After 18 weeks of exciting, gut-wrenching, and purely chaotic football, we have reached the playoffs.
Wildcard weekend is always a fun time of year, as the games radically increase in meaning. But this year feels different, the regular season left the football world to conclude that there isn’t a team that stands out as the class of either conference.
Sure the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans earned themselves a bye, but this year it truly feels like anything can happen.
If the regular season has taught us anything it is to expect a couple of upsets, and a lot of exciting football to be played.
Without further ado here are the biggest questions facing each team playing on wildcard weekend.
Buccaneers quarterback, Tom Brady, enters the 2021
NFL Playoffs looking to take home his eighth Lombardi Trophy
Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Matchup 1: Las Vegas Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals
Raiders: Can they slow down Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase?
Everyone in the football world had their eyes glued to the television last Sunday night as the Raiders blew a 29-14 lead against the Chargers in the final moments of the fourth quarter. However, ultimately Las Vegas prevailed to earn themselves a playoff spot.
However, this weekend's challenge might be the biggest any team is facing, as they have to go into Cincinnati and take on a red hot Bengals team that went on a three-game win streak to clinch a division title before resting their starters in week 18.
The biggest challenge for the Raiders will be slowing down the Bengals potent passing attack, which hit its stride over the past few weeks. Highlighted by Joe Burrow posting 971 yards and 8 touchdowns over his past two games, and Ja’Marr Chase catching 18 passes for 391 yards in those two games.
The Raiders pass defence is above average, but not anything to write home about. So how they gameplan for the Bengals will be very interesting to note. Expect Las Vegas to try and send pressure in some unique ways to confuse Burrow and the Bengals by bringing extra bodies to the line of scrimmage and mixing up who they drop into coverage. Some effective stunts and delayed blitzes would also go a long way, as giving Burrow time to throw will surely only lead to disaster for the Raiders.
Bengals: Can the defence take a step?
Over the last few weeks of the regular season, the Bengals offence hit a new gear. Joe Burrow started lighting the world on fire as he led the Bengals to a division title.
However, in the playoffs, they can’t rely on their offence to win every game. The age-old adage is that offence wins games, defence wins championships. So the question becomes, can this Bengals defence hit a new gear?
It’s not like Cincinnati all of the sudden needs their defence to turn into the best unit in the league, but they’ll need their playmakers to show up and create some turnovers to push them over the top.
Against the Raiders all it’ll likely take is one Jessie Bates interception, or one Trey Hendrickson strip-sack, to give the Bengals the edge.
Matchup 2: New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
Patriots: Can they contain Josh Allen?
The last time these two teams met in week 16, Josh Allen was far and away the best player on the field. He threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns and ran for an additional 64 yards, and the Bills won by a score of 33-21.
The Patriots game plan is simple, stop Josh Allen, but how can they do that?
The first step is simple, they have to keep him in the pocket. Far too often in that week 16 matchup Allen was able to extend drives by scrambling for first downs when the Patriots were looking for key stops. They have to do a better job at containing him. That may mean the pass rush isn’t as effective, but New England will have to trust their secondary to hold up in coverage.
The second part of the plan is just that, play disciplined coverage. The biggest priority is taking away star wide receiver Stefon Diggs, no matter what. The Patriots will likely have to bracket Diggs and have safety help shaded over to whichever side of the field Diggs is lined up on.
The Bills have more weapons than just Diggs, but the Patriots will have to trust that their defenders can play against those other receivers one-on-one.
Is it realistic to expect the Patriots to be able to do that? Maybe not for an entire game. But if they can play effective defence for a half, that might be enough to escape Buffalo with a win.
Bills: Can they force Mac Jones to pass the ball?
Over the two games Buffalo has played against New England this season, the Patriots have averaged 185.5 yards per game rushing. To put that in perspective, the top rushing offence in the league this year belonged to the Philadelphia Eagles, they averaged 159.7 yards rushing per game.
