NFL Wildcard Review: By Kyle Balfour
God, I love playoff football. Even when your team isn't in it, it's still exciting stuff. Everything on the line for a shot at the Superbowl is what drives every one of these teams, and the wildcard teams even more so since they have an additional opponent standing in their way. So with tonight being the divisional finals, let's quickly wrap up the Wildcard Round.
Game 1:
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tennessee Titans
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas, Missouri
Result: Chiefs 21-22 Titans
Stuart Said: Chiefs (0-1)
Kyle Said: Titans (1-0)
Now THAT was a comeback!
The Chiefs went full Chiefs and pissed away an 18 point lead in the second half. Oh, the memes were heavenly. Alex Smith relapsed and remembered his former identity, and couldn't muster it in the second half. Travis Kelce going down with a concussion definitely did shift the game, but Kareem Hunt was barely in this game. The Chiefs stuck to the script, forgetting that a main role was missing, and the results were as shown.
Meanwhile, Marcus Mariota - who let's be honest, was pretty poor to start - came together when it mattered, scrambled for strong gains, could throw down a strong block, and threw a touchdown to...himself...GOAT! Derrick Henry stepped up in place of DeMarco Murray, and boy, did he deliver. Incredible night for Henry, boasting a strong running operation, triple digit yards, and a touchdown.
The underdog story continues as they advance to the next round of the playoffs. As for the Chiefs...nothing new.
Game 2:
Los Angeles Rams vs. Atlanta Falcons
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
Result: Rams 13-26 Falcons
Stuart Said: Rams (0-2)
Kyle Said: Rams (1-1)
A clash of offensive driven titans (not those ones) dawned upon L.A. The Rams hoping to continue their revival as a playoff contender, and the Falcons looking to right the wrongs of last year.
Both teams were good, but the main issue here was Jared Goff. Far too many incomplete passes, which allowed the Falcons to be in a better position to score on their yard gains. Stats wise, both teams were neck and neck, but Goff's 24/45 complete throws against Matt Ryan's 21/30 is the game winning factor here.
It's a shame that one of these teams had to lose, but those are the breaks. Don't worry, L.A. Rams, you've certainly made a start to justifying your existence in L.A. and you'll have a real fan base again eventually. If anything, Sean McVay is almost certainly going to be the winner for Coach of the Year.
Game 3:
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills
EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Florida
Result: Jaguars 10-3 Bills
Stuart Said: Jaguars (1-2)
Kyle Said: Bills (1-2)
...That was a playoff game? ...Are you sure?!
Oh, BOY, that game was terrible. Like, genuinely awful, awful football was on display here. When me and my friends would much rather predict the NFL Honors instead of watching that trash fire, you know something is wrong.
Where do I start? Oh yeah, BLAKE BORTLES IS FUCKING TRASH! Like, Jesus Fucking Christ, he is bad. Dude can't throw to save an orphans life. Instead, he merely relies on his offensive line to make him look good as he "scrambles" and runs for yards - y'know? that thing you drafted Leonard Fournette for?! Bortles had more yards in less than half the carries than Fournette in this game. Couple that with the Bills defence's complete inability to stop Blake Fucking Bortles and make him look like Michael Vick or Randal Cunningham (by the way, how dare CBS make that comparison: Vick and Cunningham could at least throw a fucking ball!)
As for the Bills? MEDIOCRE! The Bills retained their legendary humdrum status, and couldn't get anything done against the Jaguars shut down defence. Despite a hell of an effort from LeSean McCoy (a not 100% McCoy, I'll remind people), it was all for nought. Then Tyrod Taylor goes down with a ghastly looking tackle (seriously, hope he's all right), meaning the anti-quarterback himself Nathan Peterman had to gear up and...threw an interception after only his 3rd throw...
Well that would've been about the funniest and most fitting thing to come out of this shit, except it wasn't a pick. Jalen Ramsey grounded the ball as he tried to gain control, rendering the play dead, and should've been ruled an incomplete pass. Shame the Bills had no timeouts to wager a challenge on it, but seriously: every play that can decide the game such as those should be reviewed within the 2-minute warning.
