Wild Card

LOS ANGELES RAMS (34) vs. CAROLINA PANTHERS (31)

This was quite possibly the best Wild Card weekend in quite a long time and it started with a somewhat surprising thriller between the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams. It’s not completely shocking because their last regular season matchup also came down to the wire, but with how things started in the first quarter, nobody could have expected both teams to score more than 30 points.

On Carolina’s first possession of the game, they immediately went for it on fourth down at their own 45 yard line, but the play-action pass was sniffed out by Quentin Lake and the Rams offense started in tremendous field position. It took LA four plays to get in the end zone and three of them were completions to Puka Nacua. Then towards the end of the first quarter, when the Panthers were trying to get points on the board, Jalen Coker stopped on a dig route and the pass was intercepted by Cobie Durant, allowing Matthew Stafford to begin the drive at the opponent’s 48 yard line. Once again, the Rams capitalized off the miscue and Nacua capped off the drive with another touchdown. Although Carolina was finally able to get on the board midway through the second quarter, LA still had the momentum, leading 17-7 before the two minute warning. After Trevor Etienne muffed the catch on a punt return, it looked like the Panthers were going to trail by 17 at halftime. However, their defense forced fourth down and three at the 19 yard line. Instead of taking the points, Sean McVay kept his offense on the field. On the play, it looked like Stafford had wide open running room to get the first down, but he tried to force a pass to Tyler Higbee and the pass was broken up by DJ Wonnum. It turned out this was the play to give the Panthers offense a spark. Three plays into their final drive of the half, Jalen Coker blazed his way down the left sideline for a 37 yard gain into the red zone and Bryce Young ended the drive with a 16 yard touchdown run, cutting the deficit to three! 

Throughout the third quarter, the Rams looked flat and out of sorts. Their defense hung in and only allowed three points, but the offense mustered just 43 yards and kicked a field goal of their own. The Panthers weren’t perfect either, especially after they failed to convert on a fourth and four just past midfield, but an interception by Mike Jackson gave Carolina plenty of momentum entering the final period! 

Just two plays into the quarter, Chuba Hubbard sliced his way into the end zone to give the Panthers their first lead of the entire night! However, LA’s offense came back to life on the following drive and they got the lead back five minutes later. Both teams punted on their ensuing possessions, but at around the four-minute mark, Carolina blocked the kick and it allowed their offense to begin the next drive at LA’s 30 yard line! On third and three at the seven yard line, Young threw a perfect dime in the left corner of the end zone to Jalen Coker for a touchdown, putting the Panthers ahead by four with 2:39 left in the game. Unfortunately, it was more than enough time for Stafford to pull off a winning drive of his own.

Right before the two minute warning, Davante Adams picked up a solid first down inside the 45 yard line. Two plays later, Nacua picked up 18 yards over the middle to get into scoring range. Utilizing the clock to perfection, the Rams kept chipping their way down the field and Colby Parkinson put on the finishing touches with an athletic touchdown grab over Tre’von Moehrig with 38 seconds to go! Young technically had one more chance to put on the finishing touches, but four straight incomplete passes that included a drop by Jimmy Horn Jr. ended the drive in just over 30 seconds. 

This was the perfect way for the 2026 NFL playoffs to begin. Many people thought this was going to be a blowout and the Rams would not fall into the same traps as they did in the past, but the Panthers played with a lot of pride and passion. With all the action that took place, however, LA just simply made the least mistakes. Carolina made a couple splash plays down the stretch, but they put themselves in too big of a hole early on for them to hold on and win. It required perfection and they just couldn’t do that. 

The Rams will be moving on to the divisional round and take the road for a Sunday night showdown against the Chicago Bears.

CHICAGO BEARS (31) vs. GREEN BAY PACKERS (27)

This playoff game was so many things all at once. For the Bears, it was a typical victory: they look anywhere between average and pedestrian for three quarters and then somehow come alive in the fourth. However, this proved to be the most defining victory in franchise history for the first time since 1985. As for the Packers, this was nothing more than a catastrophic failure and it will easily be one of the top five most heartbreaking defeats in their team’s existence. Let’s figure out how we got to this point, shall we?

