The NFL playoffs bring emotions out of everyone.

Kansas City Chiefs star Chris Jones started crying as gospel vocalist Lanell Lightfoot sang the national anthem before their playoff game against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. 

It was not the first time Jones had cried during the national anthem. Prior to the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers last season, Jones also became tearful during the national anthem.

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The Chiefs are taking on the Texans in the AFC divisional round after the Texans took down the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round.

This is the second time the Chiefs and Texans have played in the last month. They met in Week 16. 

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That game was also in Kansas City, where the Chiefs beat the Texans 27-19.

Jones had two tackles in the win. 

Jones was named a Pro Bowler and to the first-team All-Pro team. 

It was the third straight season he was named an All-Pro.

Jones had five sacks, 37 tackles, 20 quarterback hits and a forced fumble in 15 games this season. 

He missed the last two games of the regular season due to a calf injury but is ready to go for the playoffs after the Chiefs got a bye in the wild-card round for being the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Jones has already made his presence felt, recording a sack on C.J. Stroud in the first quarter. 

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The NFL and USAA announced on Thursday that Aaron Jones, George Kittle and Morgan Fox have been named the finalists for the Salute to Service Award.

The award was first given out in 2012 as part of the NFL's and USAA's commitment to recognize and honor the military and veteran community.

"Our three finalists for the 2024 Salute to Service Award are all deserving of recognition for their long-standing and unwavering commitment to honoring the military community," said retired Maj. Gen. John Richardson, USAA senior vice president and head of military affairs. "We commend Aaron Jones, George Kittle and Morgan Fox for continually using their platforms as NFL players to advance and enrich the lives of our military service members and their families, putting service to others above themselves."

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The running back Jones, who had a career resurgence with the Minnesota Vikings, grew up in a military household; his father, Alvin, served 29 years in the Army, while his mother, Vurgess, served for 27. Jones' older brother, Xavier, serves in the Air Force.

Jones and his twin brother Alvin Jr., founded the A&A All the Way Foundation in 2020 to support the youth of military families.

Kittle, the San Francisco 49ers tight end, hosts military members for every Niners home game, and he and his family created an app to offer free mental health services for veterans. Kittle has donated over $250,000 to military nonprofits and further highlighted military organizations through My Cause My Cleats.

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Fox, the L.A. Chargers' defensive end, also grew up in a military community, and donated 100 tickets to veterans. He has hosted members of the Wounded Warrior Project at Chargers practices.

New England Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona, who played college football at Navy, was named the winner of the Salute to Service Award last year.

The winner will be announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 6, the same night as the MVP, Offensive and Defensive Players and Rookies, and Coach of the Year will be crowned.

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The Minnesota Vikings held on for their ninth straight victory on Sunday with a win over the Green Bay Packers, 27-25.

The Vikings need a win next week over the Detroit Lions to clinch the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, which comes with homefield advantage in the postseason.

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Sam Darnold had three touchdown passes in the win. He was 33-for-43 with 377 passing yards. He had one interception and one sack. The three touchdowns went to three different wide receivers: Jalen Nailor, Jordan Addison and Cam Akers.

Darnold’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Akers gave the Vikings a 17-point lead and nearly pushed the Packers out of the game completely. Jones led the Vikings with 47 yards on the ground.

Justin Jefferson had eight catches for 92 yards. One nifty catch was denied because of a penalty. He averaged 11.5 yards per catch. 

Nailor had five catches for 81 yards.

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Jordan Love and company pushed hard to keep the Packers in the game in the final frame.

Emanuel Wilson scored on a 5-yard run with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter. Love and Romeo Doubs hooked up for a two-point conversion. On their next drive, Love found Malik Heth for a 3-yard touchdown pass. It was a two-point game with 2:18 to go.

Green Bay couldn’t stop Minnesota’s offense in the final moments.

Love was 19-of-30 passing for 185 yards and a touchdown pass. Josh Jacobs also added a touchdown on the ground. He tallied 69 rushing yards.

All eyes will be on next week’s game between the Vikings and Lions. Minnesota lost to Detroit earlier in the year, 31-29.

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Kirk Cousins may have been back at U.S. Bank Stadium, the place he called home with the Minnesota Vikings for six seasons, but his Atlanta Falcons were no match for his replacement at quarterback. 

Sam Darnold threw five touchdown passes and over 300 yards to thrash the Falcons, 42-21, to move the Vikings to 11-2 on the season. 

Darnold was 22-of-28 for 347 yards with his five scores, while Cousins, though he threw for 344 yards, had no touchdowns and two interceptions. 

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Cousins has been struggling with turnovers in recent weeks, as he had four interceptions last week in the loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and had one in each of the previous two games. 

But this game began with a master class from the Falcons, going 11 plays and 70 yards to see Tyler Allgeier score the game’s first touchdown. 

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However, a turnover-on-downs on the second Falcons drive ultimately flipped the momentum as Darnold’s first touchdown pass was a broken play to Jordan Addison, who scored three of those five touchdowns, as he caught a 49-yard bomb and walked into the end zone to tie the game after the extra point. 

A few drives later, Darnold zipped a pass to Justin Jefferson for a 12-yard score – his first since Week 7, which seems crazy to think about considering he’s the team’s top receiver. 

But Darnold wouldn’t just find Jefferson once. Yet another broken play came, this time in the second half, where he walked in as well from 52 yards out. 

Addison led the game with 133 receiving yards on eight receptions, but Jefferson was right behind with 132 yards on seven catches.

The Vikings put the game away in the fourth quarter, as they outscored the Falcons 21-0, which included an Aaron Jones touchdown. Jones had 73 yards on 13 carries on the day. 

For the Falcons, Bijan Robinson was able to find the end zone as well as leading the game with 92 rushing yards on 22 carries. 

Darnell Mooney was Cousins’ top target with 142 yards on just six catches, while Ray-Ray McCloud had 98 yards on eight receptions. 

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