Big blowouts, crazy catches and a new Super Bowl prediction headline the NFL Wild Card Recap.
NFL Wild Card Weekend can be summed up in two words: Home. Cooking.
A year after road teams swept the opening weekend of the playoffs, home teams have turned the table in historic fashion. Not only did the home teams go 4-0, but they won by a combined 76 points, which is the largest combined margin of victory since the playoff expansion of 1990. Let’s see what happened in each game.
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Giants 13 Packers 38
Aaron Rodgers — having to deal with the indignity of having as many playoff wins at Lambeau Field as Eli Manning and generating just seven yards of offense in the first quarter — shook off postseason demons to become just the fifth player in NFL history to throw for 350+ yards, 4 TDs, and no picks in a playoff game. Considering the winner of the last seven Packers-Giants postseason meetings went on to become champions, Rodgers’ meta-human efforts seem to have the Pack primed for another title run in Titletown.
And Ben McAdoo can treat the weather like Fight Club but he’s going to have to confront his best receiver about his season-long tendency to fight inanimate objects.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Dolphins 12 Steelers 30
These two teams have met in the playoffs three times before. Each time, the winner of the game went to the Super Bowl. So basically, a betting man should roll the dice on a Steelers-Packers Super Bowl.
It’s not a bad bet either. Pittsburgh’s NFL-record 35th playoff win was keyed by two Steelers making triumphant postseason debuts: Antonio Brown went for 124 yards and two long touchdowns, and Le’Veon Bell ran for a franchise-record 167 yards and two scores. Now that Big Ben is needlessly banged up, here’s hoping this first time isn’t also the last time we see Pittsburgh’s Big Three together in the playoffs.
And memo to Jay Ajayi: If you’re going to openly complain about a lack of respect, maybe don’t go from gashing these Steelers for 204 yards in the regular season to just 33 in the high stakes postseason rematch. Miami made some good strides this year, but losing an NFL-record 4th straight playoff game by 14+ points is a bad look.
(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
Raiders 14 Texans 27
As disappointing as it was to see Oakland generate the second-fewest yards in franchise playoff history (203) by Connor Cook playing like the third-string QB he is, and his receivers miserably failing to help him out — I’m more let down by the Raiders defense’s failure to force starting-QB-but-really-should-be-a-backup Brock Osweiler into a turnover. Oakland has to feel like they got their proverbial chain snatched. Again.
Meanwhile, Houston is the first Super Bowl host city to win a playoff game since the 1998 Dolphins. With a trip to New England on deck, that’s all they can reasonably expect to achieve this season.
(Photo by Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images)
Photo by Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images
Is @prich10 for real?! No regard for the defender.
WASHINGTON — NFL Wild Card Weekend can be summed up in two words: Home. Cooking.
A year after road teams swept the opening weekend of the playoffs, home teams have turned the table in historic fashion. Not only did the home teams go 4-0, but they won by a combined 76 points, which is the largest combined margin of victory since the playoff expansion of 1990. Let’s see what happened in each game.
Rob Woodfork is WTOP's Senior Sports Content Producer, which includes duties as producer and host of the DC Sports Huddle, nightside sports anchor and sports columnist on WTOP.com.
