This article has been updated several times to account for coaching changes.
The regular season of the NFL is over. Now the true journey to the Super Bowl begins. Fourteen teams are still standing, and all want to hoist the coveted Super Bowl trophy. The top seeds of the AFC and NFC got a break this week while everyone else fought to stay alive. The table has been set, let’s get to the main course! (Uh oh, I may be part of the growing conspiracy that football it just a ploy to sell you…FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
RAMS 34 – PANTHERS 31
HOLY MOLE HOLES! It was a back-and-forth game for the ages as the Los Angeles Rams outlasted the Carolina Panthers to advance to the divisional round. Bear this in mind: this was just the first game!!! Jaws-dropped as we all braced for possibly the wildest and best postseason the NFL has seen in years! There were brilliant plays on both sides. Scores were exchanged, fans screamed, and, as Snoopy once wrote, more editors sent rejection slips (not to me personally, at least…not recently…). Wide receiver Puka Nacua never thought twice about losing. “Never a doubt — No. 9 is with us,” Nacua said with a wide smile in reference to the team’s 37-year-old All-Pro quarterback, Matthew Stafford. He may have had one interception, but Stafford didn’t disappoint with another MVP caliber performance: throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns.
Right now, the Rams are playing like the best team in the league. They feel extremely confident with Stafford at the helm. Stafford rewarded that trust by leading the Rams on two go-ahead touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, including the last with 38 seconds remaining. Head coach Sean McVay praised Stafford’s leadership saying, “That’s why we’re advancing, because of his leadership.” Stafford now has four career game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime of a playoff game.
As for the Panthers, the wild ride of a season has come to an end. This game against the Rams demonstrated that they need to beef up the pass rush. They finished this season in 28th in total sacks. They’ll have around $25 million in cap space to fix this issue. The question some are asking though is whether Bryce Young can show more consistency next year. So far, he has failed to do so, and if he can’t find a way…the Panthers will have to search for someone else that can. If they do keep him, look for the Panthers to try and improve the offensive line to give Young better protection.
PACKERS 27 – BEARS 31
Two straight HOLY MOLE HOLES! The Chicago Bears erased an 18-point deficit to break the Green Bay Packers’ hearts once again and eliminated their hated divisional rivals from the playoffs. It was 21-3 at the half, and it looked like the Packers were going to deliver an upset. But, like my cousin Judy with a good Hallmark movie, the Christmas time magic came back again. Chicago dropping 25 points in the fourth quarter. Despite throwing two interceptions, quarterback Caleb Williams led his team with 361 yards and two touchdowns. Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love had a big game with 323 yards passing and four touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to give the Packers the win.
The Bears just won’t stay down. Despite everything and whatever the score is, Chicago seems to always find a way to win. They’re a great second-half team…it’s just the first half that gives a lot of people some concerns. It’s a great way to entertain, but not a plausible strategy EVERY time. It didn’t work out a few weeks ago when the Bears lost to the 49ers, so it proves that they can’t be off to a slow start every single time. If the Bears can play a complete game from now on, they will have the chance to hoist that Super Bowl trophy.
As for the Packers, the offseason has begun (my condolences to the Cheesehead fans in my friend orbit). Well, the addition of Micah Parsons was a great boon to the Packer defense…when he was healthy. However, the trade does mean they don’t have a first-round pick to work with. What’s worse is that they don’t have any cap space to work with either, which is significant since they need more help at cornerback. This won’t be an easy problem to fix with the limited resources they have. The Packers will be an interesting team to watch this offseason.
BILLS 27 – JAGUARS 24
This may sound repetitive, but HOLY MOLE HOLES! Just when we thought all hope was lost for the Buffalo Bills, they went and stunned a red-hot Jacksonville Jaguars team. The Jaguars are now left stunned about their early exit from the playoffs while the Bills live to fight another day. While Buffalo’s Josh Allen would have loved to be with his wife Hailee Steinfeld, the famed actor from Marvel’s Hawkeye, at the Golden Globes…he was a little busy pushing the Bills into the divisional round. Allen finished the day with 273 passing yards and a touchdown. It was a good effort by Trevor Lawrence for the Jaguars, 207 yards passing and three touchdowns, but those two interceptions may haunt him this offseason.
