The NFL Roundup 2018 - Wild Card Weekend: Day One

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It’s a great day for football fans to say the least. Because after a long and winding regular season, the NFL quite literally ups its game a notch since today, signals the beginning of the 2017/2018 playoffs, wherein the first of twelve teams will take the field and every single last one of them have only one thought on their collective minds…win, and keep winning in order to have a shot at hoisting the magnificent Lombardi Trophy. But the stakes for such a prize are quite high, because it’s win or go home in the NFL Playoffs, which means that we should be in for some incredible matchups as the playoffs roll on and here is a preview of what to expect from today’s slate of games as Wild Card Weekend gets underway. 

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AFC WILD CARD MATCHUP
Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs
Arrowhead Stadium – Kansas City, MO
4:20 p.m. EST – ABC/ESPN

HOW THESE TEAMS REACHED THE PLAYOFFS
It’s a firm belief in the NFL that in order to make it to the postseason, a team has to give it their all week in, and week out and well, there is a lot of truth to that. But there is a flip side to that mantra that few wish to discuss in that, sometimes in order to make the playoffs, a team simply has to do just enough and ‘just enough’ should in fact be the motto of the two teams that are kicking off Wild Card Weekend this year. Because that’s precisely what the Titans and Chiefs put in to make it to the postseason, since they both dealt with some up and down campaigns this year that no doubt left their fans pondering as to whether or not their teams would make it here in the first place. But, they played well when it counted and while they may not the be flashiest teams in this contest, they now have quite the chance to shine.
 
KEYS TO THE GAME
Both of these teams were plagued by inconsistency during the regular season, and well, if they want to advance in the playoffs, there’s simply no room for mental errors, turnovers and poor execution, and that’s really the key to this game, consistency. Whichever team can figure out how to protect the ball, and play with a sense of discipline today is the one that will walk out of this one as the victor, and while I don’t expect this matchup to be mistake free since bad habits are now routine for both of these teams, I do expect one of these teams to wake up and realize that it’s either play their game the right way, or see their season come to a heartbreaking end.

NFC WILD CARD MATCHUP
Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – Los Angeles, CA
8:15 p.m. EST – NBC

​HOW THESE TEAMS REACHED THE PLAYOFFS
Everyone that’s a fan of the NFL loves a feel-good story, and both of these teams fit that bill. After all, it seemed for a while there that the Atlanta Falcons were suffering through a nasty Super Bowl Hangover, the kind that allows for a team to miss the playoffs a year after reaching the big game, before they buckled down their play in order to secure a playoff spot and a shot at redemption and well, look at the turnaround for the Rams. A year ago, they were lost and facing another offseason full of uncertainty, but thanks to the fine work of Rookie Head Coach Sean McVay, this team pulled it together and wowed the NFL world with some impressive offense, solid defense, their first Division Title since 2003 and their first playoff berth in thirteen years.
 
KEYS TO THE GAME
This could be quite the interesting matchup when all is said and done, simply because both of these teams feature powerhouse offenses. Which means that by all means this game could turn out to be a shootout for the ages. But, there are some important nuances that comes into play here when one digs a little deeper, like the whole matter of experience. The Falcons know what it takes to win in the postseason, the Rams sadly do not, and Atlanta could take full advantage of any nerves that will be on display on the Los Angeles sideline and force a few critical mistakes along the way. However, if Coach McVay has his team properly prepared, nerves simply won’t be a factor and in all honesty, I think this game will come down to the age-old adage of who wants it more, and whichever team buckles down and plays their game to perfection, gets a chance to show their stuff in the Divisional Round.