SPORTS INSIDER – NFL has “amazing” and “frustrating” Wild Card playoff weekend
December 6, 2014
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
The Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs certainly lived up to its name this past weekend.
On Saturday, both games were decided by a combined three points, while three of the four Wild Card games were decided by three points or less. Road teams also dominated, with three out of four coming out on top. The Indianapolis Colts were the lone home victors, staging a monumental comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs.
After two turnovers and a 28-point deficit, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck composed himself in the second half, throwing three touchdowns and scoring on a fumble recovery to lead his team to an improbable 45-44 come-from-behind win. “One for the ages,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said of the game.
It was only the second time in league history that a playoff team had rallied from that big of a deficit. The Buffalo Bills did it in 1993, when they rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston 41-38.
The victory was equally surreal for the Chiefs, who virtually collapsed in the second half. “Anytime you’re leading like that, and then have them battle back, and then take it, and you end up losing by a point, it’s tough,” Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow.”
The Colts next head to Foxborough where they will face the No. 2 AFC seeded New England Patriots.
Later on Saturday, the New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles faced off in the city of brotherly love. The game was close throughout, with neither team dominating. Philly was leading by just one point late in the fourth quarter when the Saints got the ball back. Drew Brees was able to get his team within field goal range, and Shayne Graham kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired.
The 26-24 win gave the Saints their first playoff road win in team history. They will head to CenturyLink Field next to face the Seattle Seahawks, where they hope to fare better than last time. When the two teams met on “Monday Night Football” in early December, New Orleans was blown out 34-7.
Domination by the road teams continued on Sunday with the San Diego Chargers providing the only decisive win of the weekend. Though they trailed 10-7 at halftime, they dominated the second half. Philip Rivers led the sixth-seeded Chargers to a 27-10 win, sending the Cincinnati Bengals home in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.
The Chargers will next head to Denver to take on the No. 1 seeded Broncos led by MVP candidate Peyton Manning. The two teams split their regular season meetings, with San Diego serving Denver just one of their three regular season losses.
The final game of the weekend was again close, decided by just a field goal. The San Francisco 49ers were considered underdogs heading into the game, as the California team was forced to play in sub-zero temperatures. But it was the Niners who looked at home during the game, while Green Bay struggled early in the game.
They finally hit their stride in the second quarter, scoring 10 unanswered points to pull within three. The game went back and forth late in the game, with the Packers’ Mason Crosby kicking a 24-yard game-tying field goal with just over five minutes left in the game.
San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick led his team down the field, converting a crucial third down with an 11-yard run with just over a minute remaining. The Niners were then able to run down the clock before kicking the game-winning field goal. The ending was almost identical to that of the Saints-Eagles game the night before.
“It’s a frustrating way to end a season,” Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “Very disappointing. Personally, it’s frustrating not to play your best game.”
On the San Francisco sideline, it was nothing but celebration. “It was amazing to get the win today,” Kapernick said. “We came back, we fought, we played hard.” It was the second year in a row that San Francisco sent Green Bay packing. They bested the Packers 45-31 in the Divisional round last season.
The Niners will next head to Charlotte, N.C. to face the No. 1 NFC seed Carolina Panthers. The match-up will be especially interesting, because Carolina’s quarterback, Cam Newton, is also known for his success with the run option.
If Wild Card weekend was any indication, the NFL playoffs will be an exciting–and unpredictable–ride.
