Takeaways From The Super Sized Wild Card Weekend

I am a fan of the NFL and most certainly the playoffs.

Getting three games on Saturday and three more on Sunday was just the answer that any football junkie would need.

This weekend gave us a lot of different storylines, some played out as expected and others went against the grain. All in all it was a good weekend of action and now we are down to the final four in each conference.

The Los Angeles Rams will play the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau next Saturday. On Sunday we get Brees vs. Brady again as the Buccaneers head to New Orleans to face the Saints. In the AFC, the top seeded Chiefs will host Baker Mayfield and the Browns, while the Ravens head to Buffalo to face the Bills.

The Divisional Round is set! #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/8eIAzmSRHO

— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2021

Here are some notes from the weekend of action:

Streaks that ended:

• Buffalo won their first playoff game in 25 years. With Josh Allen under center it sure looks like the Bills will be a postseason regular for years to come.

• Lamar Jackson finally got a postseason win. He only had two other appearances but now he doesn’t have to hear that anymore. The former MVP was a big reason why the Ravens defeated Tennessee.

• The last time the Cleveland Browns won in Pittsburgh was in 2003. The Browns jumped on Pittsburgh early and finally exercised that demon with a huge playoff win.

Different ways to win:

• The Los Angeles Rams have a quarterback in Jared Goff that once led them to the Super Bowl. Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp are very good receivers that put pressure on defenses, but on Saturday the Rams went to running back Cam Akers who had the second best rushing day of his career. Akers finished with 131 yards on the ground for just his 2nd 100 yard game.

• The Saints were ball hogs on Sunday. They weren’t getting separation from the Chicago Bears until the second half. The Saints went on two long time consuming drives to kill the Bears spirits and ice the game for the Saints.

The Future of some QB’s:

• Phillip Rivers was good in the loss on Saturday against the Bills. Was this his last game? We don’t know this right now but how much does he have left. Do the Colts want him back? He will likely never end with a Super Bowl but that shouldn’t diminish his very good career.

• Big Ben has a couple of Super Bowls but he was not good Sunday night in the loss to Cleveland. Ben may still want to play but is it best for Pittsburgh to go forward with him. He looked very emotional at the end of the Sunday night loss just taking in the moment and reflecting.

• Lastly, Alex Smith didn’t get to play Saturday night. He just wasn’t healthy enough to go for Washington. Alex Smith hasn’t had the same kind of career as Rivers or Big Ben but he has had a good career. To me though, Smith’s legacy will be his INCREDIBLE comeback from a gruesome injury and infection that nearly cost him his leg and almost his life. Smith came back and that is truly amazing. He is not sure if he will return, but at this point, Alex can do just about anything he wants if he sets his mind to it.

Next week we will have four more games as we get even closer to Super Bowl 55.

Look for more trends, more surprises, and more moments to come.

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