After the first four games of Wild Card Weekend ended with double-digit wins, fans were praying for a close game.
The Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers heard that plea and played their best game of the postseason so far on Sunday night with a bang, or more accurately, with a bang End of the weekend.
Washington’s last-second win was the first for a road team as the favorites mostly overwhelmed their wild-card opponents.
Two of the favorites are the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, both of whom did well against inferior opponents on Sunday and showed why they were the ones to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February. Two popular choices.
With conference play coming to an end, here’s what we learned from Sunday’s three games.
Commander 23, Pirate 20
Daniels proves why he’s no ordinary rookie
All season long, Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has shown composure beyond his years.
But in his first playoff appearance, when the lights are brightest, can he really continue his regular-season success?
After all, postseason rookie quarterbacks have a combined 5-17 record in their first postseason road games.
Daniels seemed unaffected by the playoff atmosphere, leading the Commanders to the franchise’s first playoff win in 6,945 days and showing why Washington’s future is finally looking very bright.
“It means a lot, man,” Daniels said of the win. “You can see all the fans here, man, they’re waiting for us. They’ve been waiting for this moment and this feeling for a long time, so I’m happy for them.”
Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner finished the game with 304 total yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a touchdown run by Terry McLaurin in the fourth quarter when the Commanders Four points behind.
The play-callers finished the game with zero turnovers and zero punts, something that has only happened three times in NFL history with a rookie at QB, According to OptaStats. When were the other two times? Daniels in week two, Daniels in week three.
Daniels will now face off against the top-seeded Lions, but with his first playoff win and an Offensive Rookie of the Year award on the line, the 24-year-old center appears to have a bright future.
Daniels will get most of the headlines in this win, but had the Buccaneers not made some simple mistakes, this could have been a celebratory moment for Tampa Bay.
Two relatively common mistakes cost the Buccaneers late in the game. The first was a fumbled pass to wide receiver Jalen McMillan that ended with Daniels passing to McLaurin. What followed was a seemingly chaotic quick count on third-and-1 in the red zone, forcing the Buccaneers to field a game-tying field goal instead of a potential go-ahead touchdown.
To win in the NFL playoffs, you have to have good fundamentals. The Buccaneers didn’t, and now they’ll have a long offseason to think about what could have been.
Bills’ balanced offense wears down Broncos defense
Who needs a No. 1 receiver anyway?
One of the biggest question marks for the Bills entering the season is how they will handle the loss of star wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
The Bills have proven time and time again this season that losing Diggs is an overblown storyline, and that continues in Sunday’s wild-card game against the Broncos.
Josh Allen completes passes to eight different receivers, and James Cook becomes the first in the postseason since Thurman Thomas in 1995 Among the Bills running backs who rushed for more than 100 yards, Buffalo created the longest possession time of the season (41:43).
“I don’t think there’s one thing that outweighs the other. We just figured it out and performed well,” Allen said after the game. “At the end of the day, we just wanted to come out and play our best football, and I felt like we did that today.”
After a shaky first half, the Bills’ versatility against the O’s was too much for the Broncos’ talented defense in the final two quarters to seal a convincing victory.
Early in Allen’s career, he was known for being incredible performers but also prone to making some head-scratching mistakes. Now in his seventh season, one of Allen’s best qualities is his ability to easily take what the defense throws at him.
Don’t get us wrong, he’s still one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL today. But he’ll have to be careful not to get into a superhuman showdown with Lamar Jackson next weekend in a heavyweight showdown with the Baltimore Ravens.
Because as Allen will surely prove, numbers don’t matter in the playoffs, only winning percentage does.
Broncos get reality check after surprising season
Despite the loss, the Broncos are still considered a success this season.
With a rookie quarterback and second-year head coach, Denver is in the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Sunday was more of a “we’re glad to be here” moment.
The opening touchdown might have led Broncos fans to believe they could pull off an upset, but it would be their only score of the game.
After that, reality began to set in, and the more experienced Bills imposed their will over the remaining three quarters.
With Allen, Jackson and Patrick Mahomes all playing in the AFC for years to come, the Broncos got a firsthand look at the level they need to play at on Sunday.
“I’m really proud of these guys. We’ve overcome a lot of things that didn’t really count in a lot of games,” rookie quarterback Bo Nix said after the game. “But getting to the playoffs is a special moment for this team. That’s something we can build on. … Our goals are changing.”
The Eagles advance based on strength
Despite the 29th-ranked passing offense, the Eagles have won 12 of their past 13 regular-season games with a dominant rushing attack and a No. 1 defense.
Both were on full display in Sunday’s wild-card win over the Packers.
The Hawks challenged Jordan Love three times in the first quarter and only gave up one first down, eventually leading 10-0.
Offensively, Saquon Barkley was the bright spot. Although Barkley came close to breaking the all-time rushing record in one season, he wasn’t brought in to set a personal record; he was signed to help the Eagles win the playoffs.
So far, so good, with Barkley finishing with a game-high 126 yards on the ground.
The Eagles know where their bread is buttered, and having a spot of their own in the playoffs goes a long way.
AJ Brown Channel “Excellence Within”
The biggest winner of Wild Card Weekend may be writer Jim Murphy.
WR AJ Brown went viral for flipping through Murphy’s “Inner Excellence” during the Eagles’ win.
This book is designed to help individuals “train your mind for extraordinary performance and your best life.”
Brown’s performance on Sunday was anything but extraordinary, as he only had one catch for 10 yards.
But the Eagles’ No. 1 receiver said he brings the book to every game to help him get through the highs and lows.
“If I score a touchdown or a pass goes down, I refocus,” Brown said after the game. “I always go back to the beginning of the book. It states that if you can keep a clear mind and remember that nothing else matters, a clear conscience, nothing, negative or positive, matters. You are willing to take risks. It also Say, if you’re humble, you won’t be embarrassed.”
Brown certainly wouldn’t be embarrassed if the book helped him win his first Super Bowl ring.
Too many turnovers and injuries for the Packers to overcome
To win a playoff game on the road as a seventh seed, a lot of things have to go right.
A lot went wrong for the Packers on Sunday.
The game started from the kick-off. They made a mistake on the kick-off and found themselves 0-7 behind before they even blinked.
Love’s three interceptions didn’t help, nor did a series of injuries to Green Bay’s offense.
The Packers have lost wide receiver Christian Watson, their two remaining receivers, Romeo Dobbs and Jaden Reed, both to injury, as well as their standout left guard, Elgton Jenkins. .
The combination of mistakes and injuries could prove too much for even the best players to overcome, let alone a seventh seed against the league’s No. 1 defense.
