By Joseph Ezekiel Montero
The NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend has concluded, making the league one step closer to Super Bowl 59. Let’s recap the first round of playoffs and see student reactions of the season and weekend.
To start, here is the AFC recap.
No. 2 Buffalo Bills vs. No. 7 Denver Broncos
The Broncos came into Wild Card Weekend off their week 18 win against the Kansas City Chiefs, with a last second spot into the playoffs. However, the dream run ended in a crushing defeat to quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. The Bills not only put together a strong offensive performance but a defensive one as well, only allowing Denver to score once in the first quarter and then being shut out the remainder of the game, with Buffalo coming out on top 31-7.
No. 3 Baltimore Ravens vs. No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers
In the second game of the Wild Card Weekend, the Steelers looked as if they could put up a good fight against the Baltimore Ravens. However, the Steelers came into this game and the playoffs with a four-game losing streak. This combined with the Ravens dominating offense, led by one of this seasons MVP frontrunners, quarterback Lamar Jackson, ended in Pittsburgh’s defeat 28-14.
No. 4 Houston Texans vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers
The first game in Wild Card Weekend was a rough night for the Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert. In just his second ever playoff appearance Herbert was intercepted by Houston four times throughout the night, while during the regular season he was intercepted only three times. This should not take away from the Texans defense however, which had a dominant performance to send them into the divisional round.
Now, for the NFC’s side of the bracket.
No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles vs. No. 7 Green Bay Packers
Philadelphia had a strong start against Green Bay recovering a fumble in the first play of the game. However, the decisive factor in this matchup was defense. Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love was intercepted three times throughout the night which led to the Packers defeat to the Eagles, 22-10.
No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. No. 6 Washington Commanders
It was a nail-biter between the Buccaneers and Commanders. But in a dream ending, Washington’s kicker Zane Gonzalez walked it off for the Commanders with three seconds left in the game, 23-20. This is the first time in almost two decades the Commanders have won a playoff game. Coincidently, the last time Washington won in the playoffs was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006.
No. 4 Los Angeles Rams vs. No. 5 Minnesota Vikings
In an interesting Monday night matchup between the Rams and the Vikings, the game was originally to be played in Los Angeles. However, due to the L.A. fires it was relocated to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, home to the Arizona Cardinals. While there was no true home field advantage, this did not stop Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford from leading Los Angeles to the win over Minnesota 27-9.
After the wildcard weekend, UTEP biomedical science major and a long-time Cowboys fan, Grecan Antonio Hinojos, said the teams who made the playoffs were quite unexpected.
“I thought this season was very surprising, I think a lot of teams that I didn’t expect to be in the playoffs made it, like the Broncos and the Vikings,” Hinojos said.
For Hinojos , the biggest disappointments of the season were both his teams, the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers. Dallas had an underwhelming year going 7-10 throughout the regular season. Being hit with many injuries including quarterback Dak Prescott, put the Cowboys in a difficult situation.
For the 49ers, Hinojos was very surprised by their performance throughout the season given that last year the team had an incredible run to the championships.
“They [San Francisco 49ers] didn’t even make the playoffs this season after losing in the Super Bowl last year,” Hinojos said.
Others like Axel Fabian Perez, a UTEP history major and Seattle Seahawks fan, said that the road to Super Bowl 59 is still anyone’s game
“I would say the Texans [are a dark horse] … they have a bunch of weapons, so I would say the Texans still have a chance even though they’re going to be playing Kansas City which is the huge favorites of everyone,” Perez said.
There is no easy route to the Vince Lombardi Trophy, but as Wild Card Weekend has come to an end, all eyes turn toward the Divisional Round.
Joseph Montero is a staff reporter for The Prospector and may be reached at [email protected].
