NFL Reactions: Wild-Card Weekend Recap

There are only 13 games each postseason. After the WIld-Card week, only seven games remain. I never like blowouts in the playoffs, knowing there is so little football left until next season. Unfortunately, none of the AFC games were competitive in the second half. On that note, I always make sure to get every ounce of enjoyment out of January football. Let's hope next weekend is filled with instant classics.

Chargers at Texans

This was a sloppy game with seven turnovers. Had Derwin James hung onto a potential interception, there would have been eight turnovers. Neither offensive line did much to slow the opposing pass rush. The Chargers were leaving pass catchers wide open all over the field. Justin Herbert had a decent start before falling apart- aside from a crazy play that resulted in a long Ladd McConkey TD. We even saw the Chargers have an extra point blocked and returned by Houston for two points. At least the first half was competitive.

Houston was much better than the Chargers in this game. The Texans turned the ball over three times and won easily. Los Angeles lacked the cornerback talent to deal with the Texans' pass catchers. However, Houston was a bit slow coming out of the gates. On their first couple drives, C.J. Stroud ignored Nico Collins on the first six pass attempts. Also, Joe Mixon wasn't finding room to run. After falling behind by six points, Stroud started to get the ball to Collins. Finally, we saw the receiver at his best, as he gained yardage in large chunks. Collins ended the day with 122 yards and a TD. Ultimately, the three  Houston turnovers let the Chargers hang around until mid-way through the third quarter. At that point, the Texans defense put the game away. First, a "pick-six" by Eric Murray gave the team a 20-6 lead. Three plays later, Derek Stingley intercepted a pass and returned it to the Chargers' 13-yard line. Right after the second picik, Houston kicked a field goal and the blowout was on. Once the game was out of hand, Joe Mixon was the closer. The veteran rushed 25 times for 106 yards and a score. Still, I was surprised that the Texans offense was celebrating when moving the chains in the fourth quarter. Whenever I see that, I start to feel like the team didn't have very high expectations. Like Jerry Rice said (about TDs), "Act like you've been there before." After seeing the Texans have that level of excitement in a Wild-Card game, I think they may not be doing as much celebrating when facing the Chiefs next weekend.

Los Angeles looked good on their first drive, but settled for three points. Even though the team had a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, the offense was showing signs of being in trouble. J.K. Dobbins was unable to get the rushing attack going. That led to the Chargers being in too many obvious-passing situations. As a result, the Texans' pass rush made life miserable for Justin Herbert. The QB had the worst game of his career. In 17 regular-season games, Herbert threw three interceptions. The veteran tossed four picks in this contest. The only non-quarterback with more than 26 scrimmage yards in this game was Ladd McConkey. The rookie caught nine of Herbert's 14 completions. On a crazy third-down play when the game was basically out of reach, McConkey snagged a ball in traffic and scored on an 88-yard TD. The receiver caught nine passes for 197 yards on 14 targets. For those that didn't see many Chargers' games this season, fans saw that the rookie is a difference maker. With the way McConkey finished this season, I wonder how high his stock will rise in 2025 fantasy drafts. I'm also excited to see how the Chargers improve in the second year of Jim Harbaugh's coaching tenure.

Steelers at Ravens

The postseason is why Baltimore brought in Derrick Henry. Is there any better closer in the game? Before we saw Henry close out the Steelers, the beginning of the game was exciting to watch. Lamar Jackson ran the ball on five straight plays during the first drive. When Jackson was running, I knew he was setting Pittsburgh up. The Steelers were expecting an immediate dose of Derrick Henry. As the defenders attacked Henry, Jackson simply pulled the ball back and took off. Pittsburgh quickly learned that going after Henry would have harsh consequences. By the time the first drive ended, the Ravens moved the ball 95 yards on 13 plays. Henry ended up with three rushes for 49 yards. Jackson capped off the drive with a TD pass to Rashod Bateman. The scoring drive lasted over seven minutes. That drive set up the entire game. At the half, Henry had over 100 yards, Jackson rushed for 64 yards and the Ravens had a 21-0 lead. Even though the Steelers scored a couple desperation TDs, Henry spent much of the second half closing out the game.The superstar rushed for 186 yards and two TDs. The passing game was mostly an afterthought as Baltimore had a commanding lead. As long as this offense continues to be based around Jackson and Henry, it's going to be tough for any team to slow them down.

