The first hurdle on the road to the Super Bowl is complete. Let’s break down all the games and look ahead to the Divisional Round.
Wildcard Weekend opened with two American Football Conference (AFC) matchups, which saw the Baltimore Ravens taking on their divisional rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans taking on the Los Angeles Chargers.
Ravens 28 – Steelers 14
This was the third time the Ravens and Steelers had met this season. They split the season series, with the Steelers winning the first game 18-16 and the Ravens winning the second matchup 34-17.
This matchup saw these two teams on divergent trajectories. The Steelers, having started 10-3 with the lead in their division, lost their last five games to enter the playoffs as the sixth seed. Conversely, the Ravens were surging. They had won four of their last five games and had the number-one defence in the NFL over that time.
The Ravens got out ahead quickly, going 95 yards in 13 plays on their opening drive, capping it off with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Rashod Bateman on third-and-13. It was the perfect start for Baltimore, and they didn’t look back.
Baltimore’s defence continued their hot streak on the other side of the ball, forcing the Steelers to punt on their first four drives, allowing the offence to score once again with a Derrick Henry rushing touchdown to go up 14-0.
Getting the ball back with two minutes to go in the half, Jackson showed why he is a candidate for MVP this season. With 11 seconds remaining, the Louisville product danced around Steelers defenders, and while running forward, Jackson floated a pass to Justice Hill in the flat, who ran it in for a touchdown.
Although the Steelers offense began to wake up in the second half, with Russell Wilson throwing touchdowns first to Van Jefferson and then to George Pickens, it was too late for Pittsburgh. A long touchdown run from Henry and a turnover on downs forced by the Ravens shut the door, and Baltimore ended their division rival’s season with a kneeldown.
Texans 32 – Chargers 12
The late game of the Saturday night window came with interesting storylines aplenty. After an awe-inspiring rookie year with the Texans, CJ Stroud showed significant regression in his second season, and this, combined with injuries and weaker offensive line play left the Texans hampered going into the playoffs.
The Chargers, by contrast, seemed to have put it all together. Under the leadership of new coach Jim Harbaugh, the team had emerged as a unit to be feared with a strong defence and potent offence led by quarterback Justin Herbert and rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
These two convergent paths would not indicate how the game would play out.
The Chargers scored first, with kicker Cameron Dicker knocking through a 35-yarder to open the scoring, and then quickly got the ball back after a Houston turnover, which once again allowed them to net three points off Dicker’s leg.
From here, though, the game descended into a comedy of errors. The teams traded punts twice and then traded interceptions on back-to-back plays.
After trading punts again, the Texans were able to put a drive together. They marched the entire length of the field, 99 yards on 13 plays, capping it off with a 13-yard touchdown from Stroud to wide receiver Nico Collins. The Texans defence also responded, forcing a three-and-out and allowing the Texans to kick a field goal, giving them a 10-6 lead at half-time.
The second half, barring a miscue where running back Joe Mixon fumbled on the half’s opening drive, was all Texans.
They took the ball right back from LA, forcing them to turn it over on downs, kicked a field goal to go up 13-6, and then intercepted Herbert a few drives later and returned it for a touchdown.
This was Herbert’s second interception of the game, and he would throw four on the day, including one on the very next drive, good for more than his total interception number from the regular season.
The Texans continued to dominate, interrupted only by a long touchdown to McConkey. By then, the game was well out of reach. The four-seed Texans would claim victory and a date in Kansas City in the divisional round.
Sunday would see three more exciting playoff matchups, with the Denver Broncos visiting the Buffalo Bills, the Green Bay Packers playing the Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington travelling to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers.
Bills 31 – Broncos 7
It was no secret that it would be a tall order for the seven-seed Broncos, led by rookie quarterback Bo Nix, to come into Buffalo and face the two-seed Bills. The Bills were favoured by 7.5 points going into the game and, as Super Bowl contenders, were considered to be in a different class of team than the up-and-coming Denver squad.
However, early on, Denver took the momentum. Getting the ball first, they struck quickly with a 43-yard touchdown from Nix to wide receiver Troy Franklin. Conversely, their defence held the Bills to only a field goal on their first drive.
As the first half wore on, the Broncos kept the game close, giving up a touchdown, but keeping the game 10-7 with the ball and a chance to tie the game before half-time. The opportunity presented itself as kicker Will Lutz lined up to attempt a 50-yard kick with five seconds remaining. Unfortunately for Broncos fans, the ball would clank off the right upright, and the Bills remained in the lead at the half.
From this point on, the Bills had control.
They scored a field goal on their second half’s opening drive, forcing a three-and-out on the other side to immediately get the ball back.
MVP candidate quarterback Josh Allen then took the Buffalo offense 73 yards in just nine plays, concluding with a 24-yard strike on fourth down to running back Ty Johnson, who made an improbable catch to put the Bills up 21-7.
After another Denver three-and-out, the Bills would strike quickly. Allen hit wide receiver Curtis Samuel as he streaked across the middle of the field. Samuel, a speedster who the Bills brought in this past offseason, turned on the jets, running past Broncos defenders for a 55-yard touchdown.
Buffalo would add another field goal to make it 31-7 and turn the Broncos over on downs twice to end the game as they completed a second half marked by total domination. One shocking stat that signified this was the Bills time of possession, which was over 40 minutes compared to Denver’s 18 minutes.
Buffalo’s victory means they will host the fearsome Baltimore Ravens at home in the divisional round.