Through three quarters, the Packers were cruising their way to victory. Jordan Love made his return from concussion protocol and had his way with a flaccid Bears defense, while Chicago head coach Ben Johnson kept channeling his inner Dan Campbell by going for it on fourth down almost every chance he had. After the Bears scored an early three points on the first possession, Green Bay’s offense cruised their way to the end zone on three straight possessions. Chicago, on the other hand, went for it on fourth down four times and only converted just once. Even though Brandon McManus missed a 55 yard field goal to end the half, the Packers were ahead 21-3. It might not be an impossible deficit to overcome with two quarters left to play, but the Bears needed to play near-flawless on both sides of the ball for them to even have a chance. 

Throughout the entirety of the third quarter and early on in the fourth, Chicago’s defense forced four straight punts, yet the offense still couldn’t get anything going. On three consecutive drives into Packers territory, two of them ended with field goals and the third an interception. However, the Bears were only down by 12 points! Eventually, the offense finally got out of their funk and with close to 10 minutes left in the game, D’Andre Swift got in the end zone to cut the deficit. Then on the next drive, Green Bay’s offense got out of their own shell and a nifty 23 yard catch-and-run score from Matthew Golden appeared to be an early dagger. McManus might have missed the ensuing extra point, but the Bears were now down 27-16 with six and a half minutes left, so they needed to score a touchdown on their final two drives and their defense would have to come up with two huge stops for a miracle to take place.

Once Williams got the ball back, he faced a critical fourth and eight at his own 43 yard line. This time, the Bears had no other choice but to go for it and on a roll-out to his left, he fired an absolute dart to Rome Odunze that quite possibly saved their season. On third and ten, Kyle Monangai broke free on the checkdown to set up first and goal, before Olamide Zaccheaus found himself wide open for a touchdown. Colston Loveland got open on the two point conversion and now the score was 27-24 with four minutes left.

For Jordan Love, all they had to do was pick up a few more first downs and they could run out the clock. Just two plays into the drive, he threw a perfect dime to Romeo Doubs, who picked up 34 yards on the catch-and-run to get into scoring range. Unfortunately, the drive ended up stalling out for a field goal and Green Bay had to send McManus onto the field once again. Just like at the end of the first half and on the last possession, the kick sailed wide to the right and Chicago’s offense was going to start at their own 34 yard line with 2:51 left in the game. I think we all knew what was about to happen next.

Before the two minute warning, the Bears offense managed to inch their way just past midfield. On a big third and four play, Williams found D’Andrew Swift wide open in the flat for a 23 yard completion all the way to the 25 yard line. On the very next play, Williams fooled the Packers defense by pumping the ball on a screen and then threw a wide open touchdown to DJ Moore from 25 yards away, giving Chicago their first lead all night! Huh, it’s not like I’ve seen nearly the exact same ending between these two teams earlier this year.

Soldier Field might have been jubilant at this point in time, but Green Bay still had more than enough time left on the clock. On fourth and seven at their 31 yard line, Matthew Golden picked up a needed first down to keep the drive alive. The Packers offense proceeded to knife their way into enemy territory before a wide open 20 yard completion to Jayden Reed got them in field goal range. With seven seconds left on the clock, the Packers only needed one more play to advance. Love ended up dropping the snap, but quickly picked it up and bought as much time as possible in the pocket. Eventually rolling out to his left, he flung it towards the end zone but the pass was broken up and the Bears pulled off a comeback for the ages!

