The weekend started with 14 teams with a dream—a dream of hoisting up the Lombardi trophy in Super Bowl LX. Now, after six grueling playoff games, we are down to only eight teams. These teams keep their dreams alive for at least one more week, vying for a chance to call themselves champions of the NFL in Super Bowl LX. And, the games had a mixed bag of everything from nail-bitters, comebacks, and blowouts.

Los Angeles Rams vs Carolina Panthers:

The Los Angeles Rams and the Carolina Panthers had a game that came down to the last minute. The Rams were potentially looking at a 2nd loss to the Carolina Panthers within the previous six weeks. MVP favorite, Matthew Stafford, with 2 and a half minutes, went 7 plays in only 2 minutes and 1 second down the field, and threw the winning touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson. And, the defense had to hold off the Panthers’ offense one more time on 4 plays to advance to the divisional round. Matthew Stafford, the MVP, had himself a typical Matthew Stafford day. By throwing for 304 yards on 24 completions, and 3 touchdown passes on 1 interception. The Rams’ receivers had a great game themselves. Puka Nacua caught 10 passes for 111 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. And, his teammate, Davante Adams, caught 5 catches for 72 yards. The Carolina Panthers, in their 1st postseason home game since the 2015 season, played their hearts out on the field for the entire 60 minutes. Bryce Young, in his playoff debut, played extremely well by throwing for 264 yards on 21 completions on 40 attempts. 2nd year Wide Receiver Jalen Coker led the team in receiving yards with 134 yards on 9 catches, including one touchdown that gave Carolina the lead with 2 in a half minutes left in the game, before the Rams went down the field and scored the winning touchdown with 38 seconds left. The Rams move on to the divisional round to take on the Chicago Bears Sunday night at Soldier Field. Even in defeat, the Carolina Panthers had a fantastic season by winning their 1st division title since 2015. And, Bryce Young made a believer out of me by showing that he can be the franchise quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. And, this Panthers team does have a bright future ahead of them. 

Green Bay Packers vs Chicago Bears

In only their 3 postseason meeting, in the history of this rivalry, it was a tale of two halves. The Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears gave us the best game of wild-card weekend. In the 1st half, the Green Bay Packers were basically about to run the Chicago Bears off the field by Jordan Love, who threw 3 touchdown passes on Green Bay’s first 3 possessions. Jordan Love overall on the night threw for 323 yards with 4 touchdown passes. By halftime, the score was 21-3 Green Bay, and then everything started to unravel for the Packers. The Chicago Bears, all season long, have been the cardiac kids of the NFL, coming back 7 times when trailing in the 4th quarter. Caleb Williams threw two touchdown passes with less than 7 minutes to go in the game to take the lead. Williams on the night had an up and down night, but the 2 4th quarter touchdown passes made up for the 2 interceptions he threw earlier in the game. Rookie, Tight End Colston Loveland led the Bears in receiving yards with 137 yards on 8 catches. While Caleb Williams’s #1 target, DJ Moore, caught the winning touchdown pass with less than 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter. The Bears, with this win, will now stay home for the 2nd straight week and will now face the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round. While the Packers head home for the offseason. 

Buffalo Bills vs Jacksonville Jaguars

The 1st game of a tripleheader of wild-card playoffs was a matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars. All eyes were on Josh Allen, the Buffalo Bills, and their starting path towards a run to the Super Bowl. Coming into this game Buffalo Bills haven’t won a postseason road game since 1992, and they ended that streak with a hard-hitting performance from Josh Allen. Allen had to carry the Bills on his back throughout much of the game to get them in a position to win the game. His passing on the day was a typical Josh Allen day, throwing for 28 completions on 35 attempts for 273 yards and 1 touchdown. The Jacksonville Jaguars made it interesting throughout the game. Trevor Lawrence had an up-and-down day with 3 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. Had a chance to win with a minute to go, then on 1st play he threw an interception and ended their season right there. Now, the Buffalo Bills head out to the Mile High City to take on the #1 seed in the AFC, the Denver Broncos. 

San Francisco 49ers vs Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles looked to start their path towards a second consecutive Super Bowl title, but their chance at back-to-back ended in the wild-card round against the San Francisco 49ers. The game started out with both teams trading touchdowns on each of their 1st possession of the game. Both of the Eagles’ touchdowns were scored by Dallas Goedert, one by run and the other by a catch from Jalen Hurts. Then, after that, the Eagles didn’t find the endzone again. The San Francisco 49ers, with all the injuries they have, keep on winning these close football games. And that was the case on Sunday. Brock Purdy found Christian McCaffrey twice in the 4th quarter for two huge touchdowns. Those touchdowns turned out to be the difference in the outcome of this game. But, the 49ers took a hit with another injury as Tight End George Kittle tore his Achilles, and will miss the rest of the postseason. And this will only make the 49ers’ roster thinner with another injury. With this win, the 49ers will play arch rival the Seattle Seahawks in the rubber match as both teams split their first two meetings earlier in the year. 

Los Angeles Chargers vs New England Patriots

The last of the tripleheader on Sunday was the nightcap between the Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots. The game turned out to be a defensive battle all throughout the game. And only 1 touchdown was scored in the entire game. Through the 1st three quarters, all the points were on field goals. Then, early in the 4th quarter, Drake Maye threw to Hunter Henry for a 28-yard touchdown pass for the only touchdown of the game. Charges, quarterback Justin Hebert had a difficult night in the pocket, where he was sacked 6 times, while Drake Maye was sacked 5 times. Herbert also had another down playoff game and is now 0-3 in the postseason with 2 touchdowns to 4 interceptions. Now, the Patriots are staying at home for the divisional round for a matchup with the Houston Texans on Sunday at 3:00 pm.

Houston Texans vs Pittsburgh Steelers

On Monday night, the Houston Texans started slow against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1st half. And then in the 2nd half, the Texans took off and never looked back as they shut out the Steelers in the 2nd half. At halftime, it was 7-6 with the Texans leading, then the Texans’ defense scored 2 big defensive touchdowns in the 4th quarter that put the game away as Sheldon Rankins returned a strip sack for 33 yards for a touchdown. Then Calen Bullock sealed the deal for the Texans by intercepting Aaron Rodgers and returning it 50 yards for a pick-six. Aaron Rodgers had a difficult night as he was sacked 4 times, and he only threw for 146 yards on 17 completions on 33 attempts. Now, the big question is, has Aaron Rodgers played the final game of his career? That will be the big thing that people will watch and see if the future Hall of Famer played his last game in the NFL.