After the opening four games of wild-card weekend ended in double-digit victories, football fans were begging for just one close game.
The Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers heard the plea, and delivered the best game of the playoffs so far on Sunday night that ended the weekend with a bang, or more accurately, a doink.
Washington’s last-second win was the first by a road team, as favourites mostly dominated their wild-card opponents.
Two of those favourites were the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, who both soundly handled inferior opponents on Sunday and proved why they are two popular picks to hoist the Lombardi Trophy come February.
With the divisional round picture nearly complete, here’s what we learned from Sunday’s three games.
COMMANDERS 23, BUCCANEERS 20
Daniels proves why he isn’t your average rookie
All season long, Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels played with poise beyond his years.
But in his first playoff start, when the lights are the brightest, could he really carry over his regular-season success?
After all, playoff rookie QBs starting their first playoff games on the road were a combined 5-17.
Daniels appeared unfazed by the post-season atmosphere as he led the Commanders to the franchise’s first playoff win in 6,945 days and showed why, at long last, the future looks very bright in Washington.
“It means a lot, man,” Daniels said of the victory. “You could just see all the fans over here, man, they’re waiting for us. They’ve waited a long time for this moment and this feeling, so I’m just so happy for them.”
Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner finished the game with 304 total yards and two touchdown passes, one of which was a fourth-quarter bullet to Terry McLaurin with the Commanders down four.
The Commanders finished the game with zero turnovers and zero punts, which has only happened three times in NFL history with a rookie at QB, per OptaStats. When were the other two times? Daniels in Week 2 and Daniels in Week 3.
Daniels now gets a matchup with the top-seeded Lions, but with his first playoff win under his belt and the Offensive Rookie of the Year award soon to follow, the sky appears to be the limit for the 24-year-old pivot.
Daniels will garner most of the headlines for the win, but if it weren’t for some simple mistakes by the Buccaneers, it might’ve been celebration time in Tampa Bay.
Two relatively routine mistakes cost the Buccaneers late in the game. The first was a botched handoff to WR Jalen McMillan that ended in Daniels’ strike to McLaurin. The next was what looked like a messed up snap count on a 3rd-and-1 in the red zone that forced the Bucs into a game-tying field goal instead of possibly a go-ahead TD.
You’ve got to be fundamentally sound to win in the NFL post-season. The Bucs weren’t, and now they’ll have a long off-season to think about what could’ve been.
Bills’ balanced attack wears down Broncos D
Who needs a No. 1 receiver anyway?
One of the biggest question marks for the Bills heading into this season was how they would be able to handle the loss of star WR Stefon Diggs.
Time and time again this season, the Bills proved that the loss of Diggs was an overblown storyline, and that continued in their wild-card matchup with the Broncos on Sunday.
Josh Allen completed a pass to eight different receivers, James Cook became the first Bills RB to rush for over 100 yards in a post-season game since Thurman Thomas in 1995 and Buffalo had their longest time of possession of the season (41:43).
“I don’t think there was one certain thing over another. We just wanted to come out and execute well,” Allen said after the game. “At the end of the day, we just wanted to come out and play our best football, and I feel like we did that today.”
After a shaky first half, the Bills’ diversity on O was too much for a talented Broncos defence in the final two quarters en route to a convincing victory.
Early in Allen’s career, he was known for making incredible plays but was also prone to head-scratching mistakes. Now, in his seventh season, one of Allen’s best attributes is that he’s more than comfortable just taking what the defence gives him.
Don’t get us wrong, he’s still one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL today. But next weekend, in the heavyweight showdown with the Baltimore Ravens, he has to be careful not to get into a Superman-off with Lamar Jackson.
Because as Allen would surely attest to, stats don’t matter in the post-season, only Ws do.
After surprising season, Broncos get reality check
Despite the loss, this season has to be seen as a success for the Broncos.
With a rookie QB and a second-year head coach, Denver made the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Sunday was more of a “we’re just happy to be here” moment than anything.
An opening-drive TD may have made Broncos fans believe they could pull off the upset, but those would be the only points they would score in the game.
Reality set in after that, and the more experienced Bills team imposed their will for the remaining three quarters.
With Allen, Jackson and Patrick Mahomes all in the AFC for years to come, the Broncos got a first-hand look at the level that they’ll need to build toward on Sunday.
“I’m really proud of these guys. We’ve overcome a lot and not really been counted in many games,” rookie QB Bo Nix said post-game. “But to make the playoffs was a special moment for this group. It’s something we can build off of. … Our goals are changing.”
Eagles rely on strengths to advance
Despite a 29th-ranked passing offence, the Eagles won 12 of their last 13 regular-season games behind a dominant rushing attack and their No. 1-ranked defence.
Both were on full display in Sunday’s wild-card win over the Packers.
The Eagles D picked off Jordan Love three times and allowed just one first down in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead.
On the offensive side of the ball, Saquon Barkley was the bright spot. Despite a season in which he nearly broke the all-time rushing record, Barkley wasn’t brought in to set individual records; he was signed to help the Eagles win playoff games.
So far, so good, as Barkley finished with a game-high 126 yards on the ground.
The Eagles know where their bread is buttered, and having an identity in the playoffs goes a long way.
A.J. Brown channels “Inner Excellence”
The biggest winner of wild-card weekend might be author Jim Murphy.
During the Eagles’ win, WR A.J. Brown went viral for flipping through Murphy’s “Inner Excellence.”
It’s a book that is supposed to help an individual “Train your mind for extraordinary performance and the best possible life.”
Sunday was anything but an extraordinary performance from Brown, as he finished with just one catch for 10 yards.
But the Eagles No. 1 receiver says he brings the book to every game to help him through both the ups and downs.
“If I score a touchdown or drop a pass, it’s something how I refocus,” Brown said after the game. “I always revert back to the beginning of the book. It states if you can just have a clear mind and remember that nothing else matters, clear conscience, nothing matters negative or positive. You’re willing to take risks. It also says if you’re humble, you can’t be embarrassed.”
Brown certainly won’t be embarrassed if the book helps him earn his first Super Bowl ring.
Mistakes, injuries too much for Packers to overcome
To win a playoff game on the road as a No. 7 seed, a lot of things have to go right.
A lot went wrong for the Packers on Sunday.
It started right from the opening kickoff when they fumbled the opening kickoff and found themselves down 7-0 before they even blinked.
Love’s three interceptions also didn’t help, and neither did the flurry of injuries that befell Green Bay’s offence.
Already without WR Christian Watson, the Packers saw their top two remaining WRs, Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed, go down with injuries, as well as their terrific left guard Elgton Jenkins.
The combination of mistakes and injuries probably would’ve been too much for even the best to overcome, let alone a No. 7 seed up against the league’s No. 1 defence.
