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Wild Card Round Recap

The Pack, 'Hawks, Three B's, and Houston Win



The Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Green Bay Packers all won over the weekend, and will move on to the Divisional Round. All of the home teams won, but now they will have to go on the road to play the teams who were on a bye. All four games this past weekend wear essentially blowouts, and here is a recap of each game:

Houston Texans 27 - Oakland Raiders 14:
There are still many problems with the offense of the Houston Texans, but for the second time this season (first time was Week 6 against the Colts), Brock Osweiler played like an 18 million dollar quarterback. He made some good plays, was able to throw the ball down the field, got the ball to DeAndre Hopkins, and even ran for a touchdown. Lamar Miller did not run particularly well, but still was decent. The defense led by Jadeveon Clowney (who is finally playing like a #1 overall pick) is the best overall defense in the league, and forced Oakland into tough situations. Imagine how good this defense will be next year when J.J. Watt comes back into the lineup. On the other side of the ball, the Raiders were definitely missing their MVP candidate quarterback, Derek Carr. Matt McGloin, the backup got injured the previous week, and Connor Cook was forced to start his first game a as a rookie in the playoffs against the best defense - which was not good at all. Everything has gone downhill for them ever since their win against the Colts, which felt like a loss in the end. The Texans will move on to play the Patriots in the Divisional Round.

Seattle Seahawks 26 - Detroit Lions 6:
The Lions could be considered as a "fake" playoff team. They had a pretty light schedule the entire regular season until the final three weeks. They finished their season on a four game losing streak, all against playoff teams - the Cowboys, Giants, Packers, and Seahawks. They did not stack up well against their true competition. They were only able to score six points, and a lot of work must still be done if they want to win a Super Bowl in the "Matthew Stafford Era." The Seahawks did not quite prove anything with this win. I believe that it was expected that they would win from the very beginning, especially with the help of the 12th man at CenturyLink Field. One big thing for them going into the next round is that they were able to establish a run game behind a struggling offensive line. The Seahawks will play the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round.

Pittsburgh Steelers 30 - Miami Dolphins 12:
This game was over for the Dolphins from the very beginning. Ben Roethlisberger was perfect in the first half, and he threw two bombs to Antonio Brown which were caught for touchdowns. Big Ben only threw 18 passes on the day, although he definitely has to fix up some of the mistakes from the second half, when he threw two interceptions. On top of this, LeVeon Bell ran for monster yards and was an absolute savage on the field. The killer B's are playing really well with all of them on the field together. The Dolphins could not convert on offense, and were only getting field goals from their drives. Their kryptonite the entire season was getting the running game going, and it completely faltered this weekend. At the same time, the Dolphins should go into the offseason with a lot of optimism about their young talent, and a team that could possibly challenge the Patriots in the AFC East. The Steelers will play the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round.

Green Bay Packers 38 - New York Giants 13:
This game was supposed to be exciting, close, and suspenseful, but the score tells the entire story. In all honesty, though, this was a game for two quarters and a half. The Giants were leading 6-0, and the defense was playing outstanding against Aaron Rodgers. The Hail Mary changed the momentum of the game, and in the second half, vintage Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to a blowout win over the Giants, and their seventh straight victory. The Giants again had some problems on offense, but this time, it did not have anything to do with Eli Manning, but instead the wide receivers. Many balls were dropped by the receivers, including three drops by Odell Beckham Jr. I guess you shouldn't be going to Miami the week before a playoff game in the ice cold temperatures in Green Bay. The Packers will play the Cowboys in the Divisional Round.

The Wild Card Round was kind of mild to be honest, but the Divisional Round is sure to bring more fun, suspenseful, and interesting football games.

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