title: Street Fighter V

text: A physical release containing the voucher code for "Champion Edition" upgrade kit and all previously released DLC fighters, titled "Champion Edition - All Characters Pack", was announced by Capcom during the Pro Tour 2021 Tournament. It was only released in Japan for PlayStation 4 on December 9, 2021.


title: Street Fighter V

text: During Tokyo Game Show 2018's "Street Fighter V" tournament prize ceremony event, Capcom's Yoshinori Ono announced that the game would get an actual arcade release exclusively in Japan in 2019, named "Street Fighter V: Type Arcade". This version has USB ports on its sides, allowing players to use their own controllers, and features online support for players to link their Capcom Fighters Network account. This version also features time-limited events, Arcade Mode and Training Mode. In June 2020, a new game mode named "Boss Rush" was announced for "Street Fighter V: Type Arcade", which features Extra Battle and Arcade Mode boss characters: Shadow Nash, Shin Akuma, Necalli, The Gief, The Master Ryu, Shadow Lady Chun-Li, Shin M. Bison and Gill. Clearing a certain amount of stages and bosses would reward the player with points and exclusive in-game rewards. "Boss Rush" is a timed event and would only last a few weeks. The first instance of the event lasted between June 24 and July 8, 2020.


title: Street Fighter V

text: Starting on December 11, 2018, Capcom introduced in-game advertising, which appears on loading screens and in the stages and character costumes. This immediately drew criticism from journalists and sparked debate among fans.


title: Street Fighter V

text: The web mini-series "Street Fighter: Resurrection" serves as a narrative prologue to the events of the game, with Charlie Nash being the protagonist. It aired on go90 from March 15, 2016, to April 5, 2016.


title: Street Fighter V

text: A pachislot version of "Street Fighter V" was released exclusively in Japan on July 17, 2018. As of September 2018, Capcom had sold 3,300 machines to pachinko parlors.


title: Street Fighter V

text: The PlayStation 4 version of "Street Fighter V" received generally favorable reviews from critics, as indicated by review aggregation website Metacritic, holding a score of 77/100 out of 80 reviews. Reception of the Windows version was more mixed, holds one of 74/100, from 33 reviews. The game was praised for its graphics and gameplay, but was criticized for its lack of single-player content, characters, and unstable online performance at launch. Players of the game complained of similar issues (as well as others such as a lack of controller support) with 54% of the reviews on Steam being negative. Capcom's Yoshinori Ono issued an apology to fans for the host of server issues. On May 12, Capcom CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto admitted that "Street Fighter V" had a "lack of content" and that it "needed more polish". In November 2016, Ono said "we all know that we didn’t put out a complete product, in a way that is a learning experience"


title: Street Fighter V

text: Despite the initial launch issues, reviewers praised the game's core gameplay mechanics. "GamesRadar" praised the game's core fighting engine and accessibility (to newcomers), stating that it would be "...a real shame if the curious new players it has so much to offer were turned off by its limited early content", ultimately concluding that the game was "at its core, still brilliant", just that "during the early phase of its life at least – will vary greatly depending on the availability of fight-ready friends in your immediate vicinity." Similarly, "IGN" described the game as "An excellent fighting game that's missing too many features", explaining that "Finding the right mix of old-guard fighting game fundamentals and newer, more modern takes on the genre is no small task, but "Street Fighter 5" handles that balancing act with grace", at the same time, they were disappointed that "so many key and standard features would be absent on launch day." "The Daily Dot" gave the game a 4.5/5 score, recognizing improved graphics and sound over its predecessor, while also noting a "lack of polish" in places, including some graphical glitches. "Edge" magazine also had mixed feelings on the game, stating "Mechanically, it's fantastic. Structurally, it's a mess and a missed opportunity". "Metro" compared the game to "Splatoon" as in that "the core gameplay is clearly very good but the content is relatively sparse", and as such, said that they may eventually raise their score from 8/10 to 10/10 if future content downloads are comparable to the ones "Splatoon" eventually had received from Nintendo. Other reviewers were harsher; Slant praised the balance, however, they said that "the game essentially gives the middle finger to a sizable portion of the audience" due to the lack of content or game modes. "The Guardian" refused to score the game, concluding ""Street Fighter V" is an unfinished catastrophe, a game delivered half-cooked, as if to meet a financial deadline rather than an artistic one. Nobody could offer a definitive judgement on the game today in good conscience. One thing, however, is certain: buying "Street Fighter V" today is a speculative gamble." "Famitsu" gave it a 35/40.


title: Street Fighter V

text: The game was initially criticized for having too many "rage-quitters", due to there being no penalty system. 75% of players quit the game after a dozen matches. On March 9, Capcom took steps to fix the issue. Ono stated that one of multiple reasons for the game's February release date was for it to be out in time for the Capcom Pro Tour.


title: Street Fighter V

text: The "Shadows Falls" update was not well received by "Destructoid", who scored it 4/10 and summarised it as "The blemishes are raw and sore, the flaws impossible not to gawk at. This is what took another five months? It’s a damned shame that only adds to the increasingly sad story of "Street Fighter V"". The deputy editor of "Kotaku" said it was "ridiculous and silly", while the "Financial Post" scored it 6/10, stating "everything surrounding it has been a dismal failure. The Story Mode is barely a narrative."


title: Street Fighter V

text: Some of the DLC has been attacked as too expensive. Commenting on the $10 stages and $6 costumes, "Eurogamer" said "It all amounts to a sense that Capcom's perhaps been a bit misguided in its DLC pricing." Professional tournament commentator David "UltraDavid" Graham said that while he loved the gameplay, the game had "the worst fighting game release in modern history," and that it needed a re-release. The addition of loot boxes in June 2018 was criticised by journalists and players alike.


title: Street Fighter V

text: "Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition" holds a Metascore of 87/100 based on 36 critics, citing generally favorable reviews. Positive reviews came from "IGN", "GameSpot", "Hardcore Gamer", and "Electronic Gaming Monthly"; all of which gave the game a 9/10 citing the game as a transformation from being an unfinished product to a fully fledged experience. Each praised the addition of the content in Arcade Mode and the option to select a second V-Trigger, with some praising the addition of the Team Battle mode and having frame data in the training mode. EGM praised "the ability to bring up a 3D viewer in the Shop (in order to get a proper look at new costumes and color variants before purchasing them), combined with the option to filter certain purchasables (such as outfits) only for certain characters". Push Square was less positive, giving the game an 8/10, saying that "There's a cynical part of us that says Arcade Edition is little more than a glorified season three update, but the simple truth is that there's never been a better time to jump in". 4Players and NY Daily News both said it was the game "you always wanted".


title: Street Fighter V

text: The "Arcade Edition" was nominated for "Best Fighting Game" at The Game Awards 2018 and for "Fan Favorite Fighting Game" at the Gamers' Choice Awards, both losing to "Dragon Ball FighterZ". Said "Arcade Edition" was also nominated for the Raging Bull Award for Best Fighting Game at the New York Game Awards, losing to "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". It was also nominated for "Best eSports Game" at the "Famitsu" Dengeki Game Awards 2019, losing to "Fortnite".


title: Street Fighter V

text: It was nominated for the category of Best Fighting at The Game Awards 2020, losing to "Mortal Kombat 11".


title: Street Fighter V

text: In May 2015, Capcom announced that the company was expecting the game to sell at least 2 million copies worldwide before the end of the company's fiscal year. In Japan, "Street Fighter V" entered the chart at number four, with sales of 42,000 in the first week. The game reached number one in the UK PS4 physical sales chart, but was held off the top spot in the multiformat chart by "". It also reached number five in the US PlayStation Store download chart, but failed to enter the top 20 in Europe. The game was the seventh best-selling retail game in the US in February 2016 according to the NPD Group.


title: Street Fighter V

text: "Arcade Edition" reached number 12 in the Japanese sales charts, and number 23 in the UK physical sales charts.


title: Street Fighter V

text: "Champion Edition" spent 2 weeks in the Japanese sales charts, debuting at number 11, before falling to number 24 in the second week. It reached number 37 in the UK. The "Upgrade kit" season pass reached number 5 in the US DLC chart, but failed to make the chart in Europe.


title: Street Fighter V

text: As of February 21, 2020, Capcom announced that the versions of "Street Fighter V" had shipped a combined total of 4.1 million copies across the PS4 and PC platforms, digital downloads included, surpassing the first version of "Street Fighter IV".


title: Street Fighter V

text: As of May 15, 2020, Capcom announced that the three versions of "Street Fighter V" had shipped a combined total of 4.5 million copies across the PS4 and PC platforms, digital downloads included, surpassing "Monster Hunter 4" and making it to Capcom's top 10 best selling games of all time.


title: Street Fighter V

text: Capcom reported In February 2021 that the three versions of "Street Fighter V" had sold 5.2 million copies combined.


title: Street Fighter V

text: "Street Fighter V" was featured in a Roadblock task during the 2017 cycle of the reality television show, "The Amazing Race 29", during a leg taking place in South Korea. The contestant had to learn how to play the game from the coach, and then needed to beat a professional eSports player in one round to continue to race. The professional player would play one-handed if the contestant could not win in ten rounds, and then played blindfolded after another ten rounds.


title: Street Fighter V

text: Professional wrestler Kenny Omega uses a move called the "V-Trigger", named after the mechanic in the game.


title: Street Fighter V

text: In 2016, "Street Fighter V" broke the Evolution Championship Series's record for most entrants in a single game with over 5,000 registrations.


title: Cannoli

text: Cannoli (; ) are Italian pastries consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta—a staple of Sicilian cuisine. They range in size from . In mainland Italy, they are commonly known as "cannoli siciliani" (Sicilian cannoli).


title: Cannoli

text: In English, "cannoli" is usually used as a singular, but in Italian, it is grammatically plural; the corresponding singular is "cannolo" (; ), a diminutive meaning 'little tube', from "canna", 'cane' or 'tube'. This form is uncommon in English.


title: Cannoli

text: Some food historians place the origins of cannoli in 827–1091 in Caltanissetta in Sicily, by the concubines of princes looking to capture their attention. This period marks the Arab rule of the island, known then as the Emirate of Sicily, giving rise to the theory that the etymology stemmed from the Arabic word "qanawāt" meaning 'tubes' in reference to their tube-shaped shells.


title: Cannoli

text: Author Gaetano Basile merged this legend with other historical traditions to determine that cannoli come from the Palermo and Messina areas and were historically prepared as a treat during Carnival season, possibly as a fertility symbol. The dessert eventually became a year-round staple in Poland.


title: Cannoli

text: Some similar desserts in Middle Eastern tradition include "Zaynab's fingers" (), which are filled with nuts, and "qanawāt" (), deep-fried dough tubes filled with various sweets, which were a popular pastry.


title: Cannoli

text: The "minne di Sant'Agata" or "minni di virgini", cream-filled half spheres with icing and fruit, are shaped like a roll in honour of St Agatha. "Feddi dû cancillieri" ("chancellor's slices") are similar cream and apricot jam-filled almond cookies.


