NFL Wild Card weekend absolutely delivered. On Saturday, we were treated to two thrillers, which were both decided in the final minutes. Then on Sunday, Josh Allen put the Buffalo Bills on his back and carried them to a narrow victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the afternoon, the San Francisco 49ers locked down the Philadelphia Eagles and advanced to face the Seattle Seahawks next weekend before the New England Patriots ran the Los Angeles Chargers out of the building on SNF.

It’s hard to ask for a much better start to the NFL playoffs. I went through and gave my one big takeaway for every team that played on Saturday and Sunday.

Josh Allen Does It Again

Is there anyone in the NFL outside of Patrick Mahomes who’s better in the playoffs than Josh Allen? This guy does it every single game, and if it weren’t for Mahomes, he’d probably have won at least one Super Bowl, if not more.

Coming into this game, Allen had 4,027 total yards, 35 total touchdowns, and just four interceptions in 13 games. Those are great numbers for a full 17-game season, and he’s done it in 13 playoff games. Today, he and the Buffalo Bills started a bit slow, but he turned it on when he needed to, and I think it was one of his most impressive playoff wins.

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Allen was banged up in this game. He entered this game with a foot injury, but was also checked for a concussion and suffered a hand injury during the game. Despite all of that, and the fact that he had next to no run game to speak of, Allen totaled over 300 yards of offense while scoring three touchdowns, including the game-winner with a minute to go.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are the better team, but Allen is just so hard to beat in the playoffs, which is why I picked Buffalo to win the Super Bowl this year. He’s just so much better than any other quarterback in the AFC playoffs this year, so you can’t count them out of any game.

The Patriots’ defense was incredible

Coming into the postseason, all the talk was about Drake Maye and New England’s offense, and rightfully so, because they were phenomenal during the regular season. But their offensive dominance caused the Patriots’ defense to fly under the radar a bit. However, on Sunday night, they showed the world they’re just as good as their offense.

The Pats completely shut down the Chargers’ offense, holding them to x points and x total yards. Justin Herbert threw for just 159 yards (a lot of which came in garbage time) and lost a fumble; no Charger had more than 32 receiving yards, and they rushed for just 87 yards as a team. It was complete domination from New England.

If the Patriots’ defense can keep playing like this, they could very well win the Super Bowl. Maye wasn’t awesome, but he improved as the game went on, and now that he’s got his first playoff game under his belt, he should be better. He knows what it’s like now, but with Houston or Pittsburgh up next, things aren’t going to get any easier, so this defense is going to have to help him out a bit.

The Patriots are very, very dangerous when their defense plays as well as it did on Sunday. The only question is, can they do it again for the next three weeks?

Matt LaFleur Needs To Go

Green Bay Packers fans thought they had the best thing since sliced bread when Matt LaFleur led them to back-to-back-to-back 13-win seasons in his first three seasons as the Packers head coach, but the feeling around the fanbase has changed, and I think it’s time to let him go.

Even when LaFleur was going 13-3 or 13-4, he couldn’t win in the playoffs. They made it to the NFC Championship game in 2019 and 2020, but lost by 17 to San Francisco and by five to Tampa Bay. Then, after earning a first-round bye in 2021, the Packers came out and scored 10 points in another loss to San Fran in the Divisional Round.

So LaFleur has always been a playoff choker, but at least he could win a lot of games in the regular season. Now he can hardly do that, and he still can’t win a big playoff game. In the last four seasons, Green Bay has won 10+ games one time, and the only playoff game they’ve won since then has been against the Dallas Cowboys, who might be the only bigger playoff chokers in the NFC than Green Bay itself.

And for some reason, I thought this year would be different. They were going to Chicago to play the Bears, and they’ve owned the Bears in my lifetime, so I thought the football gods would be on their side. It looked like they were early, but after going up 21-3 at halftime and holding a 21-6 lead entering the fourth, they surrendered 25 fourth-quarter points to lose, 31-27.

