With wild-card games in the rearview mirror, the quest for the Vince Lombardi Trophy has reached the divisional round.
Seven teams remain alive in the contest to reach the NFL’s summit. This weekend, the field will be whittled down to four final contenders, with atmospheres from Philadelphia to Kansas City certain to deliver.
Here are the sights and sounds from the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
LiAngelo Ball takes center stage for surprise performance
Gelo Ball performs at Ford Field🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/9st6mrL8HL
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) January 19, 2025
DETROIT — LiAngelo Ball delivered a surprise performance during the first quarter of the Detroit Lions ‘ NFC Divisional Round showdown versus the Washington Commanders on Saturday night.
Ball, the middle brother of NBA guards Lonzo Ball (Chicago Bulls) and LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets), performed his popular song” Tweaker” in a No. 3 Lions jersey and Honolulu Blue skull cap to help hype up the Ford Field crowd near the end of the quarter.
A video of Ball rehearsing at the stadium for the performance surfaced online, hours ahead of the game, but the team didn’t reveal his involvement beforehand. However, he did check in with a pregame video from the Lions’ X account in team gear saying, “we’re about to get to it, playoff time. Let’s get that dub.”
After the Lions’ regular season finale win over the Minnesota Vikings on Jan. 5, members of the Lions posted social media videos blasting Ball’s new song inside the locker room as they celebrated.
Sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that Ball recently signed a deal with Def Jam and Universal Music Group that is worth as much as $13 million, with $8 million guaranteed. The deal also gives Ball full ownership of music and his own record label Born To Ball Music Group.
Ball, 26, went unselected in the 2018 NBA draft and never made a regular-season roster, but did sign training camp deals with the Detroit Pistons in 2020 and the Charlotte Hornets in 2021 and 2022. He also played for the Greensboro Swarm in NBA G League from 2021-23. — Eric Woodyard
Gibbs hits KD’s dance after opening the scoring for Detroit
Jahmyr Gibbs really hit KD’s dance against his favorite team 😭
(📺 FOX) pic.twitter.com/sTKmqYWqAd
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 19, 2025
Daniels and Brady chop it up pregame
.@JayD__5 🤝 @TomBrady pic.twitter.com/YghpGi0CHZ
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) January 18, 2025
Detroit’s backfield duo is ready to roll
Reunited @MontgomerDavid 🤝 @Jahmyr_Gibbs1 pic.twitter.com/4hytRHo6cG
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 19, 2025
Capitals, Durant show love to the Commanders from afar
Starpower in Detroit to support the home team
Just two dudes that love the Lions 💙 pic.twitter.com/8bQtFXSwUB
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 19, 2025
Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark link up to cheer on Kelce & Co.
Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark taking in the Chiefs game together 🤝#HOUvsKC | ESPN, ABC, ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/U5EQAwg3WV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 18, 2025
Flyover signals kickoff is near
No better start to the playoffs. Thanks for the flyover @11thECAB! pic.twitter.com/CmI6VGuk4J
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 18, 2025
Chiefs’ defense is amped up
HYPE US UP DEFENSE❕ pic.twitter.com/wheBlUVPME
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 18, 2025
Texans don all-white uniforms
ICED OUT 🥶❄️ pic.twitter.com/n9rJSYmfxZ
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) January 18, 2025
Arrowhead Stadium is primed for playoff action
It’s almost time for playoff football again in Kansas City
📺: #HOUvsKC – 4:30pm ET on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/QrLqevvBTf— NFL (@NFL) January 18, 2025
Source: www.espn.com