As of mid-day Sunday, January 15th, 2023 the first four games of the NFL’s “Super Wildcard Weekend” have been played. The early-afternoon contest between the Seahawks and 49ers jump started the slate, and ended in a commonly predicted blowout of the Seahawks. During the game, the 49ers far superior positional groups across both sides of the bowl were on full display against the mismatched Seahawks. Seattle managed to remain competitive in the first half, keeping the game within reach, even claiming a one point lead during the closing seconds of the first quarter, punctuated by a 56 yard field goal by Jason Myers. Ultimately, though, San Francisco’s competitive edge prevailed in the second half, exposing Seattle’s dreadful defense, both on the ground and through the air. Kyle Shanahan, lead by Brock Purdy and his assortment of riches steamrolled Seattle’s shorthanded defense enroute to a 41-23 victory. “The Seahawks need to draft defensive players in this draft, the defense ‘sucks'”, proclaims Mckenna Crowder. She may be correct.

The second affair on Saturday saw objectively one of the most entertaining playoff games of recent memory; featuring Jacksonville’s quarterback Trevor Lawrence opening his playoff career with an abysmal start, throwing four interceptions before the first half was over, to the Chargers defense. Before the Jaguars had any meaningful opportunities to get on the board, they faced a 27-0 deficit nearing the end of the first half. However, an improbable comeback paired with a phenomenal rebound from Lawrence and Co., with an unfathomable collapse from Los Angeles allowed the Jaguars back into the game. A last second field goal from Riley Patterson put the nail in the coffin of LA’s season, and likely their head coach Brandon Staley’s tenure as head coach. A disastrous collapse a week after playing his starters in a meaningless game that consequently injured their best playmaker on offense, Mike Williams, might each both be fireable offenses. “He’s terrible, Williams should’ve never been playing, I don’t see him coming back next year”, says Coronel Smith.

  Early on Sunday morning, the shorthanded Miami Dolphins went into Buffalo to face the Bills in what many deemed an inevitable blowout. The Dolphins were rolling out their third string quarterback against the juggernaut squad from Orchard Park, with Josh Allen headlining a multitude of stars. In spite of the clear disadvantages Miami faced, they put up more than a valiant effort to quiet the Bills Mafia crowd, opening the second half with a strip sack fumble recovery for a touchdown that put them up 24-17 at the beginning of the third quarter. As opposed to the lopsided second half of the Seattle and San Fran game, Miami paired an effective defensive gameplan that kept Josh Allen uncomfortable enough in the pocket to prevent him from taking over the game. Nevertheless, Skylar Thompson of the Dolphins was simply not enough from a quarterback standpoint to overcome Miami’s deficiencies, completing well under half of his passes, throwing multiple interceptions, and generally displaying poor decision making. Buffalo escaped the jaws of defeat 34–31.

Following was the New York Giants traveling to Minneapolis for the second time this season to face the Minnesota Vikings. The commonality across the national media saw the Giants favored, even so with Minnesota as the higher seed (better record), had home-field advantage, and had defeated the Giants previously this season in the same setting. It was frequently claimed that the Vikings were not nearly as good as their record indicated. That sentiment was proven correct as the Giants used effective play calling from head coach, Brian Daboll, a balanced rushing attack from Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones, timely catches from their receiving core, and just enough defense to earn the win at U.S. Bank stadium. The Vikings’ lowly pass defense was continuously exposed throughout the game, leaving Giants receivers completely uncovered down the field, allowing Daniel Jones easy completions for big plays. Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones were subsequent beneficiaries as the ground game opened up significantly while Minnesota tried to defend against the pass. 

UP NEXT:

• 49ers vs. either Cowboys/Buccaneers at home

• Chiefs vs. TBD

• Bills at home vs. either Bengals/Jaguars