Chiefs, Rams into conference finals
The Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs won through to the NFL’s conference championship matches.
In the Rams’ 30-22 win over the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum in Los Angeles yesterday, C J Anderson rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and Todd Gurley rushed for 115 more and another TD to earn the Rams their first playoff victory in 14 years.
Gurley and Anderson punished the Cowboys’ normally sturdy run defence and sent the second-seeded Rams (14-3) to the NFC championship game for the first time in 17 years.
The Rams will play either the New Orleans Saints or Philadelphia Eagles in this week’s NFC Championship game.
In the early game, Kansas City beat the Indianapolis Colts for the first time in five playoff meetings to earn their first AFC title game appearance since January 1994.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes picked apart Indianapolis in his post-season debut, while the Chiefs’ defence answered their critics in the 31-13 win.
Mahomes threw for 278 yards while running for a touchdown, and running back Damien Williams ran for 129 yards and another score.
This weekend, the AFC West champions will play the winner of today’s game between the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots for a spot in the Super Bowl in Atlanta.
Andrew Luck was held to 203 yards passing for the Colts, while Marlon Mack was a non-factor on the ground. He had 46 yards rushing before leaving late in the fourth quarter with a hip injury.
With persistent snow turning Arrowhead Stadium into a winter wonderland, the Chiefs waltzed all over a Colts defence that had almost shut out the Texans a week ago. Mahomes and co scored on their first three possessions, and again just before halftime, to take a 24-7 lead into the break.
If there was any question whether this would be Kansas City’s day, it was answered when Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri missed a 23-yard field-goal attempt off the upright just before halftime. It was the first time in 22 post-season attempts that he’d missed from that close.