NFL Playoffs Briefing: The stars were on display during Wild Card Weekend
2025-01-15
Category: sports

Editor's Note: Throughout the NFL playoffs, Chris Myers and his research team analyze upcoming matchups, while providing news, notes, and nuggets for inside access to the information an NFL broadcaster uses to prepare for calling a game. THOUGHTS ON WILD CARD WEEKEND The AFC divisional round field is the same as last year, although the opponents are scrambled.&nbsp;In the 2023 postseason, Houston went to Baltimore and Kansas City faced the Bills in Buffalo. In the NFC, the Detroit Lions are the only team to return.&nbsp;The other three divisional contestants will be different no matter who prevails in Glendale, Ariz., on Monday night. Home teams are 4-1 in wild-card games so far this postseason – and there really isn't a "home" team Monday night in Arizona.&nbsp;The Vikings-Rams game is the second non-Super Bowl game in NFL postseason history to be played at a neutral site.&nbsp;Who knew that the first was the 1936 NFL Championship Game?&nbsp; George Preston Marshall, owner of the Boston franchise he would soon move to Washington, was not happy with ticket sales in Boston, so the game was moved to the Polo Grounds in New York, where the Packers prevailed 21-6 before a crowd of nearly 30,000. This is the fifth season since the NFL expanded the playoffs to seven teams in each conference.&nbsp;With losses from the Broncos and Packers over the weekend, the No. 2 seeds are 9-1 on Wild Card Weekend.&nbsp; The exception came last year when Green Bay crushed the Cowboys in Dallas, 48-32. (4) Houston Texans 32, (5) Los Angeles Chargers 12 Houston advanced to the divisional round for the sixth time since 2011. The bad news is they are 0-5 when they get there. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw four interceptions Saturday against Houston, after just three all season.&nbsp; With 19 picks in the regular season, the Texans were one of the better teams in that regard. If you thought you didn't see many 32-12 final scores, you were correct.&nbsp;It was a Scorigami, the 1,191st unique score in NFL history. ONE THING WE LIKED FROM THE TELECAST:&nbsp;The CBS graphic after the game proclaiming C.J. Stroud as one of five quarterbacks to win a playoff game in each of their first two years.&nbsp; The list includes our FOX colleague Mark Sanchez.  CHRIS MYERS' ANALYSIS: "The Texans won that game on defense, and head coach DeMeco Ryans is the primary architect.&nbsp;He put forth a masterful defensive game plan and made key adjustments when necessary. We spent a lot of time with Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud in their first year — and it was quick to see that the Texans hit home runs with both.&nbsp;Ryans is a fatherly, calming but firm, force as a head coach, kind of a blend of Tony Dungy and Pete Carroll.&nbsp;He trusted us as broadcasters in our meetings and he trusts his young offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and Stroud. With playoff wins in their first two seasons with a young roster, the Texans are doing just fine. "As for Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert, that game was a clunker (with the help of two key drops from tight end Will Dissly). When we had a Chargers game earlier this year, we learned how confident the team was in rookie Ladd McConkey.&nbsp;He showed why with his record-setting game against Houston, but at the moment, he seems to be the only reliable receiver on the roster. Until his next opportunity, Herbert now has the tag of a regular-season star who hasn't been up to the task in the postseason.&nbsp;But he still has time to overcome that label, just as Lamar Jackson can by playing well Sunday against Josh Allen and the Bills." (3) Baltimore Ravens 28, (6) Pittsburgh Steelers 14 Even as Chargers-Texans had a unique score, Steelers-Ravens was an old-fashioned game with six touchdowns and six extra points. The Steelers closed out the season losing five in a row.&nbsp;Pittsburgh has won 80 regular season games in the past eight years – and gone 0-5 in the playoffs in that span. The last playoff win was January 15, 2017 and came by a score of 18-16 against a Chiefs team quarterbacked by Alex Smith. Pittsburgh averaged just 14.3 points per game over the final four weeks of the season and allowed 27.3 points per game.&nbsp;So, Saturday night was just an average recent game for the Steelers.  ONE THING WE LIKED FROM THE TELECAST: Prime going to break after a late Steelers' TD with "Living On a Prayer" by Bon Jovi. MYERS' ANALYSIS: "Watching Saturday night, I just never felt the Steelers could win this game. Pittsburgh's offense is just not at a playoff level. "The Ravens' offense appears so simple, hand it off to Derrick Henry and let Lamar Jackson keep it some of the time.