that sent Washington to the divisional round where they’ll face top-seeded Detroit on Saturday night. Daniels completed a fourth-down pass for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the lead, and after the Buccaneers tied the game 20-20 with 4:41 left, he calmly led a drive for the win. As was the case all season, Daniels was completely unaffected in pressure situations.

Read more here.