? Aaron Rodgers throws three touchdown passes in 21-16 win
? Baltimore Ravens beat Kansas City Chiefs 30-7
The Green Bay Packers withstood a ferocious late finish from the Philadelphia Eagles to win their NFL playoff 21-16 yesterday and advance to the next round against Atlanta.
The Packers, one of the pre-season favourites to win this year's Super Bowl, were never headed during the game but almost came unstuck in the final quarter as the Eagles threatened to steal victory.
Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes in the win, but the NFL's fifth-ranked defence also benefited from some missed opportunities by the Eagles.
The NFC East division champions missed two field goals and a last-gasp pass from quarterback Michael Vick that might have led to a winning touchdown but was intercepted in the end zone.
While the Eagles were left ruing their missed opportunities and early exit from the post-season, the Packers moved ahead to next weekend's divisional playoffs against the Falcons.
"We're just getting started," said the Packers coach, Mike McCarthy. "We just won a big football game here against a championship-calibre program and we have an opportunity to go to Atlanta to play the No1 seed down there."
The Packers led 14-3 at half-time and 21-10 late in the fourth quarter before Vick drove in from the one-yard line to cut the lead 21-16 with four minutes to play. The Eagles' two-point conversion try that would have put them within a field goal failed.
Philadelphia held the Packers and got the ball back on their own 34 yard line with a little under two minutes left for one last push although they were out of timeouts. Vick took the Eagles down to the Green Bay 27 but cornerback Tramon Williams intercepted a pass intended for receiver Riley Cooper to seal the win.
"The last play, I just took a shot at the end zone," Vick said. "I could have checked it down to the back and I got greedy and took a shot at the end zone. I didn't throw the right ball I wanted to throw and it got picked off. It was a bad way to go out, but I went out swinging."
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens relied on their tough defence and playoff experience to rout the Kansas City Chiefs 30-7 in the opening round of the NFL postseason on Sunday.
Led by veteran linebacker Ray Lewis, the Ravens' defence sacked Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel three times and forced five turnovers. The Chiefs, who won the AFC West division with a six-game improvement over last season, managed just 25 yards in the second half.
Baltimore broke open a close game with a touchdown and two field goals off turnovers in the second half. Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, Billy Cundiff kicked three field goals and Willis McGahee closed out the scoring with a 25-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Ravens will head to Pittsburgh next Saturday, renewing one of the league's fiercest rivalries. They split their season series with the Steelers, with each team winning on the other's home field.
Kansas City finish the season saddled with an NFL-record seventh straight playoff loss, dating back 17 years.
"Our defence played phenomenal," Ravens running back Ray Rice said. "They came out in the second half and gutted that offence. It was impressive. It's impressive to be a part of this."
In an emotional postgame locker room, the Ravens gave the game ball to safety Ed Reed. On Friday morning, his family said they believe a young man who jumped into the Mississippi River trying to elude the police was probably his younger brother, Brian Reed. The search for a body at the scene in Louisiana has been called off.
America Ferrera Haylie Duff Talisa Soto Julianne Hough Paula Garcés
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