Wild Card weekend is here! 12 teams competed for a spot in the 2024 playoffs. With the cold conditions, athletes have been tested, hard work and talent prevailed over opponents in the tough weather. Frozen ground, numb hands, and slippery footballs, did not stop these teams from having impressive games.
The Green Bay Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 48-32. Dallas had a slow first half with only scoring seven points compared to the 27 points by Green Bay. Dallas Quarterback Dak Prescott, threw two interceptions in the first half. The Packers defense capitalized on that by scoring three touchdowns in the second quarter alone. Green Bay could not be stopped by the Dallas defense, Dak and his offense tried to come back in the second half with four touchdowns. However, it was not enough. Packers quarterback Jordan Love, had 272 passing yards, and Jones had 118 yards. With the Green Bay offense being so solid, Dallas could not recover from the first half.
“Just shocked, honestly. From the beginning of the game, we got beat. There’s no which way around it. There’s no way to sugar coat it. Shock,” Dak Prescott said, according to ESPN.com.
The Detroit Lions came out on top over the L.A Rams, and won a playoff game for the first time since 1991. Both teams had impressive total yards, with L.A having 425, and Detroit with 334. The first half was back and forth, as there was only a four point difference between teams. With one touchdown, Nacua from L.A, led the game with 181 yards. However in the end, that was not enough to win. Detroit had an impressive offense in the first half, and solid defense to close out the game. In the second half, only field goals were scored, no touchdowns. The Rams tried to fight back by outscoring Detroit in the second half. Detroit kicker Micheal Badgley, kicked an impressive 54 yard field goal in the third quarter to prevail over the Rams. The Detroit Lions out scored the L.A Rams 24-23 with the great compassion by Detroit Quarterback, Jared Goff.
“For the first time in three decades, the Lions hosted a home playoff game in Detroit, and the sold-out atmosphere was electric. With a plethora of celebrities cheering them on, the Lions held off the Rams to end the NFL’s longest active playoff victory drought,” ESPN said.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ran away with a 32-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles could not capitalize with only scoring a field goal, and one touchdown. On the other hand, Tampa Bay dominated the game with 426 total yards, compared to the 276 by Philadelphia, and did not let the Eagles score in the second half. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfeild, passed for 337 incredible yards, including three of those passes being touchdowns. The Eagles could not stop Mayfield and his offense from the start, they had an opening 65 yard drive which set them up for the whole game. After 13 seasons with the Eagles, Jason Kelce retired after a great career, which included one Super Bowl win, and six time All-Pro team. The All-Pro team is a selection of the best NFL player, which is truly an honor to be chosen. Next for Tampa Bay, they have a lot to prepare for, who play the Detroit Lions on the 21st.
“Tampa Bay scored on its first four possessions- three field goals and a touchdown. The Bucs had a good balance- 15 running plays for 68 yards, and Mayfeild completed ten of 20 passes,” Philadelphiaeagles.com said.
Unlike the Eagles, The Houston Texans will now advance to the AFC Divisional Round after their 45-14 winning game over the Cleveland Browns.
Houston kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn started off the game strong with a 21-yard field goal in the first quarter. Shortly after, Cleveland scored a touchdown, but the Texans responded with another touchdown. In the second quarter Cleveland was taking the lead, but a 76-yard touchdown throw from C.J. Stroud to Brevin Jordan put the score at 17-14 with the Texans taking the lead back. The third and fourth quarter was when the Texans upped their game. Stroud was able to reach a new record with the second-most passing yards ever by a rookie, with 4,360. Texas quarterback Steven Nelson intercepted Flacco’s pass and scored an 82-yard touchdown putting the score at 31-14. Shortly after, Texans linebacker intercepted another Flacco pass and scored another touchdown wrapping up the third quarter with Texans leading 38-14. Houston’s running back Devin Singletary, scored an early touchdown in the fourth quarter, and the final score of the game was 45-14.
“Offense, defense, special teams, just not good enough, but I do want to make sure I credit DeMeco (Houston Texans Head Coach) and his football team, they did a nice job,” Cleveland Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski said, at the post game press conference
On January 13th, the eighth coldest game in NFL history, with a temperature of negative four degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff, the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Miami Dolphins.
Patrick Mahomes found Rashee Rice for an 11- yard touchdown with a smooth opening drive, and set the Chiefs ahead of the Dolphins 7-0, with 11:05 left in the first quarter. Miami attempted to respond, but their drive ended in a turnover as their quarterback Tua Tagovailas’s pass was intercepted by Mike Edward. Just after Harrison Butker’s 28-yard field goal, setting the Chiefs score at 10-0 in the second quarter, the Dolphins responded. Tagovaila passes to Tyreek Hill, and successfully scores off a 53-yard touchdown pass. Though, as soon as the Dolphins spirits started to look up, Butker scored two more field goals to close the first half, with a score of 16-7. Mahomes’ helmet had cracked in the third quarter due to the cold, but this did not affect the Chief’s spirits. Butker had made his fourth field goal of the game, putting Kansas City ahead 19-7, with 7:49 left to go in the third quarter. Finally, Isiah Pacheco’s three-yard touchdown run, extended the Chiefs lead to 26-7, and won the game.
“We knew it was going to be a cold game, and we knew they weren’t used to it. We came out and punched them in the mouth. We saw blood,” Chief’s Corner Back L’Jarius Sneed said, according to theathletic.com.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills were set to play January 14th, but a snowstorm led to a travel ban, pushing the game back another day. The two teams faced off the next day at 4:30 PM.
The Bills took an early lead in the game with a nine-yard touchdown pass, thrown from Josh Allen to Dawson Knox. Shortly after, Allen finds Dalton Kincaid wide-open in the middle of the field for a 29-yard touchdown. With the score now being 14-0, the Steelers were yet to make a good gain in the game. Once again in the second quarter, Allen was able to run over a Steelers defender, and score a 52-yard touchdown halfway through the quarter. With 1:39 left in the first half, the Steelers were finally able to score just after Buffalo used their final time out. Mason Rudolph’s pass was complete to Dionte Johnson, and he ran to the end zone for a ten-yard touchdown. The score heading into the second half was 21-7, with the Bills still in the lead until the Steelers made a 40-yard field goal, bringing the Steelers up to ten points. To follow, Buffalo made a 45-yard field goal with 1:32 left in the third quarter. The Steelers started off the fourth quarter strong with a seven-yard touchdown by Calvin Austin III. The Bills still led the game 24-17, but the play of the night occurred when Shakir scored a 17-yard touchdown, against the Steelers. When Allen passed to him, he stumbled a little, but his knees did not touch the turf. The Steelers were left confused as he ran to the end zone changing the final score to 31-17.
“I appreciate the efforts of our guys, and I told them that, but efforts don’t get it done,” Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said, according to the Steelers YouTube Channel.
Now only eight teams remain for a spot to play in the Super Bowl on February 11th. On January 20th the Texans will play the Ravens, and the Packers will face the 49ers, then on January 21st, the Buccaneers vs Lions, and the Chiefs play the Bills.
