They Almost Blew It

Myself and many others had the Los Angeles Rams pegged to be near the top of the standings heading into the playoffs. Yet, they stumbled down the stretch and ended up as the top seed of the Wild Card teams. For their sake they were fortunate to play against the Carolina Panthers. On their opening possession, Carolina decided to go for it on 4th down on their side of the 50-yard line. They didn’t convert and gave the Rams ideal field position for the first score of the game. For some reason though the Rams defense was not up to par and they were allowing the Panthers to regain momentum and eventually the lead. The Rams have the likely MVP in QB Matthew Stafford who threw a precise pass to TE Colby Parkinson for the go-ahead touchdown late in the 4th quarter. Carolina had nothing afterwards and the game was over. This doesn’t bode well for the Rams going forward, but having Stafford sure helps a lot.

It’s A Feature, Not A Symptom

The Green Bay Packers were up 21-3 at halftime against the Chicago Bears. I can’t say I was surprised at how the Packers managed to let that lead slip away in the second half. The defense didn’t continue to hamper the Bears offense. Green Bay’s offense had a complete lack of urgency and there didn’t seem to be any adjustments being made in real time from the Packers sideline. This isn’t the first time it has happened under head coach Matt LaFleur and it won’t be the last if the Packers keep him. The Bears ended up winning by outscoring Green Bay 28-6 in the second half. Chicago is used to these kinds of games this season, but they can’t count on this to be the norm. They need to be in games from start to finish if they want to continue advancing.

They Surprised Me

QB Josh Allen is gonna do what he usually does at this time of the year for the Buffalo Bills. What took me by surprise was the Bills defense held firm and came away with the game sealing interception. The fact that the Jacksonville Jaguars for some reason quit running the ball at various points of the game when it was often effective was just baffling. Buffalo has struggled to stop the run all year and the Jaguars abandoned it. With Josh Allen continuing on this trend it bodes well for them continuing on the road to a possible Super Bowl trip in their future.

That’s One Way To Defeat Them

I didn’t have WR Jauan Jennings throwing a touchdown pass to RB Christian McCaffrey on my bingo card for this one. However, I should have since it happened in Super Bowl LVIII (58) when the San Francisco 49ers played the Kansas City Chiefs. That was the play that just about put an end to the Philadelphia Eagles psyche. The Eagles just kept going through the motions on offense and didn’t take advantage of their rushing attack or the fact that their defense was playing well for most of the game. QB Jalen Hurts was not under duress for most of the game, but there were so many wasted opportunities that you would think that he was. The 49ers injuries continue to add up as they lost TE George Kittle to an achilles tear during this one. Until they are eliminated you have to imagine that they will be tough to defeat if they keep finding ways to hang around and then strike when the opportunity presents itself.

They’re Back

While the New England Patriots offense didn’t do all that well, their defense was superb. That alone could be to their benefit as they are clicking at the right time. Just when we were getting used to not having the Patriots regularly appearing in the playoffs they have come back strong in their first contest. Their path looks promising with another home game lined up in the Divisional Round and if the top seeded Denver Broncos lose, the Patriots will potentially host the AFC Championship should they win. QB Drake Maye will need to find his groove though as a performance like he had against the Los Angeles Chargers might not cut it against opponents better offense’s.

That Was A Doozy

The score was 7-6 through the first three quarters. Then the Houston Texans finally woke up in the 4th quarter and scored 23 unanswered points to pull away from the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Texans vaunted defense came away with two defensive scores in the 4th quarter and the offense added a rushing touchdown by RB Woody Marks. QB C.J. Stroud was all over the place as he fumbled the ball five times, but turned it over only two of those times. That can’t happen anymore going forward. A better offense will take advantage of those kinds of mistakes. Houston’s defense has been stellar all season long and it was no different against Pittsburgh. It was in stark contrast with what you would typically see in the playoffs with Pittsburgh having the better defense, but that wasn’t the case in this one. My guess is that this will be QB Aaron Rodgers last game overall. He was a shell of his former self and the offensive line didn’t do him any favors. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin decided to resign a day after this game and it ends one of longest tenures for a head coach in recent memory. Houston is a dangerous team and if that offense can figure it out they will be a formidable opponent for anyone.