Tag: NFL wild card

Tonight will mark the final ‘ManningCast’ of 2023 NFL season

Peyton and Eli are back for the final ‘ManningCast’ of the 2023 season featuring the Eagles and Bucs in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

After a hilarious fake search for a third host this offseason, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning returned to ESPN2 this fall for a third season of the ManningCast (without a third host).

As they have done for the past two seasons, Peyton and Eli had special guests join them on the alternate broadcast of Monday Night Football, but they remained the two hosts of the popular show.

Disney continued to carry its standard MNF broadcasts on main ESPN with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman serving as the commentators for the primary broadcast. The alternate ManningCasts featuring Peyton and Eli were broadcast on ESPN2 and available to stream on NFL+.

Below is the full ManningCast schedule of games during the 2023 season. Peyton and Eli will make their final appearance of the 2023 season tonight for the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.

NFL Week Date Monday Night Football Game TV Channel
Week 1 Sept. 11 Buffalo Bills at New York Jets ESPN2, ESPN+, NFL+
Week 4 Oct. 2 Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants ESPN2, NFL+
Week 5 Oct. 9 Green Bay Packers at Las Vegas Raiders ESPN2, NFL+
Week 7 Oct. 23 San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings ESPN2, NFL+
Week 9 Nov. 6 Los Angeles Chargers at New York Jets ESPN2, NFL+
Week 10 Nov. 13 Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills ESPN2, NFL+
Week 11 Nov. 20 Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs ESPN2, ESPN+, NFL+
Week 13 Dec. 4 Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars ESPN2, NFL+
Week 14 Dec. 11 Titans at Dolphins AND Packers at Giants ESPN2, NFL+
Week 15 Dec. 18 Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks ESPN2, NFL+
Wildcard Jan. 15 Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers ESPN2, ESPN+, NFL+

Peyton and Eli both won a pair of Super Bowls as quarterbacks in the NFL.

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NFL fans mock Panthers during C.J. Stroud’s phenomenal Wild Card performance

The Panthers caught some strays throughout C.J. Stroud’s sparkling (and victorious) playoff debut.

The Carolina Panthers aren’t even playing anymore and they’re still getting the business over on Twitter.

On Saturday, No. 2 (not No. 1) overall pick C.J. Stroud became the first rookie quarterback to win a playoff game in almost 15 seasons. He led his Houston Texans to a dominant 45-14 Wild Card Round victory over the Cleveland Browns, passing for 274 yards and three touchdowns in a near-perfect performance.

And the 2-15 Panthers, who passed up on Stroud this past April, caught some strays throughout the stellar showing . . .

Bucs Wild Card Injury Report: Bucs getting healthy before Monday

Every Bucs player participated aside from a veteran rest day, so Tampa Bay is looking good before their Wild Card game.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking healthy as their week of practice continues.

There was only one player who did not participate, and that was wideout Chris Godwin. Godwin has had a lingering knee injury, but he’s taken rest days before and he’s expected to play, Quarterback Baker Mayfield participated in a limited manner, as did cornerback Josh Hayes and linebacker K.J. Britt. Barring any last-minute changes, it looks like everyone is expected to go on Monday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Here’s what the injury report looks like for Friday:

The Eagles, meanwhile, are more dire straits. While it looks like quarterback Jalen Hurts will play, his finger remains injured and it will likely impact him on Monday. Additionally, key pieces in wideout A.J. Brown and safety Reed Blankenship are not participating, and both would be a huge blow to Philadelphia.

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Bucs reveal uniform combo for Wild Card matchup vs. Eagles

The Bucs lost when they wore red against the Eagles the first time the two played, but that isn’t deterring them this time around.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are many things, but don’t call them superstitious.

The team is playing the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round at home on Monday night, and it announced on Wednesday that it will wear a red over pewter combo for the game. Wearing the red jerseys is an interesting move — the team wore red jerseys against the Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 3 and lost that game 25-11.

The Bucs are 1-2 in red uniforms this season, counting that game, and 1-1 in red over pewter. The team annihilated the Jacksonville Jaguars in that color combo 30-12 on Christmas Eve but lost to the New Orleans Saints in the same uniform 23-13 the next week.

The team is well known for its white jerseys from its 2020 Super Bowl run, but the first game that team played against the Washington Commanders was this exact combo — perhaps the Bucs will repeat the trend Monday night.