I should have known the Packers were going to blow this game when I remembered that Matt LaFleur was on the Falcons coaching staff the year they blew a 28-3 lead to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. From their perspective, to say this was a pathetic loss would be a total understatement. They had this game in the palm of their hands. Their offense looked healthy, the defense made as many plays as possible, yet all of that completely fell apart in the final 15 minutes. You can scapegoat Brandon McManus all you want for the three missed field goals, but this was a complete choke job in all three phases. But it’s okay, LaFleur isn’t going anywhere, so enjoy the possibility of having a fourth straight season as the seventh seed!

At this point, I feel like if anybody can make the Super Bowl this year, it’s the Chicago Bears. They have the most house money out of anybody else in the National Football League and based on how everything has gone this season, anything can happen. However, they are going to have a tall task ahead of them next week. They might be home, but the Rams are coming to town. If they play the way they did in the first three quarters last week, LA is going to make sure that a comeback is not in sight. It’s going to require near perfection for Chicago to win, but there’s always a chance things will turn out in the right direction.

BUFFALO BILLS (27) vs. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (24)

Don’t worry, the late game drama didn’t end after Saturday night. Entering this Sunday afternoon spectacle, the Bills were not given a legitimate chance to win. They hadn’t won a playoff game on the road since they were in the AFC Championship against the Miami Dolphins in 1992. On an eight game winning streak, the Jaguars were considered to be the better team, but Buffalo had something to say about that in the first half.

Trevor Lawrence gave the Bills an early spark on just his second drive of the game, when he threw an interception right to linebacker Shaq Thompson. Fortunately, Jacksonville’s defense held and forced a field goal, but it turned out those were just the first three points they wished they hadn’t allowed. Once Lawrence got the ball back, the offense utilized the running game better and thanks to a few powerful runs from Bhaysul Tuten, the Jaguars were able to walk down the field and take the lead with a touchdown pass by Brian Thomas Jr. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Ray Davis Jr. fumbled the football on the return, giving Jacksonville a chance to push the lead! However, they faced fourth and two at the nine yard line. A field goal would make it a seven point game, but Liam Coen kept the offense on the football field. On the zone read, Lawrence extended his hands forward with the ball to try to get the first down, but his shin was down just short of the marker and the Bills took over on downs. Why does that matter? Because Josh Allen proceeded to capitalize off the miscue with a 92 yard touchdown drive to give the Bills another three point lead. On the final drive of the half, Lawrence did just enough to set up a 54 yard field goal attempt, but the kick sailed wide to the left and the Jaguars were down by three at the break.

Both teams began the second half kicking field goals, but Buffalo still remained ahead by three at the end of the third quarter. After a huge sack from Josh Hines-Allen to force a three-and-out, the Jaguars offense got the break they needed to take the lead again. On the fourth play of the final period, Lawrence threw a bullet to Parker Washington for the go-ahead score, but it didn’t take too long for Allen to give Buffalo the lead once again. With less than nine minutes left, Jacksonville not only needed to respond, but they had to ensure that Buffalo’s offense didn’t have a lot of time to score again. Fortunately, Lawrence answered the bell on a 10 play drive and found Travis Etienne wide open in the flat for a touchdown, but there were four minutes left on the clock. 

Right before the two minute warning, Allen threw an absolute dime over the middle to Brandin Cooks for a 36 yard completion all the way to the Jacksonville 20 yard line. The Jaguars defense might have been able to force a fourth down on that possession, but to nobody’s surprise, Allen rumbled forward for the first down and pushed the line all the way to the one yard line. On the very next play, he found the gap on the sneak once again and the Bills were ahead with less than a minute left. All Jacksonville had to do was get in field goal range to send the game into overtime, but on Lawrence’s first snap of the final drive, he threw an interception to Tre’Davious White and it officially sealed the deal. 

Like the other two playoff games, this was an outstanding grudge match between two well respected teams and it was amazing to see it come down to the very end. However, we all know the biggest reason why Buffalo won and it was because of their quarterback. Not a lot of people were giving him a chance to win. In fact, many were hoping he would get bounced out of the first round. Yet he did what we want him to do throughout the rest of the playoffs: put the team on his back to victory. With 310 yards of scrimmage and three total touchdowns, I would say that is a great performance. Now they have a tougher test ahead of them as they have to travel to the Mile High and take on the Denver Broncos on Saturday afternoon.

