NFL Playoffs Round 2

Gabe Smallson, Sports Editor

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.