With one game still to be played on Monday night as the Houston Texans will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers, the opening round of the NFL playoffs delivered multiple levels of drama and excitement.
By the time the San Francisco 49ers had defeated the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, each of the first four Wild Card Round games had been decided by one score (and a combined total of 14 points) with all of them featuring a lead change inside the game’s final three minutes.
On a weekend of high stakes and drama, the Buffalo Bills’ 27-24 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars was a contest that delivered so many edge-of-your-seat moments. And it was a high-quality affair which highlighted the fact that both teams harboured genuine Super Bowl intentions heading into the playoffs.
I’ll start in reverse order with the team that exited the playoffs at home. After winning 13 games in the regular season and securing the AFC South championship, the Jags came up short but there is should be no shame in losing to the Bills.
The Jaguars have enjoyed a remarkable turnaround season. They just fell on the sword of a highly-skilled and motivated warrior by the name of Josh Allen.
Jacksonville rushed for 154 yards, held Buffalo to 79 on the ground and Trevor Lawrence threw for three touchdowns. But the Jaguars left opportunities and points on the field. Lawrence tripped just short of a first down on a fourth-and-two in the second quarter, handing the ball back to the Bills on their own eight-yard line. Cam Little missed a 54-yard field goal at the end of the first half having made 20 in a row and Lawrence threw two picks, the second coming from Cole Bishop to end the game. Lawrence had thrown one interception in his previous six games.
Allen was battered and bruised by the end of a contest in which he threw for 273 yards and one touchdown, while rushing for two scores; including the game-winner from a yard out with just over a minute left on the clock.
Despite two visits to the blue medical tent and injuries to his head, hand and knee; Allen kept leading from the front. That’s what we have come to expect from one of the biggest superstars in the league and a player capable of putting an entire team on his back.
On Buffalo’s game-winning drive, Allen stood strong in the pocket and took a massive hit. But he never flinched, never shied away from the pressure and delivered a critical 36-yard completion to Brandin Cooks. Moments later, Allen powered into the endzone – albeit with Jacksonville allowing him to score so they could get the ball back. It was a drive that summed up the elite status of Buffalo’s star quarterback.
And as they prepare to head west to take on the number one seed Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round, the Bills know they will always have a very good chance of winning games with Allen under center.
Who’s Hot…
Caleb Williams… The Chicago Bears looked dead and buried at home to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. The NFC North champions trailed 21-3 at the half and then by 11 points with under five minutes remaining. But, for the seventh time this season, second-year quarterback Caleb Williams delivered a fourth quarter comeback victory with a touchdown pass (Olamide Zaccheus), two-point conversion pass (Colston Loveland) and another touchdown strike (DJ Moore) to snatch the game which had been firmly in Green Bay’s grasp. His most sensational throw came on fourth-and-eight and with the Bears down by 11 with five and a half minutes remaining. He rolled away from pressure and was falling to his left before launching a 27-yard missile to Rome Odunze. It kept Chicago’s dramatic and successful season alive and it was the kind of athletic play that has become Williams’ trademark. The first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns and he has truly arrived as a bona fide NFL star.
New England Patriots Defense… It was not the most appealing game of the Wild Card round and was not always that easy on the eye, but a defensive-minded head coach like Mike Vrabel would have taken great pleasure in New England’s 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. The form that has made second-year quarterback Drake Maye a serious contender for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player prize has put a great deal of focus on the Patriots’ attack. And perhaps our eye has been taken off one of the league’s under-the-radar defenses? New England marauded to the football on Sunday night, covered well in the secondary and record six sacks. They were equally bruising against the run, holding the Chargers to just 87 yards on the ground. The likes of Denver and Houston make the defensive headlines in the AFC, but the Patriots reminded us all that they can play on that side of the ball.
Puka Nacua… It was a scary Saturday night in Charlotte for the Los Angeles Rams as they had to dig deeper than expected to record a 34-31 victory over a heavy underdog in the Carolina Panthers. In so many ways, it was a sloppy performance from the Rams. But their one constant – as was the case throughout the regular season – was the impact of star wide receiver Puka Nacua. The Pro Bowler caught 10 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, he rushed for a score and he turned defender in brilliant fashion in the second half, breaking up what should have been a Carolina interception following an off-target throw from Matthew Stafford. It allowed the Rams to keep the football and they scored a critical touchdown moments later. His production numbers are elite and he rises up when Stafford and the Rams need him most. Nacua might be the best skill-position player in the entire league.
