Adamo Marinelli
January 21, 2022
Now that we’ve had a few days to decompress after an eventful wildcard weekend, let’s take a look back at the results of all the games.
The Cincinnati Bengals won their first playoff game in 31 years after beating the Raiders 26-19. After the Raiders took a 3-0 lead, the Bengals stormed back to score 13 consecutive points. Following another Raiders’ field goal, the Bengals drove down the field and scored another touchdown on a controversial play where it appeared as if the refs blew the whistle after Burrow threw the ball. The Raiders’ defensive back appeared to stop moving after the whistle was blown but it is inconclusive if the inadvertent whistle affected the play. Regardless, Joe Burrow played a very good, mistake-free game, throwing for almost 250 yards and 2 TDs, their run game was solid and their defense played incredibly, forcing multiple QB pressures, 3 sacks, and forcing two turnovers. Trey Hendrickson’s forced fumble contributed to their early 13-3 lead and Germaine Pratt’s interception of Derek Carr sealed the win for the Bengals ending a late comeback attempt. Derek Carr looked good in his first career playoff game but ultimately came up just short in the end. If the Raiders would have gone for it on 4th down with about 4 minutes left in the game and scored a TD, they only would have needed a field goal to tie the game on the last play. But hindsight is 2020. Despite the bad officiating, the better team won the game.
In the Saturday night game, the Bills proved why their 14-10 loss to the Patriots on December 6 was a fluke. After beating the Patriots on December 26 to essentially clinch the AFC East, the Bills dismantled the Patriots for the second time in a matter of weeks in a 47-17 rout. Simply put, the Bills dominated on both sides of the ball. Josh Allen had a near-perfect game, showcasing his talent both through the air and on the ground and adding his name to future MVP conversations. He completed 21/25 passes for over 300 yards, 5 passing TDs, and 0 INTs. He also had 66 yards on the ground and their runningback Devin Singletary who has struggled at times this season rushed for 81 yards and 2 TDs. The Bills’ offense scored a TD on their first 7 possessions and did not attempt a single field goal or punt the entire game, all 3 of those were records in a playoff game in the Super Bowl Era. Not only was their offense firing in all cylinders but their defense made life difficult on Mac Jones who was under pressure all night long. He was sacked 3 times and hit 12 times. He threw for 232 yards, and 2 TDs but also 2 INTs. The Bills were up 27-0 before the Patriots got on the board with a meaningless field goal.
In Tampa Bay, the defending champion Buccaneers had the chance to begin their title defense against the Eagles who snuck into the playoffs thanks to a favourable schedule and an outstanding rushing attack. However, the Eagles were unable to get their run game - their biggest weapon - going against a very energetic, active, and dominant Buccaneers’ defense that got several key pieces back from injuries like LB Lavonte David and CB Carlton Davis. They only had 95 rush yards, most of those came in the second half. Once the Eagles were forced to pass the ball, the Buccaneers’ defenders constantly put pressure on Hurts, registering multiple sacks, QB hurries, and QB hits. This led to a lot of three-and-outs by the Eagles offense which kept their defense on the field for the majority of the game. The Eagles’ defense did the best they could to slow down Brady getting 4 sacks, but even without Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones, and Chris Godwin, the Bucs’ offense was still very efficient. Tom Brady had a lot of time in the pocket and was able to consistently make good throws to his receivers. The passing game was effective thanks to the Bucs’ run game consisting of Giovanni Bernard and Ke’Shawn Vaughn - who combined for almost 100 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. The Bucs took a 17-0 lead into halftime. Early in the second half, after Jalen Reagor muffed a punt, the Bucs drove down the field to take a 24-0 lead. On the next drive, after Shaquill Barrett picked off Jalen Hurts, Brady found Mike Evans wide open for a 36 yard TD to take a 31-0 lead. The Eagles scored two TDs late in the game to make the score respectable but the score was not indicative of the dominant win by the Buccaneers.
