What I Learned in the NFL Wildcard Round

No team will suddenly be champions when the postseason starts. If anything, the even matchups and elevated stakes leave little room for experimentation, forcing opponents to rely heavily on their best performances throughout the year.

The Bills have been on a rollercoaster of risk all along, riding quarterback Josh Allen’s daring postseason. In his first weekend of the NFL playoffs in 2022, Buffalo was never out of that routine and Miami his Dolphins were all but upset. Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars have relied on the resilience they have shown all year to beat the volatile Los Angeles Chargers.

Josh Allen’s big play cuts both ways.

Allen gives, Allen takes. One of the league’s most prominent heavyweights, Allen had his most volatile game of the season in Sunday’s 34-31 victory over the Dolphins. The deep throws and overtime plays that underpinned an otherwise ill-fated Buffalo offense were the same plays that led to turnovers and disjointed drives. It was a game that emphasized both how dangerous decision-making is for the Bills.

Allen started firing the game on all cylinders. On Buffalo’s second drive, Allen stitched together two improbable throws to relieve the Bills and eventually scored a touchdown.

The drive started with a 20-yard pickup, but the Bills soon faced a third and 15 near midfield. This is a classic case of the conundrum Allen presents to defense. Without blitzing he chunks the open of the play too much time to find his receiver, but blitzing Allen opens up the possibility of breaking a pocket on a run or finding an uncovered receiver. increase.

The Dolphins paid the price by choosing to roll the dice with an all-out cover 0 blitz. Bills receiver Stephon Diggs beat defensive back Xavien Howard 1-1 on the field, and Allen got Diggs for 52 yards. On the next play, Allen pinned a touchdown pass rushing right, past the helmet of a Dolphins defender and into tight end Dawson Knox’s outstretched arm for the first score of the game.

By the next quarter, Allen could no longer stop playing aggressively. Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey continued to dial up shot plays.

With 6:01 left in the second quarter, the Bills called their first and tenth play-action deep shots near midfield, with receiver John Brown sprinting down the sidelines. Brown never stepped on his man. Howard, whose Diggs had been burned for an earlier touchdown, was on top of Brown the whole time. Allen tore it up anyway, and he spat out pointless turnovers when both of the checkdown options beneath him (running back Devin Singletary and tight end Quintin Morris) were open.

Allen was stuck in big play mode from the start of the second quarter until midway through the third quarter. The Dolphins outscored the Bills 24-3 in that stretch, including Allen’s strip-sack touchdown. Allen eventually recovered by leading back-to-back touchdown drives, including a blinding cover two holeshot to Gabe Davis for a touchdown.

The Bills have played horribly this season, with each of their three losses featuring an Allen turnover. Allen finished Sunday with 16 interceptions and 22 giveaways this season, including the playoffs. According to NFL Research (At least until Dak Prescott plays on Monday).

Perhaps if the Bills had a more consistent running game and the team was regularly throwing more in the short area and chipping on drives, Allen wouldn’t have been tempted to gamble. We count on Allen’s unique eye and talent for doing the unlikely. And on Sunday, the Skyler Thompson-led Dolphins team couldn’t get the Bills to pay. Buffalo may not be so lucky against the rest of the loaded AFC playoff pool.

Doug Pederson’s call was key to Jaguar’s comeback.

Trevor Lawrence’s playoff debut started off badly, the second-year Jaguars quarterback throwing four interceptions on his first six drives. That meltdown saw the Chargers lead 27-0 in the first half.

Each interception was worse than the last, with throws that ranged from bad luck to hopeful washes to downright frightening. Lawrence’s first interception was a tip-ball on a Rumpus option throw, and his second pick was a mis-ball that receiver Zay Jones was ransacked by a Chargers defender with no flag thrown. It’s certainly a bad play, but it’s a forgivable mistake.

Lawrence then threw a third interception after misreading the defense, and in the fourth interception he 1d up those two drives and threw them straight over the center and into traffic.

Somehow, those misses and punt return muffles weren’t enough to beat Lawrence and Jaguar. Coach Doug Pederson delved deep into his bag of tricks, and the Jaguars’ receivers stepped up in the second half.

The Chargers’ linebackers aren’t great at tackling downhill, and Pederson and Lawrence found ways to do so relentlessly in the second half. Engram ran straight over and over the shallow part of the field and Lawrence found him repeatedly with shallow throws that mowed down chunks of 10 and 15 yards. Lawrence and Pederson hit that matchup until the Chargers made an effort to stop it.

All of the Jaguars’ efforts came to light in the fourth quarter, trailing 30-28. With the Chargers on his 40-yard line and he was 4-1, Pederson called a timeout with 1:28 remaining, saving the Jaguars from the quarterback’s sneak his call. Pederson came out of the break with a brilliant strike.

Lined up in a classic T formation (three players in a row behind the quarterback), the Jaguars sent Travis Etienne back to the right with an outside rush. Etienne hit the perimeter and made the lone cornerback mistake, booking 25 yards for the first down and putting the Jaguars on the 16-yard line for the game-winning field goal.

around the NFL

Bills 34, Dolphins 31: After starting 17-0, the Bills collapsed for about a quarter and a half. Great quarterback Josh Allen couldn’t stop throwing the ball deep at covered defenders. Some of those hero throws became interceptions, giving the Dolphins chances on the offense. Miami took advantage of many chances and got a spectacular downfield throw from Skyler Thompson between four sacks. Allen nailed receiver Gabe Davis for a 23-yard touchdown in the fourth, before the Bills defense ended things by stopping the Dolphins’ drive in midfield.

Jaguars 31, Chargers 30: It’s hard to play two different footballs than the Jacksonville Jaguars. The defense continually fumbled as quarterback Trevor Lawrence had four interceptions by halftime in an attempt to slow Justin Herbert, who started Los Angeles 27-0. Everything turned upside down in the second half when Lawrence threw touchdown passes to Zay Jones, Christian Kirk and Marvin Jones to lead the biggest playoff comeback in NFL history. It was also his first playoff game won by a team with five more turnovers than his opponents.

49ers 41, Seahawks 23: Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, and the 49ers scored on four straight drives in the second half to give San Francisco the lead and Seahawks quarterback Genno Smith (35 on 253 passes). I was able to tee off 25 of my passes. yards, 3 sacks). Deebo Samuel added his catch for a 74-yard touchdown and Christian McCaffrey on 15 carries he recorded 119 yards rushing.