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Power Rankings after Wild Card Round: Lions, Chiefs remain on top, Daniels leads Washington to upset

The Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs was full of favorites advancing as all but one of the teams with home field advantage moved on to the next round.

The Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs was full of favorites advancing as all but one of the teams with home field advantage moved on to the next round.
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The Wild Card round was anything but wild. In fact it was about as dull as you can get for a weekend full of playoff football. There were six games and only one of them was close. That was the Commanders-Bucs game which went down to the wire, but the rest were blowouts or comfortable wins for the for the home teams. While we might have been short of drama this week, that is just the appetizer for the juiciest of Divisional Round games next week. Before we dive deep into the four games that should be packed full of fireworks, here are our Power Rankings after the first round of the playoffs.

1) Detroit Lions, BYE, last week 1

The Lions went into the playoffs as the No. 1 team on our Power Rankings so why would they drop down after getting a much needed week off to rest and recover some of those guys who have been banged up for the last weeks, or months. One of those guys that should be coming back is David Montgomery, who sprained his knee in the last month of the regular season. Jahmyr Gibbs did the heavy lifting in his absence but the best offensive team in the league get their backfield duo of Knuckles and Sonic back for the playoffs. Montgomery is back, and that’s huge but the biggest additions for the Lions was the return of Alex Anzalone who is the heart and soul of the defense and picked them up in the final week of the regular season. There are whispers that if they get to the Super Bowl Aidan Hutchinson could make a shock return for the big game, and that would make a great team nearly unbeatable. There is a long time from now and then, and they have to be solely focused on Rookie Jayden Daniels and the Commanders who come to town next week.

2) Kansas City Chiefs, BYE, last week 2

One side of me thinks: The Chiefs couldn’t have scripted this season out any better. They are exactly where they wanted to be at this point of the season, and couldn’t have picked a better path in their quest for a three peat. Sure there have been injuries on the way, but they are getting healthier at just the right time, and have basically had two, some players three weeks off to get their bodies ready for a playoff run. The other side of me things, we have seen rust set in for teams that give their players too much rest. Andy Reid is a living legend and a coaching genius. You would have to be pretty bold to question a guy that has led his team to three Super Bowl wins in the last five years. I’m not worried about Patrick Mahomes. This is his time of year. Rust won’t set in for him. You could unfreeze him from a cryogenic chamber Austin Powers style and he would still have his mojo in tip top shape and ready to make a playoff run, but it’s the other guys that worry me. Hollywood Brown was just getting a rhythm of how to play with this offense after missing almost the entire regular season. Isaiah Pacheco came back late in the season and started to find his stride after being sidelined for an extended amount of time early in the season. If the Chiefs lose against the Texans, we will point directly at the near month off the starters have had and call Andy Reid crazy for sitting his guys. If they beat the Texans we will laud him for keeping his team fresh for a seventh straight trip to the AFC Championship.

3) Buffalo Bills, won 31-7 vs. Broncos, last week 4

That was about as no nonsense of a game as you could have from the Bills who sat most of their guys in Week 18 and that rest was noticeable in their game against the Chargers. They gave up an early TD to the Broncos to start the game but then outscored them 31-0 the rest of the afternoon from Orchard Park. Josh Allen was perfect, which should come as no surprise as he continues to build his MVP case going for 272 yards and 2 TDs while running for another 46 yards. James Cook ran for 120 yards and 1 TD in what looked more like a tune up than a playoff game for the Bills. The defense, which gets over shadowed by Allen and the offense held the Broncos to under 10 points and were only on the field for 18 minutes as Sean McDermott’s team dominated time of possession. This team has looked like the biggest threat to the Chiefs in the AFC, and nothing happened on Sunday to change that. They are going to have to get through the Ravens next week if they want a shot at the two time defending champions and what a game that is going to be from Buffalo. Two MVP candidates with the season on the line, battling toe to toe on what should be a frigid night from Buffalo. You can’t ask for much more than that.

