The playoffs are underway and the opening weekend was something of a mixed bag. The Bengals delivered their first postseason win in 31 years, whilst the Bills put up a historic offensive performance. Then there was a fair share of stagnant offense, officiating errors, and bizarre coaching decisions. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly from Super Wild Card Weekend.
The Good
Buffalo’s historic offense – The Bills made light work of the Patriots in their 47-17 victory. This wasn’t just the best offensive performance from them this season, but one of the most impressive games of any team in years. Per Football Outsiders, the Bills logged a 108.1% offensive DVOA. That makes it the second best offensive performance since 1983, bettered by only the 2018 Chiefs in Week 9. If they can continue to play like this they will be the team to beat this postseason.
Burrow-Chase connection – The connection between Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase was a key factor in the Bengals winning their first division title since 2015. It was also decisive in them getting their first playoff win since 1991. Chase was a reliable chain mover, accounting for nine of the Bengals’ 18 first downs in this game. He finished with nine catches for 116 yards and ran for a further 23. This looks set to be one of the NFL’s dominant duos in the years ahead.
Chiefs dominate the Steelers – It took the Chiefs a while to get going, but once they got in rhythm there was nothing that the Steelers could have done. After going scoreless on their first six possessions they proceeded to score touchdowns on the next six. They averaged a ridiculous 9.8 yards per play in that spell. Their defense held up their end of the bargain too, holding Pittsburgh to 3.9 yards per play. They now look set for a much tougher test against the Bills next weekend.
The Bad
Poor offense and ill discipline cost the Cowboys – A lot had been made of this Cowboys offense. After all, this was a unit that led the NFL in yards and points per game. You wouldn’t have known it from their performance against the 49ers. They were utterly outmatched in the trenches, with no running game and Dak Prescott under constant pressure. Perhaps most egregious was their poor discipline. They committed a ridiculous 14 penalties, costing them a total of 89 yards. Don’t be surprised if questions are raised about Mike McCarthy’s future with the team.
Eagles fall flat – The Eagles were almost double digit underdogs in their game against the Bucs, so expecting a great performance was always going to be too much. Still, you would have hoped they would have at least held their own in a playoff game. It wasn’t to be. In their first nine drives they had six punts and three turnovers. Jalen Hurts was inaccurate and made a handful of poor decisions that cost them. It took them until the fourth quarter to get a single point.
Controversial whistle on Bengals touchdown – As errors go, this could have been costly. On a big third down, Joe Burrow made a spectacular throw on the run to give the Bengals a two score lead. The problem was that an official had blown their whistle whilst the ball was in mid-air. The Raiders defense understandably thought the play had been blown dead for Burrow going out of bounds. After discussion, the officials ruled the play a touchdown and declined to review it, as they claimed the whistle came after the catch. The NFL have since refused to comment on the decision.
The Ugly
Seventh seeds offer little – The NFL’s playoff expansion may have increased revenue, but it has also diluted the postseason. The two seventh seeds offered absolutely nothing this weekend. The Eagles never seemed to get off the bus in Tampa, whilst the Steelers offense was predictably dire in Kansas City. Neither game was particularly entertaining and both were pretty much over by halftime. Neither was anywhere as close as their final scorelines suggested. Sadly it feels like this could become the norm in a 14-team postseason.
Cowboys’ dumbfounding play – This was one of the strangest moments of the entire season. The Cowboys converted on a fake punt in the fourth quarter. They then hurried to the line with their special teams unit, threatening to run a play. This was seemingly an attempt to force a 49ers timeout, which was never going to happen as they had their defense on the field already. Dallas were then forced to rush their offense onto the field and took a delay of game penalty.
Super Wild Card Weekend MVP
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills – Allen put in one of the best quarterback performances you are ever likely to see. He finished the game 21 of 25 for 308 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged a ridiculous 12.3 yards per attempt. This is all in addition to his six carries for 66 yards.
Rookie of the week
Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals – Chase finished the game against the Raiders with nine catches for 116 yards. This was amongst the best individual performances at any position this weekend. It is important to remember that this is the first postseason game of his young career.
Stat of the week
1950 – This weekend the Bills became the first team since 1950 to have none of their drives end in a punt, field goal attempt, or a turnover.