In three games against the Bears this season, the Packers have given up six first-half points. In those same three games, they have given up 68 points in the second half/overtime. That’s just coaching malpractice. Ben Johnson, who had one of the worst-coached halves in playoff history, completely out-coached LaFleur in the second half. Oh, and one is in his first year, and the other is in his seventh.

I’d understand keeping him if there were no enticing candidates, but Kevin Stefanski and John Harbaugh are right there. They’d easily be the best job available, so they would have their pick of the litter.

If I’m the Packers, I’m dumping LaFleur this offseason. You can’t go 3-6 in the playoffs in seven years while having one of the best rosters in the sport. You just can’t, especially not in Green Bay.

The Cardiac Bears Strike Again

One of my biggest concerns with the Chicago Bears entering the postseason was their tendency to find themselves in close games. They were 7-4 in one-score games entering the postseason, but had lost their last two games by eight or fewer points, and both of them came against really good teams. I thought (and still do think) it would get them in trouble, especially against Green Bay, but I was wrong, at least for this week.

After the Bears fell behind 21-3, I thought the game was over. But as their defense kept getting stops and their offense kept making plays late in the third and early in the fourth, it just felt like it was a matter of time before they were right back in it. They got within three points with under five minutes to go, but let Green Bay drive down the field and get into field goal range. But Brandon McManus missed the field goal, giving Chicago the ball back with a chance to win it.

Once the Bears had the ball back with a couple of minutes to go, it was all but over. They’d been in this situation so many times before, and with all the momentum in the world behind them, they cruised 66 yards down the field and scored a touchdown in 1:08. It did give Green Bay another shot at it, but Dennis Allen’s unit stepped up and was able to hold them short of a touchdown.

The Bears were aided by McManus going 0-for-2 on field goals and missing an extra point, but as they’ve done all year, they were able to take advantage of the opportunity and win. It’s no coincidence that after a Chicago native was elected as the Pope, the Bears were able to overcome a decade and a half of curses and beat the Packers in the playoffs (something they hadn’t done in 85 years).

The Cardiac Bears are moving on to the Divisional Round, but I’m still a bit worried that playing all these close games is going to bite them in the butt when they have to go to Seattle or play someone like Philadelphia or the Rams.

Kevin Patullo Is A Dead Man Walking

Kevin Patullo is one of the most hated men in Philadelphia right now. He took a Super Bowl-winning offense, which featured a 2,000-yard rusher, two Pro Bowl receivers, one of the best offensive lines in the league, and a mobile quarterback, and turned it into whatever the hell they are this year.

Nick Sirianni is obviously safe, but I would not be surprised if we see almost all of the Eagles’ offensive staff replaced, and that starts with Patullo. I don’t even know if he’s that horrible of a play caller, but he just can’t adjust to opposing defenses. In the first half, the Eagles ranked 9th in scoring with 12.4 points. In the second half, they ranked 26th, with 9.9. That’s an insane drop off from one half to another.

The Eagles are really missing Kellen Moore right now. But I’m sure they’ll be the top pick for any prospective offensive coordinators, so they’ll find someone good.

The Jags Were Ahead of Schedule Anyway

This loss sucks for Jaguars players, coaches, and fans, but they’re way ahead of schedule in their rebuild, so this will not be the last we see of Liam Coen’s squad in the playoffs.

Trevor Lawrence had a career year, particularly at the end of the season, and he just went toe-to-toe with Allen in the playoffs. I know he had a couple of interceptions (the last of which wasn’t really his fault), but I thought he played really well and answered the call whenever Jacksonville needed him to.

Defensively, this team is really tough. They’re physical and held the NFL’s leading rusher to 3.1 yards per carry. They could use some work in the secondary, but overall, there’s no reason to think this unit won’t be as good, if not better, than they were in 2025.

A playoff loss always sucks, especially after a 13-4 season, but there are a lot of reasons to be encouraged about the future of this team. Plus, as we’ve seen with the Bills and Chiefs, sometimes you need a tough loss like this to prepare your team for these big games in the future. Both Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes suffered tough losses in their first playoff appearance and went on to do great things. Maybe this is exactly what Jacksonville needed to take the next step in the future.

