2021–22 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2021 season was the first time that the league featured a 17-game regular season schedule, and consequently the start of the playoffs was pushed a week later to January 15, 2022. The postseason concluded with Super Bowl LVI on February 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with the NFC's fourth seed, the Los Angeles Rams, defeating the AFC's fourth seed, the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati won their first playoff game since 1990 by defeating the Las Vegas Raiders.
This was the first postseason since 2010–11 where neither of the first-seeded teams made it to their respective championships, and it was also the first postseason since 2009–10 in which neither the Green Bay Packers nor New England Patriots reached a conference championship game. This was also the first postseason since 2012–13 to have a Super Bowl to not have the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, or Kansas City Chiefs representing the AFC. For the first time in history, both teams competing in the Super Bowl finished below the second seed.
Of the 13 games played in the playoffs, nine were decided by seven or fewer points. For the final seven postseason games, six were decided by three points. Five of those six were decided with game-winning field goals. The only game that was not decided by three points was the divisional round game between the Bills and Chiefs, which was decided with a game-winning touchdown in overtime.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
This postseason marked the first time that the [|Wild Card playoffs] spanned three days. Two games were played on Saturday, three on Sunday, and one on Monday night. The last time that a playoff game was played on a Monday was in, when a Wild Card game was played Monday, December 26, to avoid playing on Christmas.| Round | Away team | Score | Home team | Date | Kickoff | TV | Viewers | TV rating |
| Wild Card playoffs | Las Vegas Raiders | 19–26 | Cincinnati Bengals | January 15, 2022 | 4:35 p.m. | NBC | 27.7 | 14.2 |
| Wild Card playoffs | New England Patriots | 17–47 | Buffalo Bills | January 15, 2022 | 8:15 p.m. | CBS | 26.4 | 13.2 |
| Wild Card playoffs | Philadelphia Eagles | 15–31 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | January 16, 2022 | 1:05 p.m. | Fox | 30.4 | 16.0 |
| Wild Card playoffs | San Francisco 49ers | 23–17 | Dallas Cowboys | January 16, 2022 | 4:40 p.m. | CBS/Nickelodeon | 41.5 | 20.7 |
| Wild Card playoffs | Pittsburgh Steelers | 21–42 | Kansas City Chiefs | January 16, 2022 | 8:15 p.m. | NBC | 28.9 | 14.7 |
| Wild Card playoffs | Arizona Cardinals | 11–34 | Los Angeles Rams | January 17, 2022 | 8:15 p.m. | ABC/ESPN | 23.1 | — |
| Divisional playoffs | Cincinnati Bengals | 19–16 | Tennessee Titans | January 22, 2022 | 4:35 p.m. | CBS | 30.7 | 15.8 |
| Divisional playoffs | San Francisco 49ers | 13–10 | Green Bay Packers | January 22, 2022 | 8:15 p.m. | Fox | 36.9 | 17.8 |
| Divisional playoffs | Los Angeles Rams | 30–27 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | January 23, 2022 | 3:05 p.m. | NBC | 38.1 | 19.8 |
| Divisional playoffs | Buffalo Bills | 36–42 ( | Kansas City Chiefs | January 23, 2022 | 6:40 p.m. | CBS | 42.7 | 21.7 |
| Conference Championships | Cincinnati Bengals | 27–24 ( | Kansas City Chiefs | January 30, 2022 | 3:05 p.m. | CBS | 47.8 | 23.6 |
| Conference Championships | San Francisco 49ers | 17–20 | Los Angeles Rams | January 30, 2022 | 6:40 p.m. | Fox | 50.4 | 23.4 |
| Super Bowl LVI SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California | Los Angeles Rams | 23–20 | Cincinnati Bengals | February 13, 2022 | 6:40 p.m. | NBC | 112.3 | 36.9 |
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, January 15, 2022
AFC: Cincinnati Bengals 26, Las Vegas Raiders 19
Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt's interception on his own 2-yard line in the game's closing seconds gave Cincinnati its first playoff win since the 1990 season, ending the longest active playoff victory drought in the NFL.Las Vegas took the opening kickoff and drove 51 yards in 10 plays, featuring a 17-yard completion from Derek Carr to Zay Jones on 3rd-and-2. Daniel Carlson finished the drive with a 47-yard field goal to put the Raiders up 3–0. Cincinnati stormed right back, with Joe Burrow completing three passes to Ja'Marr Chase for 37 yards and a screen pass to Joe Mixon for 21. On 3rd-and-goal from the 7-yard line, he finished the drive with a touchdown pass to tight end C. J. Uzomah to put the Bengals ahead 7–3. On the Raiders' next drive, Carr lost a fumble while being sacked by Trey Hendrickson. Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi recovered the ball and returned it 11 yards to the Las Vegas 15-yard line, setting up Evan McPherson's 31-yard field goal to give the Bengals a 10–3 lead with 1:18 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Raiders returner Peyton Barber fielded the ball too close to the sidelines and stepped out of bounds at his own 2-yard line. Two plays later, Sam Hubbard sacked Carr on the 1 and Trent Taylor's 14-yard punt return gave the Bengals excellent field position on the Raiders 45-yard line. Chase then rushed for 7 yards and caught a pass for 28 as the team drove to the 6 before Quinton Jefferson's third-down sack forced Cincinnati to settle for McPherson's 30-yard field goal, increasing their lead to 13–3. Tyron Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the 39-yard line. Then Josh Jacobs carried the ball three times for 51 yards on the way to Carlson's 28-yard field goal that cut their deficit to 13–6. Taking the ball back with 7:55 left in the second quarter, Cincinnati drove 82 yards in 12 plays, featuring a 29-yard reception by Uzomah and a 15-yard run by Chase on an end around play on 4th-and-1. On 3rd-and-4 from the Raiders 10-yard line, Burrow ran to the right side of the field and threw the ball to Tyler Boyd for a touchdown just as his foot was about to go out of bounds. The play was controversial, as one of the officials blew his whistle slightly before Boyd made the catch, while the ball was still in the air, which, according to NFL rules should have resulted in the down having to be replayed, but the touchdown stood and it gave the Bengals a 20–6 lead with 1:51 left on the clock. Carr then completed 5 passes for 56 yards and rushed for 20 as he led his team 75 yards in 12 plays to score on his 14-yard touchdown pass to Jones with 14 seconds left in the half, making the score 20–13 going into halftime.
Bengals running back Chris Evans returned the second half kickoff 27 yards to the 35-yard line, where the team proceeded to drive 45 yards in 9 plays to score on McPherson's 43-yard field goal, giving them a 23–13 lead. On the Raiders' next drive, Hunter Renfrow caught a long pass from Carr on the Bengals 36 on third down and then lost the ball out of bounds when Jessie Bates knocked it out of his hands. The play was initially ruled a completion and fumble out of bounds, but Bengals coach Zac Taylor's replay challenge overturned the call and it was ruled an incompletion, forcing Las Vegas to punt. Cincinnati also ended up punting on their next possession, due to a third-down sack by Maxx Crosby. Then Las Vegas drove 76 yards in 12 plays, with Jacobs rushing 4 times for 25 yards and catching a pass for 7. The team made it all the way to Bengals 9-yard line, but then a holding penalty by guard John Simpson eliminated Jacobs' 8-yard run and pushed them back to the 19. The team was unable to get back to the end zone and ended up settling for Carlson's 34-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 23–16 on the last play of the third quarter.
Cincinnati took the ball back and drove 65 yards in 13 plays, taking 7:31 off the clock. Burrow completed 6/7 passes for 56 yards, including a 19-yard completion to Chase of 3rd-and-7. On 3rd-and-1 from the Raiders' 10-yard line, Mixon was tackled inches short of the first down marker, forcing Cincinnati to settle for McPherson's 28-yard field goal to give them a 26–16 lead with 6:46 left in the game. The Raiders responded by advancing 67 yards in 12 plays, featuring Carr's 26-yard completion to DeSean Jackson on 4th-and-5. The Bengals defense halted the drive on their own 10 when Hubbard deflected Carr's pass on 3rd-and-3, but Carlson's fourth field goal made it a one-score game at 26–19 with 3:37 remaining on the clock. Then the Raiders forced a three-and-out, getting the ball back on their own 35-yard line with 1:51 left and no timeouts. On their first play, a roughing the passer penalty on Khalid Kareem turned Jacobs 15-yard reception into a 30-yard gain. An incompletion and a sack by B. J. Hill brought up 3rd-and-17, but then Carr completed a 23-yard pass to tight end Darren Waller on the Bengals 19. After two incompletions, Carr threw a 10-yard pass to Jones at the 9. Then he spiked the ball to stop the clock, giving the Raiders three chances to score with 29 seconds remaining. Two incompletions brought up 4th-and-goal. Then with 17 seconds left, Pratt intercepted Carr's pass and enabled Cincinnati to escape with a win.
Burrow completed 24 of 34 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. Chase caught 9 passes for 116 yards and rushed three times for 23. In addition to his interception, Pratt added 9 tackles. Evans returned 5 kickoffs for 103 yards and rushed for 9. Carr finished the game 29/54 for 310 yards and a touchdown, with 1 interception, while also rushing for 20 yards. Jacobs rushed for 83 yards and caught 4 passes for 44.