The open weekend of the NFL Playoffs provided a little bit of everything. There were blowouts, valiant efforts, unimpressive wins by championship contenders, clutch performances in first playoff games, and an epic comeback. The playoffs are just starting, but some of the excess fat has been cut loose. With the Divisional Playoff Round this upcoming weekend, we should see some of the most competitive football games of the season.
27 Point Deficit Nothing for Pederson’s Jags
A 27 point lead and four first half interceptions of Trevor Lawrence were not enough for the Chargers to get a road win in Jacksonville. In one of the greatest playoff collapses, the Los Angeles offense went cold and the defense went even colder, leading to a 31-30 loss to Jacksonville.
The Jaguars-Chargers game was like looking at two different types of ugly over two halves. The first half couldn’t have been worse for Jacksonville. In Trevor Lawrence’s playoff debut, he opened with a poisonous combination and bad play and bad luck leading to four interceptions. Defensively, Jacksonville struggled to prevent Los Angeles from piling up points thanks to their turnover field advantage. It seemed certain that Doug Pederson’s impressive first year in Jacksonville was nearing it’s end.
Near the end of the first half, the tide started to turn although most of us didn’t realize the tide would turn into a Jaguars tidal wave. With just 25 seconds left in the half, Lawrence got Jacksonville in the end zone with a touchdown throw to Evan Engram. That momentum would carry into the second half as the Jaguars would score touchdowns on each of their first three drives, while holding the Chargers to just one field goal.
The biggest moment in the game came with 5:25 left in the game right after a Christian Kirk touchdown cut the Chargers lead to 30-26. Instead of electing to take the extra point, Pederson left his offense on the field for a two point conversion attempt. A successful try would pull the Jags within two points and allow them to potentially win the game on a future field goal. A failed conversion attempt would inevitably force Jacksonville to find the end zone one more time instead of potentially tying the game on a field goal. Lawrence, who was in the zone at this point, rushed the ball straight up the middle for the successful conversion. As if Pederson could foretell the future, Jacksonville would force a Los Angeles three and out then kick a game winning field goal as time expired.
Jacksonville will now enter an AFC final four that surrounds them with giants. With Kansas City, Buffalo, and Cincinnati in the mix, the Jaguars are clearly the team that doesn’t seem to fit with that group. Considering the Jaguars youth, anything from here on out is bonus experience and with the guidance of Pederson, a coach who time and time again seems willing to gamble and end up being successful with those gambles, who knows? Maybe Jacksonville has a little more magic left.
Goal Line Turnover the Difference Between Bengals and Ravens
As is so often seen, teams that are familiar with one another often lead to highly competitive football games. Even with a major disadvantage at the quarterback position, the Baltimore Ravens helped validate that theory by arguably playing a better game than the Cincinnati Bengals. In the end, the game was ultimately decided on a fourth quarter Baltimore 3rd & Goal from the Cincinnati 1 yard line.
Tied at 17-17 with 11:39 to go in a game in which both offenses struggled to find points, Baltimore attempted a quarterback sneak with Tyler Huntley to punch in a go ahead touchdown. With Huntley attempting to jump and stretch the ball over the offensive line, he met Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson who punched the ball out before crossing the goal line. Defensive end Sam Hubbard would grab the football and run it 99 yards in the opposite direction for a 14 point one play swing and Bengals lead. The touchdown and extra point would be the end of the night’s scoring, leading to a 24-17 win for Cincinnati.
In a game that was so close between two teams who split their regular season series, one can’t help but wonder what difference a healthy Lamar Jackson would’ve made for this Ravens team. With Jackson playing earlier in the season, Baltimore defeated the Bengals. In the Ravens two losses to the Bengals, Jackson was unable to play. Now Baltimore fans will need to sit, wait, and wonder if they’ve already seen the last of Jackson in a Baltimore uniform.
Cincinnati will have to play a much cleaner game if they hope to move on in their next round matchup with the Buffalo Bills. Both teams will be coming off of wins that leave a lot more to be desired, but both are also two of the biggest Super Bowl favorites of the eight remaining teams. If last season’s run is a sign, the Bengals won’t be rattled heading into enemy territory for a Divisional Round playoff game.
Cowboys Leave No Doubt Who the Better Team is in Tampa Bay
This was supposed to be one of the best games of the Wild Card. Yes, Tampa Bay was continuously disappointing this season, but I think most of us were counting on some form of playoff Tom Brady to inject the competitive fire the NFC South champions. Turns out, the Buccaneers looked like they have most of this season…completely deflated.
Putting it just that way doesn’t give credit to the Dallas Cowboys where credit is actually do. Dallas dominated this game from start to finish in their 31-14 road win. The combination of Dak Prescott’s excellent play and the Cowboys high flying defense proved more than Tampa Bay could handle. About the only negative thing for the Cowboys was Brett Maher suddenly having an inability to kick extra points as he missed four straight.