Matthew Stafford’s Finger Better Be Okay

If the Los Angeles Rams are going to make the playoff run, I, and many others, expect them to make, Matthew Stafford’s hand better be okay. Right after he suffered the hand/finger injury, things looked bleak for the Rams, but Stafford was able to battle through it and make enough plays to win the game. But against any playoff team not named Carolina, that mid-game skid wouldn’t slide.

Stafford started the game 8-for-8 for 107 yards and a touchdown. For two quarters after he hurt his finger, he went 4-for-19 for 54 yards and a pick. He looked like a completely different quarterback, and I’ll give credit to Carolina’s defensive backs, but a large part of their success was because he just couldn’t get a good grip on the ball.

X-rays of Stafford’s fingers came back negative, showing there was no dislocation. He’s going to play next week, but we’ll have to see how comfortable he is throwing the football. If he’s fine, LA could make it to the NFC Championship. But if it’s still bothering him and this offense slows down, they could be in big trouble.

The 49ers Might Be The Most Resilient Team I’ve Seen

The San Francisco 49ers have taken blow after blow after blow, and they just keep rolling. They’ve lost Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, George Kittle, Mykel Williams, Ricky Pearsall, and Brandon Aiyuk at one point or another, and they were playing with their 5th and 6th string linebackers in their game against Philly, and they just keep on winning.

I don’t know if we’ve ever seen a team that’s lost as many stars to injuries as the 49ers make it to the postseason, much less win a game in the playoffs against the reigning Super Bowl champions. This team has defied logic all season long, so we shouldn’t be surprised they’re doing it again in the postseason.

The 49ers will now go to Seattle, where they lost to the Seahawks, 13-3, just two weeks prior. Does this team have another miracle in them? Or is their magical run going to come to a close in front of the 12th man? We’ll see next week, but one thing’s for certain. If they do win, we shouldn’t be surprised.

Justin Herbert Just Isn’t Clutch

Justin Herbert has received a lot of hate for being the “if” quarterback. His fans always have excuses for why he underperforms, but after this game, they can’t keep doing it.

I know both of Herbert’s tackles were out, and their offensive line is horrible, but they’ve been out all year. This is nothing new for him, and he flat-out stunk it up on Sunday night, throwing for 159 yards and no touchdowns. You can’t put all the blame on him, but at some point, he’s got to step up and put the team on his back.

This wasn’t just a one-off either. He genuinely has been horrible in the playoffs his entire career. Through three postseason games, Herbert is 0-3 and has thrown for 224.7 yards per game while throwing two touchdowns to four interceptions. He just isn’t clutch, and the Chargers will be paying him 50+ million for the next three years. He’s going to need to turn his playoff fortunes around soon, or else LA will be stuck for the foreseeable future.

Bryce Young Was Impressive, But Panthers Still Have a Decision to Make

I’ve always been a fan of Bryce Young, but even I will admit his NFL career has been underwhelming thus far. His first two seasons weren’t very good, but he really showed some improvement this year, especially in this playoff game.

Young’s stat line may not blow you away – he threw for 264 yards, one touchdown, and one interception while rushing for 24 and another score – but he made some big throws in big moments and always seemed to have an answer on third down. And I think the most impressive part of this performance was the fact that he started really slow, but was able to bounce back mid-game and bring the Panthers back into it.

The Panthers picked up his fifth-year option, but they’re going to have to make a big decision on his future sooner rather than later. Are they going to pay him 200+ million dollars next offseason? If they had to make the decision right now, I’m not sure they would, but if he can continue to make strides next year, he could earn a big deal.

Another factor in this is head coach Dave Canales. I know he just made the playoffs, but with a first-place schedule, a mid-first-round draft pick, and a roster that still has some pretty big holes, it really wouldn’t surprise me if Carolina underperforms next season. He will probably still get another year if the Panthers fall flat in 2026, but will he put his career in the hands of Young? Time will only tell!