NFL Wild Card Weekend: Notes and observations
The NFL Wild Card Weekend has one game left, but we give our observations from the first two days of the 2021 playoffs.
– The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are rolling an absurd fashion. Buffalo scored touchdowns on seven straight drives in their 47-17 win over the New England Patriots on Saturday night. Then, on Sunday night, the Chiefs beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 42-21 fashion and notched six consecutive touchdown drives in doing so. Come next weekend, Kansas City will host Buffalo for the second straight year in the postseason, and it should be a wild one.
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– We’ve seen the end of Ben Roethlisberger. After losing to the Chiefs, the 18-year veteran is ready to move on with his life. Regardless of the last two years being pretty ugly, Roethlisberger is one of the all-time greats who will walk into Canton, potentially joining the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a first-ballot member. The former first-round pick won two Super Bowls and played in three, setting numerous records along the way.
– The Dallas Cowboys have nobody to blame but themselves for NFL Wild Card Weekend loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Dallas lost 23-17 and took 14 penalties in the process, but the game will be remembered for the final play. The Cowboys had 14 seconds and no timeouts, and called a quarterback draw. By the time the umpire reset the ball, time was out. For a team with expectations, nobody underachieves more than Dallas in critical spots.
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– If you’ve counted out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, consider revisiting your position. The Bucs welcomed in the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon and crushed the upstarts, getting a 31-0 lead before giving up 15 meaningless points in garbage time. Tom Brady effortlessly moved up and down the field, throwing for 271 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Now, Tampa Bay awaits its next playoff opponent, which will be the winner of the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals on Monday night.
– The NFL officiating continues to be a mess. In the playoff opener between the Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders, there were numerous bizarre calls, chief among them the comical decision to uphold a Bengals’ touchdown after a whistle was blown during the play. This time of year, the league goes to all-star crews based off their regular-season performance, but the officiating still draws far too much attention for curious decisions.
