The NFL Put the Wild in Wild-Card Weekend
The NFL Wild-Card Weekend is complete, with just two games being decided by more than one score. Otherwise, it's been an astonishingly good weekend of football. All but those same matchups featured the game-winning score with roughly three minutes or less remaining. It was an outrageous weekend of football.
Wild-Card Weekend showcases NFL parity
NFL Wild-Card Weekend isn't totally over yet. The Houston Texans visit the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight at 8:00 pm to wrap it all up. The Texans are red-hot, but the Steelers haven't lost a home Monday game in decades. It should be another good contest.
Saturday
It all started with the Carolina Panthers hosting the Los Angeles Rams. If anyone thought the Panthers didn't deserve to host this game, they didn't care. The atmosphere was unbelievable, and they got Cam Newton to come back for the first time since 2021.
Then, they put on a show. Double-digit underdogs, the Panthers showed why they beat the Rams in Week 13. They had a rough game, going 0-3 on fourth down, throwing an interception on a promising drive, and fumbling a punt return. Yet, despite that, they still fought back.
In fact, after Bryce Young's electric second-half performance, it looked like the Panthers might genuinely win. They had made Matthew Stafford look mortal for long stretches, but he delivered one final knockout blow drive. Still, the Panthers inspired everyone with their effort.
Then, a historic comeback was actually completed. The Chicago Bears hosted the rival Green Bay Packers and fell behind 21-3 at halftime, with Green Bay getting the ball back. Chicago's been in these situations before, but not in the playoffs.
Still, Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson carried them back, and Williams made a few otherworldly plays to keep the game alive. They took a late lead and withstood one final 30-yard pass to the end zone to escape victorious for their first playoff win since 2010.
Sunday
Sunday began with another bang. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills emerged victorious after going on the road and fending off the Jacksonville Jaguars. They tied the NFL record for fourth-quarter lead changes. That record was set in the Panthers-Rams matchup, ironically.
Trevor Lawrence hit Travis Etienne, his college teammate, for a go-ahead touchdown with a few minutes left. Then, Josh Allen responded. He found Brandin Cooks for a huge gain before being "tush pushed" to the one-yard line from outside the 10. One play later, he gave the Bills the lead.
With Cam Little, who has the two longest field goals in NFL history, this game seemed destined for overtime. Instead, a deflected pass on Lawrence's first attempt of the drive was intercepted, and the Bills won by three.
Then, the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers had an ugly game with two Brock Purdy interceptions, but Kyle Shanahan got the best of Vic Fangio for the second time ever. He used a trick play touchdown pass from Jajuan Jennings to Christian McCaffrey to help.
The Eagles drove down, but they needed a touchdown to win, and on fourth down, Erick Kendricks knocked away the pass and knocked out the defending champions.
Sunday night's finale was the worst game of the slate. Defense reigned supreme, as the New England Patriots took a 6-3 lead at halftime over the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers did not score again in the game.
Drake Maye, the potential MVP this year, struggled against a very good defense, but his defense was electric. The Chargers admitted after that they had no clue what the defense was going to do on a given play, and it showed. Maye's late TD pass to Hunter Henry, a former Charger, sealed it. The Pats won 16-3.
Monday
Monday's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans was ugly. However, the 30-6 final score doesn't indicate that this was actually a one-score game in the fourth quarter. The Texans just scored two defensive touchdowns to put it well out of reach.
Both Aaron Rodgers, maybe playing his final game, and CJ Stroud were bad, as they each had multiple turnovers. Stroud actually fumbled the ball five different times.
