CNN
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The opening round of the NFL playoffs is one of the best football feasts of the year, but the 2025 edition has so far lacked the usual drama.
After three games, the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills have all advanced after blowing out the Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos respectively.
There are still three games to be played in this opening round – the Green Bay Packers take on the Philadelphia Eagles before the Washington Commanders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finish things out on Sunday, with the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.
Here are some initial takeaways from the opening round of the NFL playoffs:
The NFL playoffs got off on a strange, weird foot.
The Chargers stormed out of the gate against the Texans but couldn’t get into the end zone on their first two drives and were only up 6-0. The game stayed that way for much of the first half until a turning point that set the tone for a wild second half.
Pinned at the 1-yard line at the start of the drive, Houston’s offense came to life after a broken play, in which Stroud scooped up a botched snap and – while Chargers pass rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack closed in on him near the sideline – the Texans signal-caller connected with wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard gain. A couple of plays later, Stroud hit wide receiver Nico Collins for a 37-yard strike, and the duo capped the 10-play, 99-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown for the 7-6 lead.
From there, it was turnover city. The Texans fumbled on the opening drive of the second half and then forced a turnover on downs on the drive on the ensuing drive. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert suddenly got a case of the yips, throwing three second-half interceptions – he had four in the game, more than he had in the entire regular season – and the Texans turned those picks into a blowout.
The Chargers got one more big play – a long touchdown pass to wide receiver Ladd McConkey – but the Texans not only blocked the extra point but then returned it all the way to the end zone for a two-point conversion.
It was the first time that had ever happened in the postseason and was the final nail in the coffin for the Chargers. The final score was 32-12 in favor of Houston, which will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round next weekend.
Ravens bully the Steelers and show their rushing attack is nothing to mess with
Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry might be enough on their own to carry the Ravens deep into the playoffs – and they showed why Saturday in a 28-14 thumping of the Steelers.
The thunder-and-lightning duo highlighted a Baltimore running attack that went for a team postseason-record 299 yards, pacing the Ravens to a 28-14 win over their AFC North rivals.
Henry ran for 186 yards on 26 tough carries, punishing the Steeler defense repeatedly with runs right into the teeth of the defensive line. He found the right seams, breaking for a long touchdown run and a shorter bruiser for his two scores.
Jackson meanwhile was electric as only he can be. He rushed 15 times for 81 yards while also completing 16 of 21 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. The rowdy 70,000 fans at M&T Bank Stadium routinely serenaded their star with chants of “M-V-P!”
After the game, Jackson said watching Henry run is like being in a movie – “Cars,” specifically.
“You know when Lightning McQueen just flying, flashing past?” Jackson said. “That’s how Derrick looks when he’s passing all those guys. And it look like a movie, bro.”
Jackson and Henry simply ran through, around and over the Steelers’ defense on a massive drive to start the game, going 95 yards to open the scoring. The biggest play of the drive was Henry taking a direct snap and finding a seam in the Steelers’ front seven, bursting for 34 yards in a play that was punctuated by a brutal stiff arm that sent Steelers star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick reeling. Head coach John Harbaugh said that play was put into the playbook specifically for this game against the Steelers.
The next drive showed it would be a bruising night for Pittsburgh. It was an 85-yard, 13-play drive in the second quarter that featured exactly zero passes. It ended with Henry pounding through the tackles one more time to get into the end zone, putting an exclamation point on a physically dominating drive.
It would end up being the story of the game as the Steelers never got closer than two touchdowns again.
Those “M-V-P” chants rang around Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, Sunday afternoon as Bills quarterback Josh Allen showed why it’s such a tight pick between him and Jackson for the award.
Allen made some truly jaw-dropping throws on Sunday against the Broncos and used his feet to pick up some key first downs in the first half as Denver jumped out to an early lead.
It was a play in the third quarter that truly exemplified where Allen’s game is at right now. On fourth and short near Denver’s end zone, Buffalo decided to go for it and Allen bounced around in the pocket, scanning for a receiver. As the pass rush closed in, it looked like it may be a killer sack.
But just at the last moment, Allen was able to unfurl a gorgeous pass to the back of the end zone for running back Ty Johnson, who made an equally amazing catch – sliding and managing to keep his feet inbounds – for their second touchdown connection of the afternoon. The score was the 22nd postseason passing TD of Allen’s career, surpassing Hall of Famer Jim Kelly for the most in franchise playoff history.
The fourth quarter started with another touchdown pass from Allen, who connected with Curtis Samuel on a third-and-6 pass for what would have been a first down. But Samuel went one better, spinning out of a tackle and sprinting to the end zone for a brilliant 55-yard touchdown.
From there, the final quarter was a formality as the Bills defeated the Broncos, 31-7.
The Bills victory means that there will be an absolutely epic showdown in the divisional round next week: Allen and the Bills vs. Jackson and the Ravens. It’ll be a matchup of two leading MVP candidates who were at the top of their game during this opening round.
Voting for the MVP award took place at the end of the regular season, but maybe everyone should agree that the winner of that game takes home the award?
CNN’s Ben Morse and Homero De La Fuente contributed to this report.
This story is breaking and will be updated.