Falcons take down Rams 26-13, while Titans beat Chiefs 22-21
Matt Ryan passed for 218 yards and hit Julio Jones for an 8-yard touchdown with 5:48 to play, and the defending NFC champion Falcons advanced from the wild-card round with a methodical 26-13 victory over the Rams.
Devonta Freeman rushed for an early score and Matt Bryant kicked four field goals for the Falcons (11-6), who spoiled the Rams' first playoff game in 13 years while showing off the postseason poise they earned from last season's journey to the Super Bowl.
Atlanta never trailed at the Coliseum while winning playoff games in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.
The Falcons advanced to face the top-seeded Eagles on Jan. 13 in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile over in Kansas City, Missouri, if you're a Chiefs' fan and looking for some good news, this is about the best we can do: Saturday's 22-21 playoff loss to the Titans wasn't the worst in the Andy Reid era, CBSSports.com writes. In 2013, Reid's first season in Kansas City, the Chiefs led the Colts, 38-10, early in the second half and ended up losing that game, 45-44.
Beyond that, there are no bright spots to what went down at Arrowhead Stadium. For starters, the Chiefs led, 21-3, at home, against a Titans outfit that was predictable on offense and porous on defense. Of course, perhaps we all should have known this was coming; the Chiefs have now lost six straight home playoff games, and 10 of their last 11 postseason games. And quarterback Alex Smith, who has 50 regular-season wins -- second behind only Tom Brady and Russell Wilson -- since arriving in Kansas City in 2013, is just 1-3 in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, prior to Saturday the Titans had overcome a 14-point deficit once in the Marcus Mariota era: Week 15 of the 2016 season. Any guesses on who they were playing?
Yep, the Chiefs, who led 14-0 in the first quarter and ended up losing 19-17 on a last-second Ryan Succop 53-yard field goal.