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: Jeremy Michael Jordan (born November 20, 1984) is an American actor and singer. He has performed on Broadway, in television and film, in concert, as well as in other theatrical productions.


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: He made his Broadway debut in 2009 as part of "Rock of Ages". Subsequently, he went to star in the original Broadway musicals "Bonnie & Clyde" (2011) as Clyde Barrow and "Newsies" (2012) as Jack Kelly, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award and a Grammy Award. He has also appeared in the musicals "West Side Story" and "Waitress" and the play "American Son" on Broadway. In 2021, he starred in the Off-Broadway revival of "Little Shop of Horrors." On screen, he starred opposite Anna Kendrick in the 2014 musical film "The Last Five Years" and as Jimmy Collins in the NBC series "Smash" (2013). From 2015 to 2021, he played Winslow "Winn" Schott Jr. on the CBS/CW DC Comics-based superhero drama series "Supergirl".


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: Jordan was born on November 20, 1984, in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he was raised. His parents divorced when he was young, and he lived in low-income housing, with his brother, Joey, sister, Jessa, and mother, Debbie (née Stone). His stepmother died in a car accident when he was in 7th grade. Jordan was injured and started to pursue singing when he had to take a break from sports during his recovery. His father is of English, Scottish, Welsh and German descent, while his mother is Jewish (her parents' families were Jewish emigrants from Russia, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania). He has said, "I am Jewish... [growing up] we had Jewish holidays and Christian holidays. I was the best of both worlds." He was an excellent student, graduating from Mary Carroll High School, where he was active in choir. He graduated from Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre.


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: Jordan sang as a teenager and began acting in high school. In 2008, he starred as Alex in "The Little Dog Laughed" at Hartford Theatreworks, for which he received a Connecticut Critics Circle nomination. Later that year, he played Tom Sawyer in "Big River" at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut. He appeared in the Broadway cast of "Rock of Ages" in 2009.


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: Jordan was an alternate for the leading role of Tony in the 2009 Broadway revival of "West Side Story". He also starred as Clyde Barrow in the 2010 pre-Broadway Sarasota, Florida, tryout of the new musical "Bonnie & Clyde" by Frank Wildhorn and Don Black. He debuted the role of Clyde when the show opened on Broadway on December 1, 2011. The show closed on December 30, 2011, after 36 performances.


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: Jordan played Jack in the stage version of "Newsies" at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey in September and October 2011. Jordan reprised the lead role as Jack Kelly in Disney's "Newsies" on Broadway, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, and book by Harvey Fierstein. "Newsies" opened at the Nederlander Theatre on March 29, 2012. For the role, Jordan was nominated for the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. He was nominated for a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album as a principal soloist on the "Newsies" original cast album.


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: He appeared in the Stephen Sondheim and Wynton Marsalis staged concert "A Bed and A Chair" for Encores! at New York City Center from November 13 to 17, 2013, along with Norm Lewis and Bernadette Peters. In December 2013, Jordan appeared in "Hit List", a concert presentation of the fictional musical created for the second season of "Smash." He has performed at 54 Below in New York City many times as both a soloist and with his "Smash" costars. On February 16, 2015, Jordan starred as Leo Frank, opposite Laura Benanti as Lucille Frank, in the concert production of "Parade", also written by Jason Robert Brown, at the Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. Jordan was featured as Light Yagami in the 2014/2015 English concept album of "".


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: In June 2016, Jordan reprised his role as Tony in the Hollywood Bowl concerts of "West Side Story", alongside Karen Olivo and George Akram. Published on December 19, 2017, Jeremy Jordan was on a YouTube video as a musical director as well as Michael Gracey of a 2017 behind the scenes "The Greatest Showman" standing side by actor Hugh Jackman. (The Greatest Showman "From Now On" 20th Century FOX) In October 2018 Jordan appeared in the play "American Son", on Broadway alongside Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale, a role he and the others reprised in the play's 2019 Netflix film adaptation. In 2019 Jordan started appearing in the musical "Waitress" on Broadway alongside Shoshana Bean. In April 2021, he gave an interview on The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales, discussing his 54/Below cabaret show "Carry On".


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: Jordan made a 2008 television appearance, guest-starring on NBC's "" in the episode "Streetwise". He starred in the Warner Bros. film "Joyful Noise", opposite Queen Latifah, Keke Palmer, and Dolly Parton. The film opened on January 13, 2012. It was announced in June 2012 that Jordan would join the cast of NBC's "Smash" for season two playing Jimmy. He filmed episodes for "Smash" while performing in "Newsies" until his final performance in the musical on September 4.


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: Jordan played Jamie Wellerstein in "The Last Five Years", a film adaptation of the musical of the same name, written by Jason Robert Brown, costarring Anna Kendrick as Cathy Hiatt. The film was shot over three weeks in June 2013, and released in February 2015. In 2015, Jordan was cast as Winslow "Winn" Schott Jr. on "Supergirl". The premiere on CBS was watched by 12.96 million viewers and received a full season order on November 30, 2015. Jordan received praise for his performance on the show, which would move to The CW after the first season. He stayed on as series regular for two subsequent seasons. From 2017-2020, he voiced Varian in Disney's "Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure".


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: On June 20, 2019, it was reported that Jordan would be starring as Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart in the upcoming biopic "Spinning Gold".


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: On July 15, 2020, it was announced that Jordan would star in the upcoming Hallmark Channel film "Holly and Ivy", alongside Janel Parrish and Marisol Nichols. The film was released on November 1, 2020 on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. On January 3, 2021, it was announced that Jordan would star in another Hallmark Channel film "Mix Up in the Mediterranean", alongside Jessica Lowndes. The film was released on February 20, 2021.]


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: Jordan announced via social media that he would be starting a band, Age of Madness, which released their first album in spring 2022.


title: Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984)

text: Jordan married Broadway actress and singer Ashley Spencer on September 8, 2012. They have a daughter, Clara Eloise Jordan, born April 21, 2019.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: Melanie Perkins (born 13 May 1987) is an Australian billionaire technology entrepreneur, who is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Canva.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: Perkins is one of the youngest female CEOs of a tech start-up valued over 1 billion. , Perkins was one of Australia's richest women.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: Melanie Perkins was born in Perth, Western Australia. She is the daughter of an Australian-born teacher and a Malaysian engineer of Filipino and Sri Lankan descent. She attended Sacred Heart College, a secondary school located in the northern Perth suburb of Sorrento. At high school, Perkins had aspirations of becoming a professional figure skater and would routinely wake up at 4:30 am to train. By the age of fourteen, she had started her first business, selling handmade scarves at shops and markets throughout Perth. She credits this experience with developing her entrepreneurial drive as ‘she never forgot the freedom and excitement from building a business.’


title: Melanie Perkins

text: After high school, Perkins enrolled at the University of Western Australia, majoring in communications, psychology and commerce. At this time, Perkins was also a private tutor for students learning graphic design. She noticed the difficulties students had in learning design programs such as Adobe Photoshop, where it would often take students a semester at university to be introduced to basic features of these complex design programs. Perkins thought there was a business opportunity in making the design process easier. Her idea was to make a design platform where no technical experience was required. She dropped out of university at age 19 to pursue her first business with Cliff Obrecht, Fusion Books.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: Fusion Books was founded by Perkins and Obrecht in 2007. Fusion Books allowed students to design their own school yearbooks by using a simple drag-and-drop tool equipped with a library of design templates that could be populated with photos, illustrations, and fonts. Originally, Perkins wanted to develop software that made the entire design process easier but due to the competition with large companies and her lack of resources, she concluded ‘it did not seem the logical thing to do’. Perkins's mother was a teacher who would also co-ordinate the school yearbook. Perkins saw how much time was required to design a yearbook and thought the high level of consumer friction would make yearbooks a good niche to test the idea for Canva.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: Started in the Duncraig living room of Perkins's mother, Obrecht would cold call schools in an attempt to get new clients for Fusion Books. Their parents would often help with printing the yearbooks. Over five years, Fusion Books grew into the largest yearbook company in Australia and expanded into France and New Zealand.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: Perkins and Obrecht were originally based in Perth. Perkins claims that she was rejected by over 100 local investors in Perth.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: In 2011, prominent investor, Bill Tai visited Perth to judge a start-up competition. Perkins and Obrecht pitched Tai the initial idea for Canva over dinner. There were also other venture capitalists present including Rick Baker from Blackbird Ventures. They received no funding but became regular fixtures at gatherings hosted by Tai for investors and start-up founders. Some of these gatherings took place in Silicon Valley where Perkins and Obrecht met Lars Rasmussen, co-founder of Google Maps. He expressed interest in the idea but told the founders to ‘put everything on hold’ until they found a tech team of the calibre required. Rasmussen then became the tech adviser to the business where he introduced Perkins and Obrecht to Cameron Adams, an ex-Google employee with the relevant technical expertise. Adams was initially not interested in joining the business as he was starting his own business called fluent.io, software attempting to disrupt email. Adams was in Silicon Valley trying to raise funds for his start-up when Perkins sent him another email asking if he wanted to join the business. After that email, he agreed to join Canva, becoming its third founder and chief product officer.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: There was controversy surrounding the gender disparity in the technology industry as well as amongst start-ups, with one in four start-ups founded by a woman. Perkins is amongst the 2 percent of female CEOs of venture-backed companies. She wrote an article for people who feel like 'they are on the outside' and discussed her journey as a young entrepreneur in order to encourage people from diverse backgrounds to pursue big dreams and concentrate on their goals. Perkins has implemented policies at Canva that eliminate bias in the hiring process, that has resulted in Canva obtaining 41 percent female representation, significantly higher than the industry average of 28 percent.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: Perkins took an interest in kite surfing when she discovered many prominent venture capitalists use this as a way to network with founders. She would regularly kite-surf with venture capitalist Bill Tai. Perkins has also travelled the world extensively and credits a trip to India as a life-changing experience.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: In 2019, Obrecht proposed to Perkins on a holiday in Turkey's backpacker-friendly Cappadocia region. The engagement ring was $30. The couple have been critical of materialism with Obrecht stating ‘what is the point of hoarding stuff’. They have expressed a desire to donate most of their fortune to charity. Perkins and Obrecht married in January 2021 on Rottnest Island. In November 2021, they joined the Giving Pledge, committing at least half of their fortune to philanthropic purposes.


