Wild Card Round Recap and Reaction

As much as I want to hype up an amazing weekend of playoff football we all got to witness, am I alone in thinking that these first round games were, for the most part, underwhelming?  I mean, only one of the six games ended with less than a 14-point margin.  There were blowouts galore in the Wild Card weekend, which I don't remember being the case in recent seasons. 

Still, regardless of how the games played out, there are plenty of storylines to discuss from each game of Wild Card Weekend.  So I'm going to go through all six games and give my thoughts about what went down over the last three days in the NFL.

Cleveland Browns - 14
Houston Texans - 45

We'll go in chronological order, beginning with a game I expected could go either way between the Browns and Texans.  However, Houston absolutely dominated for about 3/4 of the contest.  After falling behind 14-10 early in the second quarter, C.J. Stroud threw two touchdown passes before halftime to take a 24-14 lead into the break.  They then scored on two pick sixes in the second half to secure a victory over the Joe Flacco-led Browns.

While it was a majorly disappointing game for Cleveland, Browns fans shouldn't be all too upset if they're honest with themselves.  Yes, Joe Flacco pieced together an incredible performance in the last third or so of the regular season.  But no one really expected Cleveland to make any noise in the playoffs, if they even got there, after Deshaun Watson went down early on.  But they do have to get better on the offensive side of the ball next season, which one would think should happen when they're starting quarterback and running back return.  The main kick in the teeth for the Browns is knowing that you sent three first round picks to the Texans for Watson, just to get dominated by that same team while the QB you paid $230 million sits out with an injury.

As for the Texans, they've obviously had the biggest improvement from last season.  And a lot of that has to do with how good C.J. Stroud has been.  It certainly looks like they could be good for a really long time going forward, especially in a relatively weak AFC South currently.  They're playing with house money going into the Divisional round, and they'll get another shot at the Ravens, who they lost to way back in the first week of the regular season.

Miami Dolphins - 7
Kansas City Chiefs - 26

Another playoff game, another playoff win for the Chiefs.  And they made it look rather easy against the Dolphins, who really never seemed to have much of a chance.  Their lone score came on a 53-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill at the beginning of the second quarter.  But after that, it was all Kansas City.  It would have been an even bigger blowout if the Dolphins didn't force the Chiefs to settle for four very short field goals throughout the game.

​This is pretty much how I thought this game would go, as I didn't have much hope for Miami traveling up to a raucous Kansas City crowd in the extreme cold.  Some good news for the Chiefs is they seem to be getting better performance from their receivers, especially Rashee Rice.  If that can continue and their defense can keep stepping up, they'll have a great chance of getting back to the Super Bowl.  But it won't be an easy path at all.  They'll have to travel to Buffalo next weekend in what will be Patrick Mahomes's first road playoff game in his career.  Impartial fans will be hoping for something similar to the legendary overtime playoff game these two teams had a couple years ago.  But the Chiefs will have revenge from their regular season loss on their mind.

The Dolphins now become the team with the longest playoff win drought after Detroit's win over the Rams, which I'll discuss later.  And while Miami put up some impressive performances early in the season, they just weren't very good at all against quality opponents.  I don't imagine we'll see any significant coaching or roster changes this offseason, but Dolphins fans certainly had much higher hopes for how this season would go at about the midway point of the regular season.  It'll be a long offseason for them.

Green Bay Packers - 48
Dallas Cowboys - 32

This was the game that got everyone talking on Sunday afternoon and evening, as the Cowboys laid a gigantic egg on their home turf after such a strong regular season.  Dallas entered as roughly touchdown favorites in what some people thought could turn into a blowout in Dallas' favor.  But nobody told that to Matt LaFleur, Jordan Love and the rest of the Packers.  Green Bay won the coin toss, took the ball first, and scored the first 28 points of the game to take a 28-7 lead into halftime.  And every time you thought the Cowboys were going to make a play to get back into the game, the Packers answered.  Their receivers seemingly ran wide open all game, and their defense came through with two interceptions, including one pick six to turn the game into a one-sided affair in the other direction.

NFL fans have determined that it's really not fair that the Packers are going to go from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love.  Because with some of the throws Love has made this season, it's clear that he could be the next great Packer quarterback.  No one really gave them a chance going into this game, but they proved why you should never overlook your opponent.  They became the first 7-seed to win a playoff game since the NFL playoffs expanded to 14 teams in 2020.  Their reward?  A date with the NFC best 49ers in San Francisco next weekend.  But similar to the Texans, this season has already been a tremendous success for the Packers regardless of what happens from this point forward.  Though I'm definitely not counting anything out when we get to the Divisional matchups next week.

​Now, I wouldn't be surprised if we see some major coaching or roster overhaul from the Cowboys this offseason.  With several big name coaches on the board, we'll see if Jerry Jones wants to make a change despite Mike McCarthy going 12-5 in three straight seasons.  It's really an ultimate choke job by the Cowboys, even compared to the chokes we've seen from them over the years.  I mean, Dallas had won their last 16 home games going into Sunday's game, and they dominated a solid majority of the teams they faced during the regular season.  You start to wonder if this team is actually cursed, or at least if McCarthy and/or Dak Prescott are the answer.  Jerry Jones will have lots of questions to answer this offseason that I don't think he was prepared to even ask himself heading into the postseason.

