Tag: afc wildcard

Texans stomp Browns 45-14, advance to divisional round

The Houston Texans pulled way ahead in the second half to beat the Cleveland Browns.

The magic continues for first year head coach DeMeco Ryans and the Houston Texans after the 45-14 win over the Cleveland Browns in the wild card round.

As recently as Christmas Eve, the Houston Texans were embarrassed by Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco and receiver Amari Cooper in a 36-22 loss during Week 16. After winning the AFC South the last week of the season, they had the opportunity to take advantage.

The Texans certainly capitalized.

Houston beat Cleveland 45-14 in a dominant victory that saw the Texans put together their most complete game of the season on both sides of the ball. They led throughout most of the first half, going to the locker room up, 24-14, and never looked back.

Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud fueled the early lead and he finished with 274 yards and 3 touchdowns against the NFL’s best defense of the 2023 season. His season long connection with receiver Nico Collins and tight end Dalton Schultz was once again on display.

Collins had 6 receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Schultz overcame an early drop with a 37-yard touchdown catch before the end of the first half. Joining in the offensive explosion, third-year tight end Brevin Jordan had Houston’s longest offensive play of the season with a 76-yard receiving touchdown on a tight end screen.

It was the best game of the season from offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and the team could seemingly do no wrong. Running back Devin Singletary took 13 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown while pacing the offense before Davis Mills and the backups were able to take over with around 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Of course, there’s no blowout with DeMeco Ryans and his defense playing ravenous football.

If Joe Flacco had been on a Cinderella run, it came crashing back down to earth on Saturday. The third quarter saw Flacco throw consecutive pick-sixes, one to Steven Nelson and the other to linebacker Christian Harris, while facing constant pressure. Flacco finished with 307 yards and a touchdown but couldn’t overcome the two turnovers for scores.

Flacco was pressured on 15 of his drop backs, Will Anderson Jr. had 7 while Derek Barnett had 6. Anderson and Barnett both had sacks while Harris and defensive tackle Kurt Hinish chipped in their own for a total of 4 on the day.

No Browns running back went for more than 30 yards as the defense suffocated Cleveland on the ground and forced them to become one dimensional. Amari Cooper, who had over 200 receptions on the first contest, had just 4 receptions for 59 yards in the rematch as Houston found answers.

It was a dominant victory in what has been an incredible debut season for Ryans and Stroud in turning around the Houston Texans. It’s the kind of win that will inspire major confidence in the divisional round, potentially see coaches like Bobby Slowik have opportunities to become a head coach, and ultimately one that signals the team will a force to consider in Super Bowl conversations for years to come.

The Texans will now await the results of the next 2 AFC playoffs games to see where the playoff road will take them.

Former Raiders on Wildcard weekend playoff teams

Where are they now? Well, you may see some former Raiders are on playoff teams this weekend.

They say ‘Once a Raiders, always a Raider’. Well, if you’re wondering which former Raiders players are on teams set to take the field this weekend, this is your guide to which players are on which teams and when they’re set to play.

Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers
Sat, 1:30pm Pacific (4:30 ET)

Seahawks

S Johnathan Abram

DI Shelby Harris

DE Bruce Irvin

G Gabe Jackson

DT Quinton Jefferson

LB Tanner Muse

Practice Squad

TE Jacob Hollister

49ers

Injured Reserve 

DT Maurice Hurst

Practice Squad

WR Willie Snead

Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars
Sat, 5:15 Pacific (8:15 ET)

Chargers

DE Khalil Mack

DC Renaldo Hill

Practice Squad

WR Keelan Doss

Jaguars

WR Zay Jones

DE Arden Key

Practice Squad

S Tyree Gillespie

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
Sun, 10am Pacific (1pm ET)

Dolphins

FB Alec Ingold

Practice Squad

G Lester Cotton

QB Mike Glennon

Bills

RB Taiwan Jones

New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings
Sun, 1:30pm Pacific (4:30 ET)

Giants

DT Justin Ellis

C Jon Feliciano

DT Jihad Ward

DC Don Martindale

Practice Squad

DT Vernon Butler (2022 offseason roster)

WR Jaydon Mickens (2018 UDFA signing)

Vikings

QB Nick Mullens (2022 offseason roster)

Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals
Sun, 5:15pm (8:15 ET)

Ravens

RB Kenyan Drake

WR Demarcus Robinson (2022 offseason roster)

CB Daryl Worley

Practice Squad

DT David Sharpe

G John Simpson

Bengals

OC Brian Callahan

Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mon, 5:15pm Pacific (8:15 ET)

Cowboys

CB Trayvon Mullen

STC John Fassel

Buccaneers

DE Carl Nassib

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby7y715wxzbczy player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Raiders starting to ‘get used to winning’ and that makes them dangerous

No team is hotter than the Raiders right now. And that makes them very dangerous.