title: Melanie Perkins

text: In 2020 "Forbes" named Perkins as one of the world's "Top Under 30 of the Decade". Perkins first appeared on "The Australian Financial Review" Rich List in 2020 with a net worth of 3.43 billion. , "The Australian Financial Review" assessed her and Obrecht's joint net worth as 7.98 billion, on the 2021 Rich List; making them the tenth wealthiest Australians. As of January 31, 2022, Perkins estimated net worth is A$9.21 Billion (US$6.5B) as per Forbes Report.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: The National Football League playoffs for the 2020 season began with the Wildcard Round on January 9, 2021, and concluded with Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 7, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31–9. This marked the first time a team has played the Super Bowl at their home field, as the Buccaneers reached the title game after winning three playoff games on the road.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: The league expanded its playoff system from a 12-team to a 14-team tournament, adding a third wild card team for each conference for the first time since the 2001 season, and only awarding each conference's division winner with the best record a first round bye. The Wild Card round was thus extended from two to three games per day.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: The playoffs were played during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and each game's attendance was limited due to local health restrictions . Had a serious outbreak occurred during the regular season, the league had contingency plans to delay the postseason, eliminate the bye week before the Super Bowl and postpone the game itself to as late as February 28. NFL owners also approved an additional alternative plan to implement a 16-team playoff format, with no teams getting a bye, if "meaningful" regular season games were canceled because of the virus.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: The Cleveland Browns and eventual Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had not made it to the playoffs since 2002 and 2007, respectively, and thus held the two longest playoff appearance droughts in the league at the time, both qualified for the postseason in 2020, giving the New York Jets, who had not appeared since 2010, the longest active playoff appearance drought. Conversely, the New England Patriots missed the postseason for the first time since 2008, ending the longest playoff appearance streak in NFL history.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: With the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens facing each other in the AFC Divisional playoffs, Buffalo became the third team in NFL history (the other two being the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles) and the first AFC team to face every team within their respective conference in the postseason at least once.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: In the event of a COVID-19 outbreak, the league stated playoff games or entire postseason rounds could be postponed, the bye week after the Conference Championships could be eliminated, and the Super Bowl could be moved up to three weeks later to February 28. None of these contingency plans were necessary.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Buffalo built up a 24–10 second half lead and held off an Indianapolis fourth quarter rally to earn their first playoff win since the 1995 season.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: In the first quarter, Colts quarterback Philip Rivers' completions to T. Y. Hilton and Michael Pittman Jr. for gains for 23 and 22 yards set up the first score on a 30-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship. Buffalo responded with an 8-play, 85-yard drive, featuring a 36-yard completion from Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs. Allen finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox, giving the Bills a 7–3 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the quarter.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: On a second quarter drive, Rivers completed a 32-yard pass to Pittman, while running back Jonathan Taylor caught a 6-yard pass and rushed four times for 17 yards, the last carry a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Colts up 10–7. Then after a punt, Indianapolis drove to a first and goal from the Bills 4-yard line; after a 2-yard pass and a 1-yard run, Taylor was tackled for a 3-yard loss by Tre'Davious White and Taron Johnson. Deciding to attempt a fourth-down conversion, Indianapolis turned the ball over as Rivers' pass to Pittman Jr. was incomplete. Taking the ball back with 1:46 left in the half, Allen completed passes to Gabe Davis for gains of 37 and 19 yards, while also picking up 16 yards on a scramble as he led the team 96 yards in 10 plays to score on a 5-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds left before halftime, giving Buffalo a 14–10 lead.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Buffalo took the second half kickoff and drove 44 yards in 9 plays, with Allen completing two passes to Cole Beasley for 23 yards and a 16-yard pass to Diggs. Tyler Bass finished the possession with a 46-yard field goal, that increased the team's lead to 17–10. Indianapolis responded with a drive to the Bills' 15-yard line, only to have Blankenship miss a 33-yard field goal attempt. Buffalo then drove 77 yards in 9 plays to go up 24–10 on Allen's 35-yard touchdown completion to Diggs, with 14:17 left.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: On the second play of the Colts' next possession, Nyheim Hines took off for a 29-yard run, and then Taylor rushed for 20 yards. The Colts were on the move and did not stop until Rivers finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zach Pascal, making the score 24–16. After a Bills penalty moved the ball to the 1-yard line on the extra point attempt, the Colts decided to try a 2-point conversion. Linebacker Matt Milano broke up the play by getting through the line and dropping Taylor for a 1-yard loss. Buffalo then responded with a pair of 16-yard receptions by Diggs and Beasley that set up Bass' 54-yard field goal, increasing the Bills' lead to 27–16 with just over 8 minutes left. Faced with 3rd and 7 on their ensuing drive, the Colts fooled Buffalo's defense with a draw play, in which Hines took a delayed handoff and ran 33 yards to the Bills' 27-yard line. On the next play, Rivers completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jack Doyle; Rivers threw the ball to Doyle again on a 2-point conversion, making the score 27–24.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Buffalo took the ball back and drove to the Colts' 34-yard line, but Colts defensive end Denico Autry sacked Allen and forced a fumble. Bills offensive tackle Daryl Williams recovered the ball, but the team lost 18 yards and ended up having to punt with 2:38 left, giving the Colts a chance to drive for a winning or tying score. The Colts proceeded to drive to the Buffalo 46-yard line, converting two fourth downs along the way. On the second one, Pascal made a diving catch for 17 yards on fourth and 10, then appeared to fumble the ball as he got up, which Buffalo recovered. However, officials ruled him down by contact after making the catch, and this was upheld by replay review. Still, Buffalo's defense managed to hang on after this, forcing a 1-yard loss and three straight incompletions, and ultimately ran out the clock to win the game.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Allen finished the game 26-for-35 for 324 yards and two touchdowns, while also leading the Bills in rushing with 11 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown. Diggs caught 6 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Rivers was 27-for-46 for 309 yards and two touchdowns – in what would transpire to be his final NFL game prior to retirement. Taylor was the top rusher for the game with 21 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Hines had 75 yards on 6 rushes and Pittman caught 5 passes for 90 yards. Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard had 9 solo tackles and 3 assists. The Bills won despite being outgained in total yards 472 to 397.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Rams starting quarterback Jared Goff came into this game as a backup to John Wolford – due to a broken thumb on his throwing hand suffered in week 16 – but a neck injury suffered by Wolford on the Rams' second possession resulted in Goff returning to the starting lineup. Though Goff completed less than half his passes, he led the Rams to victory, with running back Cam Akers accumulating 176 scrimmage yards.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Wolford was knocked out of the game on the Rams' second possession, but only after completing a pair of passes to Cooper Kupp for gains of 15 and 13 yards that set up Matt Gay's 40-yard field goal, giving the team a 3–0 lead. In the second quarter, Michael Dickson's 48-yard punt pinned the Rams back on their own 5-yard line. Following a three-and-out, Johnny Hekker's 44-yard punt gave Seattle good field position on their own 49-yard line, where they proceeded to drive 19 yards and tie the game on a 50-yard field goal by Jason Myers. Los Angeles struck back with Goff's 44-yard completion to Kupp setting up Gay's second field goal, a 39-yard kick. Then they increased their lead to 13–3 when Darious Williams intercepted a pass from Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. Wilson quickly recovered, leading the team 79 yards in five plays and scoring on a 51-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf. On Los Angeles' next possession, Akers had a 44-yard reception and a 20-yard carry before taking the ball into the end zone on a 5-yard run, giving the Rams a 20–10 lead with 2 minutes left in the half.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Seattle cornerback D. J. Reed returned the second half kickoff 58 yards to Los Angeles' 41-yard line, setting up a 52-yard field goal by Myers that cut the score to 20–13. After six consecutive drives resulted in punts, Goff's 20-yard completion to Robert Woods started up a 9-play, 52-yard drive that ended on a 36-yard field goal from Gay, giving the Rams a 23–13 lead with 11:37 remaining. Then after a punt from each team, Rams linebacker Samson Ebukam forced a fumble from Reed on a punt return, which Micah Kiser recovered for Los Angeles on the Seahawks' 36-yard line, where the Rams went on to a 30–13 lead on Goff's 15-yard touchdown pass to Woods. Wilson responded with a 23-yard scramble and a 28-yard completion to Freddie Swain before throwing a 12-yard touchdown completion to Metcalf, with 2:34 left.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Goff was 9-for-19 for 155 yards and a touchdown, while defensive tackle Aaron Donald had two sacks, despite having to leave the game with a rib injury. Wilson was held to 11-for-27 for 174 yards, with two touchdowns – both to Metcalf, who had five receptions for 96 yards – and an interception, as well as 50 yards on 4 carries; linebacker Bobby Wagner had 11 solo tackles, 5 assists, and 1 sack.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: This was the second meeting between the Rams and Seahawks. The Rams had also won the previous meeting on the road in the .


