NFL Wild Card takeaways

Ah, the NFL playoffs. A fresh start for the 14 teams qualified to participate.

In the Saturday and Sunday games, drama reigned supreme.

The Los Angeles Rams escaped with a 34-31 win over the Carolina Panthers.

The Chicago Bears had a near perfect second half. They trailed 21-3 at halftime and roared back to win 31-27. Much will be made over the offseason in Wisconsin of the evaporated lead that Green Bay had over a divisional rival.

The Buffalo Bills outlasted the Jacksonville Jaguars, using a super-long Tush Push to aid in a 27-24 victory. The Jaguars had the lead late but Josh Allen did as expeted, leading the Bills down the field and earning points on a late successful drive.

The San Francisco 49ers’ defense held strong and came out on top, 23-19, forcing Philadelphia Eagles’ QB Jalen Hurts into a throw into triple coverage on 4th and 11 at the end of the game. The win was dampened slightly as George Kittle left the game with what was later revealed to be an Achilles injury.

The New England Patriots got the only touchdown of the game in Sunday’s nightcap, the finishing blow on a 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Justin Herbert’s playoff resume will have to wait another year for redemption as the Patriots’ defense stopped him on every drive.

Monday night was the final wild card game, pitting the Houston Texans against Pittsburgh Steelers in Pennsylvania. As expected, the Texans’ defense took over and did not allow more than two field goals. CJ Stroud and the Texans’ offense put up a 30-piece, but most of that damage came in the fourth quarter as the Steelers’ defense held its own for 45 minutes.

Wild Card Weekend had a lot for fans, including two big upsets with Chicago beating Green Bay and San Francisco eliminating the defending Super Bowl champions, Philadelphia.

Here are my predictions for the coming matchups.

AFC:

#6 Buffalo Bills @ #1 Denver Broncos - Jan 17 @ 4:30pm

Josh Allen needed final-drive heroics to steal a road win in Florida this weekend. With no Kansas City Chiefs or Baltimore Ravens in his way this postseason, there’s no reason to think Allen can take his team all the way to the Super Bowl. The Broncos’ defense is nothing to scoff at, though. Just like another final-four AFC team.

Predicted Final Score: Bills 24, Broncos 21

#5 Houston Texans @ #2 New England Patriots - Jan 18 @ 3pm

Depending on who you ask, the jury might still be out on the New England Patriots this year. Yes, they had a strong regular season. But they didn’t really face any tough tests aside from their division rival Bills (whom they did beat). I’m all for the success of Drake Maye - he’s really damn good - but the Texans’ defense stifled Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense in a very unique way. CJ Stroud and the offense could ride their defense all the way to the big dance.

Predicted Final Score: Texans 27, Patriots 17

NFC:

#6 San Francisco 49ers @ #1 Seattle Seahawks

Any Sam Darnold doubters here? Even now? After the way his career has been the last few years, he absolutely deserves a moment and spot like this. Leading the Seahawks to a 14-3 record and a #1 seed isn’t a fluke. But it also helps when you have Jaxon Smith-Njigba making defenses look uncoordinated all season long. The 49ers will have to get super creative to get by a spectacular Seahawks secondary. Alliteration aside, this is as big a test as Brock Purdy and the 49ers can have.

Predicted Final Score: Seahawks 33, 49ers 28

#5 Los Angeles Rams @ #2 Chicago Bears

The Rams got out of Carolina with a narrow three-point win and the Bears upset a divisional rival. Should Chicago pull out another win this week, there could be even stronger talk for head coach Ben Johnson arriving in the Windy City at the most opportune of times. What a game this will be for Caleb Williams, though. He’s proven it so far this season. He might just need a couple more solid starts to get the Bears to a Super Bowl appearance. It’ll be up to the Rams’ defense to stop that.

Predicted Final Score: Rams 23, Bears 17

Let’s see how close I am with these!