NFL playoffs schedule and results 2016: Broncos rally to beat Steelers

The Carolina Panthers engaged in some not-so-subtle mocking after defensive back Tre Boston sacked Russell Wilson in the second quarter of the NFC Divisional playoffs. To most people watching this was just a simple little sack dance, but it had a LOT of hidden meaning.

The dance comes from Future’s “Where Ya At,” and it should be mentioned that Wilson’s girlfriend Ciara used to date Future and has a child with him. So yes, the Panthers ABSOLUTELY knew what they were doing. They also used Future’s music to play the Seahawks off the field following warmups.

The Carolina Panthers struck early with an opening drive touchdown over Seattle and this little girl couldn’t even believe what happened. Jonathan Stewart ran into the end zone and locked eyes with her, a football in his hands. Her reaction says it all.

SB Nation presents: Cam Newton went to great lengths to get a kid a ball last month

“It was dangerous what I did,” Wallace said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “You can’t do stuff like that out there. I fully expected it. It’s part of the game.”

Despite Wallace’s apparent remorse, Bruton said after the hit the center should’ve faced more punishment from the league than just a fine.

Cam Newton’s son “Chosen” was born just before Christmas and now the Panthers quarterback already has a shirt with his baby son dabbing. It might be years before we see Chosen suit up for an NFL game, but he’s already got his dad’s moves down.

I’d buy this shirt.

The Brady and Gronk connection was at full strength Saturday, combining for seven completions, 83 yards and two touchdowns. It was the most catches Gronkowski has recorded in a game since Oct. 25

For much of the week, Gronkowski’s status for Saturday’s matchup was in question. He missed two practices in three days and reportedly received an injection in his bruised right knee Thursday at a Boston hospital. The Patriots officially listed him on the injury list with a back injury, the genesis of which was unknown.

Larry Fitzgerald put the Arizona Cardinals on his back and single-handedly carried them to a win in overtime against the Green Bay Packers. Immediately after the game, his thoughts turned to Chris Mortensen and his battle against cancer.

In that moment, we wouldn’t blame Fitzgerald for just falling over from exhaustion and adrenaline. Instead, he was able to take a moment to send along a positive message. It was well received too.

There have been some strange coin flips in the history of the NFL, but not many have included a coin that didn’t flip at the start of overtime of a NFL playoff game. That’s right, the coin did not flip so it had to be flipped again. Seriously, the coin just sort of went up and down.

I don’t know how you flip a coin and get it not to flip, but whatever magic trick that was is now part of NFL lore. The Cardinals eventually won the toss when the coin was correctly flipped. It would have been the Cardinals on the original flip too, so all is well.

Just look at Rodgers’ stat line from the Hail Mary drive -- 2-for-5, 101 yards, and a touchdown. Rodgers somehow passes for a more than a football field’s worth of yards on one drive alone.

By catching both of Rodgers’ passes, Janis finished with 101 yards receiving on the day, and in the process surpassed his former career total of 96 receiving yards through two NFL season.

Aaron Rodgers completed a Hail Mary, you see. But then Larry Fitzgerald dominated overtime, you see. And thus we have “Hail Larry,” a very good pun headline for one of the craziest playoff game endings anyone’s ever seen.

The Green Bay Packers took the Arizona Cardinals into overtime with a series of unbelievable plays, but the Cardinals came out on top with the 26-20 win thanks to the superhuman efforts of Larry Fitzgerald.

With his season on the line, Aaron Rodgers converted a fourth-and-20 play with a 60-yard heave to Jeff Janis. An illegal motion put Green Bay at first-and-15 with 12 seconds left at the Cardinals’ 41-yard line, setting up one final Hail Mary throw. Rodgers nailed Janis on the final play of regulation with a 41-yard touchdown pass, sending the game to overtime.

There is a lot of talk about quarterbacks and correctly diagnosing the defense during the pre-snap read. Aaron Rodgers is taking things to the next level with a post-snap read.

Anyone can point out a blitzer before the ball is snapped. But directing your blockers while in the process of a drop? What?! Rodgers put a dime of a back shoulder throw on a string for a big first down, but it wasn’t even the most impressive part of the play.