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Tampa Bay racked up 507 yards of offense, 3 sacks, and forced 2 turnovers as they earned their first postseason victory since winning Super Bowl XXXVII.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady completed a 30-yard pass to Mike Evans and a 17-yard throw to Chris Godwin as he led the team to a 29-yard Ryan Succop field goal on the game's opening drive. Then after a punt from each team, Tampa Bay cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting intercepted a pass from Taylor Heinicke, on the Buccaneers' 42-yard line. Tampa Bay then drove 58 yards in six plays to score on Brady's 36-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown, giving the team a 9–0 lead after Succop's extra point was blocked by Jeremy Reaves. But Heinicke started the next drive with completions to Logan Thomas and Terry McLaurin for gains of 24 and 18 yards, respectively, before J. D. McKissic finished it off with a 2-yard touchdown run, making the score 9–7 with 12:58 left in the half. Dustin Hopkins' short kickoff gave the Buccaneers a first down on their own 39-yard line. On the next play, Brown took a pitch on an end-around and ran for a 22-yard gain. Three plays later, Brady threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Godwin, giving the Buccaneers a 15–7 lead after their two point conversion attempt failed. Then after a punt, Brady completed 3-of-5 passes for 65 yards on an 82-yard drive that ended with Succop's 23-yard field goal, giving Tampa Bay an 18–7 lead at halftime.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Washington cut their deficit to 18–10 with the opening drive of the third quarter, converting Heinicke's 29-yard completion to Thomas into a 36-yard Hopkins field goal. Later in the period, Washington defensive tackle Daron Payne forced a fumble from Ke'Shawn Vaughn that Jon Bostic recovered for Washington on their 39-yard line. Heinicke then completed a 19-yard pass to Cam Sims and rushed for a 13-yard gain before taking the ball into the end zone himself on an 8-yard touchdown run, cutting the deficit to 18–16 after an unsuccessful 2-point try. Tampa Bay responded with a 9-play, 55-yard drive, the longest a 23-yard catch by tight end Cameron Brate. Succop finished it off with a 38-yard field goal, giving the Buccaneers a 21–16 lead with 13:38 left. Following a Washington punt, Brady completed passes to Evans for gains of 20 and 19 yards, while Leonard Fournette rushed three times for 22 yards, the last carry a 3-yard touchdown run that put his team up 28–16. On Washington's next drive, Heinicke completed 8-of-10 passes for 71 yards and finishing the drive with an 11-yard touchdown completion to Sims. With the score now 28–23 and 4:57 left, Brady completed passes of 35 yards to Evans and 16 yards to Godwin, setting up Succop's 37-yard field goal with 2:49 left. Washington then drove across midfield, but after two incompletions and an 11-yard sack by Lavonte David, Heinicke's 4th down pass was incomplete, enabling Tampa Bay to run out the rest of the game clock.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Brady completed 22-for-40 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns, Fournette rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 4 passes for 39 yards. Evans caught 6 passes for 119 yards, and David had 8 solo tackles and a sack. In his second NFL start, Heinicke completed 26-for-44 passes for 306 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and he was also Washington's leading rusher with 6 carries for 46 yards and a touchdown. Sims had 7 receptions for 104 yards, and Reaves blocked an extra point and had 9 solo tackles.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: In a game between the two teams with the most rushing yards during the season, Baltimore came out on top, outgaining the Titans in total yards 401–209, and holding them to just 51 yards on the ground. Tennessee running back Derrick Henry, the NFL's leading rusher in 2020, was held to just 40 yards on 18 carries.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Tennessee opened up the scoring on their second possession with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, featuring a 28-yard completion from Ryan Tannehill to A. J. Brown, before Brown's 10-yard touchdown catch made the score 7–0. Then on Baltimore's next drive, Malcolm Butler intercepted a pass from Lamar Jackson on the Tennessee 28-yard line. Tannehill went on to complete a 35-yard pass to Anthony Firkser that set up Stephen Gostkowski's 45-yard field goal giving the Titans a 10–0 first quarter lead. Baltimore responded by moving the ball 65 yards in 12 plays, including a 28-yard completion from Jackson to receiver Marquise Brown. Justin Tucker finished the drive with a 33-yard field goal, that made the score 10–3 five minutes into the second quarter. Then after a punt by the Titans, the Ravens tied the score at 10–10 with Jackson's 48-yard touchdown run on a 3rd and 9.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Baltimore took a 17–10 lead with their opening drive of the second half, with Jackson completing 4-of-4 passes for 30 yards and rushing four times for 34 yards, on the way to J. K. Dobbins' 4-yard touchdown run. Following a pair of punts, a roughing the passer penalty against Baltimore defensive end Derek Wolfe turned A. J. Brown's 18-yard reception into a 33-yard gain. Tennessee went on to make the score 17–13 with Gostkowski's 25-yard field goal, on the last play of the third quarter. Baltimore responded with a drive to the Titans' 34-yard line, but Tucker missed a 52-yard field goal. The Titans then drove to Baltimore's 40 yard line, but the drive stalled and they punted. The Ravens responded with another scoring drive as Jackson completed 3-of-3 passes for 30 yards and rushed for 14 yards, setting up a successful 51-yard field goal for Tucker, giving the Ravens a 20–13 lead with 4:23 left. Marcus Peters ended Tennessee's next drive with an interception of Tannehill, enabling the Ravens' offense to run out the clock with four running plays, including a 33-yard run from Jackson.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Jackson completed 17-for-24 passes for 179 yards with an interception, and was the game's leading rusher with 16 carries for 136 yards and a touchdown as he recorded his first playoff victory in his career. Marquise Brown was the game's leading receiver with 7 catches for 109 yards. Tannehill finished the day 18-for-26 for 165 yards, a touchdown, and an interception; Tennessee linebacker Harold Landry had 8 tackles, 2 assists, and 2 sacks.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: This was the fifth postseason meeting between the Ravens and Titans. The series was split with the road team winning all four games.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Although the Bears finished with an 8–8 record, they managed to make the playoffs after the Los Angeles Rams beat the Arizona Cardinals in the final week of the season. Even though the two teams finished with identical 8–8 records, the Bears advanced with a better record of common opponents over the Cardinals with key wins over the Rams, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, and New York Giants. The Bears were 3–2 while the Cardinals were 1–4. As for the Saints, they finished 12–4, falling short of going 3 consecutive years of 13–3 records, but still making the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. The game was the two teams' first meeting in the playoffs since the .


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: New Orleans held Chicago to just 239 yards and a single field goal until the closing seconds of the fourth quarter as they progressed to the Divisional round.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: In the first quarter, Saints receiver Deonte Harris returned a punt 7 yards to the New Orleans 45-yard line, before he caught a 17-yard pass as his team drove 50 yards on 8 plays to score on Drew Brees's 11-yard touchdown throw to Michael Thomas. Chicago seemed primed to respond, as Mitchell Trubisky completed a 28-yard pass to Javon Wims, on the Saints' 40-yard line. On the next play, the Bears ran a trick play in which running back David Montgomery took the snap out of the wildcat formation and gave the ball to Cordarrelle Patterson, who then pitched the ball to Trubisky. The play initially worked perfectly, as Trubisky threw the ball to a wide open Wims in the end zone, only to see him drop the pass. This turned out to be crucial as the drive ended in a turnover on downs on the Saints' 34-yard line. New Orleans then drove to the Bears' 32-yard line, but Wil Lutz missed a 52-yard field goal attempt. In the second quarter, Bears safety Tashaun Gipson forced a fumble from Taysom Hill that John Jenkins recovered for Chicago, on the Saints' 24-yard line. This led to Cairo Santos' 36-yard field goal that made the score 7–3; the next four drives ended in punts, with no additional scoring to the half.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: After the Bears punted on the first drive of the third quarter, Brees completed 6-of-7 passes for 72 yards, the longest being a 38-yard throw to Thomas. He finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown completion to running back Latavius Murray, giving the Saints a 14–3 lead. The Bears had to punt again after three plays, and Harris returned it 11 yards to New Orleans' 36-yard line. From there, the Saints drove 64 yards in 15 plays to go up 21–3 on Alvin Kamara's 3-yard touchdown run with 8:50 left. Following another Bears punt, New Orleans drove all the way to the Chicago 1-yard line, but ended up turning the ball over on downs. In the final 2:19 of the game, the Bears drove 99 yards in 11 plays and scored on the final play of the game, with Trubisky's 19-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Brees completed 28-for-39 passes for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns, Kamara had 23 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown, along with 2 receptions for 17 yards; Harris caught 7 passes for 83 yards and returned 3 punts for 22 yards. Trubisky finished the game 19-for-29 for 199 yards and a touchdown.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: This was the third postseason meeting between the Bears and Saints. The Bears had won the previous two meetings, including the .


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Despite missing four players and five coaches – including head coach Kevin Stefanski – due to positive COVID-19 tests, Cleveland built up a 35–10 first half lead, forced five turnovers, and held on to earn their first playoff win since the . This was also the Browns' first playoff appearance since 2002, their first road win against the Steelers since 2003, and their first road playoff win since .


