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The NFL’s Wild Card Weekend is almost in the books (one more game tonight!). Here’s what has transpired so far through five games:
➤ Houston Texans 32, Los Angeles Chargers 12 — C.J. Stroud has the Texans in the divisional playoff round in consecutive seasons. Their reward? A Saturday afternoon date against the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. It was a dismal performance for the Chargers, whose quarterback Justin Herbert – who threw three interceptions all seasons – had four against Houston.
What’s next for the Chargers?
➤ Baltimore Ravens 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 14 — Behind Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, the Ravens ran all over the Steelers for 299 rushing yards (the Steelers only had 29 yards on the ground). It was a dominant performance by a bona fide Super Bowl contender over a struggling team that lost five straight after a 10-3 start to the season.
What’s next for the Steelers?
➤ Buffalo Bills 31, Denver Broncos 7 — After giving up an early touchdown to the Broncos, the Bills took control and cruised to victory. This result sets up a massive divisional playoff game for the Bills against the Ravens, pitting the top two contenders for MVP honors – Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson – against each other in an enticing postseason matchup.
What’s next for the Broncos?
➤ Philadelphia Eagles 22, Green Bay Packers 10 — The ailing and error-prone Packers were no match for the Eagles, who won an ugly playoff game that won’t get many replays on NFL Network. Jalen Hurts returned for the Eagles after suffering a concussion against the Commanders on Dec. 22, and did just enough to keep the Eagles in front of the Packers all game long.
What’s next for the Packers?
➤ Washington Commanders 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 — Quarterback Jayden Daniels’ sensational rookie season will continue through at least another week after a late-second escape in Tampa. The final drive to victory that was led by Daniels was capped by a doink off the uprights by kicker Zane Gonzalez. For Washington, it was the franchise’s first playoff win in 19 years.
What’s next for the Buccaneers?
But, wait, there’s more wild-card playoff football:
➤ Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams (in Arizona), Monday 8 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN) — The devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area necessitated the relocation of this playoff game from SoFi Stadium to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. While the Vikings – under the guidance of vagabond QB Sam Darnold – are looking for their first playoff victory since the 2019 season, the Rams are three years removed from their Super Bowl title run.
Key storylines from Wild Card Weekend
➤ Winners and losers: While Josh Allen was efficient in the Bills’ wild-card win over the Broncos, Jordan Love and the Packers’ passing game fizzled out against the Eagles.
➤ Eagles’ sloppy playoff win surfaces plenty of problem areas: The Eagles are moving on to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. But there will be no ‘Victory Monday’ for a team with plenty to clean up.
➤ A.J. Brown’s sideline reading goes viral: Brown doesn’t have a Goodreads account or belong to a book club. However, as FOX broadcast cameras showed, the Eagles’ star receiver does enjoy reading.
➤ Curtains for Steel Curtain? The Steelers, who’d hoped to climb the stairway to Super Bowl title seven some time ago, are now 16 years removed from their most recent Lombardi Trophy and only seem to be receding behind teams like the Bills, Chiefs and division-rival Ravens.
➤ Packers’ lack of explosive talent on offense was glaring: The Packers offense was seemingly brimming with young talent in August, but regressed down the home stretch for a team that had much higher hopes than bowing out of the wild-card round of the playoffs.
➤ Patriots hire new coach: In one of the weekend’s least surprising developments, the Patriots hired Mike Vrabel as the team’s next head coach. How Vrabel fares could hinge on one crucial factor, Jarrett Bell writes.
NFL playoff schedule
WILD CARD WEEKEND
Saturday
Houston Texans 32, Los Angeles Chargers 12
Baltimore Ravens 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 14
Sunday
Buffalo Bills 31, Denver Broncos 7
Philadelphia Eagles 22, Green Bay Packers 10
Washington Commanders 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20
Monday
Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams (in Arizona), 8 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN)
DIVISIONAL ROUND
Saturday, Jan. 18
Houston Texas at Kansas City Chiefs, 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)
Sunday, Jan. 19
Los Angeles Rams or Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles, 3 p.m. ET (NBC)
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills, 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sunday, Jan. 26
AFC championship game, time TBD (CBS)
NFC championship game, time TBD (FOX)
SUPER BOWL 59
Sunday, Feb. 9
AFC champion vs. NFC champion (in New Orleans), 6:30 p.m. ET (FOX)
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