4) Philadelphia Eagles, won 22-10 vs. Packers, last week 3

It was far from a dominant performance on the offensive end from Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, but it was a perfect start. They looked like they were going to come out and just push the Packers around all game after scoring in the first minute and a half of the game following a forced fumble on the opening kickoff of the game. On a night in which their QB returned from a concussion that knocked him out for three weeks, Jalen Hurts and the offense looked a little rusty. He went for just 131 yards and two TDs 13/21 passing and didn’t look as comfortable running the ball as he has all season. Hurts is not a running quarterback, but he is at his best when the threat for him to take off his there, and you never got that sense in Philly’s game against the Packers. Hopefully for Eagles fans, he was able to shake off the cob webs that lingered following his concussion and he will be ready for the game against the Rams next week. On Sunday from the Link, it was the other two facets of the game that stepped up and lifted the Eagles to victory. The fumble on the opening kickoff set the tone, Jake Elliott drilled all three of his field goals, and the defense picked off Jordan Love three times. We talked at the end of the season about how this team might be the most balanced in the playoffs. Sunday only furthered that argument, but next week they will welcome a Rams team that has been rolling over the last few months.

5) Baltimore Ravens, won 28-14 vs. Steelers, last week 5

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Ravens rode Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry all season long, so why would they have done anything else in their first round playoff game against the Steelers? Jackson was reminded of his past struggles against his division rivals in the days leading up to the matchup with Pittsburgh, but he showed how worried he was about facing his “black beast” in the playoffs on the first possession of the game, taking the Ravens 95 yards on 13 plays, running on five straight plays and hit three of his first four passes one of those for a TD hook up with Rashod Bateman to take the lead that they kept from wire to wire. Their next TD drive would be a showcase of bully ball as the Ravens ran the ball down the Steelers throat 13 straight times and Derrick Henry scored the first of his two TD runs to double the lead late in the 2nd quarter. They would get the ball back with under 2:00 to go and essentially tuck the Steelers good night with two minute drill that ended with a Jackson pass to Justice Hill. Pittsburgh mounted one last charge, scoring on their first drive of the second half, but Derrick Henry’s 44 yard TD run just two minutes later would kill off any sort of hope the Steelers had of a come back in Baltimore. With Jackson and Henry operating like they did on Saturday night, this team is nearly impossible to beat. When the defense holds their opponents to 17 points or under like they have done for the last five games, that near impossibility becomes an absolute reality.

6) LA Rams, won 27-9 vs. Vikings, last week 7

It was a rematch of the game in which the Rams got their swag back. Back in Week 8 with a record of 2-4, LA was reeling. The offense was nonexistent with their two top dog WRs sidelined with injury. It looked a far cry from the team that took the Lions to overtime in Detroit to start the season. The Rams got Puka and Cooper back and handed the Vikings their first loss of the season. On Monday in LA, they gave the Vikings their last loss of the season as well. This was a game that never even looked in question. After a devastating week of wildfires that displaced the Rams to Arizona and forced them to surrender their “home field advantage” Sean McVay’s guys didn’t whine and complain about the cards they were dealt. Instead they went to work put on a show for those in LA who are looking for a little normalcy and needing a break from the harsh reality that surround the community. They came out and dominated the team that had the one seed in the NFC in their sights just a week ago. Stafford and the Rams looked like, they were playing for something more and it showed in every facet of the game. An opening drive TD sent a warning around State Farm Stadium of what was to come, and the onslaught didn’t stop there. The game certainly changed when the Vikings scoop and score was taken off the board as Stafford’s fumble was ruled a forward pass. A defense that allowed less than 10 points in each of the last three games of the regular season (not counting Week 18 when the starters didn’t play) did it again against the Vikings. They picked off Sam Darnold before Jared Verse scooped and scored a strip sack to make it 17-3 late in the second quarter. A 4th and 2 stop with under 100 seconds left in the half opened the door for LA to stretch the lead and Stafford it Davis Allen before the break to make it and 24-3 lead and end the Vikings one time dream season.

