In week 17, seven spots were up for grabs across the AFC and NFC. But finally, NFC East and AFC South came down to a final game. As Packers, Saints and Seahawks entered Sunday’s games, looking to clinch the top seed in the NFC, the Chiefs secured the No.1 overall seed in the AFC. The Super Bowl 55 returned to Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers. The field is all set, and this is what we should look forward to in the NFL playoffs season;
Wild card playoffs
Ravens (20) against Titans (13)
Ravens ended last year’s season with a loss to the Titans, but this time they will march on in the NFL playoffs. Marcus Peters, Raven’s cornerback, picked Ryan Tannehill, the Titan’s quarterback, off on the first play, just after the two-minute warning. And to ensure the clock runs on the Titans, Lamar Jackson runs for 33 yards for a couple of games. It looks like Lamar was up for revenge after losing the last two NFL playoffs openers, helping the team win 20-13.
Los Angeles Rams (30) against Seattle Seahawks (20)
In the beginning, Rams quarterback Jared Golf came to rescue John Wolford, who broke his thumb in week 16. But he also suffered a neck injury during Rams second possession, which brought Wolford back in the lineup. And although Golf did not complete his passes, he led the team into victory, and he’s running back Cam Akers. They accumulated 176 scrimmage yards.
D.J Reed, Seattle cornerback, returned the second half kickoff-58 yards to the Rams 41-yard line. That set a 52-yard field goal by Myers cutting the score to 20-13. According to daily sports picks, Golf completed 20-yards to Robert Woods and started a 9-play, and 52-yard drive, resulting in a 36-yard field from Gay. That gave the Rams a 23-13 lead with 11:37 remaining.
Golf got 9-for-19 for 155 yards. Aaron Donald, the defensive tackle, had two sacks, although he had to leave the game with a rib injury. Wilson held 11-for-27 for 174 yards having two touchdowns. Bob Wagner, the line-backer, had 11 solo tackles, five assists, and one 1-sack.
Tampa Bay Buccaneer (31) against Washington Football Team (23)
The Bucs got 507 yards of offense, three sacks, and two forced turnovers, earning their first postseason victory. Quarterback Tom Brady completed a 30-yard pass to Mike Evans and then a 17 yard to Chris Godwin, leading the team to a 29 yard. Tampa’s defensive back Sean Murphy intercepted a pass from quarterback Taylor Heinicke on the Bucs’ 42-yard line.
Buccaneers drove 58 yards in six plays leading to a score on Brady’s 36-yard touchdown. Then a pass to Antonio Brown gave the team a 9-0 lead.
A short kickoff from Dustin Hopkin gave the Bucs a first down on their 39-yard line. Brown took a pitch on the next play, running again for 22 yards. Brady also threw a 27-yard touchdown giving a pass to Godwin after three games. That gave the Bucs a 15-7 lead, as Brady completed 3-of-5 passes for 65 yards on an 82-yard drive after a punt ending with Succop’s 23-yard field goal. Tampa took the lead with 18-7 at halftime.
And with Washington opening the third quarter, they were able to cut their deficit to 18-10. Brady got touchdowns and completed 22-for-40 passes for 381 yards.
Baltimore Ravens (20) against Tennessee Titans (13)
These two teams had the most rushing yards during the previous season. Baltimore took the lead against the Titans with total yards of 401-209 and held them 51 yards on the ground. Derrick Henry, Tennessee running back, was the NFL’s leading rusher in 2020 and had 40 yards on 188 carries.
New Orleans Saints (21) against Chicago Bears (9)
The bears still managed to get to the NFL playoff despite finishing with 8-8. But that was after the Los Angeles Rams put down the Arizona Cardinals in the season last week. And although these teams finished with the same numbers, the Bears advanced with a record of common opponents over Arizona with great wins over the Los Angeles, Detroit Lion, Carolina Panther, and New York Giants.
In the daily sports picks, the Bears were 3-2, Cardinals 1-4, and Saints finished with 12-4. They fell short of going three consecutive years of 13-3 and still made the fourth straight year’s playoffs. The teams were meeting for the first time in the playoffs since the 2006 NFC Championship.
New Orleans held Chicago 239 yards and one single field-goal until the fourth quarter was closing while progressing to the Divisional round.
Cleveland Browns (48) Pittsburgh Steelers (37)
Although Cleveland didn’t have four players and five coaches due to the positive test of COVID-19, they built up a 35-10 first-half lead. They also forced five turnovers and even earned their first playoff win since 1994.
It was also the Browns’ first playoff appearance since 2002 and the first road win against the Steelers from 2003. Also, it was the first road playoff win since 1969. The Browns took a lead of 7-0 on the first play from scrimmage.
Green Bay Packers (32) against Los Angeles Rams (18)
Packers lost a Pro Bowl tackle David Bakhtiari to injury before week 17 games, but they racked up 487 yards. They secured 32 points against Rams defense finishing the 2020 season while leading the NFL playoffs in the fewest points and yards allowed.
Buffalo Bills (17) against Baltimore Ravens (3)
Baltimore drove 46 yards to Buffalo’s 23-yard line in their first kickoff. However, the drive ended as Justin Tucker hit the uprights on a 41-yard field goal attempt. The two teams had to punt during their next game.
In conclusion, you can keep checking daily sports picks for more information on the NFL playoffs.