The 2022 Nfl Wild Card weekend lived up to its name with some great games, including a crazy comeback and a signalling of the changing of the guard at QB. The most exciting game of the round was at Jacksonville where the Jags looked down and out at the half but stormed back to win it.
It was a bit of a Jekyll & Hyde performance by Trevor Lawrence (below) who looked out of his depth early on. He threw four interceptions in the first half and the Chargers led by 27 points at one stage before succumbing to a late field goal.
Image: April Visuals/Shutterstock.com
Tale of The QBs
QB play and those missing was a big part of the weekend’s story. The big one was obviously whether Tom Brady could muster another run, however, despite his valiant effort (351 yards passing) they were never in the game and it took a couple of late TDs to make the score look semi-respectable. If this is the last time we see TB12 on the field it will be a bit of a sad end but given how horrible the Buccs have played both sides of the ball it should in no way tarnish his reputation.
The other big QB story was Brock Purdy – Mr Irrelevant in this year’s draft. He once again showed a lot of composure steering the 49ers to an easy victory in the end, after they had trailed at the half. He has struck lucky given the Niners are one of the best all-round squads in the NFL, however, his stats were impressive 322 yards and 3TDs. That is seven wins in a row as a starter!
The final QB issue was Baltimore where the Ravens were missing Lamar Jackson. This almost certainly contributed to their exit at the hands of divisional rivals Cinncinati. Tyler Huntley did his best and given the Ravens’ defense pretty much shut down Joe Burrow the result could easily have been different with Jackson’s superior running game.
The Weekends Results are below…
Saturday 14th January 2023
Seattle 23 @ San Francisco 41
The Seahawks made a game of it early but were ground down in the second half. Christian McCaffery once again played a key part rushing for 119 yards from 15 carries. We viewed his arrival as a game changer and we remain on the 49ers bandwagon and they remain our tip for the Super Bowl.
LA Chargers 30 @ Jacksonville 31
Trevor Lawrence never waivered in confidence despite a nightmare first half. He subsequently threw 4 TDs and his final game-winning drive was a joy to watch if you were a neutral fan anyway. His former Clemson teammate Travis Etienne Jr. was a bit of an unsung hero rushing for 109 yards including some key gains.
Sunday 15th January 2023
Miami 31 @ Buffalo 34
The Bills made hard work of this one! They bounced out to an early three-score lead, but let the under-strength Dolphins back into it and ended up having a nervy fourth quarter as the Dolphins’ third-string rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson had the chance at a game-winning drive.
Buffalo didn’t look like their regular-season selves and maybe the tragic accident that befell Damar Hamlin is still playing on some players’ minds. If they play like this against the Bengals Next week they will be out.
New York Giants 31 @ Minnesota 24
The Vikings have played in a lot of one-score games this season (eleven to be precise) and up till now had been the master of them. Daniel Jones played as well as we can ever remember him as the Giants surprisingly moved on to the Divisional round.
Baltimore 17 @ Cincinnati 24
Baltimore played to their strengths shutting down the Bengals’ offense, however, they lacked the offensive spark needed to get past a very talented Cincinnati side. The Ravens did have the chance to tie the game, but a costly 10-yard holding penalty eventually led to them turning the ball over on downs. They were in the Cincinnati red zone at the time of the penalty.
Monday 16th January 2023
Dallas 31 @ Tampa Bay 14
Tom Brady did his best to keep his playoff legacy alive, however a red zone interception and a series of punts often the result of dropped passes Dallas to build an unassailable lead. Dallas didn’t impress particularly and may struggle to go any deeper this year.
So ends our quick recap of a fairly wild Wild Card weekend You can check out our other round-ups here and if you like quizzes then give one of our many sports quizzes a try.