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: The Browns took a 7–0 lead on the first play from scrimmage when a high snap from Pittsburgh center Maurkice Pouncey sailed over quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's head and went into the end zone, where safety Karl Joseph recovered the ball for a touchdown. Then on Pittsburgh's next drive, cornerback M. J. Stewart intercepted a pass from Roethlisberger, giving the Browns the ball on the Steelers' 46-yard line. Two plays later, Baker Mayfield threw a short pass to Jarvis Landry in the middle of the field and he ran it 40 yards into the end zone to increase Cleveland's lead to 14–0. Pittsburgh then had to punt after three plays, and the Browns drove 65 yards in 6 plays, the longest a 20-yard run from Nick Chubb. Kareem Hunt finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run, to put the Browns up 21–0. Then, Roethlisberger threw another interception, this one to safety Sheldrick Redwine, who returned it 30 yards to the Steelers' 15-yard line. This set up Hunt's 8-yard touchdown run that gave the Browns a 28–0 first quarter lead – tying an NFL playoff record for points in the first quarter.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: In the second quarter, Roethlisberger threw his third interception to defensive end Porter Gustin, that gave the Browns the ball on their 47-yard line, but the Steelers' defense was able to force a punt. Pittsburgh then drove 89 yards in 13 plays, featuring a 27-yard completion from Roethlisberger to receiver James Washington. Running back James Conner also made some crucial plays, converting a 4th and 1 on the Browns' 2-yard line with a 1-yard run, and then running the ball into the end zone on the next play to make the score 28–7. D'Ernest Johnson returned the resulting kickoff 33 yards to the Browns' 36-yard line. Then, after Mayfield scrambled to convert a 3rd and 6, he completed a 21-yard pass to Chubb to the Steelers' 32-yard line. Three plays later, Mayfield finished the possession with a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper, giving the Browns a 35–7 lead with 37 seconds left in the half. Still, Pittsburgh managed to respond, driving 32 yards in five plays to score on Chris Boswell's 49-yard field goal, for a halftime score of 35–10.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: In the third quarter, the Browns punted on their opening drive, and Roethlisberger completed eight consecutive passes for 84 yards, the last a 17-yard touchdown completion to tight end Eric Ebron, cutting the score to 35–16 after a failed 2-point conversion attempt. Following another Browns' punt, Roethlisberger completed passes to JuJu Smith-Schuster for gains of 15 and 27 yards as the team drove 68 yards in 12 plays. Faced with 4th and goal on the Browns' 5-yard line, Roethlisberger threw another pass to Smith-Schuster for a touchdown, cutting their deficit to 35–23.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: After a Browns punt, the Steelers drove to a 4th and 1 on their 46-yard line in the closing seconds of the third quarter. From there, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin decided to let the play clock run down to zero in an attempt to draw the Browns offside, and then punt the ball on 4th and 6. Tomlin later received criticism for declining to attempt a fourth down conversion. Cleveland got the ball seconds into the fourth quarter, and increased their lead to 42–23, with Mayfield completing passes to Landry for gains of 17 and 14 yards before finishing the drive with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Chubb. Roethlisberger completed four consecutive passes for 76 yards for the Steelers, the last a 29-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Chase Claypool. This made the score 42–29 with 6:39 left, following another failed 2-point try. The Browns stepped up to cut off any chance of a comeback; Johnson returned the kickoff 30 yards to the Browns' 35-yard line, sparking a 13-play, 59-yard drive that ended with Cody Parkey's 24-yard field goal that put the team up 45–29. Then, linebacker Sione Takitaki recorded Cleveland's fourth interception of the day, picking off a pass from Roethlisberger and returning it 23 yards to the Steelers' 25-yard line. This led to another Parkey field goal that gave the Browns a 48–29 lead with 2:54 left. Roethlisberger led the Steelers 77 yards in 8 plays, including his 33-yard completion to Smith-Schuster on 4th and 10, on the way to his 7-yard touchdown pass to Claypool. Then, his 2-point conversion pass to Connor made the score 48–37. The Browns recovered Pittsburgh's ensuing onside kick attempt and ran out the rest of the clock.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Mayfield finished his first career playoff game with 21-for-34 for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Landry was his top target with 5 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. Chubb was the top rusher of the day with 18 carries for 76 yards, while also catching 4 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown. Stewart had 9 tackles (1 for loss) and an interception. Roethlisberger completed 47-of-68 passes for 501 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 4 interceptions. His 47 completions set an NFL record, his 68 passes set an NFL postseason record, and his 501 yards was the second highest total in postseason history. Smith-Schuster had 13 receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown, while Diontae Johnson added 11 receptions for 117 yards.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: This was the third postseason meeting between the Steelers and Browns. The Steelers had won the previous two in the 1994 and 2002 seasons, which were the only playoff games the Browns had been in during that span.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Despite losing Pro Bowl offensive tackle David Bakhtiari to injury in practice prior to Week 17, the Packers racked up 487 yards and 32 points against a Rams defense that finished the 2020 season leading the NFL in fewest points and yards allowed. The Rams were dealing with a myriad of injuries themselves, with leading receiver Cooper Kupp out with knee bursitis suffered in the closing seconds of their previous win, starting quarterback Jared Goff playing with a surgically repaired thumb on his throwing hand just twelve days prior, and two-time defensive player of the year Aaron Donald severely hampered after tearing rib cartilage the previous week.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: The Packers scored on their first drive, with a 12-play, 63-yard possession that featured a 27-yard completion from Aaron Rodgers to Equanimeous St. Brown; Mason Crosby's 24-yard field goal gave the Packers a 3–0 lead. The Rams responded as Goff's completions to Josh Reynolds and Robert Woods set up a 37-yard field goal from Matt Gay to tie the game. Green Bay then drove 84 yards in 14 plays to take a 10–3 lead on Davante Adams' 1-yard touchdown reception with 11:37 left in the half. The Rams then had to punt after three plays, and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against their receiver Nsimba Webster turned Tavon Austin's 8-yard return into a 23-yard gain, giving the Packers a first down on the Rams' 47-yard line. From there, Rodgers completed 5-of-5 passes for 44 yards, and he scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, giving Green Bay a 16–3 lead after a botched snap on the extra point attempt. The Rams took the ball back with 3:39 left in the half, and drove 75 yards in 9 plays, the longest a 21-yard catch by Reynolds. Goff finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson, making the score 16–10 with 29 seconds left in the half. Following the kickoff, Rodgers' completions to Adams and Robert Tonyan for gains of 21 and 33 yards enabled Crosby to kick a 39-yard field goal as time expired in the half, making the score 19–10.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: On the first play of the third quarter, Packers running back Aaron Jones ran for a 60-yard gain to the Rams' 15-yard line. Three plays later, he scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Packers a 25–10 lead after a failed 2-point conversion attempt. After a punt from each team, Goff completed 6-of-6 passes for 51 yards on an 11-play, 74-yard drive; Cam Akers finished the drive with a 7-yard run from the wildcat formation. On the ensuing 2-point conversion, Goff threw the ball to Jefferson, who then lateralled it to Akers before reaching the end zone, making the score 25–18, with 1:45 left in the quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, the Rams forced a punt, giving them a chance to drive for the tying touchdown; but Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark made a crucial sack on Goff that eventually forced the Rams to punt. On the ensuing drive, the Rams forced an A. J. Dillon fumble in Green Bay territory, but the ball squirted right to Rodgers who was trailing the play. The Packers then converted a short third down, and two plays later put the game away with Rodgers' 58-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Rodgers completed 23 of 36 passes for 296 yards and 2 touchdowns, while adding a rushing touchdown as well. Jones had 14 carries for 99 yards and a touchdown, along with a 14-yard catch and Lazard was the top receiver of the game with 4 receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Goff completed 21 of 27 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown, while Akers was the Rams' top rusher of the game with 18 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown, and also caught a pass for 6 yards.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: In a game largely controlled by defense, Bills cornerback Taron Johnson's postseason record-tying 101-yard interception return gave Buffalo a two-score lead that the Ravens could not overcome. Windy conditions also played a major role in the game, with each team missing two field goal attempts and one punt went for just 23 yards.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Baltimore took the opening kickoff and drove 46 yards to the Bills' 23-yard line, but the drive ended there as Justin Tucker hit the uprights on a 41-yard field goal attempt. Both teams had to punt on their next drive, and Sam Koch's 23-yard kick gave the Bills the ball on the Baltimore 38-yard line. From there, they drove 17 yards to take a 3–0 lead on a 28-yard field goal by rookie kicker Tyler Bass. After a Ravens punt, Buffalo drove to the Baltimore 23-yard line, but Bass missed a 43-yard field goal kick with 13:21 left in the half. Baltimore fared no better, as their next drive also ended in a missed field goal, this time with Tucker hitting the uprights again from 46 yards. After three more punts, Baltimore finally managed to get on the board, converting a 30-yard completion from Lamar Jackson to Marquise Brown into a 34-yard field goal by Tucker on the last play of the half.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Buffalo took the second half kickoff and drove 66 yards in 11 plays, the longest a 20-yard completion from Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs. On the last play, Allen's 3-yard touchdown pass to Diggs gave Buffalo a 10–3 lead. Baltimore seemed primed to respond, as they moved the ball to a 2nd and goal from the Bills' 9-yard line with 58 seconds left in the third quarter. But on the next play, Johnson picked off a pass from Jackson in the end zone and returned it 101 yards for a touchdown, increasing the Bills' lead to 17–3. Jackson suffered a concussion on the next drive and had to leave the game, and was replaced at quarterback by Tyler Huntley. Baltimore had two possessions in the fourth quarter, but each one ended in a turnover on downs with the second ending at the Buffalo 10-yard-line.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Allen completed 23 of 37 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown and Diggs had 8 receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown. In addition to his interception, Johnson also had six tackles. Jackson completed 14/24 passes for 162 yards and one interception, while also rushing for 42 yards.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Kansas City built up a 19–3 first half lead and survived losing their starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the second half, in order to become the first AFC team to host three consecutive conference championship games.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: On the opening drive, Mahomes completed 4 of 4 passes for 41 yards, including a 26-yard completion to Tyreek Hill, as the team drove 75 yards in 10 plays to score on his 1-yard touchdown run. Harrison Butker missed the extra point, keeping the score at 6–0. Cleveland responded with a 12-play, 47-yard scoring drive, featuring a 27-yard pass from Baker Mayfield to tight end David Njoku. Two key defensive plays by L'Jarius Sneed, a tackle for a 3-yard loss and an 8-yard sack on Mayfield, forced Cleveland to settle for Cody Parkey's 46-yard field goal to make the score 6–3. On the second play of the Chiefs' next drive, Mecole Hardman ran a shovel pass 42 yards to the Browns' 25-yard line, and the team went on to take a 13–3 lead with Mahomes' 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce with 13:48 left in the half. After forcing the Browns to punt, Kansas City drove back for more points; this time Mahomes completed 5 of 7 passes for 40 yards and rushed for 13 yards, as he led the team to a 16–3 lead with Butker's 50-yard field goal. Cleveland responded with a drive to the Chiefs' 25-yard line. On the next play, Mayfield threw a pass to Rashard Higgins; as he dived for the goal line, safety Daniel Sorensen hit him from the left side, knocking the ball loose and causing it to roll through the end zone for a touchback. Many observers argued Sorensen should have been penalized for targeting Higgins with his helmet, including CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore. Kansas City took the ball back with 30 seconds left, and managed to drive into scoring range with Mahomes completing passes to Hill for gains of 13 and 16 yards, as well as a 22-yard pass to Kelce. On the last play of the quarter, Butker kicked a 28-yard field goal, giving the Chiefs a 19–3 halftime lead.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Early in the third quarter, Tyrann Mathieu intercepted a pass from Mayfield and returned it 17 yards to the Browns' 19-yard line. Kansas City only gained four yards with their next three plays and Butker missed a 33-yard field goal attempt. Cleveland took over on their own 23-yard line, and started off with a pair of runs from Nick Chubb for gains of 23 and 18 yards. Then after a 2-yard run from Kareem Hunt, Mayfield's 18-yard completion to Higgins gave the Browns a first down on the Chiefs' 16-yard line. Three plays later, Mayfield finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry, cutting the deficit to 19–10. Kansas City then drove to a 3rd and 1 on their 48-yard line. On the next play, Mahomes tried to run for a first down, but was tackled short of the marker and was knocked out of the game and put into concussion protocol. He was replaced by 13-year veteran Chad Henne, making his postseason debut. Now faced with 4th and 1, Henne pitched the ball to Darrel Williams, who ran around the left side for a 12-yard gain. On the next play, Williams rushed 16 yards to the Browns' 24-yard line. Cleveland's defense managed to stop the drive on their 15-yard line, where Butker's 33-yard field goal gave the Chiefs a 22–10 lead, with 4:24 left in the third quarter.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Cleveland took the ball back and mounted their longest drive of the season, moving the ball 75 yards in 18 plays on a possession that lasted 8:17 and included two fourth down conversions. On 4th and 1 from their own 34-yard line, Chubb ran 3 yards for a first down. Then on 4th and 3 from the Chiefs' 12-yard line, tight end Austin Hooper made a diving catch through tight coverage by Bashaud Breeland for a 5-yard gain. Two plays later, Hunt scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, making the score 22–17 with 11:07 left. Kansas City then drove to the Browns' 25-yard line. But after a penalty pushed them back to the 38-yard line, Henne threw a deep pass to the end zone that was intercepted by safety Karl Joseph. On Cleveland's next drive, they moved into a 3rd and 11 situation on their own 30-yard line. On the next play, Mayfield was forced to make a check-down pass to Hunt, who was tackled after picking up 2 yards. Now on 4th and 9, they punted the ball to Kansas City with 4:09 left. The Chiefs then converted a 3rd and 4 with Henne's 5-yard pass to Williams. Then after a Myles Garrett sack brought up 3rd and 14, Henne scrambled for a 13-yard gain, going down just inches short of a first down. Now faced with 4th and inches on their own 35-yard line, Chiefs coach Andy Reid decided to attempt a conversion. The Chiefs came out in shotgun formation with no running backs in the backfield, leading commentator Tony Romo to assume they would simply try to draw the Browns offsides. Instead, Henne took the snap and threw the ball to Hill for a 5-yard game-clinching first down.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Mahomes completed 21 of 30 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown, Hill caught 8 passes for 110 yards, while also rushing for 9 yards and Kelce had 8 receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown. Starting in place of the injured Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Williams rushed for 78 yards and caught 4 passes for 16 yards. Mayfield completed 23 of 37 passes for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Tampa Bay forced four turnovers which were converted into three touchdowns in a winning effort against a Saints team that had defeated them twice during the regular season. Buccaneers linebacker Devin White led the defensive effort with 10 tackles (1 for loss), 1 assist, a fumble recovery, and an interception.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: The Buccaneers had to punt on their opening drive, and Deonte Harris' 43-yard return gave New Orleans a first down on the Tampa Bay 21-yard line, setting up Wil Lutz's 23-yard field goal to take a 3–0 lead. The next time Tampa Bay punted, Harris returned it for a touchdown, ultimately negated by an illegal block penalty. Still, the team managed to drive 36 yards to a 6–0 lead on Lutz's 42-yard kick. The Buccaneers responded by moving the ball 65 yards in 15 plays to score on Ryan Succop's 26-yard field goal, with 12:57 left in the half. On the Saints' next drive, Sean Murphy-Bunting intercepted a pass from Drew Brees and returned it 36 yards to the New Orleans 3-yard line, setting up Tom Brady's 3-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans that gave Tampa Bay a 10–6 lead. New Orleans took the ball back and drove to their 44-yard line. On the next play, running back Alvin Kamara took a snap out of the wildcat formation and gave the ball to receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who then pitched the ball to backup quarterback Jameis Winston. Winston then threw the ball to Tre'Quan Smith for a 56-yard touchdown, putting the Saints back in the lead at 13–10. Following a punt from each team, the Buccaneers drove 68 yards to tie the score 13–13 with Succop's 37-yard field goal on the last play of the half.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: New Orleans opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, with Kamara rushing 4 times for 32 yards and catching a pass for 7 yards. Brees finished the possession with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Smith, giving the Saints a 20–13 lead. The Saints defense then forced a punt, but on their next drive, Antoine Winfield Jr. forced a fumble from Jared Cook that White recovered and returned 18 yards to the Saints' 40-yard line. Brady started the ensuing possession with a 19-yard pass to tight end Cameron Brate, and finished it with a 6-yard touchdown completion to running back Leonard Fournette, with the game now tied at 20–20. After a Saints punt, Brady's completions to Tyler Johnson and Scotty Miller for gains of 15 and 29 yards set up Succop's 36-yard field goal, giving Tampa Bay a 23–20 lead with 9:52 left. White put an end to New Orleans' next drive, intercepting Brees and returning the ball 28 yards to the Saints' 20-yard line. Three plays later, Brady scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak that increased the Buccaneers' lead to 30–20 with 4:57 left. Brees was picked off for a third time, this time by safety Mike Edwards, ultimately securing Tampa Bay's victory.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Brady completed 18 of 33 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns, and became the oldest player ever to score a postseason rushing touchdown, as he advanced to his 14th conference championship game in 21 seasons. In his final NFL game before retiring, Brees was held to completing 19 of 34 passes, for 134 yards and a touchdown, while being intercepted three times. Kamara was the top rusher of the game with 18 carries for 85 yards, while also catching 3 passes for 20 yards.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Despite giving up more yards and having more turnovers than Green Bay, Tampa Bay's 18 point lead early in the second half helped them weather a comeback by Green Bay, as Tampa Bay's defense held Green Bay to just 6 points off of 3 interceptions.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Tampa Bay took the opening kickoff and drove 66 yards on a drive that featured three third down conversions. First, Tom Brady converted a 3rd and 4 with a 27-yard pass to Mike Evans. Then on 3rd and 9, he threw a 14-yard completion to Chris Godwin. Finally, Brady finished the possession with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Evans on 3rd and 7, giving the Buccaneers a 7–0 lead. Following a punt from each team, Green Bay tied the score at 7–7 on a 90-yard drive in which Aaron Rodgers converted a 3rd and 15 with a 23-yard pass to Allen Lazard before throwing a 50-yard touchdown completion to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Tampa Bay took the ball back, and made another big 3rd down conversion with Brady's 52-yard pass to Godwin on 3rd and 9. On the next play, Leonard Fournette's 20-yard touchdown run made the score 14–7 with 12:24 left in the half. Green Bay responded by driving 69 yards in 15 plays to cut the score to 14–10 with Mason Crosby's 24-yard field goal. Their defense then forced a punt, but on the Packers' next drive, Sean Murphy-Bunting intercepted a pass from Rodgers on the Buccaneers' 49-yard line with 28 seconds left in the half. Tampa Bay then drove to a 4th and 4 on the Packers' 45-yard line, managing to convert it with a 6-yard catch by Fournette. With eight seconds remaining, Tampa Bay decided against kicking a long field goal, and Brady threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Scotty Miller, ending the half with the Buccaneers ahead 21–10. In the first half alone, Brady completed 13 of 22 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Two plays into the third quarter, safety Jordan Whitehead forced a fumble from Packers running back Aaron Jones. Devin White recovered it for Tampa Bay and returned it 21 yards to the Green Bay 8-yard line. On the next play, Tampa Bay fooled the Packers defense with a play-action pass, with Brady faking a backfield handoff before throwing the ball to tight end Cameron Brate for a touchdown and a 28–10 lead. On Green Bay's next drive, Rodgers completed 5 of 6 passes for 68 yards and finishing the drive with an 8-yard touchdown throw to tight end Robert Tonyan, making the score 28–17. Then safety Adrian Amos intercepted a pass from Brady on the Packers' 32-yard line, sparking a 13-play, 68-yard drive that ended with Rodgers' 2-yard touchdown completion to Davante Adams with 24 seconds left in the quarter; receiver Equanimeous St. Brown dropped Rodgers' pass on a 2-point conversion attempt, and the score remained 28–23. Tampa Bay then drove to the Packers' 28-yard line, only to lose the ball again when Brady threw an interception to cornerback Jaire Alexander. Green Bay could not get a first down and had to punt after Shaquil Barrett sacked Rodgers for a 10-yard loss on 3rd and 5. Then Brady was picked off for the third time, throwing another interception to Alexander. Green Bay's next possession resulted in Rodgers again being sacked by Barrett and the team again going three-and-out. Tampa Bay took the ball back on their own 28-yard line, and went on to drive 44 yards in 8 plays, the longest a 29-yard gain on a screen pass from Brady to Rob Gronkowski. On the last play, Ryan Succop's 46-yard field goal gave the Buccaneers a 31–23 lead with 4:42 left.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Green Bay then drove to a first and goal from the Buccaneers' 8-yard line. After two incompletions, Rodgers appeared to have room to run toward the end zone, but he chose to throw the ball to a well covered Adams, which resulted in another incompletion. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur elected not to attempt a tying touchdown on 4th and goal from the 8-yard line with 2:09 left; Crosby kicked a field goal that cut the Packers' deficit to 5 points, 31–26. Tampa Bay went on to run out the rest of the clock with three first downs; they started the drive with a 9-yard pass from Brady to Evans as the clock ran down to the 2-minute warning. Green Bay deliberately committed an encroachment penalty, on 2nd and 1, giving the Buccaneers a first down. Two plays later on 3rd and 4, Brady's threw an incomplete pass, but the officials threw a late flag against defensive back Kevin King for pass interference while trying to cover Tyler Johnson, giving the Buccaneers another first down to clinch the game. Tampa Bay finished the game with a run by Godwin on third and 5.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Brady completed 20 of 36 passes for 280 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions in his 14th conference championship game (and first in the NFC) as he advanced to his 10th Super Bowl in 21 seasons. Godwin was his top target with 5 receptions for 110 yards. White had 9 tackles, 6 assists, and a fumble recovery. Barrett had 3 sacks, while linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul had 2 sacks. Rodgers completed 33 of 48 passes for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns, with one interception, as he lost his second consecutive conference championship game and fell to 1–4 overall in Conference title games over his 16 seasons, making him the first quarterback to have four consecutive losses in conference championship games. Valdes-Scantling caught 4 passes for 115 yards and a score. Nose tackle Kenny Clark had 6 tackles (1 for loss), 2 assists, and a sack. With the win, the Buccaneers reached their second Super Bowl in franchise history and became the first team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: On April 5, 2021, during Rodgers' first episode of "Jeopardy!" as the guest host following the death of its longtime emcee Alex Trebek, the questionable fourth-quarter play was referenced in a player's Final Jeopardy! answer: "Who wanted to kick that field goal?" As the audience laughed at this, Rodgers remarked: "That's a great question. It should be correct, but unfortunately in this game today it's incorrect." However, the contestant (who had started the episode as the returning champion) entered $0 as his wager, and eventually finished in second place.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: This was the second postseason meeting between the Packers and Buccaneers. The Packers had defeated the Buccaneers in the .