7) Washington Commanders, won 23-20 @ Buccaneers, last week 9

A rookie quarterback, going on the road, on a Sunday night, primetime game. That’s just about as tough as you could make it for a first year gunslinger making his postseason debut, but Jayden Daniels isn’t any rookie QB. He is having a historic season, and he wasn’t done making history on Sunday night in Tampa Bay. Let’s give it up for Dan Quinn, who should be the Coach of the Year after the turnaround that has taken place in the nation’s capital. He entrusted in his QB to go win the game, even in times that the analytics might have told him to play a little more conservatively. Quinn is a defensive guy, and his defense showed up in the Wild Card round, but the trust he has in his offense and especially with his rookie QB is not normal. Because like we said, Daniels isn’t normal. He went for 268 yards and 2 TDs and led the game winning drive to set up a field goal as the time expired. Of course the end of the game could have been a little trickier had Dan Quinn’s defense not come up with two big plays late in the game. After getting stopped on fourth down early in the fourth quarter, the defense forced a fumble deep in Tampa territory. Then the Bucs 3rd and 1 play in which Bucky Iriving was dropped for a loss of 2 yards to stop the drive, forcing a field goal and keeping the Bucs from taking the lead. With the win, the Commanders broke their playoff drought that lasted for over 7,000 days, or 19 years if your not great at math. Now it’s off to Detroit to take on the top team in the league. Daniels and the Commanders have done nothing but shock the world this season, but can they really do it again in Detroit against the Lions? Tune in next week to find out.

8) Houston Texans, won 32-12 vs. Chargers, last week 15

Nothing was going the Texans way to end the season. They were playing terrible football in the three weeks following their BYE week and were beaten and battered physically and emotionally after watching Tank Dell suffer another disastrous injury in their loss to the Chiefs right before Christmas. That seemed to rattle the tea, which switched off for the rest of the game in KC and then scored just two points against the Ravens on Christmas. Their win in Tennessee looked like a cleansing for the Texans who needed to start from scratch heading into the playoffs. The starters only played a couple series, but that was enough to get the train back on the tracks and they looked like the Texans team we expected to see all season in Saturday against the Chargers. The offense took a little while to ignite, and it could have got ugly after John Metchie fumbled the first offensive play of the game but the defense held strong all game and kept the Texans in it until finally the offense woke up. They had just two first downs in their first five series, but they took the lead on a 99 yard drive right before the halftime break thanks to a broken play that CJ Stroud turned into a big gain and changed the game. That foreshadowed what was to come in the second half. The Texans defense forced a turnover on downs, a three and out, took an interception for a TD, picked off Justin Herbert again, and ended the game by picking off the Chargers QB for the fourth time. That was more INTs than Herbert threw all season, getting picked off just three times in 17 games, but DeMeco Ryans defense proved their are going to be a tough out in the playoffs, and they will head into Kansas City full of confidence after that win.

9) Tampa Bay Buccaneers, lost 23-20 vs. Commanders, last week 10

It’s a classic case of beauty and the beast. Or Jekyll and Hyde. Or Harvey Dent from Batman. For as much as you can love Baker Mayfield, there is always that doubt in the back of your mind that will keep you from betting the house on him. He can be brilliant, but he can also be liable to make some costly mistakes that could be the downfall of his team. It’s not fair to chalk this loss all up to the fumble that Baker had early in the fourth quarter that allowed the Commanders to take the lead, especially when Mayfield connected on 15/18 of his pass and threw for 2 TDs, but then you look at the muffed snap on 3rd and 1 that cost Bucky Irving and the Bucs a chance to move the chains and take the lead as the pieces start to fall into place. Tom Brady doesn’t make those plays. That stuff doesn’t happen to Patrick Mahomes. Until Baker is able to break out of that label him and Sam Darnold are going to be put in the same category. Good QBs who never got a chance, until they did. Played well, but not well enough in big games.

10) Green Bay Packers, lost 22-10 @ Eagles, last week 8

Week 18 was tough for the Packers and that carried into the first week of the postseason for Matt LaFleur’s team. Jordan Love suffered a minor elbow injury against the Bears on the final game of the season and he didn’t look at the top of his game in Philly. To make matters worse Love lost his down field threat Christian Watson to a torn ACL against Chicago and that sent the Pack into their game against the Eagles short handed on a day that they needed to be nearly perfect to knock off the two seed in the NFC. The fumble on the opening kickoff of the game deflated the Packers, after a week in which they were told they had to play disciplined, mistake free football against a team like the Eagles. Love threw two picks in the first half, Brandon McManus missed a 38 yard field goal but somehow the Packers were still in the game down just 10-0 at half. Unfortunately for the Packers, their WR problems only got worse as the game went on. Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs went down with injuries and Love had no one to pass to in the second half from Philly. All throughout the year we talked about this being a good team but not an elite team. That was the case in Philly, and even more so with the untimely injuries on the offensive end.