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Monday Night Football’s ManningCast will return in first round of NFL playoffs

The NFL regular season has concluded so there’s no ‘Monday Night Football’ tonight, but the ‘ManningCast’ will be back for the playoffs.

After a hilarious fake search for a third host this offseason, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning returned to ESPN2 this fall for a third season of the ManningCast (without a third host).

As they have done for the past two seasons, Peyton and Eli will have special guests join them on the alternate broadcast of Monday Night Football, but they will remain the two hosts of the popular show.

Disney will continue to carry its standard MNF broadcasts on main ESPN with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman serving as the commentators for the primary broadcast. The ten alternate ManningCasts featuring Peyton and Eli will be broadcast on ESPN2 and available to stream on NFL+.

Here is the full ManningCast schedule of games during the 2023 season.

NFL Week Date Monday Night Football Game TV Channel
Week 1 Sept. 11 Buffalo Bills at New York Jets ESPN2, ESPN+, NFL+
Week 4 Oct. 2 Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants ESPN2, NFL+
Week 5 Oct. 9 Green Bay Packers at Las Vegas Raiders ESPN2, NFL+
Week 7 Oct. 23 San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings ESPN2, NFL+
Week 9 Nov. 6 Los Angeles Chargers at New York Jets ESPN2, NFL+
Week 10 Nov. 13 Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills ESPN2, NFL+
Week 11 Nov. 20 Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs ESPN2, ESPN+, NFL+
Week 13 Dec. 4 Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars ESPN2, NFL+
Week 14 Dec. 11 Titans at Dolphins AND Packers at Giants ESPN2, NFL+
Week 15 Dec. 18 Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks ESPN2, NFL+
Wildcard Jan. 15 TBD Playoff Game ESPN2, ESPN+, NFL+

There’s no Monday Night Football game in Week 18 of the regular season, but the ManningCast will return for the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

Peyton and Eli both won a pair of Super Bowls as quarterbacks in the NFL.

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Don’t forget about Ravens RB Justice Hill

The Baltimore Ravens should be careful not to slight the contributions running back Justice Hill has made this season.

With the signing of running back Dalvin Cook, the Baltimore Ravens should be careful not to slight the contributions of running back Justice Hill this season.

Hill went from playing frequently early in the season to losing reps to rookie running back Keaton Mitchell. When Mitchell suffered a season-ending injury in week 15, Hill re-emerged, elevating his play to function as a timely asset to the Ravens’ offense.

Hill had five catches on five targets in week 17, making one touchdown catch while recording 48 rush yards on three carries. Hill also returned two kicks for 101 yards as well. After such an emphatic performance, head coach John Harbaugh must be mindful not to ruin team comradery by allowing Cook to believe he will receive most of the reps at running back.

Offensive coordinator Todd Monken should work Cook into the rotation behind running back Gus Edwards, primarily on early downs. Hill should be the primary on third down until he shows himself inadequate.

Cook has taken zero snaps in the Ravens’ offense that already ranks No. 1 in the NFL in total rush yards. Hill, Edwards, Mitchell, and quarterback Lamar Jackson are the players that should be accredited for this success. Finally, while Cook’s skills cannot be denied, unless Hill’s play declines, the Ravens’ should avoid disrupting team chemistry.  

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Tom Brady got away with such a dirty move while trying to tackle a Cowboys defender

Tom Brady got away with what should have been an obvious penalty in the Bucs’ blowout loss.

Tom Brady seemed to forget which version of football he was playing on Monday night.

While trailing 24-0 in the third quarter of a Wild Card playoff matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin seemingly fumbled a nine-yard reception. During the ensuing return from Dallas safety Malik Hooker, which went for 19 yards, Brady attempted what can only be described as a slide tackle as he tried to trip up Hooker.

Godwin was later ruled down upon review and the return came off the board, and though an unnecessary roughness penalty was assessed on center Ryan Jensen at the end of the return, Brady got off scot-free.

This was a blatantly dirty play. It was clearly intentional, and he obviously let his frustrations get the better of him. The 45-year-old, 23-season vet should know better.

Brady deserved a red card for this one, let alone a penalty flag. It’s a joke that the refs missed the call and allowed him to get away with it, though the Cowboys rendered justice of their own in a beatdown in what could potentially be Brady’s final game.

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Tom Brady channeled his inner Patrick Mahomes with filthy shovel pass, and NFL fans went wild

The 45-year-old’s still got it.

Tom Brady may be 45 years old, but the old dog is still learning some new tricks.