&nbsp;But under offensive coordinator Todd Monken, it has evolved and there are creative wrinkles, both in the run game and throwing passes off of what looks like a run. Baltimore has improved some of the holes in its defense since the start of the year, but giving up the big pass play could cost them against better quarterbacks like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes.&nbsp;I would be surprised if they can hold the Bills to under 20 points." (2) Buffalo Bills 31, (7) Denver Broncos 7 &nbsp; This is the fifth straight year that the Bills have advanced to the divisional round – never by benefit of a bye, always with a wild-card win.&nbsp;They beat the Ravens in the 2020 COVID year, then have lost the past three, including home games to Cincinnati and Kansas City the previous two seasons.&nbsp; This will only be the second postseason meeting between the Bills and Ravens.&nbsp;The other was the 2020 divisional affair that started Lamar Jackson's reputation as a playoff under-performer.&nbsp;Buffalo won 17-3, with Taron Jackson returning a Jackson interception 101 yards for the second Bills touchdown in the third quarter. This year's Ravens have now scored at least 16 points in all 18 games, 20 or more points in 16 of them, including a 35-10 romp over the Bills in Baltimore on September 29. Since losing to the Eagles on December 1, the Ravens now have five straight double-figure wins. The Bills have now scored 30+ points in 10 straight games against teams not named the Patriots (24 in a win over New England, 16 in the Week 18 loss). ONE THING WE LIKED FROM THE TELECAST: CBS did a great job covering the 50-yard field goal attempt by Denver's Will Lutz that clanged very audibly off the upright.&nbsp; They had many angles, including a camera that appeared to be locked in on the goalpost. MYERS' ANALYSIS: "It's always a pleasure to hear Jim Nantz, a smooth comfortable listen.&nbsp;Congratulations on his 500th game – all with CBS. He is the second announcer to do so in the play-by-play role with one network, joining FOX's Kenny Albert.&nbsp;It is a record for CBS, as Pat Summerall was an analyst before switching to play-by-play. "As for the game, the Broncos started well and actually had a shot to tie it before halftime.&nbsp;But after the field goal miss off the upright, the Bills had total domination in the second half.&nbsp;Josh Allen is playing so well as a passer, runner and field general.&nbsp;What a matchup it should be with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Sunday night." (2) Philadelphia Eagles 22, (7) Green Bay Packers 10 The NFC playoffs version of Wild Card Weekend began after the AFC finished, and the Eagles continued the trend of home teams scoring double-digit victories. This is the 11th consecutive season that either the Eagles or Packers (but never both) have advanced to the divisional round: 2014 – GB2015 – GB2016 – GB2017 – PHI2018 – PHI2019 – GB2020 – GB2021 – GB2022 – PHI2023 – GB2024 - PHI However, it is the first time that either team has reached the divisional round by defeating the other. The Eagles are now tied for sixth (with the Rams) with 26 postseason victories, while the Packers (37) remain one behind the 49ers for the most of any team (the Patriots also have 37 wins).  ONE THING WE LIKED FROM THE TELECAST: FOX found Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown reading a book on the sideline. He says he has done it before, that "Inner Excellence" by Jim Murphy inspires him, but it was the first time a camera found him. CHRIS MYERS' ANALYSIS: "It was an old-school win for the Eagles. They got a turnover and touchdown at the start, then ran the ball hard while the defense took over and never let up.&nbsp;Were the Packers not ready to play, or did the Eagles just make it look that way?&nbsp; "It's a sound method for victory and with that great offensive line, you can't blame them for running extensively.&nbsp; Unless a team shows they can stop them, they'll keep handing it off and let their suffocating defense continue to do their thing. But is it enough to win three more games?&nbsp;At some point, they could find themselves involved in more of a shootout and will the Eagles be able to get A.J. Brown involved and open up the offense successfully?" (6) Washington Commanders 23, (3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 It had been 19 years since the Washington franchise scored a postseason win.&nbsp;That last victory also happened at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, 17-10 over the Buccaneers.&nbsp;Joe Gibbs was the Washington coach and it came despite Quarterback Mark Brunell only passing for 41 yards.&nbsp;The next week, they lost to Seattle. Since then, Washington had made the playoffs four times — and lost on Wild Card Weekend in each with a different coach and quarterback (2007, Gibbs and Todd Collins; 2012, Mike Shanahan and Robert Griffin III; 2015, Jay Gruden and Kirk Cousins; 2020, Ron Rivera and Taylor Heinicke).