This victory proved that the Bills could win on the road in the playoffs. After coming into the game against the Jaguars with the second-longest road playoff losing streak in NFL history (eight straight), Buffalo got its first win away from Orchard Park, New York, in the playoffs under coach Sean McDermott and the first under any coach since 1992. It’s definitely a needed boost since the Bills will be heading for Denver next week. They’ll need everything they can get out of the husband of a Marvel superhero going forward. They’ll also have to do it without receiver Gabe Davis, who suffered a torn ACL.
I will admit that I didn’t expect to write this about the Jaguars so soon. This was definitely a disheartening way to end the season considering how well the Jaguars played down the stretch. Some reinforcements to the defensive line will go a long way to helping the Jaguars next season. They also need to clarify how to best use two-way player Travis Hunter going forward. Will they use him more as a cornerback or as a wide receiver. There is a way to manage this, but the Jaguars haven’t figured it out yet. They also need to keep running back Travis Etienne Jr. The man had a great bounce back year, and I am not confident in Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr.’s abilities to replace him. If I’m being honest, don’t be shocked if the Jaguars field trade offers for Brian Thomas Jr. I still like the guy, but he had a very disappointing sophomore season. With Jakobi Meyers there to stay in Jacksonville, the wide receiver room is getting crowded. It’s doubtful that they will trade him, but there are a lot of teams that need a wide receiver that will at least call to ask about him.
49ERS 23 – EAGLES 19
Clearly this will be a theme for this article, but HOLY MOLE HOLES! The San Francisco 49ers survived a messy game to knock off the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. The loss means that we will be crowning a new Super Bowl champion this year. This victory also came at a cost as All-Pro tight end George Kittle tore his Achilles during the game, ending his postseason. The 49ers did their best without one of the core parts of their team, and it was enough to win. Brock Purdy overcame two interceptions, completing 18 of 31 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. It was a shame the Eagles went down, as running back Saquon Barkley had one of his best games of the season with 106 rushing yards plus three catches for 25 yards.
You would think that the 49ers wouldn’t be in this situation given all their injuries that include so many key players (of which you can now add Kittle to the list). Nevertheless, the 49ers haven’t run out of whatever Harry Potter magic is fueling this playoff run. This team seems defiant in the face of adversity as they play to go back home and win the Super Bowl in front of their fans in their own stadium.
The champs have been knocked off their throne. Which means it’s back to square one for the Eagles. They will have to do a deep dive autopsy on their offense to figure out what happened this season. The Eagles have the highest-salaried offense in football, but the unit severely underperformed this year, especially star running back Saquon Barkley. So, it comes as no surprise when they fired their offensive coordinator early Tuesday afternoon. They may even trade backup quarterback Tanner McKee if it means doing something to improve the offense.
CHARGERS 3 – PATRIOTS 16
This was an unfortunately predictable result. Going into the playoffs banged up was probably going to mean a short trip for the hometown Los Angeles Chargers. Now the offseason has begun for the Chargers yet again, as the offense failed against the mighty New England Patriots. There is no reason to blame Justin Herbert. Any attempt to do so is unjustified. Even veteran Khalil Mack said that Herbert shouldn’t shoulder the full weight of this playoff defeat. His offensive line, like much of the season, failed to protect him yet again. It was only a matter of time before this thin line gave way, and the landslide brought him down (ha, thought there wouldn’t be a Stevie Nicks reference because it’s the playoffs? Wrong…). The result was Herbert only throwing for 159 yards and no touchdowns while constantly being under pressure. Drake Maye had a game that could be described as “good enough.” Maye ended up throwing for 268 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
The Patriots have a great team this year, but it still faces the question of legitimacy as most of their opponents were not very good. This game is proof of that as they held off a toothless Chargers team. Drake Maye, who is in the running for MVP alongside Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, had a drop in production in this game. Nevertheless, their engine seems to be firing on all cylinders, and it’s hard to find a reason that the Patriots won’t make a serious playoff run. Still, a few issues could use some slight reinforcement as the Patriots attempt to finally regain their former glory from the Tom Brady era.
