After arguably one of the most thrilling NFL regular seasons in recent memory, the playoffs got off to an equally entertaining start with a cinematic Wild Card round. Four games came down to the final two minutes, highlighting the opening slate.
The Chicago Bears had a stellar regular season under new head coach Ben Johnson, who appears to have turned the franchise around. Chicago played six games that were undecided in the final two minutes and won eight one-score games, showing an ability to thrive in close situations. They opened the playoffs with a comeback win against division rival Green Bay after trailing 21-6 early in the fourth quarter.
Now, they face the Los Angeles Rams at home in the NFC Divisional Round and are looking to make the NFC Championship game for the first time since 2011.
After a dominant regular season, Los Angeles entered the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in a competitive NFC. The Rams narrowly avoided an upset after a 34-31 win over the Carolina Panthers. The two teams went back and forth scoring until the Rams got the last word on the go-ahead touchdown with 38 seconds left in the game, sending the Charlotte crowd home disheartened.
The Buffalo Bills were knocked out of the playoffs before making it to the Super Bowl the past six seasons and are seeking their first Lombardi Trophy in Bills history. But after an inconsistent season with losses to the Dolphins and the Falcons, it’s hard to consider them a legitimate contender this year.
In another back-and-forth shootout, Buffalo bested the Jacksonville Jaguars and came out on top 27-24 in ironic fashion; after voting to ban the “tush push” at the beginning of the season, the Bills ran the play twice in a row to put them ahead with 1:04 left in regulation. The Bills now face a Broncos team with a stellar defense and sneaky offense. Can they pull off the upset and make it back to the AFC Championship game?
Despite being riddled with injuries, including George Kittle tearing his achilles, the San Francisco 49ers keep finding ways to win and now find themselves facing division rival Seattle. They will face the Seahawks at home on Sunday and seek to avenge their regular-season finale loss.
Seattle is favored to win this year’s Super Bowl and is ranked third against the run, sixth in takeaways and tied for seventh in sacks. The combination of Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba should scare any defense. The Niners’ defense looked stronger to end the season as well as in their Wild Card win against Philadelphia, but were ranked 20th overall in total yards allowed to end the season. Brock Purdy was held to no touchdowns and Christian McCaffery left with a season-low in yards from scrimmage. If the 49ers can get Purdy and McCaffery going, they might pull out the upset on the road.
The New England Patriots are back and have fans feeling like they’re “back in the good old days” of domination. MVP candidate Drake Maye and head coach Mike Vrabel have turned New England into a Super Bowl contender by leading the Pats to their first playoff win in seven years.
A 16-3 win against the Los Angeles Chargers was the first step in proving that their regular season wasn’t a fluke. The Chargers have the worst offensive line in the league, so with the combination of a strong Patriots defensive line, Justin Herbert was sacked six times and produced zero touchdowns. The Patriots now face one of the hottest teams right now in the Houston Texans, who are on a 10-game win streak.
The Texans have been a fairly consistent team on both sides of the ball all season and are peaking at the right time. In their matchup against Pittsburgh on Monday night, it seemed like it was anyone’s game when it was 7-6 entering the fourth quarter. But Houston’s defense held strong throughout the final quarter, recording a sack and a pick-six, while their offense finally picked up, routing the Steelers 30-7 on the road.
Stroud didn’t look his best, throwing for 244 yards and one interception. He’ll need to clean that up in order to win on Sunday against a strong Patriots secondary. Going into New England will be tough for the Texans, given the low temperatures and wind chill. If Maye continues to play how he has been all season and the Patriots defense continues to thrive, Houston is in trouble.
