Despite the extra regular-season game making the playoff race more exciting and the seeding scenarios more interesting, the NFL’s first round of post-season action wasn’t nearly as competitive as many people would have thought. The first round was pretty predictable and, if you listened to the Pick Em Show or read the Wild Card preview article, you’ll know we went 6-0 on straight picks. It wasn’t clairvoyance, I thought most of the games were pretty straightforward and that was the case. The finer details were a little trickier as I was 3-3 both against the spread and against the over/under. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at the games and see what there was to learn.
The first-ever Monday night game was incredibly disappointing and about as anticlimactic possible as the Rams had their way with the Cardinals 34-11. It was a little bit of a slow burn early but, once the dam broke, it was a deluge of scoring from the Rams. It was 28-0 in the third quarter before the Cardinals even scored and it was already a wrap at that point.
Kyler Murray’s playoff debut didn’t go how he wanted it, finishing 19/34 for 137-yards with 2-sacks and 2-INTS (one of which was a horrible decision that resulted in a pick-six). There were numerous times where he looked completely lost and confounded, but the Rams defense can do that to you when Aaron Donald and Von Miller are having strong games. Matthew Stafford didn’t have to do all that much, going 13/17 for 202-yards and a TD before leaning on the run game.
Los Angeles finished with 140-yards and a TD on the ground, but that came on 38-carries in a game where they were dominating. That 3.68-YPC isn’t going to be good enough in the next round as they head to Tampa for a rematch with the defending champion Bucs that just held the best rushing team in the league to 95-yards rushing.
Despite all the injuries and the off-the-field issues, the Bucs got healthy(ish) at the right time and gave the Eagles a rude playoff welcome, 31-15, in Tampa Bay. The first career playoff start for Jalen Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni was ugly as the Eagles found themselves in the playoffs, trailing 31-0 against the defending champs, with no answers. The rain and wind were supposed to be the Eags’ allies taking on the #1 air attack in the league, but that wasn’t the case.
Tom Brady had a workmanlike day, going 29/37 for 271-yards and 2-TDs, getting reacquainted with Mike Evans (9/117/1) and Rob Gronkowski (5/31/1) but it got a little concerning as the sacks started to add up after RT Tristan Wirfs was clearly hobbled. That O-line will be something to keep an eye on in the week leading into the rematch with the Rams. Tampa eventually pulled many of their starters but Brady stayed out there trying to get invaluable reps with the guys he’ll need moving forward. Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Lavonte David all returned to action for the Bucs’ defense, bringing them back to full strength for the first time since very early in the season. As usual, they stuffed the run and forced Jalen Hurts to make the big throws while under pressure and it didn’t go well.
Faced with elimination and domination, Philly showed heart and that’s important to have going into next season. They eventually got on the board in the 4th quarter with plays from their deep and dynamic backfield on Boston Scott’s 34-yard TD run and Kenneth Gainwell’s 16-yard TD reception. It didn’t affect the outcome of the game, but it showed a pulse that will go a long way with some accountability and experience in the offseason.
Speaking of accountability, that’s something we didn’t see any of from Dak Prescott after the Cowboys lost at home, 23-17, to the 49ers. Nobody wanted to see it end the way it did, but to have your franchise QB place blame anyone but himself for how that game ended isn’t a great look for the Dallas franchise. Had the referee try to go around the O-line rather than through, the clock definitely runs out, so the official was actually trying to help the Boys there. You’ve gotta look at the QB and the head coach that decided a QB draw up the middle was the best course of action before trying to blame the refs for doing their job. And to suggest that the fans should be hurling objects onto the field is just disgraceful.
Anyway, congratulations to the Niners who were the consensus upset pick on the show at +160. It may sound crazy, but it was a mistake for the Cowboys to wear the white jerseys for this game. San Francisco had a psychological advantage wearing red and it showed early in the game. Kyle Shanahan did a nice job of using the speed and aggressiveness of the Dallas defense against them, letting the zone run scheme dictate the terms of engagement. They ran all over the Cowboys to the tune of 169-yards on 38-carries and 2-TDs, mitigating the playmaking ability of the Dallas defense. It was 23-7 at one point near the end of the 3rd quarter when things got interesting.
Apparently, Jimmy G had suffered some kind of shoulder injury in the 2nd quarter but wasn’t showing it. Anyway, on the final four SF drives of the game, after they made it 23-7, Garoppolo went 4/7 for 26-yards and an interception that came on a rollout play where he’d almost been picked off earlier in the game. Dallas kicked a FG and scored a TD on either side of the turnover but turned it over on downs just inside the two-minute warning, preceding the disastrous clock-management debacle to end the game. The 49ers survived and earned their date with the Packers in Green Bay while the Cowboys need to look in the mirror before moving on.
