The NFL Roundup - Wild Card Weekend: What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The Monday after Wild Card Weekend is always a sobering one in the NFL, simply because the polish and shine of the playoffs getting underway disappears when the field of twelve teams is reduced to eight and the reality of how every single second in the game matters...settles in. This particular weekend saw some brutal moments for the losing teams, ones so crazy in fact that some of the wins were overshadowed. So let's not waste any more time and get right into breaking down the top stories from the field from this year's Wild Card Weekend. 

1. The Houston Texans have a big time problem at quarterback, and it cost them their season. I mean Brian Hoyer was absolutely awful this weekend at home against the Chiefs, accounting for five turnovers and to make matters worse, he simply looked lost out there. The Chiefs confused him every single step of the way, and while I understand the offensive line had some embarrassing moments of their own and the defense wasn't able to stop Kansas City either, the QB set the tone for this game. Hoyer simply regressed after every single play and well...I don't fault Bill O'Brien for not pulling him because his only other QB option on the roster was Brandon Weeden. But there is a bright side in all of this. This squad now knows they are good enough to win the games they need to, and good enough to win the division and I have no doubt they will be extremely active in the offseason, collecting the right players to move them past the first round of the playoffs.

2. I've seen some incredible and improbable wins in the playoffs through the years, and I've seen some heartbreaking losses. But up until Saturday night, I have never seen a team literally hand another squad a win by way of arrogance and stupidity, so my thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals for checking that one off my list. They had the Steelers beaten and on the ropes and then the whole thing fell to pieces. It started with Vontaze Burfict's weird decision to run his recovered fumble into the locker room with plenty of time to play, and it only got worse from there. Next up came that devastating hit on a defenseless Antonio Brown and then Adam Jones got into the mix by not being able to keep his mouth shut. It was...an embarrassing loss for Bengals fans and football fans everywhere because holy crap, these two players were out of control and while I know people are calling for discipline for Burfict and Jones...there's no need for that. These two men get to wake up every morning after this game with the knowledge that their inability to be professional football players for two whole minutes...cost their team the season. That's punishment enough.

3. What a devastating loss for the Minnesota Vikings and while it seems like this is a good place to fire off a "Laces out, Jeff" joke, it's not the fault of Jeff Locke or Blair Walsh that the team lost this game...it's on the offense. I don't care that he shanked that kick one bit, I'm more concerned by the fact that Adrian Peterson was held to a whopping 43 yards on 23 carries and that Teddy Bridgewater didn't get it into the end zone either. You simply can't expect a kicker to score all the points for your team and this is what happens when you do. If anything, the real kudos goes to the Seahawks offense for waiting patiently and wearing down the Vikings D. They took advantage exactly when they needed to and it sent Minnesota packing in heartbreaking fashion. Hopefully Coach Zimmer and his team learn the big lesson from this game...adjust your game plan and find a way to get your playmakers going.

4. The Green Bay Packers finally awoke from their funk and surprised us all. After all they were down 11 points to nothing early on in the game against Washington and it seemed that was that and then something magical happened, they scored 17 points in the second quarter and never looked back. It was actually quite amazing to see this team go from shell shocked after a safety and touchdown to a well oiled machine. The defense stepped up and shut down Washington's offense when necessary and Aaron Rodgers was his old self, putting the ball where it needed to go in a game that I actually expected them to lose. I don't know what changed on that sideline, and I don't care, because it was great to see Green Bay back in the saddle again and if they keep playing like this, they're going to make the rest of the playoffs on the NFC side incredibly interesting.

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