Saturday’s NFL Playoff games started with the upstart Houston Texans hosting the Cleveland Browns. It concluded in the bitter cold of Missouri with the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Miami Dolphins.
As home underdogs, Houston absolutely destroyed Cleveland by the score of 45-14. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud continued to defy logic with another brilliant performance. Joe Flacco’s career could have ended with a thud.
The late game saw temperatures reach negative-seven degrees. The Chiefs were more up to the task than the visiting Dolphins, punching their ticket to the AFC Divisional Playoffs via a 26-7 win.
Saturday’s NFL Playoff games were not too competitive. That’s not great for fans watching at home. But it did provide a ton of winners and losers. We check in on them below.
Related: 2024 NFL Playoff predictions
Winner: C.J. Stroud illuminates NFL Playoff debut with stellar performance, leaving fans in awe
Stroud put up one of the best performances by a rookie quarterback in the history of the league during the regular season. There was a ton of confidence from the former Ohio State star heading into his NFL Playoff debut.
“I’ve played in playoff games before, big games. The less that you put pressure on yourself, I feel like the more you just execute and do your job. That’s when good things happen,” Stroud said ahead of Saturday’s game.
This confidence was warranted. Going up against the NFL’s No. 1 regular season defense, Stroud put on an absolute clinic. He completed 16-of-21 passes for 274 yards, including touchdown passes of 76, 37 and 15 yards.
Most of that damage was done in the first half. By the time halftime hit, Stroud was on pace to break Brock Purdy’s record for most passing yards from a rookie in his first playoff start. The kid is good. The kid can be dominant. Nothing gets to him. We saw that first-hand during the first of two NFL Playoff games on Saturday.
Related: Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud’s brilliant effort in NFL Playoff debut puts him on another level
Loser: Tua Tagovailoa freezes in the icy cold for Miami Dolphins
For much of the 2023 regular season, Tua Tagovailoa was seen as a legitimate NFL MVP candidate. That came crashing down leading into the playoffs with the former first-round pick from Alabama accounting for three touchdown passes and four interceptions over the final two regular-season games.
Tua was not much better against a dominant Chiefs defense during the NFL Wild Card Playoffs. He completed just 20-of-39 passes for 199 yards with one touchown and one interception. Fifty-three of those yards came on an underthrown deep ball that Tyreek Hill made a great play on.
There was a lot made of Tua being a product of Hill. We’re not going that far. But the one big highlight-reel play for Miami consisted of a poorly-thrown pass. For the third consecutive game to wrap up a disappointing Dolphins season, Tagovailoa came up small.
Related: Why the Miami Dolphins have hit their ceiling with Tua Tagovailoa, reached a Jared Goff problem
Winner: Rashee Rice shines bright in dominating performance for the Kansas City Chiefs
This rookie second-round pick from SMU ended the regular season acting as Patrick Mahomes’ favorite target, averaging seven receptions for 87 yards over the final six games. We knew that Rice would have to step up if the Chiefs were to come up Saturday given the struggles of other Chiefs receivers. About that?
Rice finished the game with a Chiefs rookie playoff record 130 yards and a touchdown in providing Mahomes with the target he needed. He could loom large moving into the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
Loser: Myles Garrett’s disappearance in NFL Playoffs raises questions
Myles Garrett is going to be a finalist for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. The former No. 1 pick out of Texas A&M recorded 30 QB hits, 17 tackles for loss and 14 sacks en route to earning All-Pro honors during the regular season. He was a primary reason Cleveland finished with the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
About that? Garrett was nowhere to be found as Cleveland found itself blown out by the score of 45-14 on Saturday. He did not record a single sack, QB hit or tackle for loss in completely shutting down when the Browns needed him the most. It was a major disappointment for the team and its long-frustrated fan base.
Related: Experts pick Saturday’s NFL Playoff games
Winner: DeMeco Ryans’ defensive masterclass propels Houston Texans to dominance
First-year Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans made his name known as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator for two seasons before taking over in Houston. He was loved by those players, and showed he had what it took to become a head coach in the NFL.
This was taken to a whole new level during the regular season with Ryans and a rookie quarterback helping lead Houston to a shocking playoff appearance.
Everything we talked about was on full display for Houston as it destroyed the Browns by 31 points. The Texans’ defense recorded two pick-sixes of Joe Flacco in the third quarter to put this one away. They got to Flacco for seven QB hits and four sacks. Houston recorded an absurd 11 tackles for loss and five passes defended. Heck, this unit even took time to dance with Flacco.
We’re talking about all three tiers of this defense dominating. Rookie EDGE Will Anderson spearheading the pass rush. Linebacker Christian Harris making a game-changing play. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. shutting down Amari Cooper. It really was a masterclass of a performance.
Related: Picks against the spread for NFL Wild Card Playoffs
Loser: Joe Flacco’s game-changing mistakes doom Cleveland Browns
You never want to go full pumpkin on a football field. That’s especially true when we’re talking about NFL Playoff games in January. Unfortunately for the 38-year-old Joe Flacco, that’s exactly what we saw Saturday against the Houston Texans.
After a mistake-free first half, Flacco threw two pick-sixes in the third quarter alone. Both were ugly. The first one was returned 78 yards by Texans cornerback Steven Nelson with Cleveland trying to make it a potential one-score game.
Flacco’s second pick-six came on the very next possession when Texans linebacker Christian Harris jumped a route and returned it 36 yards to pretty much put this one away.
We have to give Flacco credit for coming off the couch back in December en route to leading Cleveland to a 4-1 record in five starts. But his Cinderella story came to an end inside NRG Stadium in Houston. Sadly, this could also be the last we see of Flacco on an NFL field.
Related: NFL world reacts to Joe Flacco throwing NFL Playoff game away
Winner: Kansas City Chiefs’ George Karlaftis stays hot in freezing cold
We focused on Karlaftis as a key for the Chiefs heading into Saturday’s NFL Playoff games. He tied All-Pro Chris Jones for the team lead in sacks with 10.5 during the regular season. The sophomore has been a perfect complement to Jones out on the edge.
This came out in more ways than one inside Arrowhead Stadium Saturday night. He got to Tua Tagovailoa for three quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks while registering another tackle for loss. It was a brilliant all-around performance.
The thought process heading into the NFL Playoffs was that Kansas City’s defense would be the unit to lead it to another Super Bowl title. Led by Karlaftis, this unit very much played the part Saturday night.
Loser: The two NFL Playoff games on Saturday
Fans had braved 18 weeks of action in hopes of some awesome drama in the playoffs. The expectation is that the opening day of the NFL Playoffs would provide that with two seemingly even matchups taking place in the AFC.
Boy, were these fans disappointed. The blowout nature of Saturday’s action led to Andy Reid’s frozen mustache and Patrick Mahomes’ broken helmet being the talk of the football world. Fans want playoff drama. They want close games. They want fun matchups. None of this came to fruition on Saturday.