Los Angeles Rams - 23
Detroit Lions - 24

This was the best game of the weekend by far.  The Lions got out to an early lead and never looked back.  Though the Rams made several attempts to tie or take the lead, they could never get the job done when it mattered most.  There were a lot of points scored in a first half shootout, but the defenses took over in the second half as Detroit managed to hold on despite not scoring a point after the break.

You have to be happy for Jared Goff and the Lions, as well as the whole city of Detroit.  Goff was essentially cast out to the wolves by Sean McVay and the Rams, and his whole team had his back as the Lions secured their first playoff win in 32 years.  It might have been just what they needed to break the seal and realize that the franchise actually can muster some success in the postseason.  Thanks to Dallas' loss, Detroit will get to host another playoff game against the Buccaneers with a trip to the NFC Championship on the line.

As the second youngest team in the NFL, the Rams exceeded expectations this season just by making it as far as they did.  They would have loved to go further obviously, but I would feel good about this team if I were a Rams fan.  I would imagine Matthew Stafford still has at least one or two solid years left in him, and the team around him is already good enough to compete.  Sean McVay has proven he can have success with pretty much any roster he's dealt.  The future is still bright for this L.A. team.

Pittsburgh Steelers - 17
Buffalo Bills - 31

After a ton of drama around the weather conditions for this game, which even prompted it to be moved from Sunday to Monday, the Bills did what they had to do and took care of business without much trouble.  They scored the first 21 points of the game, which was capped by a 52-yard Josh Allen touchdown run, and maintained that lead all the way to the end.  Pittsburgh did manage to pull within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but Buffalo scored again quickly after that to secure a double digit victory.

Despite a very slow start to the season, the Bills have now turned into one of the hottest teams in the league when it matters most.  And they'll get another chance on their home turf to advance to the AFC Championship when they face off against the Chiefs next week.  As we've already seen several times, this should be a tightly contested game that could go either way.  But I wouldn't want to have to play Buffalo right now, especially in their house.  Let's just hope there isn't another snowstorm that could put a damper on what should be an incredible matchup.

The biggest problem the Steelers have is obviously at the quarterback position.  I would imagine Mike Tomlin will be back, but he needs someone who can throw the football.  Neither Kenny Pickett nor Mason Rudolph is the answer.  And the AFC North is only going to get better with the Bengals and Browns back at full strength.  I wouldn't feel amazing about our long term prospects if I were a Steelers fan.

Philadelphia Eagles - 9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 32

​In the final game of Wild Card weekend, the Buccaneers absolutely manhandled the Eagles to hammer the final nail in the coffin of Philadelphia's 2023-24 season.  This game was never in jeopardy for Tampa Bay, as their offense was rolling and their defense was stifling.  And the Bucs actually had several drops and missed deep shot opportunities throughout the game as well.  They also stopped the tush push, which is something I'm not sure I had ever actually seen until last night.

The Bucs have surged down the stretch to make it further than a lot of Buccaneers fans might have expected in their first season post-Brady.  The reality is that Baker Mayfield has played very comparable to what Brady did last season.  And their defense has been ferocious per usual.  They'll travel to Detroit next week for what will be a tough but winnable game for Tampa Bay.

​As for the Eagles, there will be a lot of questions to ask after a historic collapse this season.  After starting the season 10-1, they lost six of their last seven games which includes the blowout loss in the first round of the playoffs.  Has Jalen Hurts been figured out?  Or has he secretly been battling bigger injuries than the public is aware of?  And is Nick Sirianni the right coach?  Or was Philly's recent success more an implication of Shane Steichen, who left last offseason for the head coaching job in Indianapolis.  I'd be surprised if there are significant changes this offseason, because the roster is loaded with talent and they are just one year removed from a Super Bowl appearance.  But crazy things happen when you tank down the stretch of a season.  It'll be interesting to see if Philadelphia can bounce back in 2024.

So after the six Wild Card games, we're left with eight teams still vying for a Super Bowl.  We'll get the Divisional round games this Saturday and Sunday, with the following matchups:

Saturday

#4 Houston Texans at #1 Baltimore Ravens (4:30pm EST on ABC/ESPN)

​#7 Green Bay Packers at #1 San Francisco 49ers (8:15pm EST on FOX)

Sunday

#4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at #3 Detroit Lions (3:00pm EST on NBC)

#3 Kansas City Chiefs at #2 Buffalo Bills (6:30pm EST on CBS)

​What did you think about the games of Wild Card weekend and who do you have winning the Divisional matchups?  Let me know in the comments.  Also, make sure to check back Thursday for my favorite betting plays of the weekend.

​Written by Nick Swatson