Wild Card Weekend Recap
By Matt Quinn
The first round of the playoffs is nearly in the books (Vikings and Rams play tonight), and we have most of the matchups set for the Divisional Round. In the AFC, the two games are set in stone, with the Ravens traveling to Buffalo and the Texans traveling to the one seed Kansas City Chiefs. In the NFC, the winner of tonight’s game will play the Eagles next week in Philadelphia, while the Commanders will head to Detroit next week to take on the top seeded Lions. We will get into the details of those matchups later this week, but for now, let’s take a look at how we got here.
Houston- 32, LA Chargers-12
The story of this game was the Houston defense. They were all over Justin Herbert and the Chargers for most of the game. The Chargers did hold a 6-0 lead just before halftime, but with a late TD drive by C.J. Stroud and one of four interceptions by Justin Herbert, that lead turned into a 10-6 deficit in which the Chargers never caught up to. The Texans still didn’t look great on offense at times. C.J. Stroud threw a bad interception early and also lost a fumble, but the Texans defense and a strong running game were able to offset any issues Stroud and the offense were having. Justin Herbert had a nightmare day, throwing four interceptions and never really looking like a threat to the Texans defense. The Texans will need another big day from their defense next week in order to beat the Chiefs, but that effort won’t matter if the offense turns the ball over like the three times they did against the Chargers.
Ravens- 28, Steelers- 14
This was pretty much what everyone was expecting was going to happen. The Steelers continued their downward spiral with yet another uninspiring performance. The game was essentially over at halftime. The Ravens held a 21-0 lead at the break and the Steelers looked like they didn’t even want to be there. This team was defeated before they got on the field and that is a direct reflection on the Head Coach, but that’s a conversation for another day. For the Ravens, Derrick Henry tortured the Steelers defense for a second straight time, racking up over 180 yards rushing, just like he did last time these teams met. Lamar Jackson sure looks like he’s overcome those Steelers demons of the early portion of his career. For the second straight time, he dissected this defense, gashing them with constant run-pass-option plays that repeatedly flummoxed the Steelers defense. The Steelers never adjusted to this and the final rush total for this game was 299 yards rushing by the Ravens to the Steelers paltry 29 yards. The Steelers didn’t belong on the same field as a true Super Bowl contender like the Ravens and it showed again, big time.
Bills- 31, Broncos- 7
It was a nice rookie season from Bo Nix and the Broncos definitely have a bright future with the young team that they have. They were just simply outmatched today by a far better opponent. They started well, with Bo Nix completing a 43-yard deep shot to Troy Franklin for an early 7-0 lead. That would be all the points they would get, however, as the Bills rolled to a 31-7 win. Josh Allen was great again, going 20 for 26 for 272 yards and 2 TDs, as well as rushing for 46 yards. James Cook also had a good game, running for 120 yards and a TD on 23 carries. The Broncos should not hold their head in shame, they went further than anyone expected them to and they may have found their franchise QB in the process. They will have more opportunities like this in the future, but they are just not there yet. The Bills look every bit like the Super Bowl contender they have been all year and next week’s matchup against the Ravens will surely be popcorn-worthy.
Eagles- 22, Packers- 10
There was alot of defense in this game. Jalen Hurts didn’t do much through the air, only going 13 for 21 for just 131 yards. He did have two touchdowns that ended up being the difference in the game, however. Saquon Barkley had another productive outing, rushing for 119 yards on 25 carries. He was held out of the endzone though, as the Packers defense played relatively well for most of the game. For the Packers, Jordan Love threw for no touchdowns and three interceptions and Josh Jacobs coughed up the ball on the ground as well. The offense was too sloppy in big moments and Jordan Love didn’t make enough big plays to really threaten the Eagles at any point. It was close for the majority of the game but never really felt like it was slipping away from the Eagles. Next week the Eagles will face either the Rams or the Vikings in Philadelphia and they will have to clean up a few things if they want to advance but as of right now, there’s nothing to suggest this team is not a contender in the NFC.
Commanders- 23, Bucs- 20
This was the most competitive game of the weekend. It was close in the first half and back and forth in the second half. Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels was solid in his first ever playoff game. He finished 24 for 35 for 268 yards and 2 TDs as well as 36 yards on the ground. The Commanders definitely look like they have found their franchise QB and they can legitimately be a contender if they continue to build around him. WR Terry McLaurin is one of the best at his position in the league and showed last night why he should be taken more seriously amongst the best in the league. He was solid all night and hauled in a short touchdown that gave the Commanders a 3 point lead early in the 4th quarter. They would each trade field goals after that and the Commanders would ultimately hold on thanks to a doinked in field goal by Zane Gonzalez. For the Bucs, Baker Mayfield was efficient but didn’t make enough big plays to put his team over the top. He also had a fumble that didn’t help either. Next week, the Commanders have a massive task as they will head to Detroit to try and pull off the upset of the year. If Jayden can continue to make plays and the defense can come up with a few stops here and there, that game could be closer than some might think.
It may not have been the most exciting Wild Card round this weekend, but it has paved the way to some fascinating matchups in the Divisional Round next week. We still have one more Wild Card game to go between the Rams and Vikings tonight on Monday Night Football and we can still hold out hope for a great game between those two.