It's annually the best weekend of games, I think in part because of the importance of the outcomes. While losing in the championship game is the most painful, this comes close, especially for teams who had the bye (used to be all four of the home teams, recall). Also for teams whose recent or all-time history has been colored by falling painfully, frustratingly short.

Kansas City 23, Houston 14: This game was the worst of the four, as expected, and for various reasons. First, I've generally been in the camp that officials aren't biased in favor of getting the Swifties to the Super Bowl or whatnot, they just suck in general, and people notice it more in the high-profile games Kansas City is routinely involved in. And I still believe that to a point; there's no way I believe in a secret league conspiracy to benefit Kansas City, they're not smart or powerful enough to cover up such a thing without someone talking. BUT, incompetent officiating crews' efforts to protect star players do tend to show up in games involving Golden Boy Mahomes, and he and Kansas City are happy to play into it if it helps them where they want to go. So there were a couple of questionable calls in this one that helped Kansas City.

Houston never really looked like it was going to win this thing, you really can't get your quarterback sacked 8 times (nearly a third of his pass attempts; that's bad, right?) and sustain enough drives to win a road playoff game. Missing an extra point and two field goals, thanks very much Houston getting 8.5, also didn't help. That being said, both C.J. Stroud (aside from holding the ball too long at times) and especially Joe Mixon impressed me in this game, making me think Kansas City's next opponent will have some success running the ball and hopefully sparing us all another KC Super Bowl appearance. But Houston's offense wasn't good enough all year to win this kind of game on a regular basis, and it didn't here either.

Couple additional notes: Xavier Worthy the only KC wideout to catch a pass. Hollywood Brown a near-miss on a deep ball; that was it. KC wanted no part of Houston cornerbacks. And either Isiah Pacheco isn't fully healthy or something else; Kareem Hunt was a lot more effective. If I have to start a KC running back this week, it will be Hunt.

Washington 45, Detroit 31: Upset of the week, though there were indications for a while that it was possible, which I presume most of the devastated Lions fans in attendance had downplayed until they really hit home. First and foremost, a defense that had really been gutted by injuries, which Ian in particular has been pointing out for a while that it would probably catch up with them in the playoffs. And it did, with a perfect storm of meeting up with a dynamic, remarkably poised rookie quarterback and offense that clearly had no idea it wasn't supposed to win this game. The expected shootout occurred, but when one quarterback turns it over 4 times and one doesn't, it's probably not going to go your way. Add in a wide receiver pass by Jameson Williams that was also intercepted -- maybe not the best idea while driving and trailing by 10 points -- and there you go.

Jared Goff had 3 interceptions and a lost fumble, and there's speculation that maybe some of those plays were influenced by injury (he took a big hit and missed a series, giving Teddy Bridgewater some playing time). Only the Lions know for sure. Bottom line is their defense wasn't good enough to slow down Washington, at all, so if you're turning it over on offense at the same time, that's how things are gonna go. Just a rough loss, especially because Detroit is either maybe or probably going to lose both coordinators, and getting the No. 1 seed isn't easy. Hard to feel confident that they didn't just miss the best Super Bowl chance they'll have with this roster.

Philadelphia 28, L.A. Rams 22: My favorite game of the weekend, a well-played affair with big stars making big plays, and the weather slowly but surely picking up until it was being played in a snowstorm. And players kept making plays anyway, including kickers ignoring conditions to make clutch field goals, wide receivers skying to grab passes on the sidelines, quarterbacks and defenses stepping up, and then -- when a Saquon Barkley breakaway run with under 5 minutes to play seemingly ending the game -- the drama continuing, with the Rams driving the field to pull within 6 points, somewhat surprisingly (to me) kicking away with under 3 minutes left and getting the ball back with enough time to nearly drive the field for what would have been an all-time classic 29-28 win. That didn't happen, but the mere fact that it nearly did was something I could barely believe while watching it. Just a fun game.

Jalen Hurts was running early, with a long touchdown to open the game, but suffered a knee injury along the way and was totally immobile after that, contributing to a safety and also making it look like the Eagles would end up frittering away their league. The guy couldn't move, making it weird when they called a rollout play that didn't work. Something to keep an eye on this week (my early thought, frankly, is that Jayden Daniels is going to pull off another upset regardless, but we'll see), but an immobile Hurts is definitely going to be a problem for Philadelphia. So glad I used Barkley yesterday in my start players only once tournament. (We need a better name, or a name, for that kind of competition, I haven't heard one yet.)

For the Rams, because Matthew Stafford is soon to turn 37, there's some talk about their future. But he seems to have plenty of game left (more than Cooper Kupp), and he's working with one of the best coaching staffs and there some young talent on both offense and defense. Sometimes quarterbacks can fall off in a hurry, but I think they could be back in the playoffs next year.

Buffalo 27, Baltimore 25: Pretty much lived up to the hype. Not as much fun as Rams-Eagles because of all the drama and debate over MVP and legacy and the fear that the winner is just going to go lose a heartbreaker in Kansas City next week. People who doubted Lamar Jackson get to crow about it, and people who doubt Josh Allen will perhaps get to do the same next week. It's inevitable but it just adds a layer of weariness to the whole thing. Somebody's gotta win, and ultimately Buffalo made more plays, while the Ravens came up a little short.

Neither quarterback had his best game. Josh Allen threw for almost nothing and didn't do much as a runner (apart from 2 TDs, of course). Lamar's running didn't impact the game very much, field conditions probably a factor. An awkward-looking lost fumble and an interception. So another year for him of some doubting he can get the team to the Super Bowl. Pretty nice drive at the end of the game, of course, and a sweet 2-point conversion throw...

I feel for Mark Andrews, who not only dropped that perfectly thrown pass but also lost a fumble on the previous series that led to Buffalo's field goal and 8-point lead in the first place. Long offseason for a guy who's been great for them for a long time but will be seeing replays of that 2-pointer for a while. Unfortunate; you want a game to not be decided by officials and not be decided by one guy's miscue, but it tends to happen a lot. The Ravens will run it back next year with a pretty similar roster I imagine; their defense could be better, they're still a wide receiver short (and of course there's a certain element that thinks they'll never get there with Lamar and even Harbaugh isn't free from criticism).

So that's the weekend, and I think it lived up to the hype. People can trash the refs, trash a star or two, and boo Taylor Swift. All boxes checked.

We've got two big games coming up, and we'll talk about them here all week. Buffalo-Washington Super Bowl XXVI rematch? You never know.