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Top takeaways from NFL Wild Card Weekend

Bad football, bad coaching and excellent games

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

NFL Wild Card Weekend provided us a combination of bad football, bad coaching and some excellent games. The Houston Texans proved they were not ready for prime time against Indianapolis Saturday afternoon — losing at home by two touchdowns.

Once the other wild-card game kicked off in Dallas on Saturday, we knew that the Seahawks’ offense would be going up against a juggernaut. We had little idea that the trenches would help Dallas win just its third playoff game of the millennium.

Then, on Sunday, the Los Angeles Chargers’ defense took it to Baltimore in a big way — providing Philip Rivers and Co. with enough of a safety net to come out on top in front of an embarrassing Ravens crowd.

Closing up shop on the weekend’s slate, the Eagles took out the Bears in a drama-filled game to remain alive in their bid to repeat as champions.

These are among the top takeaways from NFL Wild Card Weekend.

 

The magic of one Nick Foles

Can Nick Foles lead the Eagles in Carson Wentz's stead?

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

With his Eagles down 15-10 late in the fourth quarter at the hallowed grounds of Soldier Field, this reigning Super Bowl MVP showed the Bears just how much magic he is. He led Philadelphia on a methodical 58-yard touchdown scoring drive that culminated in a two-yard score to Golden Tate to give the Eagles an 16-15 lead and ultimately the win.

Foles had not played stellar football throughout the game. He threw two first-half interceptions and was consistently inaccurate. But when it came down to it, Foles came up absolutely huge to send the defending champs to the NFC Divisional Playoffs against the New Orleans Saints. What a performance from the veteran journeyman.

 

Chargers have a championship caliber defense

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

While Philip Rivers and Los Angeles’ offense struggled to do a lot Sunday against Baltimore, its defense stepped up in every possible way. Melvin Ingram dominated to the tune of two sacks and recorded the game-winning fumble recovery following a sack of Lamar Jackson. Baltimore’s previously dominant rushing attack went for a mere 90 yards on 23 attempts after averaging north of 220 yards per game in Jackson’s seven regular-season starts.

It was pin your ears back time for the Chargers’ defense and coordinator Gus Bradley. Sure two touchdown passes from Jackson to Michael Crabtree late in the fourth quarter made this game too close for comfort. But what we saw from the Chargers’ defense on Sunday tells us a story of a unit that’s championship caliber. It’s that simple.

 

Colts rushing attack proves they are contenders

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Indianapolis absolutely dominated the trenches behind rookie offensive linemen Braden Smith and Quenton Nelson Saturday afternoon against the division champion Houston Texans. The team went for 200 yards on the ground — averaging 5.7 yards per attempt in the process.

This came against a Houston defense that ranked third in the NFL stopping the run during the regular season. It also proves that Indy is not a one-trick pony with Andrew Luck under center. Given how Kansas City was gashed against the run during the regular season, this also gives Frank Reich and Co. an upper hand heading into the divisional round.

 

Seahawks offensive line lets team down

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

It’s not a surprise that Russell Wilson found himself under pressure at an alarming high clip Saturday night against the Cowboys. He was sacked a career-high 51 times during the regular season and has been taken down more than any quarterback in the NFL since entering the league.

Unfortunately, it’s more about Wilson not being given much of an opportunity in the passing game. He was pressured on more than 50 percent of his drop backs in the 24-22 loss to Dallas. Equally as important, Seattle’s offensive line failed to open up holes for a rushing attack that ranked No. 1 during the regular year. Chris Carson went for 20 yards on 13 attempts as the team averaged just 3.0 yards per rush. That’s just not going to get it done.

 

Bill O’Brien and Co. not yet ready for prime time

Steve Mitchell, USA Today Sports

Houston entered Wild Card Weekend having won 11 of its past 13 games. In no way did the successful regular season transition to playoff football. These Texans came out flat at home, falling down 21-0 early. From that point on, they were never really in the game.

More than anything, O’Brien’s offensive scheme left a lot to be desired. Indy’s defense seemed to know what was coming pre snap throughout the game. It resulted in the Texans scoring a grand total of seven points while being outgained by 100 total yards. We’re obviously going to stop short of saying BOB is on the hot seat, but Saturday’s showing was a brutal reality check. He’s a not yet ready for prime time coach.

 

Ravens fans should be embarrassed

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

We get it. Lamar Jackson struggled something fierce for the first three-plus quarters of Sunday’s wild-card game against Los Angeles. He actually had negative net passing yards well into the fourth quarter. It was a brutal overall performance from the rookie quarterback and his offense.