Many Cowboys thought they had an easy win. But the resilient 49ers who have a lot of talent both on offense and defense had different ideas. There were a few main storylines in this game. The first was the most obvious, the Cowboys’ questionable play-call to run a QB draw with 14 seconds left, with no timeouts down 6 points. He ran too far and the Cowboys were unable to clock the ball to get one last chance at a hail-mary. However, the game shouldn’t have even come down to this potential last play. The Cowboys, who were the most penalized team in the league in the regular season, were penalized 14 times for over 100 yards, the majority of those penalties gave first downs to the 49ers or took away big plays from the Cowboys’ offense. In addition, the Cowboys’ offense looked flaccid for the first 3 quarters of the game, similar to their week 9 loss to Denver. The 49ers took a 16-7 lead into halftime and led 23-7 going into the fourth quarter after a huge rushing TD from WR/RB hybrid Deebo Samuel. If it weren’t for an interception by Jimmy Garappolo, the 49ers would’ve extended their lead even more but it allowed the Cowboys to score 10 straight points to cut the lead to 23-17. Finally, with under 1:00 left, the 49ers got the ball back and appeared to seal the game with a Deebo Samuel first down but after a questionable ball placement by the refs, the Cowboys got another chance that they shouldn't have gotten. Regardless, that was still the most bizarre play call I’ve ever seen in the playoffs, and Kellen Moore, a brilliant OC called that play which was approved by HC Mike McCarthy. The Cowboys deserved to lose this game; they've got to be more disciplined.
In what was more than likely Big Ben’s final game, the Steelers jumped out to a 7-0 lead after a defensive touchdown by T.J. Watt. Both offenses sputtered in the first quarter and both defenses were stout, especially the Steelers’ defense which recorded 3 sacks, a forced fumble, and a TD. However, after Watt’s fumble recovery touchdown, it was all Kansas City for the rest of the game. Using both their high-powered run game and passing attack, the Chiefs would proceed to put up 35 unanswered points to take a 35-7 lead. The Steelers would score two late TDs and the Chiefs would add on one more thanks to a passing TD from Travis Kelce, but the Chiefs had to do relatively little on defense to secure a 42-21 win. Patrick Mahomes and the entire Chiefs’ offense was dominant. He recorded over 400 passing yards and 5 TDs to only 1 INT. The Chiefs had over 500 yards on total offense. For the Steelers, Big Ben had a solid game with 215 passing yards 2 TDs, and 0 INTs, but it was too little, too late.
Matt Stafford finally got his first career playoff win after leading the Rams to a dominant 34-11 win over the Arizona Cardinals, their division rivals. The Rams defense dominated in this game, constantly putting pressure on Kyler Murray. Murray was sacked twice and had pass rushers in his face all game long. As a result, this disrupted his rhythm, didn’t allow him to get comfortable in the pocket to look for his receivers and it caused him to make several mistakes. He completed 19/34 passes, for 137 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 INTs, one of which was returned by the Rams for a TD after Murray held the ball too long in his own endzone and to avoid being sacked which would’ve resulted in a safety, he just threw it up for grabs - a classic rookie mistake. This TD gave the Rams a 21-0 lead. Matt Stafford played a near-perfect game for the Rams, throwing for over 200 yards, 2 TDs, and also scoring a rushing TD. The Rams were extremely effective on the ground, with Cam Akers and Sony Michel rushing for over 110 yards. This opened up the play-action passing game for Matt Stafford and it allowed him to pick apart the Cardinals’ defense. The Rams had a 28-0 lead before the Cardinals eventually got on the board. The Rams’ defense was dominant, shutting down the Cardinals’ run game and forcing Murray to make mistakes all game long and the Rams’ offense didn’t turn the ball over and was good enough to get the win. Another main factor in this game was 3rd down defense; the Rams did not allow the Cardinals to convert a single 3rd down on nine attempts. You can’t fault Murray in his first playoff game. The Rams’ roster is loaded and built to win Super Bowls. The issue in Arizona is with their head coach and playcalling.
Overall, Wild Card weekend brought us some interesting games, however, four of the six games were blowouts. The only games that weren’t blowouts were the Cowboys-49ers game and the Bengals-Raiders game, however, the Cowboys-49ers game would have been a blowout if Jimmy G doesn’t throw an interception. The only truly competitive game was between the Bengals and Raiders which came down to the last play. Hopefully, the divisional round will be more competitive.
In the AFC divisional round, we have the Bills vs Chiefs and Bengals vs Titans. I’ll take the Bills to win in an upset and the Titans to win.
In the NFC divisional round, we have the 49ers vs Packers and the Rams vs Bucs. I’ll take the Rams to win in an upset and the Packers to win.
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