From Jacksonville’s perspective, it was a crushing way to lose. I thought they played a solid game for most of the afternoon, but there were a few costly drives that gave the Bills the momentum they needed to win. The first interception Lawrence threw led to three points, the fourth down stop got Buffalo a touchdown and the final interception ended the game. The Jaguars lost by three. It was still an amazing season from this team and I hope they can continue to build off their success next year, but what they did on Sunday afternoon will always sting.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ers (23) vs. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (19)

I never thought I would actually be livid at a defending Super Bowl champion but I guess there is a first time for everything. I knew they were not going to win the NFC again because I figured somebody was going to expose them. I just didn’t think it would be in the first round at home against a depleted 49ers team. You know what? It’s perfectly deserving for both sides. San Francisco’s offense might not have been flawless throughout the afternoon, but they started strong fast and when it was time for them to win in the fourth quarter, they succeeded. Philadelphia, on the other hand, completely fell flat in the second half. 

On just the second play of the game, Brock Purdy found Demarcus Robinson over the middle for an explosive 61 yard catch-and-run all the way to the 16 yard line. Not too long afterwards, the two connected again for the first touchdown and the 49ers were already ahead 7-0. However, the Eagles offense actually managed to string together a strong drive for once. On their second play from scrimmage, Saquon Barkley turned on the jets for a 29 yard run into field goal range and Dallas Goedert capped things off with a touchdown off the jet sweep. Then Jake Elliott missed another extra point, so San Francisco was still ahead by one. Both defenses tightened up and allowed 30 combined yards for the rest of the first quarter, but Philadelphia’s offense threw the next punch. After being pinned at his own six yard line, Jalen Hurts was able to march his guys down the field in 16 plays, chewing enough precious yards and time off the clock. However, they faced a critical fourth and two at the nine yard line. On their previous drive, they went for it at the 48 yard line, but Upton Stout broke up the pass. This time, Goedert snaked his way loose on the screen and gave the Eagles their first lead of the night halfway through the second quarter. The 49ers were able to cut their deficit to three on the next possession, but couldn’t get any points on the board to close the half and they trailed at the break. 

For the rest of the second half, Philadelphia’s offense unsurprisingly got neutralized. On six total drives, they barely cracked over 100 yards and scored six points off of two field goals from Jake Elliott. Purdy threw two interceptions directly to Quinyon Mitchell and Philly still couldn’t score a touchdown! The running game slowed down, AJ Brown became a total liability and Hurts completed just nine more passes on 19 attempts. The more they stalled out, the more tired their defense became. 

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Kyle Shanahan pulled a trick out of his hat and called for a reverse pass from Jauan Jennings to Christian McCaffrey. Just like Super Bowl 58, the two connected for an explosive touchdown and the 49ers took a one point lead. Philly eventually took the lead with eight minutes left in the game, but in what was an up-and-down performance, Purdy made more than enough positive plays down the stretch. Without Ricky Pearsall or George Kittle, he put the team on his back and showed up tremendously in the clutch. In 10 plays, San Francisco was marching and Philadelphia was starting to tap out. With less than three minutes to go, Purdy found McCaffrey open in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. Even though Eddy Pineiro missed the ensuing extra point, all the 49ers defense needed to do was make one last stop. 