11) Los Angeles Chargers, lost 32-12 @ Texas, last week 11

LA had a nice first season with Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines. They went back to the playoffs. Discovered an identity on the defensive end despite their new coach being a QB crazy, offensive minded, mad genius. The problems the Chargers had followed them all season, and strangely enough a lot of those problems largely revolved around their golden boy QB and face of the franchise. Justin Herbert had the least productive season of his career and for large parts of the season the offense hindered this team, especially in big games. LA couldn’t beat good teams in the regular season. Their 11-6 record and 5 seed in the AFC was a product of fortunate scheduling more than the quality that was showed on the field on a week to week basis. It looked like maybe just maybe the offense was hitting stride at the end of the year, when they beat the Broncos, Patriots and Raiders while averaging 36 points but the game in Houston tells you this team has a long way to go before they are a contender in the AFC. They have Harbaugh on their side, and that guy is a winner. So they may not have to wait too long in LA.

12) Denver Broncos, lost 31-7 @ Bills, last week 13

The Broncos came out looking to land a knockout blow early in their game from Orchard Park, but all they did with their opening drive touchdown was poke the bear, or the Buffalo. With no run game to try and build a balanced attack, the offense flat lined against the Bills defense. They were still in the game at half time, trailing 10-7 following Will Lutz’s missed field goal at the end of the second half, but that wouldn’t last long. The Bills got the ball, and by the end of the 3rd quarter they would stretch the lead to 28-7 without the Broncos registering as much as a first down. The Broncos are a young team with a bright future, but Sean Payton and Bo Nix weren’t going to go into Buffalo and shock a team that looks destined for much bigger things. There are things to tweak in the offseason, mainly on the offensive line and in the backfield but this team could be competing with the Bills and the AFC’s elite teams by next year.

13) Minnesota Vikings, lost 27-9 @ Rams, last week 6

Disastrous end to one of the best seasons the Vikings have ever had, and it took just two weeks from the foundation to crumble. I hate to be cruel and point the finger, but Sam Darnold didn’t show up in the biggest two games of his life, and that is going to cost him this offseason. For 17 weeks he looked like a reborn quarterback who was a product of the bad environments that he was stuck in since he was drafted with the third pick of the 2018 draft. He led this team to a 14-3 season but doesn’t mean anything when you get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. In the two biggest games of his life, and the two biggest games of he season, he led the offense into the end zone just once as the Vikings scored 9 points in each of those games. He was sacked a playoff record nine times, and most of those were a direct result of him holding on to the ball way too long. He looked lost against the Lions and he looked rattled against the Rams on Monday night. It’s true that if the scoop and score the Vikings took to the house stood, that’s a whole different game. But there was plenty of time for the Vikings to have rebounded. Darnold didn’t and neither did the defense who led the league in takeaways but didn’t come up with a single turnover in a do or die situation.

14) Pittsburgh Steelers, lost 28-14 @ Ravens, last week 16

If you ask Steelers fans what is the most frustrating thing in Pittsburgh after their most recent playoff elimination, some would say the five game losing streak they ended the season on, but most would say the fact that Mike Tomlin hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season. Since then, they have been to the playoffs five times in eight years, but getting to the playoffs isn’t enough for a fan base that has seen their team win six Super Bowls and reached Super Sunday eight times. It was the same ole story for the Steelers who ended the regular season on a four game skid, conceded the division title to the Ravens and were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs after having to go to Baltimore as the Wild Card. The cause of this late season implosion is the same thing that has plagued the Steelers since Ben Rothlisberger retired. They can not build and sustain an offense that will lighten the load on what has been a league leading defense for years and years. They failed to score 20 points in any of their final five games.

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