NFL Playoffs Round 2
January 17, 2017
The Wildcard round (January 7-8) of the NFL playoffs was underwhelming at most. None of the four games had a point deficit of less than 13 points. Here’s a rundown of what happened last weekend.
Raiders @ Texans
Texans 27
Raiders 14
The Raiders’ rookie quarterback Connor Cook made his first NFL start in their playoff loss to the Texans. Although the Texans had offensive struggles, the Raiders defense had many injuries, which led to them allowing 27 points. The Raiders offense never really got going, mostly because of their young, inexperienced quarterback. Although the future looks bright for the Raiders, fans will once again be counting down the days until the start of next year.
Lions @ Seahawks
Seahawks 26
Lions 6
The Lions suffered a tough playoff loss to the Seahawks. Similar to the Raiders, nothing could get going for them on offense. Quarterback Matthew Stafford did not shine Saturday night, probably due to the dislocated finger on his throwing hand. The Lions are now 1-4 since Stafford injured his hand. Luckily, they have the whole offseason for him to recover.
Dolphins @ Steelers
Steelers 30
Dolphins 12
Some worried that the Steelers’ decision to rest their best players last week would not be conducive to winning their game against the Dolphins. This was not the case. Receiver Antonio Brown caught 2 first half touchdowns in their playoff rout. There were no signs of rustiness from not playing the previous week.
Giants @ Packers
Packers 38
Giants 13
The Giants’ playoff dreams slipped through their hands Sunday. Specifically, receiver Odell Beckham Jr’s hands. He had five crucial drops in their loss to the Packers, one of which was a potential touchdown. Although the giant Giants’ loss was not entirely their star receiver’s fault, his drops definitely added to the defeat.
After a disappointing week in the wildcard round of the playoffs, the Divisional round (last weekend) brought much more excitement.
Seahawks @ Falcons
Seahawks 20
Falcons 36
A former Super Bowl champion faced off against the leading candidate in the MVP race. Russell Wilson of the Seahawks is a seasoned veteran at only 28 years old. With an outstanding 8-3 career playoff record and two Super Bowl appearances, he has the edge with his experience. Matt Ryan has five career playoff games and only one win. The one win, however, was against the Seattle Seahawks in 2012. The Falcon’s electric offense proved to be too strong for the Seahawks defense on Saturday after putting up 36 points to seal the victory.
Texans @ Patriots
Texans 16
Patriots 34
Despite being suspended for the first four games of the season, Tom Brady proved that even at 39 years old, he can still compete. Brady tossed a historically efficient 28 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions during the regular season. The Texans number one ranked defense stepped up to the challenge and kept the game close; for the first 30 minutes. After trailing 13-17 at halftime, their offense only put up three more points for the remainder of the game. The Texan defense fell apart as well as the Patriots added 17 more points in the second half.
Packers @ Cowboys
Packers 34
Cowboys 31
Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott are not only leading the Cowboys to the playoffs, but leading the league in Rookie of the Year Award votes. Aaron Rodgers of the Packers was not fazed by this. Since week 12 of the regular season, Rodgers has been ridiculously good throwing 21 touchdowns and 1 interception. This interception came Sunday against the Cowboys. This game was back and forth for 4 quarters but finally, Packers Kicker Mason Crosby kicked the game winning field goal as time expired. After many postseason blowouts, this exciting game was exactly what football fans needed.
Steelers @ Chiefs
Steelers 18
Chiefs 16
Wide receiver Antonio Brown and Running back Le’veon Bell are statistically in the top five of their respective positions. Both were held to 0 touchdowns on Sunday. The Chiefs defense held the Steelers as a team to 0 total touchdowns. All points scored by Pittsburgh were field goals. After a potentially game tying two point conversion was called back in the final seconds due to a penalty, Kansas City lost this close game.
This weekend is the Championship games. The winners will play in the Super Bowl. Be sure to watch these games as every team has a solid chance of winning it all.
Tony Soltis • Jan 18, 2017 at 9:35 am
I think I watched a different KC-PITT game. The game I watched had Bell running for a team record 170 yards as the mighty KC defense had no answer for him. The game I watched saw a coach who apparently was unbeatable after a bi week get out coached and outplayed. Your game sounds kind of boring and frustrated.. Should’ve seen mine.