The Detroit Lions’ improbable “Cinderella” run came to an end at the hands of Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers 48-20.  But, for a while, the Lions hung in there!  Late in the first half, Detroit kicker Matt Prated nailed a 47 yard field goal to cut San Fran’s lead to only 21-17.

But, after that, it was all Niners . . . . as they scored four more touchdowns and held the Lions to one field goal the rest of the way.

Garoppolo had a very good game, hitting on 22 passes to nine different receivers for 265 yards and four TD’s.  George Kittle hauled in two of those scoring passes, and running-back Tevin Coleman added 2 on the ground as San Francisco completed their rout.

The 49ers will now host the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC semi-final contest.

Meeting for the second time in these playoffs, the Buffalo Bills relied on their stellar defense and the remarkable rushing ability of their quarterback, Josh Allen, to upset the favored Houston Texans 13-3 to advance to the next round of the playoffs.

Allen only had a so-so game through the air, but he scrambled for 99 yards on only 11 carries, including a 34 yard run for the game’s lone TD in the third period!  But it may have been his 4th quarter scramble that was the big difference maker for the Bills.  On a 3rd and 15 he scrambled for 17 yards for an important first down that kept their drive alive, eventually setting up Stephen Hauschka’s 44 yard field goal with only 1:40 left – that made it a two score game and, effectively, won the game for Buffalo.

The Bills’ offensive line was terrific all game long – as Buffalo averaged 7 yards per carry in tallying 268 yard rushing!  Next up for the Bills?  The winner of the Chargers-Ravens game.

With 10:30 to play in quarter #1, the Eagles took the lead on a Miles Sanders TD run, but missed the extra point.  They lost the lead later in the quarter when Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook scored on a short run, followed by a successful PAT.  And, Philadelphia did not retake the lead until only 3:00 remained in the game in a very close four point victory on the road over the Vikings.

And, it was interesting how they did it.  Down by only 3 points late in the 4th quarter, the Eagles decided on a taboo strategy – they took a successful game-tying field goal off the board to take advantage of a taunting penalty on Minnesota to move the ball to a first and goal at the Vikings’ 10 yard line.  Two plays later Carson Wentz found Sanders alone in the end zone for the game-winning score.

Sanders had a terrific game, rushing for 139 yards on 17 carries, and he scored three TD’s in the victory.  Philly now awaits the winner of the Lions-49ers game.