Wild, Wild Card Weekend

 

 

The third quarter saw the Bills extend the lead (24-10) after a field goal and touchdown when Rivers and the Colts woke up. Getting the ball to begin the final quarter, Rivers takes them down 75 yards in 7 plays ending in a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zach Pascal. The 2-point conversion failed leaving them 8-points behind at 24-16. Buffalo adds another field goal (54 yards) and then watched Rivers work more of his magic. 5-plays and 76 yards later, after a 33-yard run by Micah Hyde, Rivers (27-46, 309 yards, 2 td’s) finds tight end Jack Doyle for a 27-yard touchdown pass. This time, the 2-points conversion is successful shrinking the Buffalo lead to 27-24. Buffalo gives the Colts the ball back after 8-plays with Rivers looking to get them into field goal range hoping for overtime. It would not happen as Rivers attempted a hail mary pass that was knocked down sealing the Buffalo win. Allen, (26-35, 324 yards, 2 td’s, 1 rushing td) who became the youngest player to throw for 300-yards and complete 70% of his passes in a playoff game said afterwards, “it’s one game. I am just happy for a chance to be able to play next week.”

No team in the NFL wants to travel to Seattle to play the Seahawks and their rabid fans. Unfortunately, their “12th man” would not be a factor when they welcomed the Los Angeles Rams in the second wild card game of the day. The first quarter was a defensive battle as only 3-points were put on the board courtesy of a Rams Matt Gay 40-yard field goal. The Rams had to start back-up quarterback John Wolford as their starter Jared Goff had surgery on is throwing thumb the week before after getting injured against the same Seattle team. Wolford never make it out of the first quarter. Scrambling out of the pocket, Wolford is hit by Hawks safety Jamal Adams on the right side of his helmet. Wolford walked to the lock room and would not return.

 

Both teams would exchange field goals before the Rams defense put the first touchdown on the board. Seahawks Russell Wilson looks for wide receiver DK Metcalf for a short, quick pass on the left sideline. Rams cornerback Darius Williams jumps in front and returns the interception 42 yards for the touchdown. Wilson responded on the next drive, throwing a 51-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf getting to 13-10. Goff gets them in the end zone right before halftime 5 plays and 70 yards later as running back Cam Akers runs it in from 5 yards out putting them up 20-10. Both teams traded field goals in the third quarter before Goff would throw his only touchdown of the day. 36-yards and 4 plays later, Goff connects with wide receiver Robert Woods for the 15-yard touchdown reception. Seatle added a late meaningless touchdown as Wilson (11-27, 174 yards, 2td’s 1 int) was pestered all afternoon. Goff ( 9-19, 155 yards, 1 td) was quick to give kudos to his defense. “I’ve never played with a defense of this caliber,’’ he said. “It’s amazing.’’ It is not sure which quarterback will be under center when the Rams take the field this coming weekend.

 

Saturday night saw the last of the first round wild card games as the Washington Football team took on Tom (Dorian Gray) Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Like the Rams, Washington has to start a back-up quarterback Taylor Heinicke starter Alex Smith was put on the inactive list with a strained right calf. After a 9-play drive resulted in a Ryan Succop 29 yard field goal, Tampa’s defense gets its first turnover as Heinicke gets picked off by cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting. Brady finds reclamation project Antonio Brown 6-plays later for the 36-yard touchdown. The extra point is missed as Washington would close the gap the next time they got the ball. Heinicke moves them 75-yards in 10 plays. From the shotgun, Heinicke hands off to running back JD McKissic for the 2-yard run. Brady wastes no time going up 18-7 after a 27-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin and another Succop (23 yard) field goal. Still, Washington and Heinicke would not go away quietly.

 

The third quarter saw Washington add 10 points via a Dustin Hopkins 36-yard field goal and a Heinicke 8-yard touchdown run. Washington failed on the 2-point conversion trailing 18-16 with plenty of time left. The Bucs would add a field goal and touchdown of their own thinking the game was out of reach at 28-16. Yet, Heinicke (26-44, 308 yards, 1td, 1int) moved them 75 yards in 11 plays, finishing the drive with a 11-yard touchdown pass to wider receiver Steven Sims. One more Tampa field goal (37 yards) gave Washington one last chance to tie the game down 31-23. It would not happen as Heinicke’s final pass was batted down.

 

Brady (22-40, 381 yards, 2 td’s) became the oldest quarterback to throw a touchdown in a playoff game passing the legendary George Blanda. Not entirely pleased with the win Brady said after, “certainly a lot to improve on, but great to get a win.”

 

Sunday’s wild card match-ups began with the battle of the “Hatfield’s and McCoy’s. There has been no love lost between the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens. It began last year when the Titans eliminated the Ravens in the first round of the playoffs in a lopsided 28-12 victory. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw 59 times for 365 yards and ran for another 143. It wasn’t enough as Jackson and the Ravens would lose for the second straight year in the first round of the playoffs. Suddenly there were whispers as to whether or not Jackson could win a playoff game. When the Titans jumped out to a 10-0 lead, it looked like those whispers were justified. Then, Jackson showed why he was named 2019 MVP.

 

It began after Jackson threw an interception that led to a Titans Stephen Gotkowski 43-yard field goal. Starting on their own 25, Jackson moves them 60 yards in 12 plays resulting in Justin Tucker 33-yard field goal. Jackson would then use his legs to even the score the next time they touched the ball. Baltimore would get the ball back 4 plays later and Jackson showed why he is the most dangerous player in the game today. From the shotgun, at the Titans 48, Jackson sprints up the middle looking like he would run left. He quickly darts to his right and races to the end zone reaching out for the pilon tying the game at 10. Said Jackson of the run, “I dropped back, they zoned it. I took advantage of it, and it’s off to the races. It just happened to be a touchdown.”

 

 

Baltimore didn’t waste any time getting the ball to start the third quarter. Jackson taking them 77-yards in 10 plays ending a J.K. Dobbins 4-yard touchdown run putting them up for good at 17-10. Both teams would kick field goals before the Ravens defense sealed the victory. Up 20-13 and looking for to send the game into overtime, the Titans begin the drive on their own 21-yard line. On the 6th play quarterback Ryan Tannehill looks for wide receiver Kalif Raymond who falls down. Cornerback Marcus Peters comes up with the game ending interception. Replays later revealed the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage by nose tackle Calais Campbell. 

 

Jackson did not have to throw the ball 59