You can crunch all the numbers you want. You can do all the matchups and compare records and power rankings you want. On paper the Bengals look like the far superior team. They even beat the Raiders this season. But when the Raiders come to town, they may be a lot more evenly matched than you might think.

No team is hotter than the Raiders right now. A month ago, they looked done. They had lost five of six and had fallend to 6-7 on the season. To have any shot they would need to win out the rest of the way. And that’s just what they did.

Four in a row the Raiders have won, including beating two teams at the end who had their own playoff hopes on the line.

You can look at how the Raiders won and say none of them were convincing victories. That was the story of the 2021 Raiders, actually. Six times this season the Raiders won on the last play, including four overtime games.

Many prefer to see that as a knock on them. But winning is winning. And winning close ones is a positive stat, too. 

Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow seemed to grasp the importance of the close wins along with the current four-game win streak.

“It reminds me of our 2016 National Championship team at Clemson,” Renfrow said after the Raiders win Sunday night. “We won like seven games by like a touchdown or less. You just get used to winning. You get used to winning the close games. And so I think that came into play tonight. And it’s good for the young guys on the team to be able to experience it. And as we go on the rest of this year and next year and the year after we got a program of winning. I think the adversity that we’ve been through has definitely made us tighter.”

The Chargers had a better record and a more powerful offense. They probably felt pretty good coming into Sunday night’s game. And then they found themselves down 10-0 and they’d only had the ball for three plays.

Three times the Chargers came from behind in this game to either take the lead or tie. And each time, the Raiders took it right back.

You don’t do that without confidence. That confidence comes from doing it several times before.

That confidence makes them dangerous. And there is no doubt it strikes fear in the Bengals that they will be the next team the Raiders jump up and bite to knock out of the playoffs.

This Raiders team hasn’t lost in a month. They are coming to expect it. They are coming to expect that even if they aren’t perfect, if they stay the course, things can have a way of working out for them.

It’s been a while since you could say that about a Raiders team. 

The 2016 may have had that feeling for much of the season due to all the times Derek Carr led them to a late comeback win, but they didn’t have it going into the playoffs because Carr was lost two games before. 

The beauty of this team is the confidence isn’t in just the QB. After all, their winning streak has been mostly on the strength of the defense and the running game. This makes them tough to game plan against because it isn’t as simple as stopping one player or forcing one player to beat you.

Even if the team hasn’t been relying on Derek Carr to win games, if the Bengals think forcing him to beat them is the formula, he just might do it. Especially since he has his Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller back now.

If you look at the defense, it’s the pass rush that’s been dominant. And if the Bengals think it’s just about keeping Maxx Crosby from lighting them up, that would just open the door for the likes of Yannick Ngakoue or one of the interior rushers to have a big day.

The Bengals have a lot going for them in this game. And they too would have been riding a four-game winning streak had they not rested their starters for the finale. But they know they are facing an extremely dangerous team in the Raiders riding some serious momentum into Cincinnati.

Here’s how the Chargers can clinch playoff berth

While the chances are much slimmer following the loss to the Texans, the playoffs are still within reach for the Chargers.

Heading into Week 16, the Chargers were in complete control of their playoff destiny. Win each of their three remaining games, and they’re in.

However, in the most unexpected manner, they lost to a Texans team that ranked near the bottom in nearly every statistical category and were without 16 active-roster players.

Now 8-7, Los Angeles can no longer determine its fate and must hope for outcomes of games to specific teams that are also in the playoff hunt.

According to ESPN’s Power Index, L.A. now has a 38.5% chance of making the playoffs after having a 77% chance a little over 24 hours ago.

To play beyond the regular season, here’s what must happen for the Chargers:

– Beat their final two opponents, the Broncos (7-8) and Raiders (8-7).

– The Ravens (8-7) lose at least one of their final two games: Rams (10-5) or Steelers (7-7-1).

* Baltimore owns the tiebreaker over Los Angeles based on head-to-head win percentage.

– The Dolphins (7-7) lose at least one of their final three games: Saints (7-7), Titans (10-5), or Patriots (10-5).

* Miami owns the tiebreaker over L.A. based on best win percentage in common games.

