It was a supersize wild-card weekend, with the NFL’s expanded playoff format requiring six games, rather than four, in the first two days of the postseason. There were no surprises in the results of the first five games. Sunday night finished with a thrilling upset in which the Cleveland Browns won a playoff game for the first time in 26 years.
Here’s what we learned:
It is time for a new Lamar Jackson narrative.
It was hard to tell if the Baltimore Ravens were a top contender or a beneficiary of one of the NFL’s weakest schedules over the final five weeks of the regular season. And with consecutive seasons that each ended in a disappointing playoff loss, there were those who questioned whether Jackson’s run-heavy style could translate to postseason success. After watching Baltimore race for 236 yards on the ground in a 20-13 win on the road against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, those narratives can be retired. Baltimore won’t surprise anyone, but knowing what’s coming is a lot different from knowing how to stop it.
With his first playoff win and his team’s defense playing well, Jackson should finally be able to relax. That should terrify opponents, because Jackson, who rushed for 136 yards Sunday and 143 in last year’s playoff loss to Tennessee, already owns two of the top three playoff rushing performances by a quarterback in NFL history.
The Browns know how to put on a show.
In the team’s first playoff game in 18 years, Cleveland did not disappoint. The Browns ran up a shocking 28-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter before letting things get just close enough in the second half to make the fan base nervous. Cleveland ended up winning 48-37, scoring more points in a playoff game than the team had since beating the Detroit Lions 56-10 in the 1954 NFL championship game.
The fans who got nervous in the second half might want to keep breathing into those paper bags: The Browns are on the road against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.
Nickelodeon should broadcast a game every week.
Keeping things interesting when a heavily favored team wins easily can be hard, but a broadcast on Nick aimed at children managed to do just that. The announcers explained the game at a base level, but had entertaining insights along the way, as when former NFL player Nate Burleson described being tackled as feeling like “falling down wooden stairs.” As for the actual game, the New Orleans Saints barely broke a sweat while beating the Chicago Bears 21-9. The only real misstep of the broadcast was a fan vote leading to Mitchell Trubisky, the losing quarterback, being named the game’s MVP. Overall, the innovations led to the least competitive game of the weekend being must-see TV. (Related: The writer of this article has two children.)
Tom Brady is leaving no stone unturned.
Brady, the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (that still sounds weird), already had plenty of NFL records, but he broke one Saturday that had lasted for 50 years, passing George Blanda to become the oldest player to throw a touchdown pass in a playoff game. Brady, at 43 years, 159 days, threw two touchdown passes in Tampa Bay’s 31-23 win Saturday over the Washington Football Team, and will most likely push the record further next weekend in the divisional round. As Drew Brees is the only other active quarterback in his 40s, and is potentially retiring after this season, Brady’s record — should he ever choose to stop playing — could be safe for quite some time.
Brady’s triumph led to jokes on social media after an NBC graphic showed how much younger Brady looks than Blanda did in 1971. But Blanda’s fans still have some bragging rights: A versatile player for the Oakland Raiders, he not only had two touchdown passes in that AFC championship game against the Baltimore Colts, but he also kicked the extra point after both touchdowns and connected on a 48-yard field goal.
These are not the 2018 Los Angeles Rams.
In the 2018 season, coach Sean McVay used a groundbreaking offense — and a fairly mediocre defense — to lead the Rams to the Super Bowl. The script has officially been flipped, with Los Angeles going as far as its defense can take it. Facing the Seattle Seahawks, who finished eighth in the NFL in scoring, Aaron Donald and the Rams’ front seven put a ton of pressure on Russell Wilson, sacking him five times in the Rams’ 30-20 victory Saturday. The Rams also showed an aggressive streak when cornerback Darious Williams burst through a pair of Seattle players at the line of scrimmage to intercept a pass by Wilson, returning it 42 yards for a touchdown.
Strong performances from the team’s defense and its rookie running back Cam Akers (28 carries for 131 yards and a touchdown) were particularly important since quarterback Jared Goff appeared limited after recent surgery on the thumb of his throwing hand.
The Bills aren’t going to make it easy — for them or their opponents.
A 27-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday gave Buffalo its first playoff win since 1995. The game managed to show off the Bills’ strengths and weaknesses. Quarterback Josh Allen (324 yards passing, 54 yards rushing, three total touchdowns) and wide receiver Stefon Diggs (128 yards receiving and a touchdown) were dominant, and safety Micah Hyde saved the day with a late pass deflection, but alarm bells should be ringing that Buffalo’s defense allowed 472 yards of total offense and nearly gave up what had been a 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter. The Bills did not have a sack or a turnover in the game, and got almost no contribution from the team’s running backs. As good as Allen and Diggs are, the rest of the team will need to step up for this run to continue.
The expanded playoffs are a major time investment.
As some feared, expanding the playoff field to 14 teams, from 12, led to an 8-8 squad — the Chicago Bears — qualifying for postseason play. In addition, the NFC East was won by the 7-9 Washington Football Team, leaving only five of the NFC’s entrants with winning records. But this year’s AFC provided a good argument for the format, because it allowed the formidable 11-5 Indianapolis Colts to qualify. The conference even had a team with a winning record — the 10-6 Miami Dolphins — that did not make the playoffs.
The ultimate goal of the Super Wild Card Weekend, however, was money. Games were broadcast across multiple networks and streaming platforms for more than 10 hours on both days. With the smaller in-person crowds, you could almost hear the league’s cash registers welcoming that boost in advertising revenue.
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