If you were to simply look at the teams that won this past wildcard weekend, you would see that all of the favored teams won and probably think that there were no surprises, but you would’ve missed out on some thrilling and wild finishes (pun intended). Here are the recaps:
Texans vs Chiefs The Chiefs dominated this one from start to finish, ending the season of one of the worst playoff teams I can remember in recent years. And when I say from start to finish, I really mean it. Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards to put the Chiefs up right away and that is as close as the Texans would get.
The Chiefs solidified themselves as a real threat to take the AFC and will travel to take on the defending champions in the Patriots, while the Texans head into the offseason looking for a new QB.
Packers vs Washington For the first 28 minutes, the Packers seemed to be in real trouble. Rodgers and the offense was still having a lot of trouble moving the ball, while Kirk “You like that” Cousins seemed to be continuing his hot streak into the playoffs. Then the Packers offense woke up and did not slow down. They went on a 35-7 to end the game and won by a final score of 35-11.
The Packers will need to keep that offense rolling as they head to Arizona to take on the Cardinals, while Washington needs to decide where to send RGIII this offseason.
Vikings vs Seahawks With the wind-chill clocking in at -25, this one in Minnesota was the third coldest game in NFL history. The Vikings seemed to be in control of this one in the fourth quarter up 9-0 and looked ready to dethrone the two time defending NFC champions.
The Seahawks were not going to give up that easy though and fought back to take a 10-9 lead. Young Teddy Bridgewater drove the Vikings back down the field and set up a 27-yard chip shot field goal to win it…but it went way left and the Seahawks escaped with a win. While it may be tough for the Vikings to look to the future after losing that way, they have a young team that seems ready for sustained success. Meanwhile, the Seahawks will go to Carolina and we’re still not sure if this is the same Seahawks we are used to.
Bengals vs Steelers This one hurts. As a die-hard Bengals fan, it’s hard to imagine a worse ending than this one. The Steelers were in control the whole way, holding a 15-0 lead in the fourth quarter of a very dirty game. But then back-up QB AJ McCarron found a way to move the ball and took the lead on a touchdown pass to AJ Green.
Then Vontaze Burfict intercepted that ball and it looked like the streak of 25 years without a playoff win was going to end. But this is the Bengals. A fumble and two personal foul penalties later the Steelers kicked a field goal to win the game and advance to play the Broncos. The Bengals will go into the offseason and do nothing, just like they always do.