So what did we learn from this game? Well, after a display like that, the Jaguars are definitely getting their dicks kicked in when they face the Steelers; don't give me this "Jags beat them in the regular season, though" bullshit! One game, decided by interceptions. Piss off.
Game 4:
New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Result: Saints 31-26 Panthers
Stuart Said: Panthers (1-3)
Kyle Said: Saints (2-2)
An NFC South divisional rivalry kicks off our final wildcard game. Stakes are high, and the rivalry is as fierce as ever!
Saints start off strong, and while everyone was expecting the 2 headed running back giants of Alvin Kamara and Melvin Ingram, there was actually another 2 headed monster out there on the field in black and gold: wide receivers Ted Ginn Jr., and Michael Thomas. Ginn absolutely burned his former team on that amazing touchdown catch from Drew Brees, while Thomas was there to get big gains to set up big first downs for the Saints.
As for the Panthers, they started...not so hot. Nothing like a missed field goal from Graham Gano to set the tone, but they have a big 4th quarter comeback, the likes of which Matthew Stafford would compliment, and a bullshit intentional grounding flag is called. Except that Cam Newton was very much out of the quarterback pocket of the backfield. Couple that with another Tyrod Taylor level hit on Cam and that sidelines him for the rest of the game, but it's too little too late. A bad call from the refs means there's not enough time on the clock. You can blame the missed field goal from Gano, you can blame the fact the Panthers should have rationed their time outs more responsibly. The fact of the matter is this: The Carolina Panthers were robbed of a clean opportunity to score and win the game. Whether they succeed is irrelevant when they weren't given the chance.
Like I said, I wanted the Saints to win for predictions sake, but not like that. Not like THAT.
So there you have it, the Wildcard round all wrapped up, and ready to face the divisional champions. We had all varieties of games tonight, didn't we? The sweet comeback story of the underdog Titans, the strong, offensive displays of the Rams & Falcons, the absolute heap that was the Jaguars & Bills, and the daylight robbery of the Panthers. This is what makes the playoffs the playoffs.
See you for the Divisionals!
Game 1:
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tennessee Titans
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas, Missouri
Result: Chiefs 21-22 Titans
Stuart Said: Chiefs (0-1)
Kyle Said: Titans (1-0)
Now THAT was a comeback!
The Chiefs went full Chiefs and pissed away an 18 point lead in the second half. Oh, the memes were heavenly. Alex Smith relapsed and remembered his former identity, and couldn't muster it in the second half. Travis Kelce going down with a concussion definitely did shift the game, but Kareem Hunt was barely in this game. The Chiefs stuck to the script, forgetting that a main role was missing, and the results were as shown.
Meanwhile, Marcus Mariota - who let's be honest, was pretty poor to start - came together when it mattered, scrambled for strong gains, could throw down a strong block, and threw a touchdown to...himself...GOAT! Derrick Henry stepped up in place of DeMarco Murray, and boy, did he deliver. Incredible night for Henry, boasting a strong running operation, triple digit yards, and a touchdown.
The underdog story continues as they advance to the next round of the playoffs. As for the Chiefs...nothing new.
Game 2:
Los Angeles Rams vs. Atlanta Falcons
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
Result: Rams 13-26 Falcons
Stuart Said: Rams (0-2)
Kyle Said: Rams (1-1)
A clash of offensive driven titans (not those ones) dawned upon L.A. The Rams hoping to continue their revival as a playoff contender, and the Falcons looking to right the wrongs of last year.
Both teams were good, but the main issue here was Jared Goff. Far too many incomplete passes, which allowed the Falcons to be in a better position to score on their yard gains. Stats wise, both teams were neck and neck, but Goff's 24/45 complete throws against Matt Ryan's 21/30 is the game winning factor here.
It's a shame that one of these teams had to lose, but those are the breaks. Don't worry, L.A. Rams, you've certainly made a start to justifying your existence in L.A. and you'll have a real fan base again eventually. If anything, Sean McVay is almost certainly going to be the winner for Coach of the Year.