Dallas had “Good Dak” in their Monday night game as he torched the Tampa defense for four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Prescott showed how great the Cowboys offense can look when it’s clicking on all cylinders as he connected with passes to eight different receivers.
Tampa’s inability to create any form of rushing offense was an issue all season and it continued to be a problem against a Dallas team that wasn’t necessarily the stoutest of running defenses. The Bucs were only able to rush for 52 yards on the game, forcing Tom Brady to carry a heavy load. Despite Brady throwing for over 350 yards, he connected on 35 of an absurd 66 throws and seemed to lack chemistry with his receivers all night. Now Brady, who would be 46 years old next season, will keep the football world waiting to see if he returns for another year.
There’s plenty of football to play between now and when Brady makes his decision, including a big time Dallas-San Francisco matchup next weekend. Two organizations that have no shortage of history will battle in one of the most anticipated games of the Divisional round.
Bills Survive Dolphins Scare
Buffalo should leave their Wild Card game feeling relieved. Relieved that they were playing a third string quarterback who completed less than half of his passes and that three Josh Allen turnovers didn’t cost them a Super Bowl potential season.
The Bills were heavy favorites entering Sunday’s game and after jumping out to a 17-0 first half lead, it seemed likely that they would cover their -13.5 line against the Miami Dolphins. To Miami’s credit, they never quit and the Dolphins put together 17 straight points of their own thanks in part to two interceptions of Allen. After Buffalo reclaimed the lead with a Tyler Bass field goal, Miami would take their only lead of the game after the Dolphins returned a Josh Allen fumble for a touchdown and a 24-20 lead.
Allen would eventually clean up his game and avoid any additional turnovers. The Bills would find the end zone two more times which was just enough to give Buffalo the 34-31 win and avoid a disastrous home upset.
Statistically, the Bills were far and way the better team. Buffalo produced 432 total yards to Miami’s 231. The Buffalo offense converted on more than half of their third downs compared to the Dolphins going 4-16. The Bills also owned more possession time and played more disciplined with five less penalties. The competitiveness of this game really comes down to Allen and his three turnovers. Buffalo is undoubtedly talented and one of the biggest favorites to win a title this season, but Allen’s turnovers have become a concern. Allen threw 14 interceptions and fumbled the ball 13 times this season (losing five of them). The Bills are loaded with talent all over the field. More often then not, they will play well enough to defeat teams as long as they avoid costly mistakes.
Allen will need to clean up his game a lot before next weekend’s matchup against Cincinnati. Joe Burrow will be quarterbacking the team across the field from the Bills and he has made a reputation for himself of playing cool and clutch in big moments. Allen may not necessarily need to outplay Burrow, but he won’t be able to afford the same mistakes he made against Miami.
Vikings One Score Magic Runs Out in Loss to Giants
Whatever the opposite of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is, that would be the 2022-23 Minnesota Vikings. A team that statistically and visibly had one of the worst defenses in the NFL for the entire season finally saw their demise at the hands of the Daniel Jones and the New York Giants.
New York’s 31-24 victory came off of a whopping 431 yards of total offense. Minnesota’s terrible defensive day allowed 6.3 yards per play which was higher than Detroit’s league worst 6.2 average yards per play on the season. The Giants were able to pick up first downs at will and even when they faced occasional third downs, New York was often in short yardage situations.
The lack of the Vikings defense should not discredit Daniel Jones game though. In his playoff debut, Jones looked phenomenal, building upon his career season. Jones led the team in both passing and rushing with 301 and 78 yards in those categories. Jones also found the end zone on two separate passing plays to add to his big day.
Kirk Cousins had a decent day in his own right and did his best to keep the Minnesota season alive. Cousins was accurate for most of the day with 31 of 39 passing for 273 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, Cousins had trouble finding Justin Jefferson in the second half as the game turned into T.J. Hockenson or bust. A Vikings team that was likely overrated for their record saw their season end in a lifeless way when on 4th and 8 with the game on the line, Cousins threw a three yard pass to a well covered Hockenson to fall short of first down marker.
New York will now travel to take on a familiar adversary when they play Philadelphia next weekend. The Giants are 0-2 against their division rival this season, but most recently played them closely in a 22-16 loss with a large portion of New York starters out of the game.
Niners Find Gold in Second Half
For at least one half it seemed like the Seattle Seahawks would give the San Francisco 49ers all they could handle in their Wild Card matchup. The Seahawks took a 17-16 lead into the half, but the Clark Kent version of the Niners came out of halftime as a Superman version and went on a 25-0 scoring run. The dominant San Francisco second half would allow the Niners to come away with a 41-23 win.
Brock Purdy gave just the slightest bit of reason to make people think the playoffs would be a moment just too big for him after a first half that showed some struggles with accuracy, but that was all erased in a second half that saw San Francisco score touchdowns on each of their three drives. Purdy would finish with 332 yards passing and three touchdowns. Defensively, the great San Francisco defense created two turnovers and held Seattle scoreless in the second half until the final drive in which the game was already out of hand.
