One round of the NFL Playoffs is in the books. Who’s still in, who’s out, and what lies ahead on the road to Super Bowl LVIII
Super Wild Card Weekend opened with two American Football Conference (AFC) matchups between the four-seed Houston Texans against the five-seed Cleveland Browns, and the three-seed Kansas City Chiefs and the six-seed Miami Dolphins.
Texans 45 – Browns 14
This game opened with all the makings of a back-and-forth shootout. Both teams struck with punch and counter-punch, with Browns quarterback Joe Flacco throwing a touchdown pass to running back Kareem Hunt to make it 14-10 early in the second quarter.
From there it was all Texans, and quarterback CJ Stroud put the Texans back in the lead on just one play, with a 76-yard strike to Brevin Jordan. He would find the end-zone again on another long touchdown to tight-end Dalton Schultz to take a 24-14 lead into half-time.
From there, the Texans’ defence would step up. They got back-to-back pick-sixes, each time forcing Joe Flacco to make poor decisions with football, resulting in points. Running back Devin Singletary would cap off the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
This was an all-around dominant performance for the Texans. They played strong, complimentary football with both offence and defence stepping up and making huge plays. Quarterback CJ Stroud highlighted this effort with an all-time playoff performance by a rookie quarterback. He went 16-21, for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns, looking well beyond his years in his ability to both read the defence and make difficult throws.
For the Browns, this game marked a disappointing end to a career resurgence by Joe Flacco, which led them to four wins in their last five games. The Texans will take on the number one seed Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.
Chiefs 26 – Dolphins 6
It was a frigid night in Arrowhead Stadium for this Wild Card matchup, with temperatures on the field at –20 degrees Celsius at kickoff. The Dolphins floundered, unable to get their offence going other than one long touchdown from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
They were able to generate only 264 yards of offence, 53 of which came on the Hill touchdown, and were an abysmal 1-for-12 on third down. The Chiefs, despite their 20-point win, did not overly impress either. They relied on four short Harrison Butker field goals to get points on otherwise promising drives. Although seemingly trivial, this detail could be the Chiefs’ downfall if not corrected as they travel to Buffalo this week.
Still, a solid performance by running back Isaiah Pacheco and a career day for rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice highlighted the day. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes would finish 23-for-41 for 261 yards and a touchdown while also scrambling for 41 yards.
The Chiefs’ defence had a strong day, picking off Tagovailoa once and sacking him twice, all while holding the Dolphins to just 6 points. This was highlighted by strong performances from linebacker Nick Bolton, who had five tackle; defensive end George Karlaftis, who accounted for 1.5 of the sacks; and defensive back Mike Edwards, who came up with the interception.
This week, Patrick Mahomes will go on the road for the first time in his playoff career as the Chiefs will travel to upstate New York to face their rival Buffalo Bills for the third time in four years.
The action continued Sunday, with two NFC games taking place. The seven-seed Green Bay Packers took on the two-seed Dallas Cowboys, and the three-seed Detroit Lions faced the six-seed LA Rams.
Packers 48 – Cowboys 32
The Packers, fresh off clinching their playoff spot during the last week of the regular season, travelled to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. In what was billed as an easy win for the Cowboys, this game was anything but — the Packers dominated on offence and defence, played with physicality on both sides of the ball, and out-coached and outplayed the Cowboys.
The Packers would lead 48-16 before the Cowboys added two late touchdowns to make the game appear closer than it truly was. Quarterback Jordan Love, who had an impressive run down the stretch before the playoffs in which he had thrown 18 touchdowns and 1 interception, took his game to a new level. He made every throw asked of him, looked calm in the face of pressure, and consistently came up clutch in the tough spots.
His day was highlighted by a massive throw with the pocket collapsing that tight end Luke Musgrave caught for a 38-yard touchdown. Running back Aaron Jones would have an equally impressive game, rushing for over 100 yards and 3 touchdowns, exploiting a Cowboys’ defence that has struggled to stop the run all year.
On the defensive side of the ball the Packers, who have struggled all season, played great situational football and, despite giving up over 500 yards of offence, had some huge plays, including a pick-six returned by safety Darnell Savage.
For the Cowboys, the day was one disaster after another. The defence failed to stop the Packers, allowing them to score points in bunches and pull out to an unrecoverable lead. They gave up four sacks to the Packers defence, and until the fourth quarter, were not able to get much going on offence.
Their defeat leaves them with more questions than answers, as they face an off-season with decisions to make at the coach and quarterback positions. The Packers will travel to Santa Clara next week to take on the number one seed 49ers.