Eagles 22 – Packers 10
We mentioned before the term “comedy of errors” to describe the Texans v. Chargers game, but if there was any team it applied more to this week, it was the Packers. Despite a poor performance from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and not an overly special day from star Running Back Saquon Barkley, the Eagles triumphed due to Green Bay seeming willing to give the game away at every turn.
It started on the game’s opening play, as the Packers return man Oren Burks fumbled the kickoff, giving the Eagles the ball on the Green Bay 10-yard line and an easy touchdown.
The Packers then followed this up with two punts, gaining only 13 total yards in the process.
Next, after the Eagles added a field goal to their lead, Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love underthrew a deep pass down the right sideline, tossing it directly into the hands of Philadelphia cornerback Darius Slay.
Then, after finally putting a drive together, their misfortune continued, as kicker Brandon McManus missed a 38-yard field goal to keep Green Bay off the board once again.
With their next possession, Jordan Love threw yet another interception, this time to Eagles linebacker Zach Baun, leaving the Packers down 10-0 at half-time.
For their part, Philadelphia also decided to keep the game inexplicably close. They managed only 10 points off multiple Green Bay turnovers in the first half and came out slow in the second half before finally catching their grove.
In the middle of the third quarter, the Eagles drove the field length, scoring on a 24-yard pass from Hurts to tight end Dallas Goedert. Jake Elliot missed the extra point, making the game 16-3.
To their credit, the Packers responded at this point. They came back with a drive of their own, which ended with a long run by running back Josh Jacobs, who took the ball 32 yards for a score.
From here, though, the Eagles regained control and did not let go. They kicked two field goals while turning Green Bay over on downs and forcing another interception to send the Packers home.
Commanders 23 – Buccaneers 20
In a weekend defined by games decided by more than one score, Washington v. Tampa Bay was the weekend’s thriller. It arrived with all the makings to be one, as the Buccaneers were riding a high-powered offense led by quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Mike Evans, and the Commanders coming in with a new duo of their hot rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and his go-to receiver Terry McLaurin.
The game stayed close throughout, with Tampa Bay opening the scoring with a Chase McLaughlin field goal. They followed up by forcing a turnover on downs.
Washington fought back, forcing the Buccaneers to punt. Daniels then methodically drove the Commanders down the field, going 92 yards in 17 plays in over nine minutes, capped off with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Dyami Brown.
On their next possession they added to their lead, as Zane Gonzalez booted through a 52-yard field goal to make it 10-3.
Mayfield and the Bucs struck back, hitting Evans for catches of 11 yards, 20 yards, and a one-yard touchdown to end the drive and tie it up at the half.
As the second half got underway, the duel between the two teams continued. Washington drove 66 yards added three points to take the lead. This was short lived though, as Tampa Bay struck back with a touchdown of their own.
At this point, a moment emerged for the Buccaneers to take control of the game, as they once again got the Commanders to turn the ball over on downs. However, at this moment, disaster struck, as Mayfield fumbled in a botched end-around attempt, and the Commanders recovered. Four plays later, they struck to McLaurin for a touchdown to make the score 20-17.
On the ensuing possession, Tampa Bay was able to drive deep into Washington territory, but after being stopped on second and third-and-one, they were forced to settle for three points.
This gave the ball back to Daniels with the game tied and four minutes to go. Needing points for the win, the rookie from LSU delivered. He hit Brown for a gain of 21 and then went to his running back Austin Ekeler for a gain of 18, getting the Commanders into field goal range.
With the ball on the 15-yard line, and three seconds left in the game, Gonzalez once again lined up to attempt the field goal for the win. The kick was up, drifted right, hit the right upright…and went through as the Commanders survived 23-20.
The final game of the weekend took place on Monday night, with the Minnesota Vikings taking on the Los Angeles Rams.
Rams 27 – Vikings 9
The final game of the wildcard round saw the Minnesota Vikings, having lost the battle for the number one seed in the NFC to Detroit in Week 18, travel to Los Angeles to take on the Rams.
This game would be a major test for both teams. For the Vikings, this season came as a shock to many, as they expected to enter a rebuilding phase after moving on from quarterback Kirk Cousins and drafting rookie JJ McCarthy. An injury to McCarthy before the season began appeared to further dash the hopes of Minnesota fans as Sam Darnold got the starting quarterback job for the season.
Instead, they exceeded all expectations, winning 14 games and emerging for a a while as a legitimate contender. However, Darnold’s struggles against Detroit in the final game of the season raised questions, and there lied the test for the Vikings: contenders or pretenders.
The test for the Rams was, in a season marked with ups and downs, where they won five of their last six games, can they keep their momentum going towards a real Super Bowl bid.
The Rams came out swinging, scoring on their opening drive before forcing a three-and-out and quickly adding another field goal to go up 10-0.
Minnesota did strike back with a field goal of their own, but a few drives later, disaster struck.
As Sam Darnold attempted to step up in the pocket, Rams cornerback Akhello Witherspoon knocked the Minnesota quarterback to the ground and the ball popped loose. Defensive lineman Jared Verse scooped it up as the rookie ran untouched for a 57-yard touchdown.
The Rams kept the momentum going, adding another touchdown to make the score 24-3 at half-time.
In the second half, Los Angeles added a field goal and Vikings a touchdown, but the game was never close.
The Rams defence, who sacked Darnold nine times, shut the door, delivering a dominant 27-9 win for LA.
The Rams will now travel to Philadelphia to take on the two seed Eagles.
That is a wrap on Wildcard weekend in the NFL playoffs, there is four exciting divisional round matchups upcoming this weekend. You can find all of the info on scores, stats, lines, and game times here.