I was talking to some other football fans in one of the Twitter spaces on Saturday night and I don’t know if it was just wishful thinking or delusional, but a lot of people were picking the Steelers to continue the fairytale ending for Ben Roethlisberger and beat the Chiefs in Kansas City. I never entertained the idea of Pittsburgh actually winning, but I thought they would cover the 12.5-point spread but, as it turned out, they did neither in a 42-12 loss.
The Steelers actually got the game they wanted early on and battled to a 0-0 tie through the 1st quarter and they actually scored first when T.J. Watt scooped up a loose ball and took it to the house. At that point, the upset was more a reality than ever. However, Kansas City answered with a TD drive and never looked back, scoring 21-unanswered-points to close out the half. They would make it 35-unanswered, scoring on every variety of play imaginable, by early in the 3rd quarter and it was too much for the Steelers to overcome.
After an early interception, Patrick Mahomes settled in and reminded the world what the Chiefs’ offense can look like when they get rolling. He finished the night 30/39 for 404-yards, 5-TDs, and 1-INT with 29-yards rushing. They were cruising so much that they found a way to get Travis Kelce to throw a TD to add to his 5-catches for 108-yards and receiving TD. Jerrick McKinnon also had a great all-around game and it’s good to see him back healthy and getting an opportunity after being derailed by injuries for several seasons.
The Steelers just couldn’t get anything going offensively against a much-improved KC defense. Pittsburgh finished with only 257-yards total and didn’t score an offensive point until there were less than five minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. It was a tough end to a still pretty magical season for the Steelers, but somebody please tell Mike Tomlin I want my eyelids back.
I wrote a whole separate article covering this game in particular so I won’t dwell on it too long again, but the Bills sent the first statement of the playoffs with a 47-17 smashing of the Patriots on Saturday night.
It was the first time in NFL history that a team had won a playoff game with a turnover, punt, or field goal. The Bills went a perfect 7-for-7 on TD drives (not including kneel-downs) and they got rolling right out of the gates, going 70-yards on 9-plays to start the game with a ridiculous throw and catch to Dawson Knox for the TD.
New England tried to respond and they had a nice drive going, but there’s a reason the Bills had the defense in the league all season, and Micah Hyde put an end to their drive with a phenomenal interception. It was one of those giant momentum plays that informed the rest of the game. Buffalo would tack on another TD, again from Allen to Knox and they would never look back.
Allen finished the night 21/25 for 308-yards passing with 5-TDs and added another 6-carries for 66-yards. Knox led the team in catches, yards, and receiving TDs but Devin Singletary had himself another nice game as well, taking 16-carries for 81-yards and a pair of TDs. The Bills found their ideal balance late in the season and their identity has followed. The win sends them to a playoff rematch with the Chiefs in Arrowhead. Go Bills!
Joe Burrow and the Bengals have arrived as they defeated the Raiders 26-19 to start the Wild Card festivities on Saturday. Cincy jumped out to a relatively big lead early at 20-6 but had to fend off a late rally from Vegas that ended with an interception on a 4th & goal throw that Derek Carr was trying to force to Zay Jones. The Raiders showed the kind of resilience that had gotten them to that position and they should be proud of themselves as they head into the offseason.
Both QBs played pretty well and so did both defenses, but it was the tale of two kickers as much as anything. Bengals’ rookie Evan McPherson followed up a strong regular season with a great performance here, going 4/4 on FGs and hitting both his extra points. Raiders’ kicker Daniel Carlson had a great year as well and had made a number of big-time, game-winning kicks this season and he too went 4/4 on FGs and made his extra-point try. Between the two of them, they accounted for 60% of all the scoring in the game. It pays to have a good kicker and both teams should have that position locked down for a while.
The Vegas defense did a nice job at not allowing the Bengals’ biggest threats to find the end zone. They held Joe Mixon to 48-yards rushing, and 28-receiving and didn’t let rookie sensation Ja’Marr Chase get behind the defense. Chase still had a very effective day overall, hauling in 9-grabs on 12-targets for 116-yards and picking up 23-yards on 3-carries. He got away with what looked like pretty blatant push-offs, but he does a great job with hand position to disguise the push so I can see why it’s hard to spot on the field.
As good as this game was, it’s going to be marred by what some other fans have dubbed as “Whistlegate”. If I remember correctly, it was at the end of the first half, Burrow found Tyler Boyd for the TD but a live whistle on the field could be heard and some of the players just sort of stopped play. Play until you hear the whistle, right? By rule, the erroneous whistle should kill the play and they should replay the down. However, the crew got together and allowed the TD to stand so I can understand being upset over this. It’s not “why” the Raiders lost but it didn’t help and it was incorrectly ruled. It’s an unfortunate scar on an otherwise great game. The Bengals advance to a date with the AFC’s #1 seed Tennessee Titans.
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