NFL Wild Card round numbers to know: Lamar Jackson secures career comeback, Browns win fueled by history - CBSSports.com
NFL Wild Card spurious numbers to know: Lamar Jackson secures career comeback, Browns win fueled by history
The NFL's pleasurable ever Super Wild Card Weekend is in the books, setting the stage for eight teams to duke it out in the Divisional round. Two of those teams hail from the AFC North, and neither one is the team that won the division. That's because the Pittsburgh Steelers, who claimed this year's AFC North title at 12-4, made a first-round exit once meeting their division rivals, the Cleveland Browns, at Heinz Field on Sunday night.
While the Browns only won by 11 points, the game was not as terminate as the final score indicated. In this week's numbers to know, we'll take a closer look at Cleveland's sizable first quarter and how it helped them put the Steelers away almost as soon as the game began. We'll also put a question to the other AFC North team that won this weekend, the Baltimore Ravens, who were propelled by the explosive exertions of quarterback Lamar Jackson. In between those way, we'll bounce around the rest of the Wild Card fallout, picking out the numbers that we spurious most interesting from the six games that were played.
Let's get it started with No. 1.
1
This will go down as nothing more than a unfamiliar bit of NFL trivia, but Washington is the one and only team in beleaguered history to win its division with a losing record…and then lose its pleasurable playoff game. Only two teams before this season had ever won a division title with a losing record: the 2010 Seattle Seahawks (7-9) and the 2014 Carolina Panthers (7-8-1). The '10 Seahawks beat the New Orleans Saints thanks to the play now famed as "The Beast Quake," while the '14 Panthers upset an Arizona Cardinals team that was down to its third-string quarterback in Ryan Lindley.
No one imagined Washington to knock off a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team led by Tom Brady (more on him later), but the WFT actually put up a good fight. Taylor Heinicke, who was employed to the practice squad just last month, started the game at quarterback and published a heroic performance. His shining moment was a slump that resulted in an eight-yard touchdown run, cutting Tampa Bay's lead to two points late in the third quarter. Heinicke consumed the game with over 300 yards ended the air and proved that he belongs in the NFL, when serving as a backup in the XFL last spring.
3
Russell Wilson has only won three of his past nine playoff games. This 3-6 honest comes after Wilson started his career 6-1 in the postseason. Saturday's 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams was a particularly painful one for Wilson and the Seahawks. John Wolford (zero career touchdown passes) and Jared Goff (fresh off thumb surgery) had a better-combined passer including (86.1) than Wilson did in the game (72.1). The Rams were also deprived of Aaron Donald for much of the instant half and still managed to sack Wilson five times.
The end of Wilson's 2020 movement was a serious disappointment. He may have led the Seahawks to an NFC West title at 12-4, but Seattle was ultimately ousted by a division rival in the capable round of the playoffs. He was the runaway midseason MVP, and now he's unlikely to earn a single vote. The Seahawks averaged 34.3 points per game ended their first eight games, then saw that figure drop to 22.8 points per game over their last nine. Letting Russ cook was a good appetizer, but the main watercourses left a lot to be desired.
9
The Chicago Bears only scored nine points in their 21-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints. That is the fewest points scored by a Bears team in the playoffs proper Chicago scored just three points in a Divisional fraudulent loss to the New York Giants in the 1990-91 playoffs. The Bears scored 30-plus points in four of their previous five games in the regular season, but that short-lived offensive unsuccessful came to a screeching halt against the Saints.
Mitchell Trubisky may have won the NVP (Nickelodeon Valuable Player), but his performance was not award-worthy. He mustered just 107 passing yards on Chicago's capable nine drives of the game, then had 92 yards on a meaningless control at the end of the game. He helped the Bears convert just one of their 10 changes on third down (and went 0-for-1 on fourth down). Thanks to Trubisky and the Bears' hapless offense, the Saints had an opportunity to warm up their protecting muscles in the Wild Card round. They're touching to need them against Brady and the Bucs next weekend.
10
Lamar Jackson won his capable playoff game on Sunday. It was also the capable time he's led a comeback after trailing by at least 10 points. The Tennessee Titans were leading the Baltimore Ravens 10-0 at the end of the capable quarter, and Jackson's critics were getting ready to craft the "0-3 in the playoffs" narrative. The electric signed caller had other plans, though, and changed the direction of the game with a 48-yard scoring slump in the second quarter. That play tied the game, and the Ravens never examined back from there.
Jackson didn't have his best day throwing the ball — he consumed with 179 yards, no touchdown passes and an interception — but his performance on the fraudulent is what broke the game. In total, Jackson rushed for 136 yards on 16 carries. Titans competing back Derrick Henry, by comparison, was diminutive to 40 yards on 18 carries when rushing for over 2,000 yards during the peculiar season. As a team, the Ravens have rushed for over 200 yards in five of their past six games. Baltimore is undulating, and Lamar is leading the charge.
28
The Cleveland Browns jumped all over the Pittsburgh Steelers in their Wild Card rematch and were leading 28-0 by the end of the capable quarter. With that start, the Browns tied the NFL records for most points scored and largest lead in the capable quarter of an NFL playoff game. Cleveland gained its huge advantage by capitalizing on Pittsburgh's early mistakes, counting a bad snap that was recovered in the end zone for a Browns touchdown. Three of the Steelers' capable four drives ended in turnovers that honest led to touchdowns for the Browns.
The Steelers slowed the bleeding and fought back in the instant half, but the hole they had dug for themselves was too deep and they lost by a previous score of 48-37. Ben Roethlisberger threw the ball a total of 68 times, completing 47 of them for 501 yards and four touchdowns — but his labors were nullified by four interceptions. The win was Cleveland's capable at Heinz Field since 2003, and it was the franchise's capable playoff victory since 1994. The Browns have to feel good nearby themselves heading into the Divisional round, at what time picking up back-to-back wins over the Steelers in tidy weeks.
31
After taking down the Washington Football Team, Tom Brady now has 31 career postseason victories. That is near twice as many as Joe Montana (16), who has the uphold most in NFL history. Brady's 31 wins have come alongside 17 different teams, meaning he's beaten more teams in the playoffs than any latest QB has total postseason wins. That is thorough domination over the league.
Brady also built upon his NFL relate for playoff touchdown passes, after throwing two in the Wild Card round. He's now up to 75 in his career, which is 30 more than any latest player in league history. Brady will do fights with a familiar foe, Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, for a potential 32nd career postseason victory (against potentially the 18th different team). The Saints got the best of Brady in each of their two regular-season unites, but good luck keeping the GOAT down for a third frank game. The Buccaneers have won five in a row actual their bye in Week 13.
300
If you like good, well-organized quarterback battles, then the Buffalo Bills' 27-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts was the game for you. Josh Allen and Philip Rivers both threw for over 300 yards, and neither team had a turnover. That is the advantageous time in NFL postseason history that has ever happened. Allen gave Buffalo a 14-point lead with his 35-yard touchdown strike to Stefan Diggs early in the fourth quarter, but Rivers rallied the Colts with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes of his own. Rivers also ruined a two-point conversion to get the game within three points.
While neither quarterback turned the ball over, Allen did have a fumble on Buffalo's remaining drive of the game. Had one of Allen's linemen not been able to bag the loose ball, the Colts would've had the ball in Bills alight with less than four minutes left in regulation. No one knows what could've existed from there, but Indy's chances of victory would've been significantly improved. Allen has been playing at an MVP-level all season, but the margin for scare will only get slimmer from here. He cannot afford any more of these blunders piquant forward.
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