The playoffs are still well within reach, but if the Chargers can’t make any adjustments from yesterday’s game, no matter who’s on the field, the only thing that will be in sight for them is the offseason.

Miami Dolphins head coach announces starter for Week 17 contest vs. Buffalo

Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will start in Week 17 against the Buffalo Bills with an AFC Wildcard spot on the line.

Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa played most of the Dolphin’s contest against the Las Vegas Raiders, before getting benched in the middle of the fourth quarter for Ryan Fitzpatrick – the second time since Tagovailoa earned the starting job.

In a game that literally went down to the final minutes, Tagovailoa completed  17 of 22 passes for 94 yards and one touchdown.

Did he look great? No. However, he wasn’t terrible.

Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has emphasized his desire to win and help Tagovailoa progress as a young NFL quarterback. And that’s just what he did against the Raiders.

Miami is on pace to make the playoffs in an AFC wildcard spot, but could easily be knocked off. With this win, all they need to do is get a win over Buffalo in Week 17 to secure the playoff berth.

Tagovailoa’s NFL record as a starting quarterback improves to 6-2.

Flores made it clear in his post-game press conference that Tagovailoa will be the starter for the Week 17 contest against the Bills.

Tagovailoa also chimed in on Fitzpatrick taking over to secure the win.

https://twitter.com/houtz/status/1343056236946870272?s=20

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on Tua Tagovailoa and his preparation for the final week of the 2020 NFL regular season.

Drawing up scenario where Chargers make playoffs

It’s a bit of a long shot, but the Chargers could still make the playoffs. We take a look at a scenario.

Playoffs? Yes, we are talking about the Chargers’ playoff chances.

Just three weeks ago, you could’ve said that Los Angeles was in the clear running for a playoff spot. But after two crucial losses to divisional opponents, their chances are nearly nonexistent.

L.A. is not mathematically eliminated, which means they could still play in January. According to ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index, the Chargers have a 0.4% chance to reach the postseason.

At the moment, the Bolts are three games behind the 7-4 Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, and they’re only two games back from the 6-5 Pittsburgh Steelers for the No. 6 seed.

Los Angeles is no stranger to going on runs and shocking the world. It seems impossible, but plenty of crazy things happen in the NFL, and they possess the talent on both sides of the ball to make it happen, especially knowing they get an extra boost with safeties Derwin James and Adrian Phillips.

So, how can they continue playing in the month of January? Using ESPN’s Playoff Machine, we ran through a variety of realistic scenarios by predicting each game that involves AFC teams. In this case, the Bolts get the last Wild Card spot.

Note: This involves the Chargers winning their last five games to make this happen.

Here’s how it looks:

Week 13

Bills at Cowboys

Eagles at Dolphins

Browns at Steelers

Raiders at Chiefs

Chargers at Broncos

Titans at Colts

Patriots at Texans

Buccaneers at Jaguars

Week 14

Bengals at Browns

Dolphins at Jets

Ravens at Bills

Chargers at Jaguars

Chiefs at Patriots

Steelers at Cardinals

Broncos at Texans

Titans at Raiders

Colts at Buccaneers

Week 15

Jets at Ravens

Texans at Titans

Browns at Cardinals

Patriots at Bengals

Jaguars at Raiders

Broncos at Chiefs

Vikings at Chargers

Bills at Steelers

Dolphins at Giants

Colts at Saints

Week 16

Texans at Buccaneers

Saints at Titans

Lions at Broncos

Jaguars at Falcons

Bills at Patriots

Raiders at Chargers

Ravens at Browns

Panthers at Colts

Bengals at Dolphins

Chiefs at Bears

Steelers at Jets

Week 17

Dolphins at Patriots

Colts at Jaguars

Steelers at Ravens

Chargers at Chiefs

Jets at Bills

Browns at Bengals

Raiders at Broncos

Titans at Texans

Here’s how the standings would look:

Los Angeles wins tie break over Oakland based on best win percentage in common games.

Here’s how the playoff matchups would look like:

The bottom line is that the Chargers will not only have to run the table, but there is a slew of things that will have to happen in order to clinch a playoff berth.

It’s unfortunate that Los Angeles is in this position after being pegged as a potential Super Bowl contender, but injuries, a coaching change and most importantly, in-game mistakes ultimately cost them.

Coming off a much-needed bye, the Chargers should feel refreshed, physically and mentally and ready to overcome their disappointing losses this season. Their uphill climb all starts this weekend against the Denver Broncos.

[lawrence-related id=31025,31010,31002,30994]