Buccaneers Eliminate Eagles as Wild Card Weekend Wraps Up in the NFL

The nation’s wintery blast of weather was a big factor in the NFL’s Wild Card Weekend of playoffs, even forcing a rare postponement, but after the dust (and snow) settled, six teams advanced to the divisional round of playoffs, joined by the two top seeds who received byes.

Saturday January 13th

The Wild Card Cleveland Browns were 8-1 at home this season, but only 3-5 on the road. Unfortunately, the Browns had to play on the road at the AFC South champion Houston Texans in their playoff game. The Browns beat the Texans on Christmas Eve, but that was then, this is now, and the Cleveland defense had no answer for Houston QB C.J. Stroud. The rookie signal caller out of Ohio State passed for 274 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Texans to a 45-14 clobbering of Cleveland.

In Kansas City, the AFC West champion Chiefs hosted the Wild Card Miami Dolphins in what was billed as the fourth coldest game in NFL history with a kickoff temperature of –4 degrees; wind gusts drove the wind chill to –27. The Chiefs handled it better than the Dolphins and cruised to a 26-7 win. Kansas City had 409 total yards while the Dolphins had 264. Miami has now lost 11 in a row where the temperature is below 40 degrees.

This game was live streamed on Peacock, to the dismay of many fans, but a delighted NBC announced a record 23 million had tuned into the streaming service to watch the game. OK, but the Dallas—Green Bay playoff game the next day had 40 million viewers on Fox, so we’re not sure if marketing the product to fewer people is the best business strategy.

Sunday January 14th

In the biggest surprise of the weekend, the Green Bay Packers, a Wild Card with a 9-8 record, beat the #2 seed Dallas Cowboys, NFC East champs, 48-32 in Arlington, Texas. It wasn’t as close as the score would indicate. Green Bay led 27-0 in the second quarter, and 41-16 at the end of the third quarter. Dallas did put two touchdowns with two point conversions up late in the game, but it was too late. The Packers have successfully replaced QB Aaron Rodgers with Jordan Love. Love completed 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Aaron Jones rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns. It was the Cowboys’ first home loss since the 2022 season opener. Green Bay is 6-0 at AT&T stadium, including a win there over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV after the 2010 season.

In Detroit, the AFC North champion Lions won their first playoff game since January 5th, 1992, edging out the Wild Card Los Angeles Rams 24-23 and ending a nine game post season losing streak. Ex Rams QB Jared Goff passed for 277 yards and a touchdown for the Lions, while ex Lions QB Matthew Stafford passed for 367 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams.

Monday January 15th

In a game postponed a day due to snow measured in feet, the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills hosted the Wild Card Pittsburgh Steelers in a stadium that was mostly still covered in snow when the gates opened. Fans were allowed to sit anywhere they wanted to if they could dig out a seat. The Bills jumped off to a 21-0 first half lead before the Steelers got on the board with a touchdown late in the half. The teams scored 10 each in the second half, and Buffalo advanced with a 31-17 win.

Finally, in Tampa Bay, the Wild Card Philadelphia Eagles put an exclamation point on their late season collapse as the host Buccaneers, NFC South champs, demolished Philadelphia 32-9. The Eagles started the season 10-1, but this was their sixth loss in their last seven games.

Philadelphia at Tampa Bay highlights

The San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens had bye weeks as the #1 seeds.

Upcoming Divisional Round Games

Saturday January 20th

Green Bay at San Francisco
Houston at Baltimore

Sunday January 21st

Tampa Bay at Detroit
Kansas City at Buffalo