Views from the Nosebleeds: 2016 NFL Wild Card Weekend

Although the NFL is the only one out of the four major North American sports through which you don't have to suffer through at least 82 games a season, die-hard fanatics like myself still look forward to this time of year.  While teams like the Browns, the Jaguars, the Rams, the 49ers and the Bears were long eliminated from the mix, the hard work of twelve teams  has the potential to pay off as they duke it out for a month in the ultimate "let's separate the men from the boys" tournament.  Unlike the NBA, the NHL or MLB, the beauty of the NFL Playoffs is you only get one shot to win or lose.  However, one of the biggest downsides to NFL Wild Card Weekend is the chance for at least one or two blowouts because unless we're talking the 2005 Steelers or the 2010 Packers, the higher-seeded teams usually handle their business.  Unfortunately, none of the games were competitive for longer than two-and-a-half quarters, but I'm still going to discuss them anyway...

(#4) HOUSTON TEXANS 27, (#5) OAKLAND RAIDERS 14.  Anyone who knows me and has been listening to anything I've been saying since Derek Carr suffered a broken fibula knows the air in my Silver and Black balloon went out quickly.  Going against the Texans' top-ranked defense without the advantage of either Carr or Mexico City, the Raiders had a daunting task .  Granted, the Raiders' defense actually played one of their better games of the season statistically, holding Brock Osweiler to 168 passing yards and the Texans' offense under 300 total yards (291).  The problem is they couldn't force one mistake against a team who was -7 in turnover margin for the season.  Being on the field for over 33 minutes, the ineptitude of the Raiders' offense, and rookie Connor Cook filling in for the injured Matt McGloin didn't help matters much.

Cook was inaccurate, only completing 40 percent of his passes for 161 yards, a garbage-time TD and three INTs; his battered offensive line sans left tackle Donald Penn and center Rodney Hudson (who suffered an ankle injury during the game) couldn't protect him, especially against Whitney Mercilus and Jedeveon Clowney; and his receivers kept dropping balls, particularly Amari Cooper with a key drop against A.J. Bouye during a measly two-catch, ten-yard performance.  Knowing the Raiders needed their running game to be competitive, the combination of Latavius Murray, DeAndre Washington, Jamize Olawale, Jalen Richard and Amari Cooper could only muster 21 carries for 64 yards.  I guess the glass half full perspective is at least the Texans will be the ones to get a mud hole stomped in them by the Patriots in lieu of the Derek Carr-less Raiders...

(#3) SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 26, (#6) DETROIT LIONS 6.  Limping into the playoffs on a three-game losing streak--including sacrificing the NFC North to the Packers and only getting in because the Skins laid an egg against the Giants--the Lions weren't as impressive as their midseason form.  They also didn't have history on their side coming into CenturyLink Field, which has long been one of the hardest places to win in the NFL: Detroit is 4-24 during the regular season when they've had to travel to the West Coast since 1983, only beating the Rams, the Seahawks and the Raiders twice.  Furthermore, they haven't won a playoff game since thumping the Cowboys in the 1991 Divisional Round and their last postseason road win out of the only two in their history was against the 49ers in the 1957 NFL Playoffs en route to winning their last NFL Championship over the Cleveland Browns.  Unfortunately, those postseason woes continued against Seattle.

The Lions' pass defense kept Russell Wilson under 300 yards passing (224), but his efficiency is what gave them fits as he completed 76.7 percent of his passes and tossed for two TDs.  His two main beneficiaries were Doug Baldwin--who had eleven catches, 104 yards and a one-handed TD catch he appeared to steal from Jermaine Kearse--and Paul Richardson--who nabbed three receptions for 48 yards and an amazing one-handed TD catch.  On the ground, Thomas Rawls was even more problematic as he wore down their run defense for 27 carries, 161 yards (a franchise postseason single-game rushing yard record) and a TD.  Even worse than the Raiders, the Lions' defense was on the field for thirteen minutes longer than their offense, who couldn't get past the toughness of the 'Hawks defense.  Although they forced no turnovers, The Legion of Boom not only held the Lions to 231 yards of total offense (182 passing yards, 49 rushing yards), but the most important stat is they kept them out of the end zone and limited them to two Matt Prater FGs.  Looks like history repeats itself once again as the 'Hawks are one of the toughest outs in the NFC...

(#3) PITTSBURGH STEELERS 30, (#6) MIAMI DOLPHINS 12.  While the Dolphins fared better in their last five games of the season than the Lions, history hasn't been exceptionally kind to them either since their last Super Bowl appearance: since losing Super Bowl XVII to the Skins, Miami had an 8-12 postseason record, their last win came against the Colts in the 2000 Wild Card Round and their last playoff appearance was in 2008 when they won the AFC East but the Ravens defeated them decisively in the Wild Card Round.  Unfortunately, they didn't have the advantage of South Florida weather as they did in that playoff game or their Week 6 victory over a hobbled Steelers team with Le'Veon Bell still trying to get his footing after a four-game suspension and Ben Roethlisberger getting hurt in that game.  Once again, they had to go through another AFC North team in the freezing cold and appeared to be even more ill-equipped this time around.

In their regular season matchup, the Steelers' defense had no rap for Jay Ajayi's dominant 204-yards, two-TDs performance.  However, as expected with a Mike Tomlin squad, they were up for the challenge as Ajayi only had one rushing yard to his credit--he finished with 33 yards on 16 carries--while Bell had 95 yards in the second quarter before scoring his first postseason rushing TD and before he broke the Steelers' postseason single-game rushing yard record--he closed with 29 carries, 167 yards and two TDs.  Led by the seemingly-ageless James Harrison, the defense gave Matt Moore fits by forcing two fumbles and an INT, despite having a fairly efficient day (29 of 36, 289 yards, one TD).  Much like the Raiders' defense is the liability of their team, the Dolphins' defense was nonexistent: on top of Bell's amazing performance in his first playoff game, Antonio Brown (five catches, 124 yards) shined in his first playoff game with two huge TDs against a soft zone and man coverage.  While I knew the Dolphins had no shot in this game, I'm convinced the Steelers threaten the Patriots' quest for a fifth Super Bowl title more than the No. 2 seeded Chiefs...