Lions 24 – Rams 23
The Lions vs Rams game was one of the most anticipated games of this Wild Card Weekend. It saw the return of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to Detroit and Lions quarterback Jared Goff facing the team that traded him to Detroit (the Rams and the Lions swapped quarterbacks in a trade after the 2019 season).
It was all Detroit early on, as the Lions jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter off touchdown runs from running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. However, early in the second, Stafford went deep down the sideline to rookie wide receiver Puka Naqua for a 50-yard touchdown.
The second quarter would result in both teams trading touchdowns again, with Goff finding tight-end Sam Laporta for a 3-yard touchdown and Stafford throwing another strike to Tutu Atwell for a 38-yard touchdown. The teams would go into halftime with the score being Lions 21 and Rams 17.
The second half marked a change in the game. Both defences would keep their opponent out of the end-zone, with the only second-half scoring being three field goals. With 8:10 to play in the fourth quarter, Rams kicker Brett Maher knocked one of these kicks through to make it a one-point game, and after the defence got a stop, it looked like they were in perfect position to get the game-winning points.
The drive started well, with Stafford hitting Naqua for a long gain down the sideline, followed by a completion to running back Ronnie Rivers, which got the Rams to the edge of field goal range.
However, from there everything went wrong. A holding penalty put the Rams out of field goal range, and on third and 14, Stafford was unable to connect with Naqua in heavy traffic. This forced the Rams to punt. They would not see the ball again, as the Lions ran out the clock to leave with a win. The Lions will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week at home.
Due to the Buffalo Bills v. Pittsburgh Steelers matchup being postponed due to weather, the final day of Wild Card Weekend featured two matchups, the first with the aforementioned Steelers taking on the Bills in Buffalo, and later the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the Tampa Buccaneers.
Bills 31 – Steelers 17
Both the Bills and Steelers came into the playoff on hot streaks. The Bills had won their last five games, including winning their fourth consecutive AFC East title in a Week 18 victory. The Steelers had similarly found their stride, as they won their last three games with former backup quarterback Mason Rudolph being the spark their offence needed.
The game opened and Buffalo quickly took control. They scored quickly, with quarterback Josh Allen tossing a touchdown to Dawson Knox, and then after a Steelers turnover, a 29-yard touchdown to Dalton Kincaid.
He followed this up by scrambling left, manoeuvring through tackles and splitting defenders, and taking the ball 52 yards for a touchdown. Everything seemed to be going in the Bills’ favour until just before halftime. Bills kicker Tyler Bass’s field goal attempt was blocked, and the Steelers scored a few players later.
This momentum would continue into the second half as, after trading field goals, Mason Rudolph would find Calvin Austin III for a touchdown to make the score 24-17. However, here the Bills would find their groove again. The offence drove down the field quickly and scored a touchdown on a spectacular effort from wide receiver Khalil Shakir to make the game 31-17.
From there, the defence would shut the door, sending the Steelers back to Pittsburgh with a loss and playoff elimination. The Bills will host the Kansas City Chiefs next week, this marks Patrick Mahomes first road playoff game ever, and the third game in a playoff series stretching back four years, which has produced some of the most memorable moments in NFL history.
Buccaneers 32 – Eagles 9
The final matchup of the weekend saw the Tampa Buccaneers host the Philadelphia Eagles. For the Eagles, this game came with immense expectations. After starting the season 10-1, they ended the season 1-5, losing the NFC East to the Dallas Cowboys in the process.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, their losing trend would continue. The first half would see Tampa Bay spring out to an early lead, which by half-time would be 16-9. The Tampa Bay defence was stout, holding the Eagles offence to field goals and stopping the “Tush Push” on the goal-line. They finished with three sacks and a safety.
In the second half, Tampa Bay continued to pull away from the Eagles. They would force the aforementioned safety in the third quarter, and then follow it up with 56-yard touchdown from Baker Mayfield to Trey Palmer. A few possessions later, Mayfield would find Chris Godwin for another touchdown which extended the lead to 32-9.
The Bucs were impressive, consistently putting together good offensive drives which resulted in points. Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns, and completed 22 of36 passes.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, playing with a dislocated finger injured during the season finale, finished 25-for-35, good for 250 yards and a touchdown. This game is rumoured to be the final one in the career of Eagles center Jason Kelce.
If this is indeed true, then the center finishes with 6 All-Pro nominations, 7 Pro Bowls, a Super Bowl ring and sure-fire Hall of Fame Ticket. The Buccaneers will travel to face the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round.
That is a wrap on Wild Card weekend of the NFL Playoffs, there’s four new exciting matchups in this week’s divisional round, you won’t want to miss it. See game times here.
