2023-2024 Wildcard Round Recap
5/6 correct due to Houston, Kansas City, Buffalo, Green Bay, and Detroit
Overall – 5/6 which is one standard deviation above the mean
Pro Football Top 4 Games to Watch
AFC Divisional Game #1 Houston vs. Baltimore
Late afternoon kickoff (4:30 PM EDT) from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland on 1/20/24. Texans advanced to this game with a resounding 45-14 win over Cleveland in the AFC Wildcard Round. Ravens won the AFC North Division title, finishing 13-4 on the season and are the #1 seed in the AFC. Baltimore won the regular season game in Week 1 (25-9) at home.
This game could be close or it could be a blowout. That is what potentially happens when the Texans precocious rookie QB, C.J. Stroud (274 passing yards, 3 passing TDs against Cleveland), faces a physical defense with numerous stunting formations. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (3678 passing yards, 24 passing TDs, 821 rushing yards, 5 rushing TDs) will be a one man highlight show. Hopefully Baltimore doesn’t lay an egg playing at home, since they did that in the 2019-2020 NFL postseason against Tennessee (28-12) as the AFC #1 seed. RB Devin Singletary and WR Nico Collins will have to be safety valves for Stroud when he is under pressure. Baltimore has a deep WR/TE corps of six players with velcro hands. Expect more high stakes matchups between Stroud and Jackson in future NFL seasons.
Prediction: Houston is the most surprising team left in the AFC playoffs bracket, but Baltimore is focused and fundamentally sound as they win by 9 points.
NFC Divisional Game #1 Green Bay vs. San Francisco
Welcome to old school football with formations that have been tweaked for motion and finding mismatches. Green Bay unveiled their vertical passing attack against Dallas, and QB Jordan Love (272 passing yards, 3 passing TDs) looks very comfortable in the pocket. RB Aaron Jones (118 rushing yards, 3 TDs) and WR Romeo Doubs (156 receiving yards, 1 TD) were Batman and Robin in the Wildcard Round. Packers ball hawking defense has the Cheeseheads dreaming of a deep run to Super Bowl 58.
49ers had a five game winning streak to open the season and a six game winning streak during the second half of 2023. Head coach Kyle Shanahan adapts to the playoffs better than other coaches, due to putting his players in spaces and matchups that led to big yardage plays. QB Brock Purdy (4280 passing yards, 31 TDs) has two top tier offensive weapons with RB Christian McCaffrey and WR Brandon Aiyuk. Offensive line will have to be patient with field position drives and grinding out yards to score points. Expect another epic game that’ll come down to the last possession.
NFC Divisional Game #2 Tampa Bay vs. Detroit
Buccaneers played their most complete game in the Wildcard Round and free agent QB Baker Mayfield is now quietly laughing at all of his critics. Maybe head coach Todd Bowles just needed some time to grow and mature on the sideline. Second year RB Rachaad White (990 rushing yards, 6 TDs) will continue to move the chains. WR Mike Evans (1255 receiving yards, 13 TDs) will be a calming influence on this teammates in the huddle and the red zone. Tampa Bay’s defense is the unknown factor as they try to figure out the Lions offense.
Detroit has been inconsistent since Week 12, but will benefit from their home crowd making a ton of noise inside the dome at Ford Field. Talking heads will focus on QB Jared Goff, RB David Montgomery, and a five deep receiving corps. Head coach Dan Campbell will challenge his OL and DL players to own the line of scrimmage and play like there’s no tomorrow. Going to be an interesting game environment in Motown.
Prediction: For the first time since January 1992, the Detroit Lions will be heading to the NFC Championship game after winning by 8 points.
AFC Divisional Game #2 Kansas City vs. Buffalo
Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen. Andy Reid vs. Sean McDermott. Isiah Pacheco vs. James Cook. Travis Kelce vs. Dalton Kincaid. Chiefs Nation vs. Bills Mafia. Welcome to the de-facto AFC Championship Game that is being played a week earlier than expected. Grab some popcorn, chips, chicken wings, queso, cookies, soda, beer, water, and watch two teams that match up well and test each other in all phases of the game. Kansas City and Buffalo played an incredible playoff game during the 2021-2022 postseason and they are due to provide a good encore. Sit back and enjoy the show.
Storylines Heading into Conference Championship Round of the NFL Playoffs
- Which coaches are on the hot seat after the Divisional Round of the playoffs?
- Crank up the hype machine for the conference championship round games of the 2024 NFL playoffs
Same bat time, same bat channel next week. I’ll review the results of Pro Football Divisional Round and try again in the Conference Championship Round of the NFL playoffs.
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