In no way does this mean fans in Maryland were justified in booing the young signal caller while chanting for Joe Flacco to replace him under center. That’s definitely not good optics. And it painted this fan base in a bad light. Interestingly enough, after said fans booed and exited the game early, Jackson led Baltimore on two touchdown-scoring drives to pull the Ravens within six. While it was not to be, he showed those fair-weather fans who was boss.

 

Mama, there goes that man

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

It’s not a secret that Dallas’ offense runs through Ezekiel Elliott. Seattle had to know that heading into Saturday night’s wild-card game. Elliott finished the regular season having led the NFL in rush attempts, rushing yards and total touches. He’s been the glue to hold an otherwise bland Cowboys offense together.

That once again came out in droves against a Seahawks defense that ranked in the top half of the NFL stopping the run during the regular year. Elliott put up 137 yards on 26 attempts and helped Dallas pretty much end the game with a lengthy touchdown scoring drive late in the final stanza. He also added 32 yards on four receptions, going for 169 total yards on 30 touches. This type of dominant performance makes the Cowboys a legit contender to take out Los Angeles in the divisional round. It also sent Seattle packing for the winter.

 

T.Y. Hilton does in fact own the Texans

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Hilton entered Wild Card Weekend having put up 76 receptions for 1,445 yards and nine touchdowns in 14 career games against the Texans, including 14 receptions for 374 yards in his past two games at NRG Stadium in Houston. It was somewhat of an under-the-radar storyline heading into Saturday’s game, especially with Hilton himself talking trash.

Though, the Pro Bowl receiver did his talking on the field in Indy’s 21-7 win over Houston. He caught five passes for 85 yards, doing his damage primarily in a first half that saw the Colts put up three touchdowns. It led to one person changing Hilton’s Wikipedia page to note that he owns the Texans. Because, after all, he certainly does.

 

Bears forgot Tarik Cohen existed

Bears rookie running back Tarik Cohen impressed in NFL Debut.

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

This is as much on quarterback Mitchell Trubisky as it is on head coach Matt Nagy. In a game that seemingly had Cohen written all over it, the stud young running back was pretty much a non-factor. He touched the ball a grand total of four times for 27 yards in the loss.

The issue here is that Trubisky was banged up with a lower-body injury earlier in the game. Why not rely more on a back that had proven himself to be absolutely dynamic? Cohen was coming off a two-year span to start his career that saw him average north of six yards per attempt. Despite this, the Bears figured it was not ideal to use Cohen more. Come on, guys.

 

Brian Schottenheimer proves to be a fraud 

Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle received a ton of flack from “experts” after hiring this longtime assistant to be its offensive coordinator prior to the 2018 season. For the most part, Schottenheimer did well during the regular year. That included Seattle boasting the top-ranked rushing attack in the NFL.

The issue Saturday night is that Schottenheimer failed to make in-game adjustments. Taking on the NFL’s fifth-best run defense, it was apparent that the Cowboys were hellbent on stopping the run early. Instead of putting the game in Russell Wilson’s hands, Seattle’s offensive coordinator continued to run the ball. In fact, the Hawks put up just 73 yards on 24 attempts. Wilson? Well, he attempted just 27 passes. This bland play-calling and inability to make in-game adjustments cost Seattle big time in the 24-22 loss.

 

Cody Parkey’s miss sends Bears into the winter

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky did everything possible to lead his team back from behind late in the fourth quarter Sunday evening. Down 16-15 and getting the ball with under a minute left, Trubisky completed 2-of-3 passes for 33 yards en route to setting up a potential 43-yard game winning field goal.

But as we’ve seen with kickers throughout the history of the NFL Playoffs, Parkey came up small on the game’s grandest of stages. With a chance to send Chicago to Los Angeles for the divisional round, Parkey hit the ball off the left upright to send the Bears into a deep winter with a loss. No one in the Windy City feels as bad as Parkey. But he should get out of dodge rather quickly.

 

Divisional round set up to be pretty epic

Scott Clause/The Advertiser via USA TODAY NETWORK

The AFC slate next weekend is going to be absolutely brilliant. Despite earning a first-round bye and home-field advantage, Kansas City is now slated to take on a Colts team that’s won 10 out of 11 since a 1-5 start to the season. It will have to do so going up against MVP candidate Andrew Luck and with one of the worst defenses in the playoffs. In New England, Tom Brady and the Pats must play host to a Chargers squad that’s won 12 of 14 games.

Though, we’re equally as intrigued to see how the NFC shapes up after Dallas took it to Seattle. Now set to take on the Rams in Los Angeles, this is going to be one heck of a game. And in New Orleans, the defending champion Eagles will look to stave off revenge against Drew Brees and the Saints. It’s going to be an absolute blast.

 

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