Baker Mayfield
All and the resurgent Tampa Bay Buccaneers wanted was an opportunity to make some noise in the playoffs.
A strong finish to the regular season provided one. Their 32-9 wild-card playoff victory over Jalen Hurts and the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night guaranteed they’ll have another.
Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns, and Tampa Bay’s defense never allowed Hurts and Philadelphia’s sputtering offense to get into a rhythm before a crowd of 63,397 at Raymond James Stadium.
The Bucs (10-8) won for the sixth time in seven games to advance to a NFC divisional round matchup on the road next Sunday against the Detroit Lions (13-5), another team — like the Eagles — that stymied Mayfield during the regular season.
“We worked extremely hard to get a chance to be in the playoffs and we just wanted an opportunity. Our guys came out and played really really well . ... Once again, the defense played lights out. We’re happy, but we’ve still got more to go,” Mayfield said.
“We were underdogs, we’re going to be underdogs next week, too,” coach Todd Bowles added. “We understand that. We embrace it. We like it.”
David Moore scored on a 44-yard reception in the first quarter. Rookie Trey Palmer broke the game open with a 56-yard catch-and-run for a TD that put the Bucs up 25-9 late in the third quarter. Both receivers took advantage of a porous, poor-tackling Eagles secondary to make their way to the end zone.
Mayfield, the 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick who’s playing with his fourth team in less than two years, completed 22 of 36 passes without an interception. He capped his first playoff appearance since the 2020 season with a 23-yard TD pass to Chris Godwin.
It was a disappointing finish for Philadelphia (11-7), which lost to Kansas City in last year’s Super Bowl.
Allen, Bills dispatch Steelers
It made no difference to Josh Allen what day or time the Buffalo Bills faced the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The AFC wild-card playoff game could’ve been played Sunday as scheduled, in the midst of a lakeeffect storm that dumped more than 2 feet of snow on the region, and the Bills were going be to ready.
They proved that on Monday, when Allen threw three touchdown passes and scored on a franchise playoff-record 52-yard touchdown run as Buffalo beat Pittsburgh 31-17 in a game that was postponed by 271⁄2 hours.
“People keep saying that’s what we wanted. We had no call in that,” Allen said about the postponement. “We would have played yesterday, would have played Saturday would have played Friday, it wouldn’t have mattered. We would have come out here and played when we were told to play.”
Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Eagles during the second half of their wild-card game Monday.
The game turned into a celebration of the elements. Snow blanketed a majority of the seats inside Highmark Stadium when the gates opened and was put to good use by fans, who tossed handfuls into the air like confetti to celebrate.
The second-seeded Bills (12-6), who closed the regular season with five straight wins, advance to host Patrick Mahomes and the No. 3 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round on Sunday night. Buffalo and its fans have longed for a home playoff game against the Chiefs after their 2020 and ’21 seasons ended with playoff losses at Kansas City.
Buffalo led 21-0 before Pittsburgh scored on three straight possessions to get within 24-17. Allen then sealed the win, throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir with 6:27 remaining. Shakir caught the pass at the 10 over the middle, slipped Minkah Fitzpatrick’s tackle attempt with a spin move, and outraced the rest of the Steelers defenders into the end zone.
Allen finished 21 of 30 for 203 yards and ran for 74 yards on eight carries, becoming the first quarterback in NFL playoff history to throw three or more TD passes while rushing for 70 or more yards and a score. He didn’t have a turnover for just the fourth time this season.
The Steelers (10-8) lost their fifth straight playoff game; the franchise’s most recent postseason victory was exactly seven years ago.
Tomlin abruptly leaves press conference
The Steelers’ latest one-and-done playoff appearance is raising questions about Mike Tomlin’s future.
The NFL’s longest tenured coach was in no mood to talk about it Monday night.
Tomlin walked off the podium at his postgame news conference following a 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills when a reporter began with, “Mike, you have a year left on your contract.”
The abrupt exit only heightened speculation about what’s next for Tomlin and the Steelers. He’s been in charge there for 17 seasons, making him the NFL’s longest tenured head coach after Bill Belichick parted with New England last week. He’s never had a losing season — an NFL record run — but this year was close.
Belichick interviews with Falcons
Belichick signaled he’s ready to get back to coaching less than a week after parting with the New England Patriots, speaking with the Atlanta Falcons about their vacant position.
The Falcons announced Monday night they have interviewed the 71-year-old Belichick, who left the Patriots on Thursday after 24 seasons and a record six Super Bowl championships.
The Falcons are seeking a successor to Arthur
who was fired shortly after the conclusion of his third straight 7-10 season.
Eagles center Kelce intends to retire
Jason Kelce stood on the sideline in tears as the final seconds ticked off in his likely final NFL game. Kelce embraced his long-time offensive line coach. He removed his helmet once the game ended — a Philadelphia Eagles loss that completed a harrowing season-ending collapse — and extended his hand to familiar faces in the stands.
What Kelce knew then — what the gregarious center couldn’t bring himself to say when he declined to speak to the media in the aftermath of the defeat — was that his career was over.
He has been the heart of the Eagles, a hero on the Philadelphia sports scene, a Super Bowl champion. But after 13 seasons, 156 straight starts and six All-Pro Team selections, Kelce has told teammates he intends to retire, three people informed of the decision told The Associated Press. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday out of respect for Kelce’s decision, which he has not yet made public.
Commanders make it official
Adam Peters is the new general manager of the Washington Commanders, with the team making the hire agreed to last week official Monday.
A person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press on Friday that the team had a deal in place with the San Francisco 49ers assistant GM to put him in charge of football operations.
Peters, 44, was one of two finalists along with Chicago’s Ian Cunningham. His next tasks will include molding the front office and hiring a head coach to replace the recently fired Ron Rivera.
KIM KLEMENT NEITZEL / USA TODAY SPORTS