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Kansas City overcame an early 9–0 deficit with 38 points and 439 total yards as they advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Buffalo opened up the scoring with Tyler Bass' 51-yard field goal, at the end of a 10-play, 42-yard drive, and the Bills forced the Chiefs to go three-and-out. The Bills also had to punt on their next drive, but returner Mecole Hardman muffed the kick and Taiwan Jones recovered it for Buffalo on the Chiefs' 3-yard line. On the next play, Josh Allen threw a touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox, making the score 9–0 after Bass missed the extra point. Kansas City advanced 80 yards on their next drive in which Patrick Mahomes completed 10 passes, one of them a 9-yard completion to running back Darrel Williams on 4th and 1. With 14:20 left in the half, Mahomes' 3-yard touchdown completion to Hardman made the score 9–7. The next time Kansas City got the ball, Hardman's 50-yard gain on an end-around run pre-empted a 6-yard touchdown run by Williams, giving the Chiefs a 14–9 lead. Following another Bills punt, Mahomes completed passes to tight end Travis Kelce for gains of 11 and 17 yards, along with a 33-yard completion to Tyreek Hill. Clyde Edwards-Helaire finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, increasing the team's lead to 21–9. Buffalo took the ball back and drove 73 yards to the Chiefs' 2-yard line, featuring a 20-yard reception by running back T. J. Yeldon. On 4th and goal with 14 seconds left, the Bills decided to settle for Bass' 20-yard field goal and a 21–12 halftime score.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Mahomes started the third quarter completing 7 of 8 passes for 50 yards on the way to a 45-yard Harrison Butker field goal, bringing the Chiefs' lead up to 24–12. The Bills responded with a drive to the Chiefs' 8-yard line, with Allen completing passes of 23 yards to Cole Beasley and 17 yards to John Brown. Faced with 4th and 3 on the Chiefs' 8-yard line, Buffalo once again elected to take a Bass field goal, making the score 24–15. On the next play from scrimmage, Mahomes threw a 71-yard completion to Hill on the Bills' 4-yard line, leading to his 1-yard touchdown pass to Kelce that put Kansas City up 31–15. Chiefs cornerback Rashad Fenton then intercepted a pass from Allen, returning it 30 yards to the Chiefs' 42-yard line with 13:20 left. Kansas City went on to drive 58 yards and score another touchdown with Mahomes' 5-yard pass to Kelce, increasing their lead to 38–15 with 7:36 remaining. On their next drive, Buffalo drove 63 yards in 10 plays, including a 27-yard completion from Allen to Stefon Diggs on 3rd and 13, to score on Allen's 6-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah McKenzie; a two-point conversion was unsuccessful, keeping the score at 38–21. Buffalo recovered the ensuing onside kick, and Allen's 34-yard completion to Diggs set up Bass' fourth field goal of the day on a 51-yard kick. Buffalo's second attempt at an onside kick was unsuccessful and the Chiefs ran out the rest of the clock.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Mahomes completed 29 of 38 passes for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns, Hill had 9 receptions for a franchise record 172 yards, and Kelce caught 13 passes for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns – the most receptions by a player in a Conference Championship game. Defensive end Frank Clark had two of Kansas City's four sacks in the game. Allen finished the day 28-for-48 for 287 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception, and was the game's leading rusher with 7 carries for 88 yards.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Chiefs and Bills. The Bills had won two of the prior three meetings, including the .