Game 3:
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills
EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Florida
Result: Jaguars 10-3 Bills
Stuart Said: Jaguars (1-2)
Kyle Said: Bills (1-2)
...That was a playoff game? ...Are you sure?!
Oh, BOY, that game was terrible. Like, genuinely awful, awful football was on display here. When me and my friends would much rather predict the NFL Honors instead of watching that trash fire, you know something is wrong.
Where do I start? Oh yeah, BLAKE BORTLES IS FUCKING TRASH! Like, Jesus Fucking Christ, he is bad. Dude can't throw to save an orphans life. Instead, he merely relies on his offensive line to make him look good as he "scrambles" and runs for yards - y'know? that thing you drafted Leonard Fournette for?! Bortles had more yards in less than half the carries than Fournette in this game. Couple that with the Bills defence's complete inability to stop Blake Fucking Bortles and make him look like Michael Vick or Randal Cunningham (by the way, how dare CBS make that comparison: Vick and Cunningham could at least throw a fucking ball!)
As for the Bills? MEDIOCRE! The Bills retained their legendary humdrum status, and couldn't get anything done against the Jaguars shut down defence. Despite a hell of an effort from LeSean McCoy (a not 100% McCoy, I'll remind people), it was all for nought. Then Tyrod Taylor goes down with a ghastly looking tackle (seriously, hope he's all right), meaning the anti-quarterback himself Nathan Peterman had to gear up and...threw an interception after only his 3rd throw...
Well that would've been about the funniest and most fitting thing to come out of this shit, except it wasn't a pick. Jalen Ramsey grounded the ball as he tried to gain control, rendering the play dead, and should've been ruled an incomplete pass. Shame the Bills had no timeouts to wager a challenge on it, but seriously: every play that can decide the game such as those should be reviewed within the 2-minute warning.
So what did we learn from this game? Well, after a display like that, the Jaguars are definitely getting their dicks kicked in when they face the Steelers; don't give me this "Jags beat them in the regular season, though" bullshit! One game, decided by interceptions. Piss off.
Game 4:
New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Result: Saints 31-26 Panthers
Stuart Said: Panthers (1-3)
Kyle Said: Saints (2-2)
An NFC South divisional rivalry kicks off our final wildcard game. Stakes are high, and the rivalry is as fierce as ever!
Saints start off strong, and while everyone was expecting the 2 headed running back giants of Alvin Kamara and Melvin Ingram, there was actually another 2 headed monster out there on the field in black and gold: wide receivers Ted Ginn Jr., and Michael Thomas. Ginn absolutely burned his former team on that amazing touchdown catch from Drew Brees, while Thomas was there to get big gains to set up big first downs for the Saints.
As for the Panthers, they started...not so hot. Nothing like a missed field goal from Graham Gano to set the tone, but they have a big 4th quarter comeback, the likes of which Matthew Stafford would compliment, and a bullshit intentional grounding flag is called. Except that Cam Newton was very much out of the quarterback pocket of the backfield. Couple that with another Tyrod Taylor level hit on Cam and that sidelines him for the rest of the game, but it's too little too late. A bad call from the refs means there's not enough time on the clock. You can blame the missed field goal from Gano, you can blame the fact the Panthers should have rationed their time outs more responsibly. The fact of the matter is this: The Carolina Panthers were robbed of a clean opportunity to score and win the game. Whether they succeed is irrelevant when they weren't given the chance.
Like I said, I wanted the Saints to win for predictions sake, but not like that. Not like THAT.
So there you have it, the Wildcard round all wrapped up, and ready to face the divisional champions. We had all varieties of games tonight, didn't we? The sweet comeback story of the underdog Titans, the strong, offensive displays of the Rams & Falcons, the absolute heap that was the Jaguars & Bills, and the daylight robbery of the Panthers. This is what makes the playoffs the playoffs.
See you for the Divisionals!
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