OSWEGO COUNTY – The NFL’s Wildcard Weekend provided a pair of significant upsets, as the NFC East was ousted from the playoffs. The division-winning Dallas Cowboys were stunned by the Green Bay Packers 48-32 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended the weekend with a win on Monday night, taking down the Philadelphia Eagles 32-9.
Despite the significant upsets, Oswego County Today’s survey voters from last week were not all that surprised. The Eagles were tied for second in the NFC poll with 18% of the votes, while the Cowboys received just 7%, tied for fifth. The remaining results of the two polls are as follows:
AFC
- Buffalo Bills – 44%
- Baltimore Ravens – 18%
- Kansas City Chiefs – 14%
- Pittsburgh Steelers – 11%*
- Miami Dolphins – 11%*
- Houston Texans – less than 1%
- Cleveland Browns – less than 1%*
NFC
- San Francisco 49ers – 30%
- Detroit Lions – 18%
- Philadelphia Eagles – 18%*
- Green Bay Packers – 14%
- Dallas Cowboys – 7%*
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 7%
- Los Angeles Rams – 6%*
* Denotes eliminated from the playoffs
The divisional round is highlighted by the final game of the weekend, as Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes will battle it out in the playoffs for the third time in four years. The Bills and Chiefs both hold a 3-3 record against each other in the Allen-Mahomes Era. The 49ers-Packers rivalry will be renewed Saturday night. San Francisco leads the playoff series 5-4. The 49ers won the last playoff game, upsetting Aaron Rodgers in 2021 by a score of 13-10. Earlier that season, the Packers won 30-28 in Week 3.
Saturday, January 20
- (4) Houston Texans (10-7) vs. (1) Baltimore Ravens (13-4)
- 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC
- Spread: BAL -9 | Total: o43.5
The Ravens enter their first playoff game of the season on a six-game winning streak with MVP candidate Lamar Jackson under center. In the Week 18 loss to the Steelers, Baltimore sat Jackson among other starters since they clinched a first-round bye and the one seed. The Ravens man-handled both the Dolphins and 49ers in Week 17 and 16 respectively, outscoring the two by a combined total of 89-38.
Jackson played 15 or more games for the first time since 2020 and had his best season of his career, outperforming his MVP season from 2019. He completed 67.2% of his passes, threw for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns, while yielding just seven interceptions. He tacked on 821 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
The Ravens revamped their offense this postseason, adding a dynamic receiving duo of Zay Flowers via the draft and former Giant Odell Beckham Jr. The two propelled the Ravens to their best season since 2019 when they were 14-2. Despite the regular season successes, Jackson has struggled in his postseason careers. He enters this weekend with a 1-3 record, averaging 225 passing yards per game along with just three touchdowns and five interceptions.
Last week, CJ Stroud became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game at 22 years and 102 days old. The Texans throttled the Browns 45-14 with the Texans’ defense scoring a pair of interceptions that were returned for a touchdown.
Stroud was very efficient, completing 16 of 21 attempts for 274 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers. Nico Collins was his top target of the game, catching six balls for 96 yards and a score.
Along with the defensive scores, the defense was extremely stout, limiting the Browns’ powerful run game to just 56 yards and sacking Joe Flacco four times.
- (7) Green Bay Packers (9-8) vs. (1) San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
- 8:15 p.m. ET on Fox
- Spread: SF -9.5 | Total: o50.5
Despite dominating the Cowboys last week, the Packers enter as the biggest underdog of the divisional round. The 9.5 point spread is more credit to the 49ers who arguably have the best weapons in football. San Francisco ended the season second in the league in total yards and third in points with an average of 398 yards per game and 28.9 points per game.
Christian McCaffrey leads the offense with 2,023 all-purpose yards and 21 total touchdowns. He failed to score a touchdown in just three of 16 games this season and had four games with two or more.
On the other side of the field, they are defensively sound, ranking top eight in yards allowed per game and third in points allowed.
For the Packers, Aaron Jones had his fourth 100-plus yard rushing game vs. the Cowboys, and Jordan Love was excellent. He threw for 272 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers. Meanwhile the defense forced two Dak Prescott interceptions, one of which was ran back for a touchdown by Darnell Savage.
Sunday, January 21
- (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8) vs. (3) Detroit Lions (12-5)
- 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC
- Spread: DET -6.5 | Total: o48.5
After winning their first playoff game this century last week, the Lions will host the NFC South-winning Bucs. Sam LaPorta returned from a Week 18 knee injury to catch three passes and a touchdown in the 24-23 win over the Rams. One of the bigger deciding factors of the game was red zone offense. The Rams had to settle for three field goals within the Lions 20-yard line, while the Lions attempted just one. Jared Goff ended the day 22-for-27 with 277 passing yards and one touchdown.
The Bucs offense embarrassed the Eagles, churning out 426 total yards, including 337 from the arm of Baker Mayfield. They scored on four of the five first-half drives, entering the third quarter with a 16-9 lead. Mayfield took care of the ball as the Bucs did not turn it over once and he added three touchdown passes. While their run game is one of the worst in the NFL, it averaged over four yards per carry, led by Rachaad White who tallied 72 yards on 18 carries.
These two teams met earlier in the season on October 15, where the Lions won 20-6.
- (3) Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) vs. (2) Buffalo Bills (11-6)
- 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS
- Spread: BUF -3 | Total: o45.5
After a massive snowstorm in Buffalo pushed the Bills’ wildcard game back one day, Josh Allen and company showed out, taking down the Steelers 31-17. The Bills capitalized on two Pittsburgh turnovers in the first half, capped by a touchdown pass from Allen to rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid and a 52-yard scramble for a touchdown from Allen.
In the second half, the Steelers cut it to a seven-point game, but the Bills offense was able to put the game out of reach. Allen was efficient, taking care of the ball. He threw the ball 30 times for just 203 yards, as it was the running game that really got the job done. Allen rushed for 74 yards while James Cook ran it 18 times for 79 yards.
Like the Bills, the Chiefs took care of the Dolphins fairly easily in one of the coldest games on record. Less than four minutes into the game, the Chiefs took the lead, something they held for the remainder of the 26-7 win. Rashee Rice, their rookie receiver from SMU, was the star of the game with 130 receiving yards and a touchdown. Mahomes was also buoyed by a stout defense that allowed just 264 yards to the Dolphins and running back Isiah Pacheco who rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Buffalo enters the game with a slew of defensive injuries. Cornerback Rasul Douglas, who missed last week’s game, was limited in practice Thursday but expects to play. Cornerback Christian Benford hurt his knee in the wildcard game as did linebacker Baylon Spector (back). Also showing up on the injury report is linebacker Tyrel Dodson (shoulder). Dodson was limited in practice Thursday while the other two did not participate.
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