This weekend, eight teams were reduced to four as the National Football League’s (NFL) Divisional Round broke hearts and spiked pulses around the nation. Three games were decided by last-minute field goals while the final was sent to overtime by a high-stakes FG as well. Not surprisingly, fans, players, and media members took to social media over the intense few days of football and made their voices heard.
In a search window beginning Friday, January 21 – the day before the games began – and ending Monday, January 24 – the day after the games ended – a whopping 728,639 mentions of the NFL were made on social media across the United States. NFL-related content reached more than 5.4 billion users across the country.
With so much content to evaluate, let’s break down the weekend game-by-game.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tennessee Titans (Bengals won 19-16)
The underdog Bengals came into this game on the heels of their first playoff victory in 31 years, and Cincinnati was out in force – Skyline chili dogs and goetta alongside. 323,785 social media posts were published mentioning the Bengals, with nearly 60% of those mentions coded as positive; a far cry from the past few decades of Cincinnati professional football.
The #bengals hashtag featured 25,453 mentions while #rulethejungle reached 9,560 and #whodey followed closely with 9,167 mentions. Top terms among the positive mentions were “joe” and “burrow,” referring to the young Bengals QB, while the negative mentions frequently referenced “o-line” and “sacked,” referring to the poor offensive play that allowed Burrow to be sacked a staggering nine times in one game.
Meanwhile, 200,543 mentions on social media referred to the Titans, with more than 56% of those marking negative sentiment. The Titans were the top-seeded team in the AFC and earned a bye during the wildcard round, leading many to assume the well-rested Tennessee team would walk all over Cincinnati.
The #titans hashtag recorded 30,669 mentions while #titanup dropped off to 6,648 mentions. However, #titanup was significantly more positive in its content than simply #titans, indicating that the fans who used the slogan were more engaged and optimistic than the widespread coverage surrounding with just the #titans hashtag, often used by content creators such as journalists. Top terms of discussion included star player Derrick Henry; however, much conversation veered to the Super Bowl LVI halftime show and its “star-studded” roster – indicating those tweeting about the Titans were less engaged overall than Bengals fans.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers (49ers won 13-10)
This punchy matchup defied expectations, with two offensively-powerful teams being reduced largely to field goals. During the time window, 416,009 mentions were made of either “49ers” or “Niners” – and they were more evenly spread out over the window rather than simply surging during the game, indicating fans are continuing to discuss the topic following the upset victory. Like for other teams, many of the top mentions contained references to star players; however, so much conversation surrounded Nick Bosa that he ranked among a top theme of discussion.
Meanwhile, the Packers raked in 356,593 mentions – an overwhelming two-thirds of which were negative. Many, of course, focused more on quarterback Aaron Rodgers than the game itself, as Rodgers has had an intensely controversial season following his declaration that he was “immunized” against COVID-19 while not actually being vaccinated. Rodgers himself was mentioned 386,483 times over these four days, with the hashtag #byeaaron earning 6,825 mentions.
Interestingly, “Kaepernick” was listed as a top term of discussion along with Rodgers, comparing how Colin Kaepernick had been blacklisted and his career essentially ended for speaking out against racial injustice while Rodgers continued his play as normal while spreading misinformation during the pandemic.
Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Rams won 30-27)
Sunday’s first game followed Saturday’s formula to a T – everything came down to the last play, and the victory was sealed with a field goal. As with the Packers, much of the conversation surrounding this matchup hinged on star individuals – Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski – and the direction their careers may take following an early playoff loss. 180,622 mentions referred to the “Buccaneers” or “Bucs,” while 343,312 discussed Brady and 9,908 discussed Gronkowski (or “Gronk”). Fan and media focus was firmly concentrated around the player many consider the G.O.A.T. of American football.
The Rams, while competing traffic-wise with 300,033 mentions, couldn’t compete with the ongoing narrative of Brady’s potential retirement. A surge during the game quickly tapered off again, and one of the top discussion themes even in Rams content was “Brady!” Los Angeles won the game battle but lost the news war, unable to pull headlines away from what could be a looming, sport-altering decision.
Year 11 in the books 📚 What a ride it’s been. Grateful to the Bucs for giving me an opportunity to play another year. To my teammates, thank you for giving everything you had. The sweat we shed & memories made will never be forgotten. Thanks to the #Krewe too 🏴☠️
Year 12??? 👀
— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) January 25, 2022
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills (Chiefs won 42-36 in OT)
The final game of the Divisional Round was the first and only to buck the trend of last-minute field goals sealing the deal, but it hesitated to go too far off-piste. Though the Bills went ahead with a touchdown with just 13 seconds left, the Chiefs were able to tie the game as regulation ended – and then won the game in overtime! This matchup was the most-watched Divisional Round game since 2017, peaking at 51.7 million viewers, and for good reason.
However, the high-stakes drama was overshadowed by discussion of the NFL’s controversial overtime rules. Rather than allowing both teams an opportunity to score, the rules state that the first touchdown wins the game. Decided by nothing more than a coin flip, this luck-of-the-draw rule all but eliminates any home-field advantage or equal opportunity chance – something frustrating in the regular-season, to be sure, but potentially career-devastating in the playoffs.
Many of the most-used words in Bills-related mentions surround overtime and the spate of emotions Buffalo fans felt: “angry,” “pissed,” “frustrated,” and the words “coin” and “rule” popped up frequently as well. The only similar words appearing in Chiefs mentions are “overtime” and “rules,” indicating the victors are perfectly happy to let sleeping dogs lie for now, as it worked in their favor.
Four intense games later, it’s clear that fans had lots to say not only about their own teams and players but about league legends, game rules, and implications beyond the gridiron. With just the AFC and NFC championship games remaining before the Super Bowl, it’s unlikely social traffic will die down any time soon.
Author: Kayleigh Jackson