The Steelers offense was not a playoff-level unit over the last month of the season. Russell Wilson had a couple decent games when he first took over the starting job. Once film was out on the QB, teams mostly limited their deep passes. The limitations of the offense were apparent whenever Pittsburgh faced a good defense. In this game, the Steelers were not competitive in the first half. However, once garbage time started, the Steelers scored third-quarter TDs from Van Jefferson and George Pickens. In my opinion, the Ravens were playing like they had a huge lead. When the game was in question, the Steelers were unable to push the ball downfield. That said, Pickens ended the game with 57 yards and was the only Pittsburgh player to post a solid stat line. It was the receiver's best game since Week 10. It will be hard to rank the receiver inside the top-30 WRs next year. However, let's see what the team's QB situation looks like next year. Still, it would be surprising if any Steelers player was selected in the first four rounds of 2025 fantasy drafts.

Broncos at Bills

One of the best things about the Bills this year is that they can win in many ways. For (roughly) the first three quarters of the game, they realized the Broncos were excellent in pass coverage. However, despite Denver having good numbers against the run, Buffalo knew this defense was vulnerable against offenses that could run downhill. Playoff game planning is often about exploiting opponent weaknesses. The Bills were masterful at understanding that. James Cook was the engine of the offense. The RB helped the team hold the ball for over 31 minutes through three quarters. Soon after, the Bills blew open a 28-7 lead. Once Denver sold out to stop the run in the middle of the third quarter, Josh Allen threw TD passes to Ty Johnson and Curtis Samuel. That brings up another strength of the Bills. They will throw the football to any player at any time. They do not have a go-to guy, and that makes them dangerous. Opposing defenses with an elite player or two in the secondary are often made non-factors because Buffalo can simply avoid them. The Bills will host the Ravens next week. Buffalo will need to continue using the many options at Josh Allen's disposal if they hope to advance to the AFC Championship game.

A long TD pass from Bo Nix to Troy Franklin on the first drive made it look like the Broncos would give the Bills a game. Afterwards, Denver was unable to sustain drives. Other than a missed field goal at the end of the first half, the offense simply lacked the firepower to hang with a solid Buffalo defense. Denver had a great season. Not many people talked this team up as a legitimate playoff contender. Nix didn't seem like a QB who would come in and immediately elevate his team. He proved to be far better than I had anticipated. Overall, the partnership of Nix and Sean Payton helped Denver maximize the talent on the roster. That led to Denver having an effective offense, especially in the second half of the season. Nix and Courtland Sutton will be coveted fantasy options in 2025 while Marvin Mims should be able to build on the strong second half of the season. One final thought. I will not trust Payton when it comes to using his running backs in fantasy leagues. The backfield was a revolving door all season. Jaleel McLaughlin looked great down the stretch, but he was barely used against the Bills. 

Packers at Eagles

This was not the Eagles' best game. The offensive line didn't have the dominant effort I expected. The lack of dominance kept Saquon Barkley from having many explosive plays. Since the Eagles played with a lead for most of the game,  Jalen Hurts attempted 21 passes, though he did toss a pair of TD strikes. A significant portion of Hurts' 131 passing yards were produced in the second half when the Packers were loading the box and daring the Eagles to pass. During that stretch, Dallas Goedert and DeVonta Smith boosted their yardage totals while Goedert found the end zone. Otherwise, the  Eagles defense is a complete and excellent unit, so the outcome of the game was not seriously in question. Green Bay had injury issues on offense. Still, holding a playoff team to 10 points is impressive. Philadelphia is excellent against the run and the pass. This team also has an excellent pass rush. Despite the lack of eye-popping numbers on offense, the playoffs are simply about winning games. Philly was successful in the only way that mattered. They'll be at home next week in the divisional round. The Eagles may need to play better on offense if they hope to make a Super-Bowl run. I still have concerns that if an opposing defense can force Hurts to beat them, that could be a problem for Philly. 