The Bills must force Mac Jones and this Patriots offence to air it out. New England won 10 games this season, but just three games in which Jones had to throw the ball more than 30 times.
Buffalo holds the number one defence in total yards, passing yards, points, and third-down percentage. But they are just 13th in rush yards allowed per game.
If Buffalo can stack the box and shut down the Patriots rushing attack and force them to throw the football, they should be able to slow down the Patriots enough to win the game.
It should be noted that while these teams account for the third (Buffalo) and sixth (New England) highest-scoring offences, this game seems like the type of game where not a lot of points are scored.
Matchup 3: Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Eagles: Can the offence sustain long drives?
The Eagles had the number one rushing offence in the NFL this season, but their matchup this week brings a unique challenge. That is because the Buccaneers boast the third-best run defence in the league, led by star nose tackle Vita Vea who is notorious for being a wall in the middle of the defensive line that stuffs any and all runs up the middle.
So from the Eagles perspective, their biggest challenge is going to be keeping Tom Brady and the Buccaneers offence off the field. That means they will have to be able to sustain long drives, and if the run game is shut down that means Jalen Hurts will have to air it out.
That is where the biggest problems could lie, as Jalen Hurts has been rather mediocre as a passer this season. He has thrown for just 3144 yards and 16 touchdowns with nine interceptions. To put it simply, that is pretty mediocre for a starting quarterback.
Hurts will have to use his arm in this game, and he will have to be able to deliver in some key situations. Third and longs, two-minute drills, key red-zone situations. If the Eagles want to win this game, it starts with their quarterback.
Buccaneers: Can the pass defence revert to its 2020 form?
As I just said, if the Eagles want to win this game they’ll need to be able to pass the ball. From Tampa Bay’s side, they’ll need to improve their pass defence so they can suffocate the Philadelphia offence.
Last year, the Buccaneers were one of the best pass defences in the league and combined with their elite run defence, they were one of the most feared units in the league.
This year, however, they’ve been pretty mediocre. They finished the regular season ranked 21st league-wide in terms of pass yards allowed per game.
Are the Eagles the best passing offence in the world? No. This is why I view this game as more of a tune-up for Tampa Bay.
I fully expect the Buccaneers to win this game, but looking forward, this year's version of the Buccaneers going up against a team like Green Bay seems like a very poor matchup. So Tampa Bay needs to use this week to figure out its pass defence while they have a favourable matchup before they play a much more intimidating offence.
Matchup 4: San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys
49ers: Can they get good enough quarterback play?
Like the Raiders, the 49ers clinched their playoff spot in a thrilling overtime game this past week. And that game contained exactly why I am terrified for the Niners heading into the playoffs.
What am I talking about? Jimmy Garoppolo. In the game against the Rams, he threw two brutal interceptions, which nearly cost San Francisco the game, and by extension their spot in the playoffs.
Thankfully for the 49ers, they overcame those errors but Garoppolo’s performance leaves some questions up in the air in terms of what to expect this weekend.
The Cowboys defence has playmakers all over that will capitalize on any mistakes the 49ers make, so Garoppolo needs to be able to play mistake-free football for 60 minutes. Can he do that?
Given the fact that he has turned the ball over 15 times in his 15 games played, it seems unlikely. However, he will need to play a clean game if the Niners have any shot at an upset.
Cowboys: Can they shut down Deebo Samuel?
The Cowboys have a plethora of playmakers on defence, but they don’t have a true shutdown corner. Yes, Trevon Diggs had 11 interceptions, but if you watch the games you understand why teams keep targeting him. He gets burned a lot, and if he’s the one matched up with Samuel all game, it could cause trouble.
On a positive note, Micah Parsons should be able to completely neutralize Samuel when he lines up in the backfield. Parsons can match the speed and athleticism Samuel brings, which is why I predict he lines up at wideout for most of the game.
But it will be a very difficult task for the 20th ranked pass defence to pull off. If they can limit how many touches Samuel gets, they can win this game no problem.
