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Essentials Inside The Story

  • These names took over, flipped games late, and refused to fade when it mattered most
  • Some performances screamed dominance, while others felt heroic
  • Wild Card weekend didn't hinge on teams alone; it swung on a handful of players who bent the moment their way

NFL Wild Card weekend is almost over. There’s one more game on Monday night, and if MNF is anything like the games we saw on Saturday and Sunday, we’re in for a treat.

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But before we shift our focus to Monday’s game, we need to reflect on the weekend’s games. Almost every single game was a banger, and that’s largely due to a handful of players stepping up and performing at the highest level.

Here are the five players who had the biggest impact on Wild Card weekend.

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Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

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I mean, did we expect anything different? Josh Allen is one of the best playoff performers in the entire league, and he once again showed up on Sunday.

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The Buffalo Bills actually got off to a pretty slow start, but when the Bills needed him the most, Allen answered. He totaled over 300 yards of offense while scoring three total touchdowns (one passing, two rushing). And the most impressive part? He did it with next to no run game to speak of. Jacksonville knew they were going to throw it (or run it with Allen) pretty much every play, and they had absolutely no answer for him late.

In the fourth quarter, Allen threw for 103 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 21 yards and another score, which ended up being the game-winner. He was banged up, and the Jags knew exactly what Buffalo’s game plan was, and they just couldn’t stop it.

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Stats: 28-for-35, 273 passing yards, 33 rushing yards, 3 total TDs

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Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers

Jordan Love, who historically hasn’t been all that great in the postseason, did everything he could to win Green Bay this game. The Packers’ QB1 threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers and put 27 points on the board, but it wasn’t enough to get the job done after Green Bay’s defense gave up 25 fourth-quarter points.

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There was a stretch in the third quarter where Love and the offense struggled, but they were good enough for the rest of the game to win this. Love shouldn’t have had to do any more to win this game. To put into perspective how well he played and how bad their defense choked, Love became just the second quarterback in NFL playoff history to throw for 300+ yards and 4+ touchdowns and lose.

Love played hard, but his performance will be forgotten because of his defense.

Stats: 24-for-46, 323 yards, 4 TD

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Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears could get nothing going early in this game, but in the second half, and more specifically the fourth quarter, they turned it on, and it was largely due to rookie tight end Colston Loveland.

Loveland went off, catching eight passes for 137 yards, which included four catches for 62 yards in the fourth quarter, in the victory. Loveland became the first rookie tight end to catch 8+ passes for 100+ yards in a playoff game in NFL history, and the second rookie tight end to go for 100+ yards regardless of catches in a playoff game since 1988.

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The Bears’ passing attack ran through Loveland on Sunday. He stepped up in a major way on Sunday, especially in the fourth quarter.

Stats: 8 receptions, 137 yards

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Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams

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Matthew Stafford started the game out red-hot, completing his first eight passes and throwing a touchdown before injuring his finger. He went ice cold after that, completing just four of his next 19 passes, but he turned on the heat in the fourth quarter and helped the Rams hold off the Panthers to advance to the Divisional Round.

Somehow, despite completing just a handful of passes in the second and third quarters, Stafford ended the game with 304 passing yards and three touchdowns. His completion percentage wasn’t where he wanted it to be, but considering he was heavily hampered by his finger, it was an impressive outing.

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The Rams probably shouldn’t have needed Stafford to turn into his MVP self to win this game, but they did, and he answered the call.

Stats: 24-for-42, 304 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT

Eric Kendricks & Garret Wallow, LB, San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers have been decimated by injuries all season long, and this week, they had to start Eric Kendricks, who’s been on the team for a month, and Garret Wallow, who had nine tackles on the season entering this game, at linebacker. But man, did they ball out.

The 49ers made Philly’s offense look silly, especially in the second half, where they held them to six points. Kendrick and Wallow were at the center of their defensive performance, racking up a combined 21 tackles, two TFLs and two PBUs. They also helped hold the Eagles to just 3.9 yards per carry in this game. But the most notable play of the day came from Kendricks, who, on the final Eagles play of the game, broke up a pass to Dallas Goedert on 4th-and-11 to seal the game for the Niners.

Without these two guys stepping up in a massive way, the 49ers probably aren’t heading to Seattle to face their NFC West foes in the Divisional Round next weekend.

Combined Stats: 21 tackles, 12 solo, 2 TFL, 2 PBU

Mike Jackson, CB, Carolina Panthers

I know the Carolina Panthers lost this game, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Mike Jackson’s performance. It was arguably the single best cornerback performance in recent playoff history, but it will be forgotten because the Panthers lost.

Jackson was lined up against Puka Nacua and Davante Adams all game long, and was targeted seven times, but he gave up just one catch for 18 yards while breaking up four passes and picking one off. He gave up -3.0 receptions over expected, meaning he should’ve allowed four of his targets to be caught. It was the lowest reception over the expected figure in a playoff game by any player in three years.

Jackson put on an absolute clinic against two of the best receivers in the NFL. Without him, the Rams win this game by much more than three points.

Stats: 7 targets, 1 reception allowed, 18 yards allowed, 4 PBU, INT

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots

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Rhamondre Stevenson had himself a night in the Wild Card round. He didn’t score, but he was doing pretty much everything else for New England’s offense. He led all running backs in this game with 53 rushing yards on 10 carries (5.3 average) while also leading the team in receiving with 75 yards on three receptions.

The Patriots’ offense struggled for most of the night, but Stevenson seemed to be the one who could consistently make plays to help put them in field goal range. All the talk lately has been about TreVeyon Henderson, but Stevenson has been a very nice complement to him for the past few weeks.

Stats: 10 carries, 53 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 75 receiving yards

Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers

Jalen Coker had a career day in the Wild Card round, catching a career-high nine passes for a career-high 134 yards and scoring a touchdown. He was Bryce Young’s top target all game long, and he kept on delivering for him in clutch moments.

Many expected Tetairoa McMillan, who still had a very good game, to be the Panthers’ No. 1 option, but Coker stepped it up in the biggest game of his life. He was always a high-upside player, and we really saw his full potential on Saturday.

Stats: 9 receptions, 134 yards, 1 TD

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