As always in January, the NFL Playoffs began on Saturday when the Texans hosted the Browns, arguably the hottest team going into the playoffs. These two teams faced off in Houston on Christmas Eve in a game that saw Browns receiver Amari Cooper go for 265 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches in a game Cleveland won 36-22. That game, however, did not feature Texans rookie sensation CJ Stroud, who was recovering from a concussion. This time around, Stroud made his presence known. Early in the game, the two sides exchanged offensive strikes back and forth, scoring on five straight possessions, with four lead changes. However, after a Browns touchdown to make the score 14-10, it was all Houston. Stroud and the offense took a 24-14 lead with multiple passing touchdowns, and in the second half, the defense got multiple pick-sixes to lead Houston to a 45-14 win.
Later in the day, the Dolphins visited Kansas City after losing their division in Week 18 to the Bills, which turned out to be their downfall, as it was -4 degrees in Kansas City, with wind chill making it feel like -27. The Chiefs had a steady stream of points throughout the game, scoring in every quarter, with Mahomes developing a good connection with receiver Rashee Rice, scoring 26 points while the defense limited the explosive Miami offense to just seven points on a Tyreek Hill touchdown. The cold of Kansas City proved to be too much for the Dolphins, who will look to next year as they continue to develop as a team, and the Chiefs will be aiming to go back-to-back Super Bowls.
The first game on Sunday took place in Dallas where division champion Dallas Cowboys were looking to begin their hopeful playoff run against the Packers, who’d barely snuck into the playoffs as the seventh seed. The game did not go according to plan. The Packers got the ball first and scored immediately. Then after a Jaire Alexander interception, scored again. They stopped the Dallas offense and scored again on a Jordan Love touchdown pass. Then when the Cowboys’ offense got a little momentum, Darnell Savage jumped a pass intended for receiver CeeDee Lamb for a pick-six to make the score 27-0. The rest of the game the Packers offense did whatever they wanted while Dallas tried to get back in the game, but the deficit was too great, as Green Bay became the first ever seven seed to defeat a two seed in the Wild Card Round.
In the evening, the Lions hosted the Rams in a return of Matthew Stafford to Detroit. Stafford and rookie star Puka Nacua stressed the Lions secondary all night, going for 181 yards and a touchdown on nine catches, but it proved to not be enough as the Lions used a more balanced attack with a good rushing and passing game to get just enough points to win this game. The Rams made it close several times, but the Lions were simply the better team as the scoreboard showed, 24-23. The Rams will host another game in the divisional.
On Monday, the Bills hosted the Steelers after winning the division against the Dolphins in the last game of the regular season. Josh Allen played one of his best games of the year, throwing three touchdowns while running for one and not throwing any interceptions. The final score of 31-17 wasn’t reflective of how the game went. Buffalo always had this one in the bag, as they got out to a 21-0 lead and never gave Pittsburgh much of a chance to get back into the game, advancing to the Divisional round for a rematch with the Chiefs.
The last game of the weekend saw the Eagles, who had been spiraling out of control to end the regular season visit the Buccaneers, winners of the less-than-average NFC South. The Eagles’ struggles continued, as they finished the regular season 1-5 with losses to the 49ers, Cowboys, Seahawks, Cardinals and Giants, with their only win coming on Christmas Day at home 33-25 against the Giants. With AJ Brown out, Devonta Smith had the opportunity to be Jalen Hurts top weapon, going for 148 yards on eight catches, but it wasn’t enough. The year after going to the Super Bowl, the Eagles season will end after the first round.
With the Wild Card Round over, the league will look ahead to the Divisional, while some teams will start to think about changes that need to be made within their organizations to make sure losing in the first round doesn’t happen again.
