This weekend’s wildcard games were kicked off by an afternoon matchup between the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC. The game was set to go either way with a one possession game at halftime. The Texans led 10-6 with all ten of their points coming with one minute remaining in the half. From that point forward the Chargers collapsed, as Justin Herbert threw a “pick six” (interception returned for a touchdown) to close the third quarter giving the Texans a 14-point lead. The final score resulted in a devastating blowout loss for the Chargers 32-12 with Justin Herbert throwing for four interceptions which is more than he threw the entire 17 game regular season.
The second and final game of the day was an accustomed matchup between the Steelers and Ravens. The teams already faced off twice in the regular season, splitting two games. From the beginning the Ravens were favorites and rightly so they controlled the entire game and jumped up 21-0 by halftime. The powerful backfield between Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson tallied almost 300 yards combined on the ground. They handed the Steelers their fifth straight loss with a final of 28-14.
The Bills played the Broncos in a matchup that seemed one sided with a heavily favored Buffalo team playing in front of their home crowd. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix got off to a hot start throwing a touchdown to Troy Franklin which gave the Broncos a 7-0 lead. From then the Bills were able to settle into their game plan and dominate the Broncos by attacking them through the air and on the ground. As expected, Denver lost, and the final was an embarrassing 31-7.
The afternoon game between the Eagles and Packers featured the returning of Eagles quarterback, Jalen Hurts back from Injury. Although his presence was not evident in this game, he managed to limit his mistakes, which allowed his team to come away with a 22-10 victory. They maintained an early lead after getting up ten to nothing in the first quarter with the help of Saquon Barkley and the offensive line. The defense also dominated the Packers, only allowing ten points while having three interceptions.
The last matchup of the day between the Commanders and the Buccaneers displayed the closest game, as there were three lead changes. The teams were also tied at ten and 20 throughout the game, but by the end the Commanders offense marched down the field and set up a field goal for Zane Gonzalez. He barely got the ball through the uprights by ricocheting it off the pole and in. Both offenses played well, but when it came down to the final drive the rookie, Jayden Daniels, was able to deliver a final time. This gave birth to the Commander’s first playoff win since 2006 where they also defeated the Buccaneers in the wildcard.
The final game, played on Monday night between the Rams and Vikings displayed a blowout. The game was played in Arizona due to wildfires in Los Angeles, but losing home field advantage was no problem for the Rams as they passed the Vikings with ease in a 27-9 win. Veteran Matthew Stafford was on point for the Rams, but the star of the show was the young Los Angeles defense. Despite being young and cheap the Los Angeles defense mustered together nine sacks which ties the NFL postseason record. Along with their sacks Cobie Durant also had an interception, and Jared Verse returned a Sam Darnold fumble for a touchdown. The Rams not only won this game for their team, but they successfully passed the Vikings for their city of Los Angeles in these moments of despair.
Now that the wildcard round has been decided, 4 divisional matchups will take place on MLK weekend. On Saturday, the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes in company will take on the Texans after their bye week. Looking to win their third Super Bowl in a row, the Chiefs will first have to defeat the 10-7 Texans. Andrew Nimboorkar, Sophomore at Hingham High School mentioned, “Patrick Mahomes is the greatest Quarterback in the league without a doubt and will easily dominate the Texan’s defense giving the Chiefs a blowout win.” His confidence in the Chiefs and Mahomes is high, but the Texans defense looked incredible against the Chargers. In the National League, the Lions received the bye and now look to defeat the Commanders who are coming off their wildcard victory under their rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels. Despite the Lions looking like the clear favorite on paper, the Commanders hungrily search for their seventh straight win and a trip to the NFC Championship.
Sunday engenders another doubleheader with the first game being between the Rams and Eagles. The Rams look to continue their run for the city of Los Angeles while the Eagles also look to come through for Philadelphia after a disappointing blowout to Tampa Bay last postseason. Next, in a matchup that could go either way between the Ravens and Bills, both teams look to punch their ticket to the AFC Championship. The game will be played in Buffalo which serves as a huge advantage for the Bills, but it may not matter with how dominant this Ravens run game has been.
A closing, inspirational remark from Jake Araujo, a freshman at Hingham High School, “The best teams are not the ones who can come through and win games in the regular season, they are the ones that come to the playoffs ready and are determined to win games.” Only one round into the playoffs and the true contenders of the league are starting to come out. It will be interesting to see which team comes out on top. The Chiefs are searching for their third Super Bowl in a row while the Texans search for their first ever Super Bowl appearance and win. The Lions also search for their first appearance in the Super Bowl, and the Commanders have not made an appearance in a Super Bowl since 1991. The Rams look for another Super Bowl after winning in 2021, like the Eagles who have not won since 2017. Lastly, the Bills search for their first ever Super Bowl while the Ravens won about a decade ago in 2012.