The Chargers head back to the offseason with the same problem as last season: a terrible offensive line. Yes, some key injuries put them on their heels, but two years in a row is not going to cut it. Justin Herbert has the potential to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league. However, he’s not going to be able to live up to his potential if he has to keep scrambling. The Chargers are going to have to go back to the drawing board on the offensive line. They also need to give him more people to throw it to. None of his receivers topped 50 yards in their elimination against the Patriots. Keenan Allen is getting up there in age, and Ladd McConkey is NOT the guy. Herbert needs a receiver that he can rely on (perhaps Brian Thomas Jr. from the Jaguars is the answer to this riddle…). Change is already coming to the Chargers, as they have already fired their offensive coordinator Greg Roman early Tuesday morning.
TEXANS 30 – STEELERS 6
This was an incredibly close and electric game…and then the fourth quarter rolled around. Two big mistakes caused the Pittsburg Steelers to be eliminated, while the red-hot Houston Texans advanced to the next round. Sheldon Rankins and the rest of the Texans’ defense were well aware of the franchise’s short playoff history, and they wanted to write a different ending this time around. For the moment, it seems to be going according to plan. Rankins returned a fumble for a 33-yard touchdown. Then the Texans’ defense sealed the win with an interception returned for a 50-yard touchdown. It would be a shame if this is how famed quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ season ends. Besides the interception, Rodgers threw for 146 yards and no touchdowns. It wasn’t that much better a game for CJ Stroud. He committed three turnovers, including an interception. Besides that, Stroud had an alright game throwing for 250 yards and a touchdown.
This game proved that the Texans have the best defense in football. Very rarely do you have a defense not allow a touchdown while scoring twice on their own in the same game. It’s only the second time it’s been done in NFL history since the Chicago Bears of 1940. Nevertheless, there is a certain “expert” I definitely disagree with (but I won’t name names). But, in this case, we are in agreement that Stroud needs to cut down on the mistakes. If CJ Stroud can have a clean game and the Texans’ defense keeps doing its thing…we might be giving the Texans the Super Bowl trophy in San Francisco next month.
As for the Steelers, it’ll be interesting to see what the team hosting this year’s draft does. They have the No. 21 pick in this year’s draft, and they have $29.9 million in cap space to work with. First off, let’s get this out of the way, head coach Mike Tomlin is not the problem. However, that didn’t stop Tomlin from announcing that he will be stepping down as the Steelers head coach. The next head coach will be only the Steelers’ fourth head coach since 1969. Now, let’s get on with the real elephant in the room: what do they do at quarterback. If Rodgers decides to call it a career, the Steelers are left with Will Howard and Mason Rudolph. That doesn’t inspire confidence, and Rodgers is definitely not getting any younger. There are only two real quarterbacks going into this draft: Fernando Mendoza of Indiana and Dante Moore of Oregon. The Steelers are way too far down the draft to get either one. They’ll have to hope Rodgers comes back one more time or get really creative to find their quarterback of the future.
DIVISONAL MATCHUP SCHEDULE
(6) BUFFALO BILLS AT (1) DENVER BRONCOS
– 1:30 PM PT, Saturday, CBS
(6) SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT (1) SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
– 8 PM PT, Saturday, Fox
(5) HOUSTON TEXANS AT (2) NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
– 12 PM PT, Sunday, ABC/ ESPN
(5) LOS ANGELES RAMS AT (2) CHICAGO BEARS
– 3:30 PM PT, Sunday, NBC
