This past weekend kicked off the start of the NFL playoffs with Wild Card Weekend. The LA Chargers (11-6) faced the Houston Texans (10-7) in the early afternoon on Saturday, Jan. 11 in Houston. Even though the Chargers had a better record than the Texans, Houston won 15-17 in a 2-point lead. The results surprised many people because the Chargers were seeded higher than the Texans, but they made it to the divisional round where they will play Kansas City. “I was very disappointed because I lost a lot of money and the Chargers were supposed to win by 10 points,” senior middle linebacker, Brayden Scrafford said.
Later that evening the third and sixth-seeded teams, Pittsburg Steelers (10-7) and Baltimore Ravens (12-5), went head-to-head in Baltimore. The Ravens won in a 2-score game 28-14 against the Steelers clinching their spot in the next round against the Buffalo Bills in an MVP match-up. “Josh Allen needs to win. I love Lamar Jackson, but Josh needs to prove himself,” Thomas Morrison said.
Sunday was jampacked with three back-to-back games. The day started with the Buffalo Bills (14-4) beating the Denver Broncos (10-8) in a wipeout ending 31-7. Next, Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles (15-3) went up against Jordon Love and the Green Bay Packers (11-7) with the Eagles winning 22-10. “I was expecting Green Bay to have a closer game with Philadelphia and keep up, but the Eagles pulled out ahead,” Morrison said.
Tied in the last minute of the game, both teams were fighting for the ball. Washington was in field goal range but decided to try for a touchdown. When Tampa didn’t let Washington get any further into the end zone, the Commanders had to kick a field goal but barely made it because it bounced off the goalpost. Washington Commanders (13-5) beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-8) 23-20 in a close game. “I was surprised how close it was, as I figured one team would find their groove and hold a dominant lead but that was not the case,” Morrison said.
Monday night the Minnesota Vikings (14-3) and the LA Rams (10-7) faced off in the last game of Wild Card Weekend. In a surprising sweep, the Rams took the lead in the first quarter and stayed ahead to gain a win 27-9 against the Vikings. “I wasn’t actually that shocked because the Rams have a really good offense and Minnesota has been kind of sucking lately,” Scrafford said.
The Divisional Round is coming up this weekend. Starting on Saturday, Jan. 18, the Texans face the Chiefs at 4:30 p.m. ET and then the Commanders at the Lions at 8 p.m. ET. The next day, the LA Rams take on the Philadelphia Eagles at 3 p.m. ET. The weekend ends with Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen fighting for a spot in the AFC championship game and MVP at 6:30 p.m. ET.