NFL Wild Card Reactions & NFL Divisional Predictions!

There were some great and intense games this weekend. This is my take on the games:

1. The playoffs kicked off with the Seahawks playing the heavily-favored 49ers. During the first half, it seemed pretty even, and Seattle even had the lead at halftime. But the 49ers went crazy in the second half and defeated Seattle 41-23. Good job to the Seahawks for making the playoffs despite only being predicted to win a few games.

2. The second game on Saturday was the Chargers against the Jaguars. It was predicted to be somewhat of an even game, but the Chargers picked off Jags QB Trevor Lawrence 4 times in the first half to open the game 27-0. However, the Jaguars still had plenty of time to come back. And that they did, as they ended up victorious 31-30, on a game-winning field goal. This completed the third-largest playoff comeback in NFL History (only behind the 28-point comeback the Colts had against the Chiefs in 2013, and the 32-point comeback the Bills had against the Oilers in 1992). Credit to the Jaguars on an amazing win, and despite the loss, the Chargers had a great season.

3. Sunday kicked off with the Bills hosting the Dolphins. Predictions favored Buffalo by a lot of points, as the Dolphins had to play Skylar Thompson instead of Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater as their starting quarterback. And at first, the game went as expected, as the Bills jumped to an early 17-0 lead. But to people’s surprise, Miami started chipping at the deficit, and at one point, led Buffalo 24-20. A lot of key mistakes in the game, but in the end, Buffalo escaped with the 34-31 win. Buffalo didn’t look their best, and we’ll see if they do better the next round. I wonder what would’ve happened if Tua played in this game, but nevertheless, the Dolphins had a great season, but so much potential.

4. The next game was between the Vikings and Giants. These two teams played earlier in the season, and the Vikings won on a game-winning 61-yard field goal. This game was even for the most part, and was pretty standard until the end. Saquon Barkley scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Giants to put them ahead 31-24. However, there was still time in the 4th quarter for Minnesota to score. Unfortunately for Minnesota, the Giants defense did their job, and the Giants won the game 31-24. A lot of people had New York winning, but I’d say the predictions were pretty even. I personally had Minnesota winning, but I wasn’t too shocked of the outcome. The majority of Minnesota’s wins were by one score. Nevertheless, this feat was very impressive, and the Vikings had a great season.

5. The final game of Sunday was a rematch of Week 18 between the Ravens and the Bengals. The Bengals won that matchup, and it was announced a few days before the game that Ravens starting QB Lamar Jackson would not be playing due to an injury. The Bengals took an early 9-0 lead, but by halftime, Baltimore took a 10-9 lead. The game was pretty tight from then, and the game was tied 17-17 midway through the 4th quarter. The Ravens were looking to score, but as Ravens QB Tyler Huntley tried to dive over the goal line, the ball was knocked out of his hands, and Bengals DE Sam Hubbard took it 98 yards for the score. The Bengals were now up 24-17, and it remained that way until the final seconds of the game. The Ravens had one last chance, and it was 4th down & 20 deep in Cincinnati territory. Huntley threw it to the endzone into heavy traffic, and the pass was ultimately incomplete. I thought Cincinnati would have won by more points, but they got the win and move on to the next round. Throughout this season, the Ravens looked relatively consistent, but struggled without Lamar Jackson. After all they’ve gone through, they still had a great season.

6. The final game of Super Wild Card Weekend happened on Monday and it was between the Cowboys and the Buccaneers. I thought the game would be a lot closer, but Dallas absolutely dominated on offense and defense, and won 31-14. Tom Brady struggled, even throwing a redzone interception, in his first career loss to the Dallas Cowboys. And now the questions emerge again on whether Tom Brady continues his play in the NFL, or if he played his final game of his career. Either way, Dallas deserved the win, and despite a rocky season for the Buccaneers, Tom Brady adds another division championship to his resume.

So now those were my takes on each Wild card game, what are your reactions to the games?

It’ll be the Jaguars vs the Chiefs and Giants vs Eagles on Saturday,

And the Bengals vs the Bills and Cowboys vs 49ers on Sunday.

Exciting wild card games, and I’m excited for more excited divisional round games as well!!

What are your predictions for this divisional round? Are your Super Bowl predictions still the same after the Wild card round? Please let me know!