Philadelphia’s offense managed to get all the way into the red zone, even after a horrific drop by Brown on a big third down play. Unfortunately, they ended up facing fourth and long with 45 seconds left on the clock and a near interception from Eric Kendricks on the last play sealed the deal. What a fitting way to end another season in free fall. When they won the title last year, I was proud of how they shut some nay-sayers up. I was happy for Nick Sirianni because he got a lot of flack about not being a leader of men. I was so proud of Jalen Hurts because he did what many said he couldn’t: beat Patrick Mahomes in a Super Bowl. I figured that a team with that much talent on both sides of the ball should have enough to win a championship. Now, it feels like I’m back in 2023 all over again. The biggest reason why they lost was simple. Instead of addressing the obvious changes that needed to be made, the Eagles stood pat and pretended everything was fine. Who cares if the offense is absolutely horrible and our best players are not being utilized properly? Kevin Patullo is doing the best he can! Well guess what, he saw the writing on the wall and got predictably canned at the end of the year. AJ Brown, the superstar wide receiver that complained about his lack of production this year, laid an absolute dud in one of their biggest games of the year. If he gets traded this offseason, it would not be a shock to me. I won’t blame the defense too much for their demise, even though they fell apart in the fourth quarter, because this is a unit that can only do so much. 

San Francisco: well done. Even with all of the injuries they have had to deal with this season, they played with a tremendous amount of grit and tenacity from start to finish. However, next week is where it gets really tricky because they have to take on the Seattle Seahawks next Saturday night. Is this game winnable? Definitely. Yet, just two weeks ago, the 49ers offense only scored three points and their defense had a very difficult time slowing down the run. This time, both sides of the ball need to step up in a huge way. If they can play the way they did in the fourth quarter, San Francisco can win by more than 10 points. Yet, you could make the same argument the other way around. Sam Darnold might not be the quarterback you trust the most, but if you ask him to manage the game and not turn the ball over, he can do just that. It will allow the defense to lead the way from start to finish and the offense won’t have a lot of pressure on their shoulders. All I have to say are two words to both teams: good luck.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (16) vs. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (3)

This might have been the first playoff game decided by double digits, but the Patriots were only ahead of the Chargers by six entering the fourth quarter. Sunday Night Football ended up being a sloppy defensive slugfest between two teams eagerly desperate for their first playoff victory since 2018. Entering this game, both sides were given their fair share of skepticism. New England might have been the two seed, but many said they feasted off a cakewalk schedule and hadn’t played anybody notably tough on their schedule. Los Angeles might have an elite quarterback, a strong defense and a well respected head coach. However, Justin Herbert has yet to win a game in the playoffs, so there was a massive chip he needed to get off his shoulder for more respectability. 

If I’m being objective, this was not a great game for Drake Maye. He got sacked five times and turned the ball over twice. If you told me that, I’d say the Chargers had this one under wraps. However, it didn’t appear that way. After Maye threw an interception to Daiyon Henley at the 10 yard line off the tip from Teair Tart, LA  was immediately in a first and goal situation. Not only did they quickly face fourth down, but Jim Harbaugh kept the offense on the field on fourth down, yet the pass to Keenan Allen was completely overthrown. The Patriots got a huge break off the turnover and their offense had a better time moving the ball, yet they failed to finish with touchdowns. Instead, Andy Borregales scored the first nine New England points with three made field goals, while Cam Dicker made a chip shot kick of his own midway through the second quarter. 

On his first drive of the second half, Maye drove his offense all the way into the red zone on what could have been a long touchdown drive, but lost the football on a strip sack from Odafe Oweh and gave the Chargers another takeaway. Yet Herbert only ran four plays and they were forced to punt the ball right back. Entering the fourth quarter, it was very simple. Whoever scored a touchdown first was going to win. Take a wild guess as to who you think accomplished that mission.

On first and ten at the 28 yard line, with less than 10 minutes left, Maye sprinted out to his left and heaved a beautiful dime down the field to the former Charger Hunter Henry for the first trip to the end zone all night and the Patriots were now ahead 16-3. From that point on, New England’s defense dialed up the pressure and Herbert got completely beaten up.

