The first weekend in the NFL playoffs have wrapped up and what an entertaining weekend it was. We had two overtime games and two big upsets. This was the perfect weekend for NFL fans, unless one of your teams got beat. This truly is anyone’s year and I’m ready to see how things shake out next weekend. Here are my quick reactions from all four wildcard games:

Texans 22, Bills 19

This game put the ‘wild’ in wildcard. It was everything you could ask for in a game and more. The comeback, crazy plays, overtime, and a game winning field goal are just a few of the treats we got from this one. I figured the Texans would win going into this game because I think they are the better team and were playing at home, but the Bills took them to their limit. I believe Buffalo is up-and-coming, but they just aren’t quite there yet. Josh Allen is the real deal, but as we seen from the end of this game, he’s still got some learning and settling down to do. His attempted lateral flip during mid-tackle was an insane thing to do at that point in such a big game. But it’s part of what made this game so very entertaining. It was nice to see JJ Watt back as well. The Texans have to go to Kansas City this weekend and I don’t see any way they escape with a win.

Titans 20, Patriots 13

This one will be the most talked about game of the weekend for a couple of reasons. First, it seemingly ended the Patriots’ unbelievable dynasty. And second, we don’t know what the future holds for Tom Brady now. I still had a feeling the Patriots would make another miraculous run to a Super Bowl title, even though their team isn’t quite the same as past teams. They have done it time and time again, so them getting beat this early in the playoffs was just something I had to see to believe. And as for Tom Brady, I believe he will come back and play again for New England.

But this game proved a few things. First, the Titans are for real. Tannehill didn’t have his greatest game, but he is a lot better than most people give him credit for and has the potential to lead this team over ANY team, and that includes Baltimore next week. Second, Derrick Henry is good. Very good. He will run over anybody and everybody, and it is very entertaining to watch him do it. And third, the Patriots need weapons very badly. I think Tom Brady will come back, but first the Patriots need to give him more weapons to work with besides Edelman. As good as Tom Brady is, and he’s still very good (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise), he needs help. Just imagine if he had the Chiefs’ offense to work with, or the Saints? Everyone would still be all in on Brady. So, I believe he’ll get more weapons and make another big run. He definitely won’t end his career by getting beat at home against the Titans with a pick-six being his last throw.

Vikings 26, Saints 20

Just as shocking to me as the Titans-Patriots game conclusion, was this one. I just had a special feeling that Brees was going to make another run to the Super Bowl and probably win it. But that wasn’t in the cards. I figured this game would’ve been a little higher scoring than it was, with only 46 combined points scored. The Saints could never just quite get it rolling, to the Vikings’ defense credit. My main takeaway from this game though, is the capabilities of Kirk Cousins. I like Cousins and always thought he was a much better quarterback than what he gets credit for, so I’m glad to see him have a big win. He often got slack for not being able to win a big game, but after seeing those throws he made down the stretch to lead his team to an overtime victory IN NEW ORLEANS will shut those people down for sure.

To any Saints fans that are complaining about the very last play (a no call on a “pushoff”), they need to quit their complaining. Last year they had legitimate reason to complain because they were cheated big time, but this year it isn’t even close to being the same. There was contact going both ways on this year’s play. The receiver made slight contact, just as the defender made slight contact by holding the receiver’s arm. It was the kind of contact that happens on a lot of football plays. To call that an interference, either way, would have been incredibly soft.

Seahawks 17, Eagles 9

To me, this was the least interesting game going into it and the least interesting game to talk about afterwards. The Seahawks are the better team and that’s why they left Philadelphia with the win. The Eagles were lucky to even be playing in the playoffs and were just fortunate to be playing in the weakest division in the NFL where someone had to win it. And when Wentz went down early in the game, it became even less entertaining because you could just feel they had a 0% shot. Three field goals weren’t enough, as they usually never are. I would’ve rather seen the Eagles win, but from a general football standpoint, it’s better that the Seahawks won because a Seahawks-Packers matchup is much more interesting than a Eagles-Packers matchup. And that’s what I’m here for: to watch good football games.

Garett

NFL Wildcard Weekend Quick Reactions