The National Football League playoff picture is now cemented after an eventful eighteenth week of the 2023-2024 season that gave multiple contenders who had not yet clinched a playoff spot a chance to extend their seasons. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers all clinched a playoff spot on Jan. 7 of the season’s last week and are looking to make a push toward the Super Bowl as lower-seeded teams; the league’s top performers, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers, earned a round one bye.
AFC Playoffs
In the first round of postseason play, the fourth-seeded Houston Texans hosted the fifth-seeded Cleveland Browns with the winner traveling to Baltimore to take on the top-seeded Ravens. The competition took place on Jan. 15, and veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, who has some playoff experience after his 2012 victory in the Super Bowl, looked to outscore a young Texan offense led by rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, who is among the top candidates to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. However, hopes for Flacco were lost early on, and the Texans came out victorious, 45-14. The game has further cemented Stroud’s technical prowess and unmatched physical ability.
Following the matchup between the AFC’s fourth and fifth seeds, the Miami Dolphins traveled to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City to take on one of the most relevant and popular teams in today’s NFL, the Chiefs. The matchup was expected to be one of the best in the first round of the playoffs as a seemingly regressing Miami offense led by superstar receiver Tyreek Hill and his left-handed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looked to run past an improved Kansas City defense. The Chiefs’ home crowd, the largest in the NFL, backed up their franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and his go-to weapon, Travis Kelce. Both rosters were filled with young stars and were playing in hopes of extending their season into the next week, but the Chiefs proved victorious 26-7.
The third and final wild-card matchup on the AFC side of the NFL playoff bracket featured the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills. The Bills, who had not missed the playoffs since 2018, depended on the connection between star players Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs to continue to shine alongside their strong defense. Pittsburgh entered the contest as the underdog as a seemingly mediocre season turned into a playoff appearance as the team got hot in the final weeks of the season to barely push them into the playoffs. 31-17 Buffalo was the final score.
NFC Playoffs
The second game on Jan. 7 of Wild Card Weekend was destined to be an exciting matchup as two of the league’s biggest and most intense fan bases clashed as the Green Bay Packers faced off against the Dallas Cowboys. Breakout seasons for multiple defensive players, such as cornerback Daron Bland, combined with an impressive season by quarterback Dak Prescott, supplied Dallas with one of the strongest seasons they have had in recent years. The Packers, still recovering from the loss of future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, have found themselves trusting a young replacement in Jordan Love, who seems to be finally adjusting to the National Football League. In one of the most-viewed games of the year, fans wanted to see if Prescott could turn around his disappointing track record in the playoffs or if Love and the Packers could keep pushing through adversity to upset the higher-seeded Cowboys. The dream ended earlier than expected for the Cowboys with the Packers winning 48-32.
The final Jan. 7 matchup had big implications not only for the organizations but for the players themselves. In the Sunday night matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Detroit Lions, there was more motivation than usual for both teams to come out on top. The Lions, who have not made the playoffs since 2016 and have not won a game in the playoffs since 1991, looked to beat 2022 Super Bowl Champions, the L.A. Rams. The Rams, who were expected to be one of the worst teams in the league, were led by impressive defensive plays by their young unit. Breakout rookie receiver Puka Nacua also played a crucial role for the Rams, setting the all-time single-season record for receptions and receiving yards by a rookie. Personal matters will be settled as veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford returns to his home stadium, where he played his first twelve seasons and became a legend in Detroit. Likewise, Lions quarterback Jared Goff looks to perform in front of his former coaches and teammates after he got traded away from the Rams in 2021 after spending the first part of his career there. The Lions won by only one point against the Rams, leaving a score of 24-23.
The final contest of the weekend would land the winner a spot to play against the San Francisco 49ers, who are widely considered the best roster in the NFL. The Buccaneers hosted the Philadelphia Eagles in Tampa Bay with hopes of riding their momentum into the game to earn a win. The Eagles, who started their season with a 10-1 record, have lost five of their last six games to finish the season after starting as one of the top teams in the league. Luckily for Philadelphia, their early season hot streak was enough to keep them afloat. Still, after five tough losses and one win in which the team did not look as if they were playing as well as they should be, Head Coach Nick Sirianni looked to turn things around and emerge victorious in the round one matchup. The Eagles’ defense, which has seemed to be regressing at the tail end of the season, looked to stifle quarterback Baker Mayfield who, despite his league-wide reputation of being a “bust” after being the top pick out of college, has finally emerged as an everyday starter for the Buccaneers and has led them to a division title and a playoff berth. Mayfield proved his worth, as the Buccaneers beat the Eagles 32-9.
The first round of the 2024 playoffs was one of the most exciting in recent years as fourteen teams looked to make their mark on history as Super Bowl Champions. Twelve games over three weeks will lead one AFC team and one NFC team to face off in Las Vegas, Nevada, in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 11.