Green Bay came into this game short handed. They were already without Christian Watson. Losing their most dangerous deep threat gave the Eagles an advantage. Aside from the drive that led to the Packers only touchdown, Josh Jacobs frequently was limited to short gains that kept the team in obvious-passing situations. Jordan Love has not played well this season, but as the game went on, the deck became stacked against him. Offensive guard Elgton Jenkins suffered a stinger and didn't return. Jenkins has been an excellent pass protector all season. Once he left, the Eagles had an easier time getting pressure. When the Packers were hoping to mount a late comeback in the third quarter, the injuries continued. Romeo Doubs hit his head on the turf and didn't return. Shortly after, Jayden Reed injured his shoulder and was unable to return. At that point, Green Bay was without their top three receivers. There wasn't going to be a miracle comeback. A couple of other things bothered me about the Packers in this game. I didn't fault Love for the third interception he threw because it was in garbage time. But the other two interceptions were avoidable. The one that was most puzzling was when the QB didn't appear to see LB Zack Baun in the middle of the field. Love didn't have a receiver very close to the ball, and he threw it directly to Baun. I also was dumbfounded when Green Bay took the play clock down to the last few seconds (the clock was running) on multiple plays with about five minutes left in the game. In terms of next season, Jacobs will remain a stud for fantasy. However, I don't expect to invest in the Packers' passing-game weapons. Jordan Love regressed this year. Also, Christian Watson suffered a late-season ACL tear. Finally, I am confused as to why the coaching staff failed to figure out a way to make Jayden Reed a focal point of the passing game. Reed is a superstar who only gets a few targets in most games.

Commanders at Buccaneers

I don't think I was alone in expecting this game to be a shootout. Of course, the Buccaneers scored their first TD with a few seconds left in the first half and the shootout never materialzed. The teams went into the half tied at 10. I can't complain. After watching four games that didn't quicken my pulse, at least this one was close and stayed close until the end. 

Washington had very little going on the ground against a stout Tampa Bay defense. At least Jayden Daniels featured WRs Terry McLaurin and Dyami Brown against a weak Buccaneers secondary that also lost CB Jamel Dean to a second-half knee injury. Both receivers recorded 89 yards and a touchdown. Still, the Commanders had two consecutive drives in the second half that saw the team had first-and-goal opportunities. On one drive, they settled for a field goal. On the other drive, they turned the ball over on downs. Since the Buccaneers were unable to take advantage of their chances to put the game away, the Commanders were able to drain the clock on the last drive, and Zane Gonzalez converted the game-winning field goal when the ball ricocheted after hitting the upright. Washington will travel to Detroit. The team may not have a defense that can slow the Lions down. However, the Commanders certainly have the firepower to stay in striking distance in a likely shootout. Of course, if they make the same mistakes they made against the Bucs, they'll get blown out. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

Mike Evans was the one Tampa Bay player who was great for all four quarters. Once many casual fans realized that Marshon Lattimore was on the Commanders, there was concern that Evans was going to have a long night. That was not the case. The megastar caught five passes for 66 yards and a score in the first half before slowing down a bit in the second half. Evans was the game's leading receiver with 92 yards. Conversely, it appeared to be an excellent matchup for Bucky Irving. In the first half, the RB rushed six times for 18 yards. At least the rookie got going after intermission. Irving broke off a number of chunk runs while the scoring pace picked up. Although Baker Mayfield played decently in this one, he didn't save his best work for the playoffs. The veteran was too aggressive on a couple third-down runs. He also mishandled a fumble that gave the ball to the Commanders in the red zone. Washington turned the opportunity into a score that put them up 20-17 in the fourth quarter. The Bucs were a fun team this year. Liam Coen did a brilliant job coaching the offense. Irving was one of the best surprises of the season after starting the season behind Rachaad White. Evans, Irving and Mayfield will be exciting players to draft in 2025. Also, if Chris Godwin (knee) fully recovers and re-signs with the team, he'll also be in line for another strong season.