On Sunday, while the reigning Super Bowl Champions Philadelphia Eagles who, not too long ago had looked well out of the running to defend their title this season, were edging bookie favorites Chicago Bears 16-15, the Los Angeles Chargers came storming back from a recent flat spot in their season to beat strongly favored, high-flying Baltimore Ravens 23-17.
If upsets are good for sportsbooks, New Jersey’s growing band will have been left smiling by the Wildcard weekend.
Then on Saturday, they saw the ever-improving but underdog Indianapolis Colts pull-off an upset 21-7 defeat of the Houston Texans. Before the Dallas Cowboys edged the Seattle Seahawks 24-22 in a tight game. That, between two well-matched sides which could have gone either way.
So, while Houston, Seattle, Chicago, and Baltimore have now all been eliminated, going through to next week’s Division Rounds are:
- The Colts, the AFC’s No 6 seeds who next play No 1 seeds the Kansas City Chiefs,
- The Chargers, AFC’s 5th seeds, who’ll come up against the AFC’s 2nd seeds, the New England Patriots.
- The Eagles, The NFC’s 6th seed, who now play the division’s No 1 seeds the New Orleans Saints and
- The Cowboys, the NFC’s No 4 seeds, who face the No 2 seeds Los Angeles Rams.
Philadelphia Eagles 16, Chicago Bears 15
The lasting memory of the entire NFL Wild-Card Weekend will most surely be that chilling moment in the dying seconds of the game in which underdogs Philadelphia Eagles defeated Chicago Bears 16-15.
This when Bear’s supporters saw their kicker Cody Parker’s head slump after his kick for the vital, last-gasp field goal that would have won the match hit the left hand upright, bounced on the crossbar and sailed back into the field of play.
But don’t let this critical moment disguise the fact that once again it was Eagles quarterback Nick Foles who was the chief architect of a late-season victory that has unexpectedly carried the Eagles into a division playoff that looked well out of their reach not too many weeks ago.
He did give away two early interceptions in the first half. But his ice-cool recovery, something not easily found in back-up quarterbacks, was what really mattered in the end for it not only served to help him hoist his own game to the highest level, it also saw his inspired team-mates elevate themselves and fly high alongside him as their unlikely journey towards a second-successive Super Bowl final continued.
Foles’ final statistics (25 for 40, 266 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions) was impressive enough in a turf war as tough as this one, but perhaps what truly showed him up as the game-changing champion he is was the way he engineered the final winning touchdown.
Seemed Almost Over
The game was almost over and Soldier Field seemed to be looking down most kindly on the Bears when Foles got possession, steadied his worried offense and calmly lead it to the Bear’s 2-yard line.
Only 1 minute and 10 seconds remained, but three plays later Foles, to a mighty roar from his Eagles fans, found wide receiver Golden Tate with the winning touchdown.
If Bears kicker Parker had possessed Foles’ cool resolve the result might have been different. Sadly for Bears, this was not the case.
Indianapolis Colts 21, Houston Texans 7
Andrew Luck, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback who has been a key in his team’s fight-back from a dismal 1-5 start his season, was his team’s star once more on Saturday.
Luck’s 222-yard, two-TD passing performance, and team-mate Marlon Mack’s career-high 148-yards rushing heroics played a major role in maintaining their winning form (this was the Colts’ 5th straight win and the 10th in their last 11 games) and sending them the next round of divisional playoffs.
But there was more to their victory than that.
Indianapolis coach Frank Reich said the Colts needed to dominate up front in order to contain the Texans’ “phenomenal” rushing duo of JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney.
And they did just that with an outstanding running game.
“To roll off 200 yards on that defense, unbelievable,” he said.
Dallas Cowboys 24, Seattle Seahawks 22
In the second of the two, Saturday Wild-card games the rock-solid defense of the Dallas Cowboys proved just too much for the highly acclaimed rushing offense of the Seattle Seahawks.
The young Cowboys held Seattle to just under 100 yards below their league-leading average of 160 yards and after a see-saw battle led more often than not by the Seahawks, Dallas was able to come through late, squeezing home 24-22 and take themselves into next week’s division playoffs against the NFC’s No 2 seeds, the Rams.
The Cowboys have already shown this season that the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage, Drew Brees and his Rams can be beaten. The question now is can they do it again? – And yes, under the kind of pressure they’ll face in this week’s division playoff against the Rams?
Led by play-making linebackers Leighton Vander Esch and Jylon Smith, the Cowboys have been up to the challenge all season and notably in their recent 13-10 win against the Rams. It would be a big mistake to write off the chances of them doing it again.
NFL Wildcard Weekend results
Indianapolis Colts (10-6) beat Houston Texans (11-5) 21-7
Dallas Cowboys (10-6) beat Seattle Seahawks (10-6) 24-22,
Los Angeles Chargers (12-4) beat the Baltimore Ravens (10-6) 23-17
Philadelphia Eagles (9-7) beat Chicago Bears (12-4) 16-15.