Late in the first quarter of Monday night’s Wild Card contest against the Dallas Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback did his best Patrick Mahomes impression when he scrambled before connecting with Chris Godwin on a shovel pass.

The impromptu completion to convert a third down and four in the red zone and extended the drive as Tampa Bay was looking to retake the lead after falling in an early 6-0 hole against Dallas. And there’s no denying Brady was able to get that first down in style.

Brady — who is looking for his 36th career playoff win — and the Bucs were home underdogs on Monday night after making the postseason at 8-9 by virtue of an NFC South title. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, that drive came to an end as Brady threw a red-zone interception, his first since joining the team in 2020 and just his seventh in a postseason game.

Regardless of the mistake that ended the drive, NFL fans couldn’t believe what they saw from Brady on the third-down play.

NFL Playoffs Wild Card Predictions: 5 Best Picks Against The Spread

5 best NFL predictions and picks against the spread and point totals for the Wild Card games.

5 best predictions for the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. What appear to be the best bets and picks?

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There are only six games to choose from, so the goal from the bowl season – with all the bowls broken up into a chunks – remains in place – hit .600.

The result? Meh … 11-9. But I made up for my Michigan pick debacle – and a few all-time acts of God – with Ohio State and then Georgia and the over in the national title game.

And when I had time this season to do this for the NFL back in Week 14? 4-1.

I know, blah, blah, blah, it’s NFL Playoff time, get to the picks already.

March Madness is fun, and of course I love the entirety of the college football season above all, but … (shhhhhhh, whispering) six Wild Card games; this is the best sports weekend of the year.

Click on each game for the game preview

5. Seattle at San Francisco

LINE San Francisco -9.5
ATS PICK Seattle

We start with two beliefs I can’t shake when it comes the Wild Card, and it might already be proven positive – or be exposed as a whole pile of hoo-ha – by the time you read this.

1) Rookie quarterbacks scare me, because 2) there are almost certainly going to be turnovers in key moments.

Brock Purdy has been phenomenal.

He might be a rookie – and he might have been the last player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft – but he has a ton of miles logged in from his college days. Over the finishing kick he has been nothing short of a season-saver for the 49ers.

It helps to have that defense and that running game to take the heat off, but he’s been solid because there hasn’t been a lot down the field.. Since taking over he has thrown multiple touchdown passes in each of the last six games and just three interceptions.

The parts are in place defensively, the 49ers have Elijah Mitchell ready to do more in a rotation with Christian McCaffrey, and …

Poor Seattle. Poor, poor Seattle.

It lost three of its last four games, needed overtime to get by the Rams – and the gift of the Lions deciding to try against the Packers – for the honor of losing to San Francisco for a third time this year.

Poor, poor, poor Seattle.

This is where that rookie quarterback thing might just kick in.

As I pointed out in the game preview, San Francisco is 13-0 when it doesn’t turn the ball over multiple times, and 0-4 when it does. On the flip side, Seattle has forced two or more takeaways in 12 of its 17 games, and two of the five outliers were against the 49ers.

Eventually, the puck luck – or the Purdy forced third down throw luck – has to bounce Seattle’s way. In the pressure of the playoffs – with all of it on the San Francisco side of the field – there will be multiple turnovers.

I can’t get there with Seattle to win outright, but getting 9.5 against a rookie QB? I’ll take my chances, because you always go with the underdogs in big-spread NFL games like (cough … cough …)

CFN Experts Picks: Seahawks at 49ers

NEXT: NFL Pick Against the Spread No. 4: Miami at Buffalo

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Multiple former Washington players will be active on Wild Card weekend

Kirk Cousins and Trent Williams headline the list of former Washington players in action on wild-card weekend.

The Washington Commanders looked to be in an excellent position to make the NFC playoffs after a Nov. 27 win over the Atlanta Falcons to improve to 7-5.

Unfortunately for the Commanders, they’d go winless in their next four games and were eliminated during Week 17. Washington would defeat the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18 to finish the 2022 season 8-8-1.

The NFL wild-card round kicks off Saturday, and for the first time, there are six games over three days, ending with Monday night’s NFC battle between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys.

While the Commanders will not play in the playoffs, there are multiple former Washington players who will be in action on wild-card weekend. We’ve listed several former Washington standouts who will play this weekend. This list does not include those players presently on practice squads.

Kirk Cousins and Trent Williams are the headliners? Who are the rest?

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