After an 18 week season, the National Football League (NFL) playoffs have finally started. Usually, there is only 17 weeks during the season but this year, due to covid disruptions, they added another game. There are 14 out of 32 teams who make the playoffs each year. The top two teams in each conference with the best record gets a bye week in the first week of the playoffs. That leaves 12 teams remaining to play.

The weekend of January 23rd, The Raiders played at the Bengals on Saturday and the Patriots played at the Bill’s home turf as well. Sunday, there were three games. The Eagles played the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the 49ers played in Dallas against America’s team, the Cowboys. Then there was the Steelers versus the Chiefs.

There was some controversy earlier in the week due to an interview with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. When asked about the upcoming matchup he told ESPN news, “We’re probably a 20 point underdog… We don’t have a chance, so let’s just go in and have fun.” As it was possibly his last game, he was trying to make the most out of it with what he has left.

To start off with a bang, the Bengals defeated the Raiders 26-19. The game came down to the last play, where the Bengals ended the game with an interception at the goal line. Once again, the dynamic duo of Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase, who were teammates on the LSU National Championship team, played off the walls and helped lead their team to advance to the next round. Next week, they will look to defeat the number 1 seed, the Tennessee Titans.

Saturday night, the Bills played the Patriots in one of the coldest games in NFL history. It was 6 degrees and with the wind chill, it was -11 degrees. With homefield advantage, the Bills ended up blowing out the Patriots by 30 points. The final score was 47-17, but the Patriots scored their last touchdown during garbage time. The Bill’s had a perfect offensive game, no turnovers and scored a touchdown on every full drive that they had. The star of the game, Josh Allen, finished the game with 374 total yards and five passing touchdowns. As a team, they almost got 500 yards total and averaging almost 9 yards a play.

The first game on Sunday was another blowout win. The defending champs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, defeated the Eagles 31-15. Although the final score doesn’t represent a blowout, it was 31-0 to start the fourth quarter and the Eagles didn’t score till Tampa Bay put their backup’s in. Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, had a great game, completing 78% of his passes and throwing for almost 300 yards with 2 passing touchdowns. Usually the offense gets most of the recognition, but this game, it was all about the defense. They forced 3 turnovers and set the offense up with good field position.

One of the Super Bowl contenders, Dallas Cowboys, lost against the 49ers 23-17. The Cowboys were the only home team in the Wild Card round to lose. The 49ers were up the whole game and it wasn’t until the end of the game where the Cowboys were only down six points in the final minutes. Bad time management is what ruined the Cowboys’ chance of winning the game. They ran the ball on their final play and tried to get another playoff, but the time expired. The 49ers will play the number 1 seed, Green Bay Packers. In week 3, the Packers barely beat the 49ers in a close game 30-28.

Maybe Big Ben was right, they didn’t stand a chance. It was 21-7 to end the half, and as soon as the 3rd quarter started, it was all of a sudden 35-7. Patrick Mahomes had another unreal game as he passed for 404 yards and had 5 passing touchdowns. They will be playing the Bills in the Divisional round for an offensive shootout.

The final game of the Wild Card round, the Rams defeated the Cardinals 34-11. The Rams started off hot, they were winning 28-0. It wasn’t until the end of the 3rd quarter when the Cardinals scored their first points. Once again, the home team one and it was a blowout win. They will play the Buccaneers, the defending champions, in the Divisional Round.

William Outten, football player at Lafayette High School, says, “Packers all the way. Aaron Rogers is having a career year and that team looks unstoppable,” after asking about who will win the Super Bowl. Andy Anderson had a different response. “I think the Bucs will win the Super Bowl because nobody can beat Brady.” On February 13, we will find out who will be crowned Super Bowl Champions.