Many different perspectives arose with the National Football League (NFL) changing their postseason format from having 12 teams in their playoffs to having 14. While some fans preferred the traditional 12-team playoffs, others saw this as a good change that would give them two more huge games. 

With the Super Bowl less than two weeks away, it is safe to say that every round of the playoffs so far has been nothing short of extraordinary. 

The first of the six wildcard games was between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals of the American Football Conference (AFC). Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw for an impressive 310 yards. Bengals quarterback and fan-favorite Joe Burrow threw for an efficient 244 yards on 34 passes. The connection between Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase proved too much for the Raiders to handle, and the Bengals walked away with the win. 

Next was the Buffalo Bills against the New England Patriots in another wildcard. Bills quarterback Josh Allen had a near-perfect game with 308 yards on 25 attempted passes and no interceptions. Buffalo won a comfortable 47-17 ball game.

The first game was between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The previous Super Bowl champions, led by Tom Brady, comfortably slid by the Eagles, winning 31-15. Wide receiver Mike Evans picked up an astounding 117 yards.

A few hours later, the National Football Conference (NFC) six-seeded San Francisco 49ers versus the three-seeded Dallas Cowboys. A highlight of the game for the 49ers was by kicker Robbie Gould, who sank a 52-yard field goal in the middle of the third quarter. San Francisco won 23-17.

Up next was the Arizona Cardinals vs. the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams flew by the Cardinals early in the game and eventually had a 28-0 lead. They ended the game with 34 points while the Cardinals only had 11.

The last of the wildcard games was between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes put up video-game numbers with 404 passing yards on 30 completed passes. He found wide receiver Travis Kelce for five receptions, one of which was a touchdown.

The Cincinnati Bengals upset the one-seeded Tennessee Titans in the divisional round. Joe Burrow was sacked almost ten times, but he threw for 348 yards. A 52-yard field goal from kicker Evan McPherson sealed the game.

The Green Bay Packers, who had a bye in the wildcard round, played the San Francisco 49ers. The game was tied late in the fourth quarter when kicker Robbie Gould made a 45-yard field goal to win the game in the last seconds. This upset knocked the one-seeded Packers out of the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Rams slipped by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by just three points, just as the other two divisional round winners did. A 44-yard pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford to wide receiver Cooper Kupp set up the 30-yard walk-off field goal by kicker Matthew Gay that won it for the Rams.

In the final game of the divisional round, the Kansas City Chiefs just beat the Buffalo Bills. A quick drive by the Chiefs with 13 seconds left on the clock set up a 49-yard field goal that kicker Harrison Butker drilled to tie the game. The coin toss, won by the Chiefs, gave the Chiefs the ball. The Chiefs took advantage and scored, sending themselves to their conference championship.

The result of this game led to a revival of the long-standing debate of the fairness of the overtime rules in the NFL. People all over social media were complaining about how a solid offensive team winning the coin toss essentially was guaranteed a win.

NFL fans must remain patient to see what happens in the conference championships and—of course—the Super Bowl.