Who’s Not…
The Philadelphia Eagles Offense… There were far too many times this season when the defending Super Bowl champions got bogged down on offense and they would go long periods of games without threatening the endzone. And it call caught up to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday as they crashed out of the playoffs with a 23-19 loss to a San Francisco 49ers’ team that should not be in the final eight of the knockout tournament when you consider how decimated they have been by injuries this season. But Kyle Shanahan found the plays to produce points when Nick Sirianni and the Eagles couldn’t. Philly scored just two field goals with the game on the line in the second half. Jalen Hurts bailed from the pocket time and again and failed to deliver, ending the game with just 168 passing yards. Saquon Barkley disappeared from the attack after a strong first half and receiver AJ Brown did not have a catch after a very public and bizarre falling out with his head coach. Big changes have to be made because Philadelphia’s 24th-ranked attack is not good enough and it cost them a chance to repeat as Super Bowl champs.
The Los Angeles Chargers Offensive Line… Another season-long problem came back to haunt a playoff team in the knockout stages and the Chargers – who lost both starting tackles during the regular season – continued to struggle when it came to protecting Justin Herbert. He was sacked six times in Sunday’s loss to New England and will be feeling sore on Monday. The star quarterback got absolutely battered and it meant the Chargers could get nothing going in a game that featured just one touchdown. There is not a major fix needed in Los Angeles. They have the head coach in Jim Harbaugh, the quarterback, two excellent offensive tackles when healthy and a hard-nosed defense. There is more than enough talent on the roster to believe the Chargers will compete again in 2026.
The Fast Five…
- The Carolina Panthers gave the Los Angeles Rams all they could handle on Saturday night and almost produced the shock upset. But now the serious work begins for Dave Canales’ team. They finished 8-10, including the playoffs, so they are not the finished product. But now they will face a tougher first-place schedule in 2026 and they have to decide if Bryce Young is their long-term future at quarterback. Based on what we saw on Saturday night, they’re not going to do anything drastic and he remains their guy.
- I think we saw the power and potential of the Rams in one of their sloppier showings of the season in Carolina. Sean McVay’s men were penalised nine times, they turned the ball over and Matthew Stafford missed some key throws. They came perilously close to being knocked out. And yet as bad as it was at times, they still rolled to more than 400 yards of offense and 34 points. That’s a mighty impressive bad day at the office.
- I wonder if Nick Sirianni is now on a warming seat with the Eagles? At the very least, he needs to find a new offensive coordinator for 2026 because it hasn’t worked out with Kevin Patullo. But I have to wonder if how Sirianni acts on the sidelines at times is good for the Eagles? He ran about 30 yards on Sunday to get in the face of AJ Brown, a wide receiver prone to outbursts of his own and a man who is very capable of disappearing from game plans in a hurry. That was not a good look for Philadelphia’s head coach.
- Patience is in short supply across the NFL these days and that’s a major reason why we now have eight head coach openings around the league. Cycles to win no longer cover five or six years. You’d better get it done in two or three or you could be shown the door. Pete Carroll was one and done with the Las Vegas Raiders, Raheem Morris got two years in Atlanta, Arizona moved on from Jonathan Gannon after three seasons, Mike McDaniel led Miami for four seasons and Brian Callahan got two in Tennessee.
- A lack of patience is not an accusation that can be levelled at the Baltimore Ravens, who gave Super Bowl-winning head coach John Harbaugh 18 seasons at the helm. But I’m still shocked he is no longer leading that team. This is one of the most tried and trusted leaders in the league. And Harbaugh will instantly make his new team better. He will be in demand as the best coaching candidate to hit the open market since the Eagles moved on from Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs snapped him up. That one worked out pretty well for the coach and KC. Harbaugh will win again and prove he still has the coaching goods. I think it will be in New York with the Giants.
Fact of the Week
Entering 2025, teams had lost 135 consecutive games when trailing by 15-or-more points after three quarters, including the postseason. The Chicago Bears trailed Green Bay 21-6 after three quarters of play but rebounded to take a dramatic win. That means there have now been six such victories in the 2025 campaign – the most in NFL history.
Final Thought…
Every team wants one and not all of them have one. An elite quarterback can change games and completely transform the direction of a franchise. That’s why there is so much fuss around signal-callers when it comes to every NFL Draft. Josh Allen put the Bills on his back in Jacksonville, Matthew Stafford came good just in time for the Rams in Charlotte and Caleb Williams produced late magic for the Bears. There was just enough from Brock Purdy when it mattered the most for the 49ers in Philadelphia and, conversely, there was nowhere near enough from Jalen Hurts. Defenses matter, coaches matter, but elite quarterback play is the biggest difference maker in the NFL playoffs… in my humble opinion. That’s why I’ve gone for the Rams to beat the Bills in the Super Bowl. I trust their quarterbacks to navigate the most wide-open playoff field in living memory.