Eagles, Bills and Commanders advance in NFL playoffs

The Buffalo Bills defeated the Denver Broncos 31-7 on Sunday to secure a spot in the NFL playoffs' divisional round, joining the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, who also advanced.

Curtis Samuel scored a crucial touchdown in the fourth quarter, catching a 55-yard pass from Josh Allen. This marked the seventh time this season that Buffalo won a game by more than 20 points, with all previous victories coming in the regular season.

The Broncos suffered their first playoff loss since 2014, with their most recent appearance prior to this being in 2015, the year they were crowned NFL champions.

Samuel, 28, scored his second touchdown of the season and first in the playoffs.

Denver took an early lead with a touchdown run by Troy Franklin, following a 46-yard pass from quarterback Bo Nix.

Nix, 24, in his first NFL season, finished the game with 144 yards and a touchdown, completing 13 of his 22 passes.

Tyler Bass also made a significant contribution for the Bills, converting three field goals, all from under 35 yards.

Josh Allen, the Bills quarterback and a strong contender for the Most Valuable Player award, turned the game around in the second half, finishing with 272 yards and two touchdowns.

"It's a great team, Lamar (Jackson) is one of the most dynamic, if not the most dynamic quarterback in the league," Allen said after the game against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.

Hurts shines for Eagles

Also on Sunday, in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers 22-10 to advance to the divisional round.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts stood out with two touchdowns and 131 yards.

Saquon Barkley, coming off a record-setting 2,005-yard season, led the ground game for the Eagles with 119 yards on 25 carries, though he did not score any touchdowns.

"The most important thing is to win, no matter what," Barkley said. "We knew it would be tough, the important thing is to win and now we look forward to next week."

Jordan Love had a tough night for the Packers throwing three interceptions and completing 20 of 33 passes.

Commanders join the celebration

With a 37-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez, the Washington Commanders secured a 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, earning a spot in the divisional round.

The 29-year-old kicker’s 37-yard attempt hit the post and bounced in, sending the ball through as the clock hit zero, much to the dismay of thousands of Buccaneers fans.

Jayden Daniels excelled in his first playoff game, throwing for 268 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions.

As the seventh seed, Washington will face the Detroit Lions in the divisional round next weekend, with the matchup between the Rams (4) and Vikings (5) being the only one still to be decided.

The Commanders won a playoff game for the first time since the 2005 season.