Who is this Eddie Lacy and what did he do with the regular-season Eddie Lacy that lost his starting job in the middle of the season? We don’t know but Lacy has the moves—for a while.

Oh, wait. He got really tired. Still, those are some impressive moves! Thanks goodness for a great offensive line as well.

If you enjoy high scoring offensive football, the first half of the Arizona Cardinals-Green Bay Packers Divisional Round playoff game was probably not exactly your cup of tea.

But that’s okay! There was still plenty to like.

Patrick Peterson nearly made an incredible play in the second quarter, picking off Aaron Rodgers and running 100 yards for what appeared to be a pick-six to give the Cardinals a two-score lead over the Green Bay Packers.

There were two issues, however. The Cardinals committed two penalties on the play. Peterson was flagged for taunting before getting to the end zone, but even before that the referees caught Frostee Rucker for hands to the face.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb left Saturday night’s game against the Arizona Cardinals with a chest injury. He was initially questionable to return before being ruled out for the rest of the game.

Cobb appeared to injure himself while making an amazing one-handed catch, which was ultimately nullified by offsetting penalties. The Packers got flagged for an illegal shift, while Arizona had 12 men on the field. Cobb was carted off the field and taken to the locker room for X-rays.

The Packers punted Saturday night in the playoffs against the Cardinals. You can tell they did this, because they had a huge sign that says PUNT to tell everybody that they’re punting:

They’ve had it for a few weeks, actually:

It is very hard to win a football game when you’re trailing by two scores in the fourth quarter. That’s the situation the Chiefs found themselves Saturday night: They got the ball back from the Patriots down 27-13 with 6:29 remaining.

It’s especially hard to win a football game when you’re trailing by two scores in the fourth quarter and your coach farts on the concept of clock management. Unfortunately, Kansas City’s coach is Andy Reid, perhaps the NFL’s least clock-savvy coach. Over and over again throughout Reid’s career, he’s been baffled by the very concept of time.

We already knew that calls against them were going the Patriots’ way on Saturday. It turns out even really bad pass attempts also end in the Patriots’ favor.

That could have very easily been a game-changing interception. Possibly even a game-tying pick six for Kansas City. That should have been a disaster for the Patriots. Instead, it turned into a completion and a game-ending first down.

People have been calling Alex Smith “boring” throughout his NFL career. Despite some decent numbers with the Chiefs, he is a labeled a game manager who can’t make plays deep downfield. And maybe those people are right to a large extent, but that kind of talk can eat away at a man.

Sometimes, he just snaps.

On a Chiefs punt towards the end zone, cornerback Jamell Fleming prepared to down the ball near the end zone. Danny Amendola made sure that didn’t happen with a huge hit:

It took me a few viewings to register what happened here, since this play rarely happens in football. Amendola is the punt returner, and Fleming is on the kicking team. If their roles were reversed, this would be a penalty for kick catch interference, since members of the kicking team have to give the return man an opportunity to catch the ball.

A wise booger farmer waits until at least the third quarter to harvest his snot crop. Belichick couldn’t wait. It happens.

However, the light finally came on for Green Bay last weekend. After falling into an 11-0 hole and missing seven of his first eight passes, Rodgers got hot after completing a 24-yard bomb to Jones in the second quarter. From that point on, Rodgers and the offense seemed to have little trouble moving the ball. Even the ground game picked up its play, as Lacy and Starks averaged 5.3 and 4.4 yards per carry, respectively. Both also found their way into the end zone.

In the end, the Packers trounced Washington, 35-18.

We’ll take a look at both of Saturday’s games and what you need to know to watch them below.

AFC Divisional Round Game 1: Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots

People are comparing the two teams this week. Don’t listen to them. The 2015 Packers are a different animal. If the Packers are going to make a Super Bowl run, they’ll need to be opportunistic, hoarding every point, turnover or anything otherwise representing an opportunity. The 2010 Packers were wolves in the brush. The 2015 Packers will need to be hyenas.

How they get the lead with sporadic rushing success and a patchwork receiving corps is a question, but Rodgers can be a panacea.* The Packers need the lead because their defense is a liability when it has to worry about the run and the pass.