Once again, it was a one man show for the LA offense. Herbert might have only thrown for 159 yards, but he was the team’s leading rusher with 57 rushing yards. The worst statistic of the night? He got sacked six times. I can’t say I am too surprised because his offensive line is a battered mess, but to be fair, he did not do himself any favors. They were one for ten on third down, the leading receiver was Ladd McConkey with 32 yards and they failed to score in the second half. That Chargers defense did what they needed to do to try to win the game, but the offense completely failed to respond and it is exactly why they lost on Sunday night. Make that another addition to the organization’s legacy of failure.

The Patriots might not have been clicking on all cylinders, but their offense showed up at the best time and their defense was flat out sensational. The world finally got to see how dangerous this team can be for the rest of the playoffs, but there is still a long way to go. Next week, they have to face the Houston Texans, who just happen to have the best defense in football. For New England to make it back to the AFC Championship for the first time in nearly a decade, their offense cannot find themselves behind the sticks on every drive. They are the ones that need to step up the most because if they do, then I believe their defense can take care of the rest. With the snow coming down at Gillette Stadium, the Patriots should have the advantage, but there will not be any room for error.

HOUSTON TEXANS (30) vs. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (6)

It shouldn’t come as a surprise when you see that this was the most depressing game of the entire Wild Card slate. I knew Pittsburgh was going to get completely outmatched by a strong defensive Texans team, but I didn’t think I was going to witness an entire team falling apart. Let me put this in perspective.

CJ Stroud turned the ball over three times, the offense only scored two touchdowns on nine drives, yet the Steelers still failed to score a touchdown for 60 minutes. Their only six points came off of two field goals from Chris Boswell and in the second half, they were completely shut out. DK Metcalf came back from his two-game suspension, but after catching two passes on the first two drives, he was only targeted three more times. Pittsburgh went two for fourteen on third down, they picked up just 13 first downs all night long, they only totaled 175 yards and Aaron Rodgers looked flat out defeated in quite possibly the final game of his career. He got sacked four times, he gave up a scoop-and-score in the fourth quarter that allowed Houston to put the game out of reach and his final pass attempt was a fitting pick six to Calen Bullock that made the score 30-6. 

Houston’s offense wasn’t great at all on Monday night, but they did succeed in two areas that kept them ahead for most of the game. For one thing, they totaled 164 yards on the ground, 112 of them from Woody Marks. When they took the field ahead 17-6, the Texans simply forced the Steelers defense to tap out and it was the rookie running back that put in the early dagger with three minutes left in the game. Number two, Christian Kirk ended up having his best performance of the season. With Nico Collins out due to a concussion and everybody else in the passing game slowed down, the former Cardinal and Jaguar caught eight passes for 144 yards and was responsible for the only passing touchdown of the entire night. The third and more important one was the third down rate. Even though they scored just 14 points, they were 10 for 15 in that area, while Pittsburgh looked flat out pathetic. All I have to say is if Houston somehow gets past the second round, they can mess around and win the Super Bowl. However, let’s see what they do on Sunday afternoon against the New England Patriots.

You thought I was done, didn’t you? Nope! From Pittsburgh’s perspective, this was a loss everybody saw coming from a mile away, but all it did was delay the inevitable. 24 hours after the game, head coach Mike Tomlin announced that he was officially stepping away from the team after 19 seasons. If I am being completely honest, it was time for this to happen. If there is a way I can describe his tenure with the Steelers, it was a very successful one. In just his second year, he gave the organization its sixth Super Bowl title. In all of the years he has been the head coach, not once did he have a losing season. However, when you look at the last 15+ years, the results have not been there. The last time they won a playoff game was in January of 2017 against Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs. When Ben Roethlisberger retired, there was no contingency plan for the offense and all it did was spiral the team into mediocrity. There is no question that Tomlin deserves his bust in Canton, but something needed to change. This roster needs a complete reset from top to bottom and I feel it was long overdue. With all of that being said, this shouldn’t be a day for Steelers fans to be angry, even though it is hard not to feel that way. Be thankful for all of the positive memories and good times throughout that journey. You might not be good for the next few years, but it’s honestly for the best. Thank you for everything, Coach. We’ll see you in Canton very soon.