(#4) GREEN BAY PACKERS 38, (#5) NEW YORK GIANTS 13.  Whether it was conscious bulletin board material or not, Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers and the Pack had getback in mind against a Giants team who not only knocked them out of the playoffs twice on their way to Super Bowl wins in 2007 and 2011, but did it at Lambeau Field; in fact, Eli Manning came in tied with the same amount of playoff wins at Lambeau as Rodgers (2).  Although Green Bay was the stronger team after running the table to win the NFC North, you wouldn't have known how prolific the Packers' offense was for most of the first half as the Giants' defense held them to seven total yards of offense.  Unfortunately, Big Blue's offense, which didn't score more than 20 points in their final five games, didn't help much on the scoreboard as playoff newbie Odell Beckham, Jr. had a bad case of the "Don't Throw It to Stonehands" and turned in a paltry four catches for 28 yards.  One of his drops along with one by Sterling Shepard during a critical red zone opportunity forced them to settle for a FG and at that point, I said, "Y'all can't keep kicking these field goals against Aaron Rodgers.  He'll make y'all pay."

Welp, much to the chagrin of Giants fans like Big Little Brother Scribbler, I was right.  When Rodgers threw a five-yard TD strike to Davante Adams (eight catches, 125 yards) to go up 7-6 (after having seven seconds to throw) and it was Hail Mary time in the waning seconds of the first half, I knew someone wearing green was going to catch that ball simply because few NFL QBs have been better at the Hail Mary than A-Rod.  Once Randall Cobb (five catches, 116 yards) caught it behind a defense who clearly didn't understand the concept of both being the deepest player and allowing no offensive players in front of you, momentum permanently shifted.  Tavarres King's touchdown to make it a 14-13 game in the third quarter didn't matter because the Rodgers-Cobb connection was the dagger to a tired defense who was on the field over nine minutes longer than the offense and couldn't stop two more Cobb TDs, bolstering Rodgers' gaudy numbers (25 of 40, 362 yards, four TDs and no picks).  If revenge is a dish best served cold, then the Packers put the Giants' hopes of pulling off another Lambeau upset in a Wisconsin-cold Frigidaire.

SCRIBBLER'S CHOP LICKERS FOR THE DIVISIONAL ROUND:

• (#3) SEA VS. (#2) ATL, 01/14/2017 @ 4:35 P.M. EST (FOX): after narrowly losing their Week 6 road matchup to the 'Hawks because of a missed pass interference call, the Falcons have been waiting three months for this rematch.  However, despite nearly pulling off an "upset" at The Link, they have the advantage of the Georgia Dome.  While I don't like to bet against a Russell Wilson-led offense facing a suspect defense, The Legion of Boom will once again have their hands full with Matty Ice, Devonta Freeman and Julio Jones--who gave Richard Sherman fits in their regular season battle.  Much like their season game, I see this one being close and while I believe Atlanta will get revenge, I wouldn't surprised if Seattle steals one on the road;
• (#4) HOU VS. (#1) NE, 01/14/2017 @ 8:15 P.M. EST (CBS): would it be ignorant of me to give no insight about this game because I give the Texans absolutely no shot to win this game?!?!  Seriously...they'll be fortunate if they score three points.  Don't get me wrong, they do have Lamar Miller, but because Bill Belichick takes away a team's biggest threat like no other coach in football, Brock Osweiler is going to have to throw the ball more and he's not facing the Raiders defense again.  Unless DeAndre Hopkins poses a consistent threat against Malcolm Butler or C.J. Fiedorowicz continues to step up, then it's gonna be a long day at the office for Osweiler.  Moreover, although the Texans boast the best overall defense in the land, their offense will have them on the field longer than desired against The Brady Bunch in Foxboro.  Prepare for a blowout;
• (#3) PIT VS. (#2) KC, 01/15/2017 @ 1:05 P.M. EST (NBC): although the Chiefs have the advantage of Arrowhead, their defense will have to be opportunistic against the dangerous trio of Big Ben, Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown.  Furthermore, Alex Smith will have to play at his best against a much-improved Steelers defense reminiscent of Mike Tomlin's first few years in Pittsburgh.  Although Kansas City can score in several ways--especially if rookie Tyreek Hill is on the field in any capacity--I smell the potential for a road win marinating like some good ol' KC barbecue; and
• (#4) GB VS. (#1) DAL, 01/15/2017 @ 4:40 P.M. EST (FOX): of the three games I expect to be competitive, I'm looking forward to this one the most, which is probably why the NFL scheduled it last.  In "The Double Revenge Grudge Match", the Cowboys are looking to avenge being cheated out of a playoff road win two years ago a la the infamous Dez Bryant "incomplete" catch while the Packers seek to reverse their fortunes from Dak Prescott leading 'Dem Boyz to a 30-16 Week 6 win in Lambeau.  Considering these defenses are decent but aren't world beaters, this has "potential shootout" written all over it and the winner will come down to who has the ball last.  As long as Dallas doesn't succumb to a Hail Mary, then they might be in good shape to get to their first conference championship in 21 years.  However, this is a much different Packers squad than they faced in October.  We'll see who wants to get even more...