Wildcard Weekend Review

This weekend featured a rather strange trend for Wildcard weekend, as all four road teams managed to win. That is rare, although it is also what was kind of expected, since the road teams all looked better - even far better - than the home teams in these contests. And somehow, none of the home teams were quite able to use playing on their home field to their advantage, although two teams, Cincinnati and Minnesota, came close. 

So, how and why did the road teams achieve a rare, 4-0 record in the first week of these playoffs? Let's take a look:

Kansas City Chiefs, 30, Houston Texans 0

Yes, I predicted that the Texans would win. However, I was not expecting anything quite like this. I simply thought that the Chiefs were the better team, but not by 30 points at Houston! But the Texans fell behind early and were never able to get back in it, and never able to compete with Kansas City, a team that had a very well-balanced approach. Kansas City was efficient in earning their 11th straight win of the season, although this was, by far, the most important of those wins, as it came during the postseason, and ended up by finally ending the franchise's drought of over two decades without a playoff win. Their record losing streak of eight straight postseason games without a win was matched on this same, great weekend for Kansas City, when Cincinnati "earned" their eighth straight playoff loss as a franchise by losing to the Steelers. A solid win overall for KC, and now we get to wonder if they have the capabilities to defeat an always tough New England franchise in Foxboro.

Pittsburgh Steelers 18, Cincinnati Bengals 16

I watched the early part of this game, and by the third quarter, when the team fell behind 15-0, I could not watch any longer. This was all too typical of the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that had appeared to be one of the three true elites in the AFC all season long, but who nonetheless, quite predictably, came in third out of those three teams and, once in the postseason, completely collapsed, and made you wonder how they were ever even good enough to qualify for the playoffs in the first place. Seeing Pittsburgh dominating the game was all too typical of these Bengals, and so I decided to shut the television off right there, as Warner Wolf used to say. Than, something strange happened, because the Bengals came back and actually took the lead. Had the Steelers on the ropes. Got an interception very late in the fourth quarter that seemed to ice the game for them, as they by now held a 16-15 lead. I checked in at this point when my phone showed that they held a narrow one-point lead with seconds remaining. But when I turned it on, they had inexplicably turned the ball over themselves, and Pittsburgh was driving down the field. Converted a fourth down to keep the drive alive. Got a controversial penalty called in their favor to put them in scoring position. I turned it off, believing that maybe my watching it was bad luck, that the only way the Bengals could win this game is if I forgot about it and went to sleep, which I did. But in the morning, the phone did not have good news for me, as it showed that the Bungles had lost, staying true to their character. Sighing, the thought rose up that these are the same, old Bengals as they have been now for a quarter of a century. A team apparently incapable of surprising results in a big game, a team incapable of surprising you by actually winning when it counts the most. Same old Bengals. Yes, I know that they lost their starting quarterback, and that they had some issues with injuries, and just maybe chalk it up to sheer bad luck. But it always seems to be the case with football in Cincinnati, and it makes me almost wonder if they are capable of winning even one single playoff contest with their current lineup, or with Marvin Lewis as head coach, or the current ownership. Not sure what it is, but it sure is tiresome. The Steelers win in the playoffs again, and the Bengals lose again. The most despicable quarterback in the NFL (with the possible exception of Michael Vick) will be in action again next week, and has a chance at leading his team to the Super Bowl. What else is new? Next story...

Seattle Seahawks 10, Minnesota Vikings 9

It was shocking for quite some time. I was just wondering when Seattle would finally get in gear, get in this game, and win it already. They are such a talented and experienced team, and were red hot in the second half of the season, true to character in the last four or so seasons. Yet, there they were, unable to get anything going in frigid Minnesota, being shut out by a team that, quite frankly, did not look all that impressive this season. I mean, okay, the Vikings are a playoff caliber team, obviously, and took a lot of positive steps this year. But they also looked like the kind of team that would be one and done in the postseason, and this was especially true when it became clear that Seattle, of all teams, was coming to town. I love the city of Seattle, having been there twice and absolutely loved the experience each time. Love that city, love Washington state, and love the music that became so influential and enjoyable for me in the 90's. And a part of me really enjoys these Seahawks, as well. Nothing against Minnesota, but they are similar to the Chiefs and the Bengals, in that they might seem very good and capable at times, but they always seem to disappoint in the end. We all know what happened in four Super Bowls in the 1970's. But what about that promising Cinderella run in the 1987 playoffs? Ended in disappointment. What about that the 1998 Minnesota Vikings, who had the hottest, most explosive, video game kind of offense ever seen to that point? Ended in disappointment. What about those 2009 Vikings, who looked to be a serious Super Bowl contender all year and even looked in position to get the field goal in the final seconds of the Championship Game at New Orleans? Ended in disappointment. Now, these Vikings were back in the playoffs, having pulled off a stunning division title with a road win at Lambeau Field, finally beating a team of quality. And look! Here they were, shutting out the team that has been the best team in the NFC in the last few years, and looking like they were going to win. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe this time, the Vikings will win. Maybe they will have a chance when they go down to the desert in Arizona. Maybe they are a legitimate contender after all. Maybe....oh, wait! They just fell behind 10-9 in the final quarter. But look! There they are driving down the field in the final minute for what should be a chip shot field goal to win the game. This is too easy! But are they leaving too much time on the clock? Well, at least they will make this easy field goal and....oh, my God! He missed it? Not even close? Such a promising team, and it ended like this? Yes, it ended in disappointment. The Vikings will sit at home for the duration of these playoffs while Seattle moves on.

Green Bay Packers 35, Washington 18

Here's the thing: this one, more than any other game this past weekend, looked like a toss up. Green Bay sure seemed like the better team, but they were coming off two bad losses in a row, and lost what looked like a division title that they had pretty much locked up at points this season. Now, they were on the road, and surely feeling deflated. And Washington, in the meantime, were not supposed to be a great team, but still managed to win a mediocre division, clinching their playoff spot, with the help of four straight wins at the end of the regular season to clinch the division title, which gave them home field advantage for this contest. So, despite my assessment that the Packers were, overall, the better team, they surely did not come into this game with the momentum on their side, and that made them vulnerable. Then, when Washington jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first half, it seemed like they surely were on their way to a win. Who knew what was going wrong with Green Bay? Whatever it was, though, it was going to cost them a chance at doing something following a season of amazing potential. But in the second half, the Packers came alive. The offense suddenly clicked, and looked like they did through the first six games of the season, while the defense suddenly was stifling, choking the life out of Washington, slowly but surely. This was the Packers team that had come so close to qualifying for the Super Bowl last year, and the same Packers team that looked so dominant in that 6-0 start this season. And suddenly, they were making Washington resemble the team that most people expected them to be, which is to say a bad, inefficient team. The Packers suddenly looked dominant, and made surprisingly short work of their opponent, as they now move on to Arizona, making us wonder if they really are back for good, and if they can do in Arizona what they did in Washington.