The No. 1 seeds are no more. Both the Packers and Titans had just a brief cameo in the NFL playoffs this year, despite earning the best record in their respective conferences and enjoying a first-round bye last week. On Saturday afternoon, the Bengals were able to pull off the upset in Tennessee and Green Bay fell to the 49ers at Lambeau Field during the nightcap of this doubleheader.
This is the first time since the 2010 season where both of the top seeds in the conference were bounced out of the postseason in the divisional round. That year, the Patriots fell to the Jets while the Falcons were eliminated by Green Bay, which ultimately went on to win Super Bowl XLV (the only title during Aaron Rodgers’ tenure thus far).
It was a similar demise for the Packers and Titans in more ways than one. Not only were they sent packing, but they were both literally booted from the postseason via game-winning field goals. Following a fourth-quarter interception by Ryan Tannehill, Bengals kicker Evan McPherson netted a 52-yard field goal as time expired to move Cincinnati to the AFC Championship Game.
Meanwhile, kicker Robbie Gould connected on a 45-yarder as the clock hit zero to give San Francisco the 13-10 win over Green Bay, which disintegrated on special teams — including a blocked punt returned for a touchdown — in the fourth quarter.
Both teams also were eliminated by teams that had their quarterbacks combine for zero passing touchdowns. Joe Burrow threw for 348 yards and an interception on a 93.1 passer rating for the Bengals, while Jimmy Garoppolo completed 11 of his 19 throws for 131 yards and a pick.
Naturally, this shakes up the entire path to Super Bowl LVI rather dramatically. Now, the winner of Bills-Chiefs and Rams-Buccaneers on Sunday will be hosting the conference title games next weekend.
