NFL Playoffs: Wildcard Round Recap

The first playoff weekend of 2017 provided a slew of disappointing blowouts. The closest game was decided by 13 points. The first game was held in NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas between the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Texans. The Raiders had just recently finished a magnificent 12-4 record season on a very bad note after their star quarterback Derek Carr broke his fibula in the last regular season game of the year. The Raiders then had to have rookie Connor Cook start his first playoff game, and as expected, he did not do well. Cook threw for 3 interceptions in the Raiders 27-14 loss to the Texans. The Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler had recently been benched after several poor performances, and left many skeptics asking why  Osweiler was given a 72 million dollar deal. However, Osweiler delivered a solid performance on Saturday, having a pair of touchdowns through the air and ground. The next game’s outcome was heavily predicted, but it still came as a shock. The Dolphins played the Steelers in Pittsburgh for their first playoff appearance since 2008. The Dolphins had managed to beat the Steelers in the regular season, but were still heavy underdogs going into the game. The Steelers superstars Antonio Brown (Wr) and Le’veon Bell (Rb), torched the Miami defense for a combined yardage of over 300 yards and 4 touchdowns. The dolphins talented running back

Jay Ajayi who had made a name for himself on a late season surge, only stacked up 33 yards on 16 carries. Ajayi had previously ran for 205 yards in their regular season win against the Steelers, but was nowhere to be found in the playoffs. The final score of the game was 30-12 Pittsburg. The next two games were expected to be extremely competitive, but it did not turn out that way. The Lions and Seahawks faced off in the infamously loud Centurylink Stadium in Seattle. While the Seahawks were the favorites going into the game, the highly rated defensive line of the Lions and  the leadership of the Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford promised a good matchup. However, the Lions offense could never find any traction and the Seahawks offense behind the all pro quarterback Russell Wilson overwhelmed the Lions defense. The game did have some amazing one-handed highlight reel catches from the Seahawks wide receivers Doug Baldwin and Paul Richardson. The end score was 26-6, as Seattle rolled over the Lions. The final game between the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers was boding to be an unforgettable game. The Giants and Packers were no strangers to each other, having met in the playoffs twice before in the last decade. Both years the Giants won and later won the superbowl. This year the Giants impressive defense faced off against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers who had won 6 games straight. Rodgers threw for four touchdowns in a final score of 38-13. The wide receiver star Odell Beckham for the Giants did not deliver a good performance, dropping 4 targets and having his second worst game of his career in receiving yards. Postgame Odell reportedly punched a hole in a wall and was banging his head on the locker room door. This loss came as a shock as the Giants and Packers had played in the regular season in a one score game.

This week will be the divisional round of the playoffs. Below are the predictions for those games:

Texans vs Patriots — 90% chance for Patriots to win

Packers vs Cowboys – 51% chance for the Packers to win

Seahawks vs Falcons – 66% chance for the Falcons to win

Chiefs vs Steelers – 54% chance for the Steelers to win

These games should all be more exciting than the wildcard round. These games will be held Saturday and Sunday afternoon this weekend.