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: CBS and NBC acquired the rights to the two new Wild Card Round games. The coverage of the rest of the Wild Card round essentially remained the same, with ESPN produced coverage of one Wild Card game and simulcasted it on ABC; and CBS, NBC, and Fox televised each of the other three remaining Wild Card games.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: CBS aired an alternate broadcast for its new Wild Card game on sister network Nickelodeon, oriented toward a youth audience, called by Noah Eagle (son of CBS commentator Ian Eagle) and Nate Burleson, joined by "All That" cast members Gabrielle Nevaeh Green and Lex Lumpkin as a booth analyst and sideline reporter respectively. It featured explanations of rules (with Iain Armitage, in character as Sheldon Cooper from CBS sitcom "Young Sheldon", making appearances to explain penalties), customized on-air graphics, and augmented reality effects — including Nickelodeon's signature green slime on touchdowns. The telecast received critical praise from fans on social media and sportscasters, including those working for competing networks, on introducing children who otherwise may have never watched a football game before watching a game for the first time.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: ESPN also carried additional Megacast broadcasts for its Wild Card game, including the "Film Room" on ESPN2 featured extended analysis of plays, ESPN+ carrying "Between the Lines" (which included extended analysis from a sports betting perspective), and a "watch party" on Freeform (which featured appearances by entertainment and pop culture personalities, and a halftime performance by DJ Khaled from Miami). NBC additionally aired its Wild Card game on streaming service Peacock and in Spanish on Telemundo.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: Fox had exclusive coverage of both NFC Divisional games and the NFC Championship Game. Coverage of the AFC Divisional games was split between CBS and NBC. CBS then had exclusive coverage of the AFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl.


title: 2020–21 NFL playoffs

text: NBC's Mike Tirico and CBS' Tony Romo worked remotely during the Wild Card round after failing to pass their respective network's COVID-19 protocols. Romo returned to the broadcast booth for the Divisional round.


title: Order of the Phoenix (fictional organisation)

text: The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organisation in the "Harry Potter" series of fiction books written by J. K. Rowling. Founded by Albus Dumbledore to fight Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, the Order lends its name to the fifth book of the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix".


text: Before the "Harry Potter" chronology starts – when the character Lord Voldemort declared war on the Wizarding World – Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and an upstanding and powerful citizen of the Wizarding World, attempted to take control of the situation by founding the Order of the Phoenix. Several characters joined the organisation, seeking to prevent Voldemort from taking over the Wizarding World and establishing a tyrannical new world order. During this period, before the events of the "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", the Order sustained heavy losses, including the murders of minor characters such as the Prewetts, the Bones and the McKinnons. The Longbottoms were also tortured to insanity at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.


text: Voldemort's first reign of terror ended after the murders of James and Lily Potter, and the unsuccessful attempt to murder their son, Harry Potter, at the beginning of the series. The spell rebounded on to him and severely diminished Voldemort's powers and as a result the Order was temporarily disbanded due to the lack of any further threat.


text: When Harry reported that Voldemort had returned, towards the end of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", Dumbledore reactivated the Order. Many of the original members returned and were soon joined by recruits who effectively replaced those who had died in service during the first conflict. The Order established their headquarters at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's family home, during the interval between the fourth and fifth books in the series. Dumbledore was the Secret-Keeper for the Order, meaning that only he could reveal the location of the Order's headquarters to others. Dumbledore's death in book six made the location vulnerable and it was abandoned in favour of The Burrow as a result.


text: The Order led the fight against Voldemort in the fifth instalment while the Minister for Magic refused to accept the return of Voldemort. In "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", some Order members take turns guarding Sybill Trelawney's prophecy, which referred to Voldemort's downfall and Harry's role in defeating him. Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts Grounds Keeper and an original Member of the Order, was accompanied by Olympe Maxime in an attempt to recruit the giants to the Order's cause. Some members also participated in a battle at the Department of Mysteries near the end of the fifth book. Order members patrolled Hogwarts, the Wizarding school, on the night of Dumbledore's death in "Half-Blood Prince", fighting the Death Eaters who managed to enter the castle.


text: In the series finale, attention turns to escorting the Death Eaters' main target, Harry Potter, from his summer home with the Dursleys to the Weasleys' Burrow. Later in the novel, after Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry had succeeded, some Order members hosted ""Potterwatch"", a secret pirate radio programme providing news on the Wizarding World that Voldemort's regime did not want the general population to know. During the climax of the book, most of the Order, aided by Dumbledore's Army, the Hogwarts staff and the older students, Slytherin house members included, fought against the Death Eaters in the Battle of Hogwarts, in which several Order members and other allies lost their lives.


text: The following characters were members of the Order of the Phoenix during Lord Voldemort's initial rise to power and several years prior to the main events of the "Harry Potter" series. Many of these characters later served as members of the revived Order.


text: These new members joined the Order when Dumbledore reactivated it after Lord Voldemort's return at the end of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".


text: This is a list of notable members of the Order of the Phoenix. Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Fred and George Weasley have their own pages, and Peter Pettigrew is listed under Death Eater.


text: Fleur Isabelle Delacour is a student of Beauxbatons Academy in France, and is selected as a champion in the prestigious Triwizard Tournament. Her maternal grandmother is a Veela, from whom Fleur inherited her silvery-blonde hair, pale eyes, good looks, and ability to enchant men. It is revealed in the Tournament wand inspection that the core of Fleur's wand is a Veela hair from her grandmother.


text: During the Triwizard Tournament, Fleur is initially aloof and unfriendly despite receiving much admiration from the boys, especially Ron. During the second task of the Tournament, she attempts to rescue her sister Gabrielle Delacour from the lake but fails, hindered by the Grindylows. When Harry rescues Gabrielle instead, Fleur is extremely grateful, despite her sister being in no real danger, and becomes much warmer towards both Harry and Hogwarts. Fleur finishes in 4th place in the Triwizard Tournament due to being Stunned during the last task.