But if he gets loose, this game could become a shootout very quickly due to how electric Samuel is after the catch.
Matchup 5: Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs
Steelers: Can the offence score enough points?
Somehow, someway, the Pittsburgh Steelers stumbled into the postseason. They defied all the odds and all logic, and now they are here.
Unfortunately for them, they are facing a team that is looking to make their third straight super bowl appearance in the Kansas City Chiefs.
What do we know about the Chiefs? Well, they have one of the most high octane offences in the league and they score a lot of points. By default that makes them a difficult matchup, but that’s amplified by the fact that the Steelers struggle to score points themselves.
The Steelers have only scored 30+ points in a game one time this season. While their adversaries have done it nine times. That does not bode well for Pittsburgh, as they will need to put up their fair share of points if they have any chance in this game.
They will need to find ways to surprise the Chiefs. Maybe that means we see a trick play or two, but they will have to use some new looks. It all likely starts with giving rookie running back Najee Harris a ton of touches and giving him as many opportunities to make a play as possible.
If Pittsburgh can manage to score at least 30 points, they have a shot at victory. If not? This game could turn into a blowout.
Chiefs: Can the offensive line slow down T.J. Watt?
It’s no secret that T.J. Watt just had the most prolific pass-rushing season in NFL history, as he tied the NFL record for sacks in a season with 22.5 and he did so in just 15 games.
Watt is easily the most pressing issue they face on Sunday, and slowing him down will be critical to their offence’s success. If they can’t contain him it will prevent a lot of the longer developing plays that they run. Can the Chiefs survive on quick strikes and have slower and more methodical drives? Probably, but that’s not a risk you want to take.
They will have to throw everything and the kitchen sink at Watt, from using running backs and tight ends to get chip blocks to using double teams. It cannot be overstated how crucial it is that the Chiefs slow him down. Watt can take over the game all on his own, and we saw in last year's Super Bowl what happens when Patrick Mahomes is forced to run for his life on every play.
For his sake, and the Chiefs as a whole, they need to contain the Steelers superstar pass rusher.
Matchup 6: Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams
Cardinals: Can the offence survive without DeAndre Hopkins?
The Cardinals have been playing some painfully mediocre football as of late, and it all started when DeAndre Hopkins went down with a torn MCL.
Since Hopkins went down in that week 14 clash against the Rams, the Cardinals have gone just 1-3 scoring just 20.75 points per game.
For a team that started the year 7-0 and generated buzz as a legitimate super bowl contender, that is pretty terrible play down the stretch.
Now as they head into the postseason they have to figure out a way to put up more points without their star wideout. And that is going to come down to their budding superstar quarterback Kyler Murray.
Murray has been on the verge of greatness every season he’s played so far, but each of the past two seasons he’s started the year on fire before cooling off. And now, he makes his playoff debut and the Cardinals are in desperate need of a big performance from their gunslinger.
If Murray and the Cardinals offence can put up the numbers they did earlier in the season, they will have a good chance to win this game.
Rams: Which version of Matthew Stafford shows up?
What an incredibly weird season for Stafford, who is playing in his first season with the Rams after spending his entire career in Detroit.
This season the Rams have discovered something those who followed his time in Detroit know very well, consistency is a bit of an anathema to Stafford.
Over the final four games of the season, Stafford threw a staggering eight interceptions, just under half of his season total of 17. The highest number of interceptions he has thrown in a single season since 2013.
It’s also well known that Stafford has not had any playoff success in his career, as he went 0-3 in postseason games during his time in Detroit, throwing 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, he also has two lost fumbles. This means he has 5 total turnovers in those three playoff appearances.
The whole world will be watching to see which version of Stafford shows up. Will it be the version that plays efficiently and pushes the ball downfield effectively as we saw in the Week 4 game against the Buccaneers? Or will we see a version of Stafford that makes costly mistakes when his team needs him the most?
The answer to that question will dictate who wins this game, plain and simple.
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