sports
NFL Wildcard Weekend - Preview
American Football
![Photo: QuinceCreative]()
Photo: QuinceCreative
The 2024 NFL regular season is done, and we are down to the final 14 battling it out for the right to make it to the showpiece game in New Orleans, and the chance to be Super Bowl LIX champions. The AFC side of the playoffs is top-heavy with there being a clear tiering of the elite teams and those that are expected to fall away swiftly. On the NFC side, five of the seven teams have at least 11 wins. We’ll be previewing all the playoff games each week from now until the end of the season. So, strap yourself in for some high-octane postseason action.
Saturday, January 11
(5) Los Angeles Chargers @ (4) Houston Texans (AFC)
The first game of the weekend features a matchup between two teams that are seemingly heading in opposite directions, in terms of form. The Texans may have won 23-14 in Week 18, but it was against a woeful Tennessee Titans team, and being crowned AFC South champions is a modest achievement given the quality of the division. In the two games prior to Week 18’s victory, Houston were comfortably beaten by AFC heavyweights the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs.
The trajectory of the Chargers is in stark contrast having hit the postseason on a three-game winning streak. Context is again important here given two of the three wins were against the Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots, who had a combined win total of seven this season.
These teams will likely try very similar approaches by looking to establish their running games through backs Joe Mixon (Texans) and J.K. Dobbins (Chargers). If they are successful in getting their run games going, both will use this to set up play action and take deep shots with their high-end quarterbacks Justin Herbert for the Bolts, and CJ Stroud for the Texans. And on the other side of the ball, should either team get out to a two score or more lead, expect plenty of pressure to be applied from pass rush trio Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Tuli Tuipulotu for Los Angeles and dynamic duo Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. for Houston.
As the season has progressed and injuries have hit the Texans' receivers, their offense has struggled at times. Expect the Chargers to pay plenty of attention to Houston’s star wideout, Nico Collins, and dare the Texans to beat them with someone else.
This should be an evenly matched game to kick off wildcard weekend. The Chargers have the better quarterback in better form, and I expect them to see off the Texans and make their way through to the Divisional Round.
6) Pittsburgh Steelers @ (3) Baltimore Ravens (AFC)
The second game on Saturday features these AFC North division rivals who will meet for the third time in two months after splitting the regular season series 1-1. In the most recent meeting, the Ravens ran out comfortable 34-17 winners with star duo Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry inflicting the damage. The Steelers traditionally have a history of performing well against Lamar Jackson in the regular season, but this will be the first time they will face him in the playoffs.
Jackson is hot favourite to be this year’s MVP which would be his third of his career and would see him retain the honour from last season. He is playing at the peak of his powers this season having amassed 4,172 yds, 41 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions in the regular season. And for good measure he has also rushed for 915yds. The only big question left for Lamar to answer is whether he can shed the reputation for choking in the postseason. In the playoffs, he has thrown for six touchdowns and six interceptions while completing less than 59 percent of his passes in four out of the six games he has played in the business end of the season.
Pittsburgh enter the playoffs in something of a freefall. The Steelers' were 10-3 going into week 15 and finished 10-7 after 4 straight losses. The chemistry between QB Russell Wilson and receiver George Pickens seems to have faded in recent weeks, with the Steelers offence looking one dimensional and slow. Add to this, the usually reliable defensive unit of Pittsburgh has also had its struggles over those four weeks, making it look not too promising for the Steelers. However, their familiarity with Jackson should allow them to keep the score close on the road in Maryland.
Running back Derrick Henry could be the final piece Baltimore has been searching for in their pursuit of a first Superbowl victory in 12 years. The Ravens will look for “King Henry” to wear down Pittsburgh's defence just like he did in week 16, when he rushed for 162 yards and a touchdown. I can’t see anything other than a Baltimore victory in this one.
Sunday, January 12
(7) Denver Broncos @ (2) Buffalo Bills (AFC)
The Denver Broncos secured their wild card spot in last week’s 38-0 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs’ second and third string players. Denver’s reward is to travel to Orchard Park to face the Buffalo Bills in the opening round of the playoffs, where they will be big underdogs.
Buffalo have been one of the Superbowl favourites from the start of the season and have had an impressive season on both sides of the ball. They have the imperious Josh Allen at quarterback, who would be favourite for this year’s MVP, if it were not for the aforementioned Lamar Jackson. Allen is playing some of his best football and will be desperate to cash in and make a deep run in this year’s playoffs, which if successful, could see him named the 2024 NFL MVP.
The Broncos are playing with house money following a season of exceeding expectations. Few expected Denver to make the playoffs this year after finishing 8-9 the previous campaign and introducing a rookie quarterback, Bo Nix, to lead the offense. Nix has impressed in his debut season, with 33 total touchdowns, including the touchdown throw to Marvin Mims Jr. in week 17 against the Bengals, which was one of the plays of the season. The young QB appears to be a perfect fit for Head Coach Sean Payton’s offense.
