You have to sacrifice for fashion

The GIST: The opening weekend of postseason football is nearly done and dusted with five of the league’s six Wild Card games in the books. Move over, Lightning McQueen, the NFL brought the focus and speed to this year’s playoffs.

American Football Conference (AFC)

MVP candidate–led Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills to meet in Divisional Round after dominant Wild Card wins: The No. 3 seed Ravens first-team All-Pro quarterback (QB) Lamar Jackson slayed as Baltimore stiffed the No. 6 seed Pittsburgh Steelers 28–14 on Saturday. And it was a similar scene in Buffalo yesterday as QB Josh Allen showed out in the No. 2 seed Bills’ 31–7 dub over the No. 7 seed Denver Broncos. Immovable force meet unstoppable object.

• Elsewhere, LA Chargers QB Justin Herbert had a no-good very bad day on Saturday: He threw a career-high four interceptions (after tossing just three all season) in No. 5 seed LA’s 32–12 L to the No. 4 seed Houston Texans, who are headed to their second straight Divisional Round.

National Football Conference (NFC)

Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders advance: The library was open for the No. 2 seed Birds, who showed inner and outer excellence in yesterday’s 22–10 W over the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers. Then, the No. 6 seed Commanders orchestrated the only upset of the weekend, a 23–20 doink-tacular dub over the No. 3 seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Washington’s first playoff win since 2005.

• It’s time to tie a bow on Wild Card weekend with tonight’s 8 p.m. ET Monday Night Football tilt between the resilient No. 4 seed LA Rams and the high-scoring No. 5 seed Minnesota Vikings. Come for Arizona’s hospitality, stay for the choreographed dances.

The GIST: With a 28–14 win over No. 5 Texas in Friday’s Cotton Bowl, No. 8 Ohio State punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff (CFP) championship game, where they’ll face No. 7 Notre Dame. But questions about the college football landscape still linger ahead of January 20th’s title game. Let’s dig in.

🤠 What’s next for Texas and its quarterbacks? For the second straight season, the Longhorns came up short in the CFP semis with redshirt junior Quinn Ewers at quarterback. Following the loss to Ohio State, Ewers was cagey about his next move, sparking speculation that he might declare for the NFL Draft or hit the ever-popular transfer portal.

• With Ewers likely out of Texas’ picture, it’s time to say “howdy” to Arch Manning — yes, the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning — who’s set to take the reins next season. Welcome to the Manning Era.

❓ Did the new playoff format work? The first year of the 12-team expanded CFP has received mixed reviews. While total viewership increased thanks to more games, average viewership (through the quarters) is down. Evidently, driving appointment viewing for an entire month is much more difficult than driving it for one week.

• Conversely, the dip in average viewership could be a direct result of inconsistent game quality. The first round, for example, provided serious duds — like No. 6 Penn State’s 38–10 shellacking of No. 11 SMU.

• While the on-field product improved in the second round, all four top seeds who received byes were eliminated. But remember — this is only the first attempt at a brand-new format, so don’t be surprised if the committee considers updating the way the bye works.

• Notably, if this season operated with the four-team CFP format of years past, championship contenders Ohio State and Notre Dame — who both suffered early-season losses — wouldn’t be playing in the natty. And wouldn’t that be a shame?

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