By Brandon Simmons
Texans Break the Game on a Broken Play
The Houston Texans beat the Los Angeles Chargers 32-12 in a game that almost didn’t reflect the score. The game started off being dominatesd by the Chargers as they jumped to a 6-0 lead It was like that until the 2 minute warning, the Texans were the benficiariea of a broken play. Texans QB C.J. Stroud had a snap go over his head, but he recovered it, rushed out of the pocket and threw a pass across his body, connecting with Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchison to convert 3rd and 16. That play sparked a drive that went 99 yards for a touchdown pass to wide receiver Nico Collins, who had a 37 yard reception a few plays earlier.
This game is perfect example of what happens when one play can affect an entire game and how luck sometimes fuels wins.. Before that broken play, the Texans were doing a whole lot of nothing on offense, which masked the fact that neither were the Chargers, which is why the game was kinda close for that long. In addition to that, Stroud threw a pass across his body and it ended up as a first down conversion. Chargers QB Justin Herbert did a similar play earlier where he threw the ball across his body but it ended in an interception. Speaking of interception, the Texans defense was spectacular in this game and really held it down until the offense came around. Texans All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley, Jr. had 2 picks in this game while rookie cornerback Kamari Lasiter had a pick and safety Eric Murray had a pick 6. Texans defensive linemen Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter each shared 1.5 sacks, combining for 3 of the 4 sacks total.
Ravens Dominate Steelers
The Baltimore Ravens easily handled the Pittsburgh Steelers in their Wild Card matchup with a score of 28-14. From start to finish, the Ravens punished the Steelers, with solid performances by Ravens QB Lamar Jackson and Ravens running Derrick Henry. Jackson threw 16 of 21 for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns while Henry ran 26 times for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively, the Ravens were just as tough, generating 4 sacks in this meeting; 2 of them going to Nnamdi Madubukie.
There’ not a lot to dress up this Ravens win because the Steelers were simply beat. Pittsburgh fell behind 21-0 in the first half, with 2 of the scoring drives going for at least 80 yards. An indicator of how bad things were would be the play where Steelers wide receiver George Pickens caught a deep pass, but it got wiped away from offensive pass interference that he caused.
Buffalo Bullies the Broncos
The Buffalo Bills had no issues putting the Denver Broncos away with a score of 28-7. Bills QB Josh Allen continued his own MVP campaign throwing for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns, then rushing for another 42 yards. Bills running back James Cook put in some serious work with 22 rushes for 116 yards. What makes this really impressive is that Buffalo fell down 7-0 in the first quarter but scored 28 unanswered points in this game.
Buffalo simply showed in this game that they were not just the better team, but the superior team. Bo Nix and the Denver broncos have been a good story to know about this season, but story time ends when the playoffs start. Bills QB Josh Allen really can use this campaign for the MVP, as he did everything to put together this blowout. Allen did the ”push tush” to convert a couple of 3rd and 4th downs. He also threw a touchdown to Ty John on 4th and 1 that was an impossible catch on Johnson’s part. Don’t get it twisted, the Bills excelled in all 3 phases of the game, but without Allen, the dominant result just isn’t there.
Eagles Defense Carries Team on Its Wings
The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers 22-10 in a game that saw the defenses outshine their offensive counterparts. Philly came out the gate swinging, forcing a fumble on the kickoff and recovering. This led to Eagles QB Jalen Hurts throwing a TD pass to Johan Dotson. At the height of the 2nd quarter, Eagles defensive back Darius Slay, Jr. makes a pick. Later in that same quarter, Eagles linebacker Zack Baun gets a pick. The Eagles offense didn’t have another scoring drive until theblate 3rd quarter when Hurts threw a TD to Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert, who stiff armed some defenders into the end zone to up 16-3 over the Packers. A couple more field goals late in game put it away.
The Philadelphia Eagles defense really carried this team to victory. While the Eagles offense did jump to a 10-0 lead, it stalled for most of the game. They really didn’t get another score until late in the 3rd with the Goedert play. The Green Bay packers just could not break this impenetrable Eagles defense, and did themselves no favor with committing 3 turnovers. The reality is, Philly escaped this game with a win based off the ineptitude of Green Bay’s performance which was due to the strong performance of the Philly defense.
Washington Brings the Late Game Show to the Postseason
The Washington Commanders pulled off another late game heroic performance with a 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels put on a phenomenal performance throwing for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns in his postseason debut becoming the first rookie QB to win a road playoff game since Russell Wilson id it for the Seattle Seahawks, ironically against the Washington Redskins in 2012. Daniels outdueled Bucs QB Baker Mayfield, who threw for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns himself, but also had the costly play of the game. In the 4th quarter, up 17-13, the Bucs defense just made a stop on 4thand goal and got the ball back. On the ensuing possession, Tampa’s offense got a first down then they ran a jet sweep. However, Mayfield had a bad exchange with handoff on the sweep then fumbled the ball away to the Commanders. Now deep into Buc’ territory, Daniels throws a touchdown on 4th and goal. Both teams then trade field goals, including the game winner by Commanders kicker Zane Gonzalez.
Jayden Daniels was the difference in a game where it could of gone either way. Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans – coming off hi 11th straight 1,000 receiving yard season – finished the with 7 catches for 92 yards. Bucs rookie running back rushed for 17 times for 77 yards. However, Commander wide receivers Dyami Bron and Terry McClauren each had 89 yards on 5 and 7 catches, respectively. McCalurne actually caught the 4th quarter TD to put Washington up 20-17. However, Daniels was the true factor in this game. His scrambling saved a lot of drives by converting 3rd and 4th downs and he finished as the team’s leading rusher with 36 yards. It was his 3rd down scramble near the end of the game where he converted for the first down to run the clock own. It also should be noted that his rushing and passing helped convert 4th downs, in which Washington went 3 for 5. Also, the most important thing of all this is Daniels is only a rookie. All season the Washington Commanders have been coming up big in close games and this past weekend was not different. He didn’t come off as shook, or the moment being too big, but remained calmed and played smart. No matter the outcome for the rest of this postseason, Daniels has established something for his success going forward.
Rams Stomp Vikings
Many people believed that with the wildfires happening in Los Angeles, the L.A. Rams would be distracted, but instead, they were probably more locked in despite their own goings ons. It was a game where the Rams defense completely took over, creating a team record sacks on the night. Offensively, the numbers will make it look like it was quiet, but things were rather effective. Rams QB Matthew Stafford threw for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns while his leading receiver was Rams tight end Tyler Higbee, who had 5 catches for 58 yards.
The Rams defense was just too good for whatever the Vikings intended to put out there. Minnesota’s nightmarish stretch continued from last week, where they lost to the Detroit Lions. The Vikings performance was a little surprising considering they were almost the number one aeed in the NFC, but the Rams have kind of boasted a strong pass rush all season. Tonight, it lived up to that reputation generating 9 sacks, 2 of them going for fumbles and even a return for a score by linebacker Jared Verse. Verse’s teammates – Rams linebacker Byron Young and nose tackle Neville Gallimore – both shared 1.5 sacks. Thi Ram defensive line will continue to give teams problems in this postseason.
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