When the NFL decided to expand into what it now unashamedly labels Super Wild Card Weekend it was at first blush a short-sided attempt to breathe life into what was traditionally an appetizer for what I’ve always referred to as the best weekend of football ever–the Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders featuring the league’s ostensibly eight best teams entertaining us with games you’re forced to pay full attention to. The first few years of this schedule haven’t always been this cooperative, though we’ve had a few entertaining moments along the way. But at least up until last night, we got a Saturday and a Sunday that exceeded even the league’s high expectations.
Four thrilling games with plenty of lead changes and nail-biting finishes. Three lower-seeded road team victories, though not necessarily upsets. And the home team that did emerge victorious arguably delivered the greatest bang for the buck and long-term impact of all. As THE ATHLETIC’s Dan Wiederer took note yesterday morning:
Caleb Williams returned to the Chicago Bears’ locker room late Saturday night with a foam cheese-grater hat atop his head, stopping first by DJ Moore’s locker stall and giving the receiver’s 2-year-old son, Denniston Oliver, a fist bump. Denniston Oliver, too, was wearing a foam cheese-grater, and while he may not realize it yet, his dad and Williams had just put an indelible stamp on the NFL’s oldest rivalry. In the most dramatic way, too. Again.
Three weeks after Williams and Moore connected on a game-winning 46-yard overtime touchdown pass, the duo once again turned Soldier Field upside down with a 25-yard TD pass on the Bears’ final possession, with 1:43 remaining, to give the Bears a 31-27 playoff win over the Green Bay Packers.
The delirium pulsing across Soldier Field became instantly unforgettable, a no-bleeping-way eruption after another mind-bending finish.
This on the heels of an equally exhilirating performance from a far more seasoned quarterback a few hours earlier, as fellow ATHLETIC-estician Lukas Weese gushed:
The Los Angeles Rams advanced to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, outlasting the Carolina Panthers 34-31 in the NFC wild-card game.
With the Rams leading by three to start the fourth quarter, the Panthers took the lead thanks to Chuba Hubbard’s second rushing touchdown. Carolina’s lead didn’t last long, as Los Angeles went out in front on the next drive, with Matthew Stafford finding Kyren Williams for the touchdown. Bryce Young, in his playoff debut, responded by Carolina a late lead with a touchdown pass to Jalen Coker. But the Rams found a way to win, thanks to Stafford’s miraculous touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson with just under a minute remaining.
Stafford finished 24-of-42 passing for three touchdowns and one interception. Young went 21-of-40 passing for 264 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Rams are in the divisional round for the second consecutive season.
Even with a such a high bar set, Sunday saw a lid-lifter that was at least as much as an adrenaline rush, per CBS SPORTS’ Jared Dubin:
In the first of three wild card games on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills went on the road and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24.
Josh Allen was the hero for the Bills, engineering a nine-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that resulted in the game-winning score with just over a minute remaining. On the first play of the Jaguars’ attempted game-tying or game-winning drive, Cole Bishop intercepted Trevor Lawrence on a pass that was tipped into the air by Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White.
The Bills had trailed by four points twice in the fourth quarter, and both times Allen led touchdown drives to give them back the lead. On the afternoon, Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 33 yards and two scores on 11 carries. That rushing line includes the game-winning touchdown on a tush push, which came after he previously converted a fourth-and-inches with a 10-yard run on the previous play.
Allen entered the medical tent twice in the first half — once to be checked by the independent neurologist and once for a leg injury — but he returned to the field both times and ultimately led his team to victory.
Not to be outdone, the late afternoon provided another reminder of the danger of a veteran-laden sixth seed, per USA TODAY’s dynamic duo of Tom Viera and Joe Rivera:
The undermanned San Francisco 49ers are heading back west as big winners. In the latest matchup in a truly wild wild-card round, the 49ers grounded the Philadelphia Eagles 23-19, punching their ticket to the divisional round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs.
The Eagles looked as they did throughout the regular season, especially offensively: Disjointed and without momentum for large periods of the game, despite dominating the time of possession battle. Wide receiver A.J. Brown caught just three passes for 25 yards and no touchdowns in the effort, and had a sideline spat with head coach Nick Sirianni in the first half.
The Niners get another shot at being birdzillas with a trip to Seattle with the top-seeded and division rival Seahawks that will be in all likelihood be given a premium slot in said best weekend of football. And we will probably see the Patriots given similar marquee exposure in spite of the fact that their 16-3 conquest of the sleepwalking Los Angeles Chargers was far and away a dull-as-dishwater way to cap off an otherwise inspiring weekend. They will get the survivor of tonight’s final Monday Night Football telecast between the Texans and Steelers, a game that in most years would have been relegated to the so-called “Shakey’s Game” slot of early Saturday afternoon.
We had anything but that this year, so it remains to be seen if said mocking monicker will simply move to prime time tonight. I don’t know about you, but I for one will at least be eating a lot healthier tonight even if the football quality continues to resemble mojo potatoes. After all, we’re coming off a most healthy diet of pigskin.
Courage…