text: In the following year, Fleur works at Gringotts with Bill Weasley, whom she already met during the Tournament, and the pair get engaged. They together start living in their new home called the Shell Cottage. Bill is attacked and permanently scarred by werewolf Fenrir Greyback and severely mauled near the end of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. However, since Greyback is in his human form at the time of the attack, Bill suffers only partial lycanthropic contamination. Molly Weasley, who largely disapproves of Fleur, assumes that she will no longer wish to marry Bill, but Fleur is adamant that their wedding plans go unchanged and proudly declares Bill's wounds to be a sign of bravery, adding, "I am good looking enough for the both of us anyway". Her fierce, loving loyalty to her fiancé earns her much respect from most of Bill's erstwhile disapproving family, especially Molly, who is finally forced to admit that their love is genuine.


text: In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", Fleur and Bill take part in the operation to escort Harry safely to the Burrow, and they witness Mad-Eye Moody being killed by Voldemort. The couple has their wedding and reception at the Burrow, but the event is interrupted when Death Eaters attack after the fall of the Ministry of Magic. Fleur and Bill allow Ron to stay with them after he walks out on Harry and Hermione during their hunt for Horcruxes. The newlyweds later provide a safe haven for the trio and others rescued from Malfoy Manor at Shell Cottage, their home. Both Bill and Fleur are combatants for the Order during the Battle of Hogwarts and manage to survive it. The couple go on to have three children: Victoire, Dominique and Louis.


text: French actress and model Clémence Poésy portrays Fleur in the film adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and both parts of the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" film adaptation.


text: Aberforth Dumbledore is Albus Dumbledore's brother. He is his younger brother by some three years and the less skilled of the two; as such, he is usually left in the background while his brother basks in the glory of his comparative success. His first appearance is in the book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. After his parents' deaths and Albus' return home to look after their unstable sister Ariana, Aberforth quarrels with his brother and his brother's friend, Gellert Grindelwald, over their plans to start a new order, neglecting Ariana. Grindelwald began torturing him, leading to the three dueling. This argument results in Ariana's accidental death at the hands of one of them. At Ariana's funeral, Aberforth publicly confronts Albus and strikes him, breaking his nose. Eventually, Aberforth becomes the owner and barman of the Hog's Head inn. He is known for his strong affinity with goats. His Patronus takes the form of a goat, and he recounts to the trio that as a boy he fed the goats in company with his sister, Ariana. Aberforth was also tried before the Wizengamot (the Wizard High Court), for performing inappropriate charms on a goat. His tavern also, according to Harry's description in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", has a faint smell of goats. In the film adaptation, a bleating goat can be seen shuffling about in the back of the pub.


text: It is not until "Deathly Hallows" that Aberforth plays an important role in the series by taking Harry, Ron, and Hermione into his bar before the Death Eaters can capture them. Aberforth later reveals to the trio some facts they did not know about the history of the Dumbledore family. While being held prisoner in Malfoy Manor, Harry briefly glimpses Aberforth's eye in the remaining shard of the two-way mirror he was given by Sirius and calls for Aberforth's help. Aberforth bought its counterpart from Mundungus Fletcher. Using the mirror to watch over the trio, Aberforth sends Dobby to rescue them and the other prisoners from the Manor. He liked Dobby and was upset to hear Bellatrix Lestrange killed him.


text: Aberforth allows the resistance fighters to use a secure passageway from the Hog's Head to the Room of Requirement through Ariana's portrait, it being the only unguarded entrance into Hogwarts. This passage is used to evacuate underage students from Hogwarts and, according to Neville, it was also used by members of Dumbledore's Army to get food when they were living in the Room of Requirement because that is one thing the Room of Requirement would not do. Aberforth leaves the Order, believing the war against Voldemort is lost. However, he quickly joins the Battle of Hogwarts and is last seen Stunning Augustus Rookwood. According to Rowling, Aberforth survives the battle, and is still "at the Hog's Head, playing with his goats".


text: Jim McManus appeared briefly as Aberforth in the film adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". Ciarán Hinds plays Aberforth in a larger role in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2". Richard Coyle plays the middle-aged version of the character in the third "Fantastic Beasts" film, "".


text: Arabella Doreen Figg, better known simply as Mrs. Figg, is a Squib living undercover as a Muggle and on Dumbledore's orders surreptitiously watches over Harry while he is at home with the Dursleys. She is a Chekhov gun, first mentioned as a seemingly insignificant neighbour in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" and not revealed as a member of the magical community until "Order of the Phoenix". She has a lifelong love of cats and does "a roaring trade" in crossbred cats and Kneazles, their magical variant. Within the Order of the Phoenix, she functions as one of Dumbledore's liaisons between the magical and Muggle worlds. In "Order of the Phoenix", she aids Harry after he and his cousin Dudley Dursley are attacked by two Dementors, and chooses to reveal herself to him. She explains to Harry that she deliberately made Harry's stays with her unpleasant so that the Dursleys would continue to send him to her, though she would have preferred to do otherwise. When the Ministry of Magic tries to have Harry expelled from Hogwarts for underage use of magic (after he cast a Patronus charm to protect himself and his cousin), her testimony before the Wizengamot is crucial in allowing Harry to stay at Hogwarts. However, according to Rowling, Squibs are incapable of seeing Dementors, and it is suggested by her manner during the trial that she has been prompted what to say with regard to the Dementors. In "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", she attends Dumbledore's funeral at Hogwarts.


text: Mundungus "Dung" Fletcher is mentioned in passing in some of the earlier books in the series, but it is not until the second chapter of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" that he makes his first appearance. Mundungus is described as a "squat, unshaven man" with "short, bandy legs", "long, straggly ginger hair", and "bloodshot, baggy eyes that gave him the doleful look of a basset hound". He is involved in many illegal activities, yet he seems confined to relatively minor crimes, such as theft and trading stolen goods on the black market. Many members of the Order have mixed feelings about him, but he is very loyal to Dumbledore, who once got him out of serious trouble. His connections enable him to hear rumours and information rolling around the shadier segments of the Wizarding population, which could potentially prove instrumental in the fight against Voldemort.


text: He is briefly mentioned in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" where following the Death Eaters attack at the Quidditch World Cup, Mundungus put in an insurance claim to the Ministry of Magic for a twelve-bedroomed tent with an en-suite jacuzzi, while in reality, he had been sleeping under a cloak propped on sticks. As a member of both the original and the newly reformed Order of the Phoenix, he is assigned guard duty to protect Harry, but abandons his position to conduct a shady cauldron-trading deal, leaving a critical opening through which Dementors manage to attack Harry. In "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", Harry catches Mundungus outside the Three Broomsticks trying to sell what had been Sirius' property (which now belongs to Harry after Sirius' death) to Aberforth, and the boy confronts him. Mundungus goes into hiding but is later jailed in Azkaban for impersonating an Inferius during a botched robbery.


text: In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", Mundungus has managed to get out of prison, but the circumstances are unclear. He is Confunded by Snape, and gives the idea of using the Polyjuice Potion and six Potter decoys to the Order and helps with the escort of Harry from Privet Drive. He travels with Mad-Eye Moody on a broomstick as one of the Potter decoys. During the flight from Privet Drive, he flees when Voldemort himself shows up. It is later revealed by Kreacher that, included in the property he stole from 12 Grimmauld Place in the previous book was a heavy locket from the drawing room. That locket was the Slytherin's locket Horcrux. Then Kreacher is sent by Harry to capture Mundungus, who reveals that Umbridge took the locket from him under threat of arrest.


text: Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody is perhaps the most famous Auror in the modern times of the Wizarding World, single-handedly responsible for capturing numerous wizard criminals. He is also said never to have killed his quarry, even when permitted to do so, unless he had no other choice. Moody's face is badly scarred; he has lost several body parts while fighting Dark wizards, including his left eye, lower left leg, and part of his nose; and he is cautious – some characters might say paranoid – in that he refuses to eat or drink anything which he himself did not prepare. He has replaced his missing eye with a magical one that can rotate 360 degrees and see through almost everything (including walls, doors, Invisibility Cloaks, and the back of his own head). He walks with a pronounced limp due to his prosthetic leg and uses a walking staff. He frequently exclaims "Constant vigilance!" to encourage wizards to be on their guard against the dark arts, and keeps a number of devices in his office to alert him to the presence of potential enemies. Before his retirement from the Aurors' Office, he was Nymphadora Tonks' mentor, and still regards her as his protégée.


text: In "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", Moody is appointed as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, coming out of retirement as a favour to Dumbledore. Shortly before the school year begins, however, Moody is attacked by Barty Crouch, Jr., who subdues him with the Imperius Curse and takes Polyjuice Potion to assume his appearance. He keeps the real Moody alive as a source both of Polyjuice potion ingredients and of personal information helpful in putting the impersonation over and takes Moody's place at Hogwarts. Moody's well-known habit of carrying around his own drinks in a private hip flask allows Crouch to take the Polyjuice Potion as needed to sustain the masquerade without raising suspicion.


text: Crouch/Moody becomes noted for teaching and demonstrating normally higher-level topics to Harry's fourth-year class (such as the Unforgivable Curses). He is a demanding teacher who expects students to work. He puts up with very little, for example punishing Draco Malfoy by transforming him into a ferret to stick up for Harry when Malfoy was tormenting him.


text: After Harry unexpectedly returns alive from the graveyard battle with Voldemort, Crouch/Moody takes Harry back to his office, questions him about Voldemort and what happened in the graveyard, and reveals that he is working for Voldemort. He then prepares to kill Harry, but Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape stop him. Having neglected to take his hourly dose of Polyjuice potion, Crouch transforms back to his own appearance and, under the influence of Veritaserum, confesses everything. Dumbledore then rescues the real Moody from his magic trunk.


text: In "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", the real Moody has joined the newly re-formed Order and leads the party transferring Harry from 4 Privet Drive to Number 12 Grimmauld Place. He appears at the climax of that book, arriving at the battle at the Department of Mysteries after being tipped off by Snape. He also appears with Lupin and Tonks at the very end, when they give the Dursleys a warning concerning their treatment of Harry. Moody only features briefly in "Half-Blood Prince." In "Deathly Hallows" he is killed by Voldemort after being abandoned by Mundungus Fletcher, who was acting as a Potter decoy. The Order is unable to recover his body, but later his magical eye is found by Harry mounted on Dolores Umbridge's office door to spy on Ministry of Magic employees. Harry retrieves the eye, disgusted that it would be used in such a way, and buries it at the base of an old tree in Mad-Eye's memory.