NFL Wildcard Weekend Recap

January 11, 2021

The GIST: The NFL postseason’s Wild Card round is over, and what a wild weekend it was. While some moments were to be expected (Tom Brady in the playoffs...shocker), there were a few gamechangers we didn’t see coming.

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SOURCE: NFL/TWITTER

The expected: To no one’s surprise, quarterback (QB) Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a wild-card win in Saturday’s primetime game against the Washington Football Team (WFT).

WFT back-up QB Taylor Heinicke (pronounced HIGH-NUH-KEY) gave them a run for their money, but Brady, who has now beat 17 different teams in the playoffs over his career, was never in doubt.

Just hours earlier, the No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills edged out the Indianapolis Colts for their first playoff win in 25 years, and the New Orleans Saints beat the Chicago Bears in a bit of a snoozefest yesterday.

The unexpected: The LA Rams gave us the first shock, beating the heavily-favored Seattle Seahawks in their own house on Saturday afternoon. Moreover, they won with their QB Jared Goff, who was supposed to still be recovering from thumb surgery, when their backup-turned-starter QB John Wolford was sent to the hospital after a nasty hit.

Then yesterday, Baltimore Ravens QB and 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson was finally vindicated when his Baltimore Ravens beat the Tennessee Titans, securing his first-ever playoff win. It helped that the Ravens’ defense held Titans running back “King” Derrick Henry to just 40 yards.

And in the most unexpected turn of events, the Pittsburgh Steelers forgot how to football. Literally. Just. Forgot. The COVID-19-depleted Cleveland Browns were up 28–0 before the first quarter was finished for the most unanswered points scored in any first quarter in NFL postseason history. They went on to win 48–37. OMG.