It’s hard to feel too bad for Seattle considering their surprisingly successful season. After trading away Russell Wilson in the offseason, many expected the Seahawks to be bottom feeders in the AFC West. Thanks in large part to a fantastic draft class and career reviving season by Geno Smith, the Seahawks were one of the league’s biggest surprises. With two first round picks in the upcoming draft, Seattle is on a good trajectory.
As far as this season, maybe no team has a stronger trajectory than San Francisco. The 49ers haven’t lost in months and continue to look better and better as the weeks go by. At this point, anything short of a Super Bowl berth would be a disappointment.
Post Wild Card Weekend Question
Should the Los Angeles Chargers fire Brandon Staley?
Considering Staley has had two winning seasons as head coach, improved in record and clinched a playoff spot this season, and worked through plenty of injuries, this is an incredibly difficult decision. The Chargers may have finished above .500 both seasons, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Los Angeles failed to meet expectations in both years. Last season, Staley’s team was 8-5 but went on two lose three of four games, including a double digit loss to a bad Houston team, to miss the playoffs. This season, expectations were as high as Super Bowl contender with Justin Herbert’s third year and some big free agency signings. We all saw what happened in Jacksonville.
Chargers owner Dean Spanos and general manager Tom Telesco have to be certain they have a guy they feel confident in to replace Staley if they do in fact move on. In today’s NFL, moving on from a coach without a losing season could cause prospective coaches to take notice of the franchise and want to avoid a team that may have unreasonable expectations. Think Jim Caldwell being fired in Detroit or Brian Flores in Miami.
At the same time, Staley is a former defensive coordinator who still calls the defense for the Chargers. The Los Angeles defense was a middle of the road defense this season and the last taste of the unit will be giving up 31 points over five consecutive drives to blow a 27-0 lead. There is also Justin Herbert, who may be the biggest factor in this decision. Next season will be Herbert’s fourth year and the Chargers front office may prefer to latch an offensive mind to him.
In my eyes, this decision comes down to Sean Payton and his interest in the Los Angeles job. If Payton is clearly interested in the position and the Chargers are willing to trade the asking price to New Orleans for him, I think that’s someone you can’t pass up on. Linking Herbert to an elite offensive mind and Super Bowl winning head coach in Payton is something franchises with young talented quarterbacks dream of. From Payton’s perspective, the Chargers job would seem like the best available opportunity as well.
If there is any hesitancy from Payton about the Los Angeles job, I think the Chargers should keep Staley for at least one more season. Jim Harbaugh is reportedly returning to Michigan and outside of Dan Quinn, another defensive mind, most of the other coaching candidates are big unknowns. Keeping Staley and the front office’s reputation might be the best investment for next season.
Divisional Round Power Rankings
- Kansas City Chiefs
- San Francisco 49ers
- Buffalo Bills
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants
- Jacksonville Jaguars
Divisional Round Game Watchability Rankings
4. Jaguars vs Chiefs: Jacksonville will open as the biggest underdog in the Divisional Round. Moving on from their emotional comeback victory and expecting to get a win on the road against the AFC’s top seed will be an incredibly tall task. Kansas City will be looking earn their fifth straight AFC Championship Game appearance. This seems like a game where “Dougy P” will be packing plenty of surprises and be incredibly aggressive with his play calls.
3. Giants vs Eagles: Technically, New York and Philadelphia only played at full strength once and that was a blowout win for the Eagles. The second game was in Week 18 and although close, featured a Giants team that played Davis Webb at quarterback. Philadelphia is the better team and has had a great season, but what will Brian Daboll have up his sleeve? The Giants coach has shown he can make adjustments, most recently in New York’s second matchup with the Vikings. I’d expect a gritty New York team to make Philly work for that NFC Championship berth.
2. Cowboys vs 49ers: There’s just something about watching Dallas and San Francisco compete in playoff football. Nearly 30 years ago, these two teams were the cream of the crop of the NFC. Neither organization has won a Super Bowl in this century, but nostalgia will be sky high for this game. San Francisco has been on fire since Christian McCaffrey arrived, but if Dallas plays like they did in Tampa Bay they may have the juice to stop the Niners offense. We also get the coaching matchup of Kyle Shanahan’s offense versus Dan Quinn’s defense with their coaching ties from Atlanta.
1. Bengals vs Bills: When the NFL playoff bracket was finalized, this was the game most people hoped we would get in the Divisional Round. Besides being a game featuring two of the biggest Super Bowl favorites, Cincinnati and Buffalo will also have the opportunity to compete against each other only a couple weeks after their Monday Night Football game was cancelled when Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field. In most years this would be an AFC Championship level game, but we are blessed with a loaded AFC. Burrow and Chase, Allen and Diggs. Two teams that not long ago were bottom feeding teams in this conference. Now they will go toe to toe to step one game closer to a Super Bowl appearance.