&nbsp;  MYERS' ANALYSIS: "We have seen this script before as we called Jayden Daniels' first NFL win in Week 2 when, in a tie game with the Giants, he led the Commanders on a long drive to a walk-off field goal.&nbsp;Sunday night, as in that game with the Giants, Washington did not punt, did not turn the ball over and limited the game to just seven full possessions. "One of the reasons Daniels performs so well in clutch situations is his intensive training using an advanced form of virtual reality, something that started at LSU and continues with the Commanders.&nbsp;He even programmed offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's play calling into the headset, then speeds up the defense beyond regular speed.&nbsp; When he gets to crunch time in real games, everything looks slower than what he has trained on. "The Commanders are somewhat fortunate to have formed the marriage of Kingsbury and Daniels.&nbsp;He had not worked previously with Dan Quinn or general manager Adam Peters and was not Washington's first target for the OC position.&nbsp;Kingsbury was not called back after first interviews with the Bears and Raiders.&nbsp;Now, with Quinn leading the defense and organizing the whole team, Kingsbury can focus his considerable talents on the offense. "Quinn is a big believer in complimentary football and likes the way his offense chews up time to keep the defense fresh.&nbsp;They don't dominate the way some defenses do, but they play hard and are opportunistic.&nbsp;They might not STOP Detroit in its tracks, but they could come up with enough big plays to keep things close next week." "An under-the-radar contributor to Washington's success is back-up QB Marcus Mariota, who has also flourished in his own brief action in Kingsbury's system.&nbsp;Kingsbury told me earlier this season that he sought another former first-round QB to pair with Daniels.&nbsp;Mariota has seen it all as another second overall pick and he has been a wise and mature addition to the quarterback room.&nbsp;He, Daniels and Kingsbury are a very harmonious, positive offensive team and the offense has been very well crafted to take advantage of Daniels' skill set." (4) Los Angeles Rams 27, (5) Minnesota Vikings 9 Another disappointing game for the neutral fan, as the Rams led 24-3 at halftime and coasted home to earn the trip to Philadelphia.&nbsp;All but one of the six wild-card games were decided by at least 12 points. After scoring at least 20 points in 15 of their first 16 games (and winning the one where they didn't), the Vikings only totaled 18 points in their final two contests.&nbsp;Minnesota scored one touchdown in 22 possessions in the regular season finale and Monday night. The Rams tied the NFL's postseason record by recording nine sacks of quarterback Sam Darnold.&nbsp;They were the sixth team to reach nine. Amazingly, the last time it happened, the Bengals and Joe Burrow beat the Titans, 19-16, in a divisional round game in January 2022.&nbsp; Victory was not in the cards for Darnold and the Vikings. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford now has five wins as starting quarterback in the last four postseasons, only Patrick Mahomes with nine has more (Joe Burrow also has five) in that span.&nbsp; At 36, he is the oldest QB other than Tom Brady with a postseason win in that span. The Rams have now advanced to the divisional round for the third time in five seasons and the fourth time in seven years. The Vikings' last postseason win was on January 5, 2020, an overtime wild-card victory over the Saints.&nbsp;They are 0-2 in the postseason under coach Kevin O'Connell. ONE THING WE LIKED FROM THE TELECAST:&nbsp;ESPN did a good job of balancing proper acknowledgment of the special circumstances of moving the game and the ongoing fires in Los Angeles without distracting from the game telecast. MYERS' ANALYSIS: "The Vikings played like the team that was distracted by events in their community, as the Rams were quicker and more focused throughout.&nbsp;A star was born in 38-year-old Chris Shula, the Rams defensive coordinator and grandson of Don Shula, as his defense played with a hungry intensity.&nbsp;They put constant pressure on Sam Darnold and when they did allow a completion, they kept it from doing too much damage.&nbsp;They stretch, but don't snap. "Matthew Stafford is playing at a high level and he has a group of weapons like Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua, who are testament to the Rams drafting skill in the later rounds.&nbsp;The Rams now have 10 wins since returning from the bye on October 20.&nbsp;Only two teams have more, but one is the Eagles, who they meet on Sunday." Chris Myers is an Emmy Award-winning play-by-play announcer, reporter and studio host for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @The_ChrisMyers.