The Bills have an experienced team that are used to playing in the post-season. Allen himself has already played in 11 post-season games and took his team to the AFC Championship Game in the 2021 season where they were 13 agonising seconds away from knocking off the Kansas City Chiefs. In contrast, the Broncos have not been in the playoffs since they won Super Bowl 50, nine years ago.
The Broncos have an elite defence and defensive player of the year favourite, Patrick Surtain II, so will look to frustrate and disrupt the Bills, and Allen, in particular. Anything other than a Buffalo victory would be a huge upset and I’m taking them to win this one by two scores.
![Photo: Foundry]()
Photo: Foundry
(7) Green Bay Packers at (2) Philadelphia Eagles (NFC)
The first of the NFC games is a rematch of the opening game of the NFL season where the Eagles and Packers battled it out at Arena Corinthians, São Paulo, Brazil. The Eagles narrowly beat the Packers 34-29 in that encounter, where Green Bay’s quarterback, Jordan Love, suffered an injury which meant he missed significant game time in the early part of the season. There are injury concerns around both Love, and his Eagles counterpart, Jalen Hurts, leading into this contest. Love injured his elbow in last week’s loss to the Chicago Bears and Hurts is working through the NFL’s concussion protocol. Both are expected to play on Sunday.
For the Eagles, Saquon Barkley is still the heart and soul of their offense, and he should be raring to go again after being rested last week, despite being on pace to beat Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record, which has stood for over 40 years. Barkley is too much of a team player to have caused a fuss at the team’s decision to bench him, but Philly fans will be hoping he uses the disappointment to their advantage. The Eagles will lean on the run to allow them to unlock the play action game for Hurts to pick out his elite receivers, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, for big plays over the top.
The Pack have utilised a run heavy offense for most of the season, which includes powerful back Josh Jacobs, who has scored a rushing touchdown in eight consecutive games. Jordan Love will have a depleted wide receiver core following the season ending injury to speedster Christian Watson. Green Bay also have worries on the other side of the ball following the loss of cornerback Jaire Alexander for the rest of the season.
This matchup has the potential to be a barnstormer, but it’s one where I fancy Barkley and Brown to lead the Eagles to victory.
(6) Washington Commanders at (3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFC)
These two teams also met back in Week 1, when Tampa Bay beat Washington 37-20 in their contest in Florida. The Commanders had five consecutive victories to close out the regular season under the leadership of rookie QB, Jayden Daniels, and seasoned Head Coach, Dan Quinn. This game should therefore be a lot tighter affair than the meeting back in September.
This game has the makings of being an offensive shootout with both teams boasting top-10 rated offenses, and less boastfully, defences that give up a lot of points. The neutrals will be hoping to see Daniels and his opposite number, Baker Mayfield, go blow for blow in a passing touchdown bonanza. Both teams also offer significant threats in the running game, with Tampa’s Bucky Irving and Washington’s Brian Robinson Jr. They also both have QBs that have shown a propensity to pick up the yards with their legs.
Veteran wide receiver, Mike Evans, made history last week by equalling hall of famer Jerry Rice’s record of 11 straight 1000yd receiving seasons. Mayfield is not limited to Evans as his only weapon in the passing game, with receiver Jalen McMillen starring in recent weeks, as well having valuable contributions from tight ends, Payne Durham and Devin Culp, in the absence of starter Cade Otton. Washington’s primary threat in the air has been Terry McLaurin, who is showing why he was so highly thought of when he entered the league, and is benefitting massively from having competent quarterback play for the first time in his career. Zach Ertz, the evergreen tight end, has also had an impressive year with seven touchdowns, giving Daniels a security blanket option of a big target when the structure of a play breaks down.
This game could easily go either way, but I feel the Bucs are the stronger team overall and will progress to the next round.
Monday, January 13
(5) Minnesota Vikings at (4) Los Angeles Rams (NFC)
I picked the Vikings to win their winner takes it all matchup with the Lions last week and was surprised to see how anaemic their offense looked against Detroit. A lot of the credit for the underperformance of Minnesota’s offense needs to go to the Lions’ defensive coordinator, Aaron Glen, but the no show by the Vikings was a worrying performance. Minnesota under the guidance of Head Coach, Kevin O’Connell, have proved throughout the season that they are a serious contender with only two defeats all year.
The only other team to humble the Vikings, other than the Lions, were this week’s opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, who won 30-20 in Week 8. The Rams have had an inconsistent season due to injury interruptions and some curious displays where the much-vaunted offense has not showed up to the party. Los Angeles took the opportunity last week to rest veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, to ensure they are fully healthy for this rematch. The Rams defence will need to take a similar aggressive approach to the Lions on defence to disrupt Sam Darnold and not allow him to get into any kind of rhythm. LA have the players to get after Darnold, with a young defensive front featuring Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner and Byron Young. They will however have to find a way past a strong Minnesota offensive line.
This should be another close game to close out the wildcard round, and I am leaning to the underdog Rams causing a minor upset and beating the Vikings for a second time.