Adrian Kraus / Associated Press
The expanded NFL Wild Card Weekend began with a lot of action on Saturday, with Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams each advancing into next week’s divisional round, with resounding victories.
Buffalo was the only home team to win, as both the Washington Football Team and Seattle Seahawks were eliminated after winning their respective divisions. The Rams got the biggest surprise of the day, silencing the Seahawks attack, despite losing a quarterback due to a neck injury and inserting another just weeks after his thumb surgery.
The playoffs started with a triple header for the first time, and none of the disputes disappointed. Here’s a look at how the first half of Wild Card Weekend went and what comes next.
Saturday’s Wild-Card Results
No. 2 Buffalo Bills def. No. 7 Indianapolis Colts 27-24
No. 6 Los Angeles Rams def. No. 3 Seattle Seahawks 30-20
No. 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers def. No. 4 Washington Football Team 31-23
Sunday Wild Card Schedule
No. 5 Baltimore Ravens at No. 4 Tennessee Titans: 1:05 pm ET on ABC / ESPN
Seventh Chicago Bears in second place at the New Orleans Saints: 4:40 pm ET on CBS
No. 6 Cleveland Browns at No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers: 8:15 pm ET on NBC
Saturday recap
Buffalo Bills 27, Indianapolis Colts 24
Bills didn’t play their best on Saturday, but considering that Buffalo hasn’t won a playoff game since 1995, it doesn’t matter.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen wished his team victory after the Colts continued to attack the defense for great moves. Allen completed 26 of 35 attempts to pass for 324 yards and two touchdowns while running for another 54 yards and a score.
Indianapolis seemed prepared to take control after getting a 10-7 lead early, but the inability to convert into the red zone condemned the attack led by Philip Rivers. The Colts converted only twice into five appearances within the 20-yard line, and the bet did not help at all.
With a three-point advantage at the end of the first half, the Colts failed to score in the 4th and goal, as a Rivers pass was out of reach of Michael Pittman Jr. After Indianapolis found himself back in the red zone in his first possession of the second half, the Colts became conservative and tried to kick a field goal that stretched up and left.
Buffalo responded with a 77-yard nine-game touchdown attempt to take a 24-10 lead that almost closed the door in a Colts recovery.
A failed attempt by a bird maria did not come close to the final zone and sent Indy home empty-handed.
Rivers passed 309 yards and two touchdowns in what may have been the last NFL game of his 17-year career.
Los Angeles Rams 30, Seattle Seahawks 20
Whatever the question marks about the Los Angeles Rams attack, the defense seems to make up for them and more.
Against Russell Wilson, DK Metcalf and the powerful Seattle Seahawks, the Rams hit the road and kept the Hawks at just 278 yards in total, forcing two turns. Aaron Donald proved that he is one of the most ferocious defensive line players in football with two sacks, while maintaining pressure on Wilson until a rib injury in the third quarter forced him to leave the field.
When the Seattle attack collapsed, the Rams were barely able to control themselves.
Second-quarter quarterback John Wolford was scheduled to start, but only lasted until the team’s second shot, when a neck injury forced him out of the game and temporarily sent him to the hospital for further evaluation. This means that Jared Goff, who underwent surgery on December 28, was forced to return to action.
Goff completed nine of 19 attempts to pass for 115 yards and a touchdown, while tailback Cam Akers did most of the heavy lifting with 131 yards and a touchdown on 28 charged.
Wilson finished 174 yards, two touchdowns and an interception by taking five sacks.
The situation of defender Rams and Donald’s health will remain the most pressing issues for LA for the next few days.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Washington Football Team 23
Washington continued the trend of quarterback issues on Saturday when Taylor Heinicke made his post-season debut for the football team after Alex Smith was considered inactive.
None of that mattered to Tom Brady, who became the Oldest QB in NFL history record a touchdown pass in a playoff game, as Tampa Bay never lost in victory.
Brady passed 381 yards and two touchdowns, while Heinicke put 306 yards through, a touchdown and an interception to go 46 yards running with another score on the ground. This was despite an apparent shoulder injury that sent WFT QB back to the locker room in the third quarter with obvious pain. He was able to return and keep his team in the game, regardless.
The Bucs, in turn, suffered their biggest shock with injury during the warm-up when starting the tailback Ronald Jones II adjusted your quad. Jones was listed as active for the game, but he didn’t see the field for any snap and neither seemed to be an option for Brady’s attack.
Instead, Leonard Fournette ran 19 times for 93 yards and a score with Jones sidelined.
Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown of Tampa made a touchdown pass while the Bucs advanced to the divisional round.
Divisional Round Schedule
(The team with the highest ranking in each conference plays the lowest remaining ranking)
No. 7 Chicago Bears OR No. 6 Los Angeles Rams at No. 1 Green Bay Packers: Time TBD
No. 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 2 New Orleans Saints OR No. 6 Los Angeles Rams at No. 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Team TBD
No. 6 Cleveland Browns OR No. 5 Baltimore Ravens OR No. 4 Tennessee Titans at No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs: Team TBD
No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers OR No. 4 Tennessee Titans OR No. 5 Baltimore Ravens at No. 2 Buffalo Bills: Team TBD