Wild Card weekend certainly didn’t disappoint as several teams staked their claim as Super Bowl contenders.
The Detroit Lions made history with their first playoff victory since 1992, and the Green Bay Packers quickly dismissed the Dallas Cowboys and, with that, any notion of being an underdog.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles waved goodbye to their chance of redemption, and Joe Flacco’s Cinderella run with the Cleveland Browns came to a disappointing end at the hands of Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
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Things are heating up as the AFC-leading Baltimore Ravens and NFC-leading San Francisco 49ers step back onto the field for the divisional round matchups.
Read below for a breakdown of this weekend’s games.
The Houston Texans found themselves back in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 behind rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. That run continued when Stroud showed up in the wild-card game against the Browns, completing 16 passes for 274 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers.
The Texans will undoubtedly face their biggest challenge of the season when they travel to Baltimore to take on the well-rested Ravens. It will be a rematch of their Week 1 meeting in which Lamar Jackson led the Ravens to a 25-9 victory.
The time off has allowed the Ravens to come back well-prepared for the playoffs.
Zay Flowers, the team’s leading receiver, was back at practice this week following a calf injury. Outside linebacker Odafe Oweh and linebacker Malik Harrison also returned to practice this week.
“I think everybody’s really prepared and really excited to play. Lamar’s ready to go, the guys are ready to go. They’ve worked hard for this opportunity to get to this point and compete in such a big game against such a worthy opponent,” head coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Tuesday.
“We’re playing a very good football team, and we’ve got our hands full, and we’re hoping to put our best foot forward.”
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Harbaugh added that the Texans were a “very good football team” in their last meeting, but he’s aware of the difference 17 weeks of football can have.
Houston coach DeMeco Ryans agreed with that assessment.
“From there to where we are now, we’ve definitely grown,” he said Tuesday. “Completely different team, they’re a completely different team.”
The Green Bay Packers scratched their way into the playoffs with a late-season push and entered wild-card weekend with low expectations as they faced the Dallas Cowboys, who were undefeated at home.
Jordan Love and the Packers’ young roster quickly dismantled the Cowboys and any notion that the Packers didn’t belong in the playoffs.
But they’ll next face a team looking for redemption in the San Francisco 49ers, who have unfinished business after last season’s NFC Championship Game.
Brock Purdy’s untimely injury in the postseason left the Niners with many what-ifs, something they’ll be looking to settle as they host the Packers in the divisional round.
This season, Purdy became the first 49ers quarterback in more than 20 years to throw for more than 4,000 yards (4,280) or at least 30 TDs (31). He led the NFL with a 113 passer rating and his 9.6 yards per attempt were the most in the league for a qualifying quarterback since Kurt Warner had 9.9 in 2000.
While it might look like a mismatch on paper, Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t going into the divisional playoff game with any preconceived notions about this Packers team.
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“We clinched the No. 1 seed – it feels like 100 days ago – and you’ve got all this time and everyone wants to talk about all this stuff that leads up to it. There’s a lot of stuff to think about, but it comes down to what you do in three and a half hours.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers routed the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles behind the stunning performance of quarterback Baker Mayfield on Monday night. They next play the Detroit Lions.
The Lions, a franchise that has never made a Super Bowl appearance, will be looking to continue history, but they’ll be facing a gritty opponent in the divisional round.
“We worked extremely hard to get a chance to be in the playoffs, and we just wanted an opportunity,” Mayfield said after Monday night’s game. “Our guys came out and played really, really well. … Once again, the defense played lights out. We’re happy, but we’ve still got more to go.”
The Bucs will be looking to recreate that performance on Sunday.
In a Week 6 matchup between the two teams, the Lions defense limited the Bucs to no touchdowns and two field goals as Jared Goff led the team to a 20-6 victory with his 353 yards and two touchdowns.
This weekend’s schedule will be headlined by an AFC showdown between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs.
In their last two playoff meetings, the Chiefs defeated the Bills at home – once in the AFC Championship and most recently in the divisional round. But for the first time since 1993, the Bills will host Kansas City at home.
“It’s nice that we don’t have to travel, I think that’s big,” head coach Sean McDermott said Monday after the Bills punched their ticket to the next round with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I have a lot of respect for [Chiefs head coach] Andy Reid and their program, and we’ve had our battles over the years, and this will be another, I’m sure.”
Kansas City defeated Buffalo, 38-24, in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 24, 2021. A year later, the Chiefs beat the Bills, 42-36, in overtime in the divisional round. The Bills got revenge in Week 14, winning at Arrowhead Stadium, 20-17.
Patrick Mahomes will certainly be looking to do the same when the Chiefs visit Highmark Stadium on Sunday.
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