Playoff Opening Rounds Recap

What all happened?? Let’s talk about it.

We have had an insane last 2 weekends of football. The first weekend in the wild card round most of the games were blowouts and not too fun to watch.

Here is a recap of those games:

Texans 45, Browns 14

• This game wasn’t even close. Rookie quarterback CJ Stroud and Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik put on a clinic. Stroud went 16-for-21 for 277 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. All three of his touchdowns came off play action, with two of them coming on big plays to tight ends Brevin Jordan and Dalton Schultz. The fun of Joe Flacco came to an end.

Chiefs 26, Dolphins 7

• The Chiefs offense had a great game, but the spotlight of the game was the defense. Only gave up 7 points to one of the best offensive teams in the NFL this year. Chiefs interior defensive lineman Chris Jones recorded a hit and two hurries against the Dolphins, but he produced another six pass-rush wins that would have resulted in pressure had Tua Tagovailoa not gotten the ball out before Jones could get there.

Packers 48, Cowboys 32

• This game was a crazy upset. Some have said this was the worst loss in Cowboys history. Jordan Love is him.

• The Packers receivers are predominantly made up of young players, so it wasn’t a surprise to see several rookie pass catchers making plays in this game. Wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks and tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave each had multiple receptions. Perhaps the only surprising thing was that Jayden Reed had zero catches from three targets.

Lions 24, Rams 23

• This was one of the only close games this weekend. It was both a revenge game for Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff so tensions were high in this one. However, it was Goff that got the better of Stafford in the end.

• Goff and Stafford went blow for blow in the early going. Both are on track to earn 70.0-plus game grades, pending reviews. Goff finished with a 91.7% adjusted completion percentage — accounting for drops, batted passes, spikes and throwaways. There have been only 11 postseason games of a quarterback going above 90.0% in the PFF era, and Goff, pending final reviews, is on track to own two of them.

Bills 31, Steelers 17

• Tackling was an issue for the Steelers, the primary reason for two of the Bills' touchdowns. Allen on his long scramble for a score juked a defender after his initial burst downfield, and safety Mincah Fitzpatrick was shrugged off by Shakir on the receiver's fourth-quarter touchdown.

Buccaneers 32, Eagles 9

• I don’t have much to say about this one, just that it was embarrassing for the Eagles

• The downfall of the Eagles after starting 10-1 needs to be studied

Now For The Divisional Round Recap

Ravens 34, Texans 10

Things were looking closely contested in the first Divisional Round battle of the weekend. But the top seed in the AFC turned to a familiar blueprint to roll into the conference title game: Lamar Jackson.

Jackson tossed two touchdowns, then turned to his mobility to tack on two more scores in the 24-point romp of the Texans. Jackson settled for only 152 passing yards but gashed the Texans with 100 yards rushing.

49ers 24, Packers 21

These two iconic franchises wrote a brand new chapter in their storied playoff rivalry. This time with new franchise quarterbacks dueling each other until the end.

Brock Purdy and the 49ers were down most of the evening. But Purdy orchestrated one final climactic drive that led to a Christian McCaffrey red zone power run to take the lead for good. Jordan Love, who played efficiently, threw one costly cross body interception to end the game.

The 49ers have had the Packers’ number in January, having won the last five playoff meetings. That includes the 2019 season NFC title game played at Levi’s Stadium and the 2021 road upset at Lambeau Field.

Dre Greenlaw picked off two Love passes including the one under one minute left to seal the win.

Lions 31, Buccaneers 23

The Lions ended their long 32-year playoff win drought in the Wild Card. The next drought they ended? Their last appearance in the NFC Championship game.

Trusting the arm of Jared Goff, the power and versatility of Jahmyr Gibbs, then a blitz-happy defense that forced two picks, the Lions prevailed to advance on to the NFC title game.

Derrick Barnes sealed the win by stepping in front of a Baker Mayfield pass to snatch the interception, and catapult the Lions to their first conference title game appearance since Jan. 1992.

Chiefs 27, Bills 24

The newest chapter of Chiefs versus Bills added a heartbreaking feature for “Bills Mafia,” but relief for “Chiefs Kingdom.”

Tyler Bass was given the opportunity to send the game into overtime down 27-24. The wind, however, carried the football wide right past the goal line.

Kansas City went on to melt the time away. In the process, the Chiefs are now continuing their impressive streak of AFC title game appearances that started in the 2018 season.

This is what the playoff picture looks like now

If you are reading this you made it to the end and I just want to tell all our great supporters thank you. I appreciate you continuing to read what Dual Sport Report comes out with every week. We have a lot of exciting things coming in 2024, and we are so excited that you are coming along for the journey.

Until Next Time.