Tag: Wild Card Weekend

Russell Wilson seeks 1st playoff win since 2019

Russell Wilson seeks 1st playoff win since 2019

Wild Card weekend is finally here. Saturday is featuring plenty of storylines for Seahawks fans to follow, such as the fact Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh is in the playoffs for the first time since losing the 2013 NFC Championship to Seattle. However, he is not the only one seeking postseason success after an extended drought.

Current Pittsburgh Steelers and former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is in the tournament as well, and he is searching for his first playoff win since the 2019 season. Of course, 2019 was also the last time the Seahawks franchise won a playoff game as well. During the 2019 Wild Card round, Seattle had a rematch with the Philadelphia Eagles, who they defeated 17-9 earlier in the regular season. The game had an identical outcome, as the Seahawks claimed yet another 17-9 win over the Eagles.

Then that was it for both Seattle and Wilson. The Seahawks would go on to lose to the Green Bay Packers the next weekend. Seattle then lost in Wild Card weekend to the Los Angeles Rams in 2020, missed the playoffs entirely in 2021, and had their infamous divorce with Wilson prior to 2022.

Wilson had two disastrous seasons with the Denver Broncos where he never came close to sniffing the playoffs. As for the Seahawks, they returned in 2022 but were blown out by the San Francisco 49ers, and have missed the postseason the last two years.

Now Wilson has a chance to not only deliver a win for himself, but for the City of Pittsburgh as well. The Steelers have not won a playoff game since the final days of the Obama Administration, exactly eight years and three days ago. It won’t be easy, as they will have to defeat the Baltimore Ravens tonight at 5:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. The Steelers have lost their last four-straight games.

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Jim Harbaugh to participate in first playoff game since 2013 NFC Championship

Jim Harbaugh to participate in first playoff game since 2013 NFC Championship

The NFL playoffs are finally upon us, and while the Seattle Seahawks are not participating this weekend, there are still several points of interest for them and the 12th Man. For starters, the first game of Wild Card Weekend will be the Los Angeles Chargers taking on the Houston Texans at 1:30 pm Pacific Standard Time this afternoon.

Leading the charge for Los Angeles (ha, pun intended!) will be head coach Jim Harbaugh, who has his team in the playoffs during his first season back in the league. Saturday afternoon’s game will also be the first time Harbaugh will participate in an NFL postseason game since the 2013 NFC Championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.

To this date, it is arguably the greatest victory in Seahawks franchise history, triumphing over their most loathsome rival in a game for the ages. It was a victory over both the 49ers, and their head coach – who had a rivalry with Pete Carroll dating back to their days coaching against one another in the Pac-12.

It was also a defeat for Harbaugh that ultimately signaled the end of his tenure in in the City by the Bay. The following year, the 49ers went 8-8, but were 7-4 at one point. Harbaugh left San Francisco to become the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, where he would eventually lead his Wolverines to a 15-0 record and a National Championship.

Now, Harbaugh’s got another team in the postseason, and this time as a favorite. Should they win, they will either play the Bills in Buffalo, have another rematch with the Chiefs in Kansas City, or even host the Pittsburgh Steelers, depending on how the other games this weekend play out.

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Fantasy football injury report: Wild Card Round

Latest status of fantasy football weapons who are on the mend entering Wild Card Weekend.

This is a team-by-team review of any key fantasy football player injury news after this week’s practice activity and team statements. Only those players listed on the team’s official injury report will be addressed, unless the situation warrants further attention.

PLEASE NOTE: The NFL releases its final official injury report each Friday (approximately 5:30 p.m. ET). West Coast teams often report their injuries late and may not be included in the initial publication.

Wild Card Round fantasy football injury report

This week’s key game-time decisions:

BALTIMORE RAVENS – Saturday
WR Zay Flowers (calf) has been ruled out. S Kyle Hamilton (knee) and RB Justice Hill (concussion, illness) fully practiced Thursday and are not on the report.

BUFFALO BILLS – Sunday
LB Terrel Bernard (quadriceps), WR Amari Cooper (back), S Damar Hamlin (rib), RB Ty Johnson (knee), TE Dalton Kincaid (knee), LB Matt Milano (biceps), DT Jordan Phillips (back), S Taylor Rapp (neck), and WR Curtis Samuel (rib) fully practiced Friday and are not on the injury report.

DENVER BRONCOS – Sunday
No injuries of fantasy relevance.

DETROIT LIONS – bye week

GREEN BAY PACKERS – Sunday
WR Christian Watson (knee) will miss the rest of the year after tearing an ACL in Week 18. QB Jordan Love (elbow) fully practiced Friday and avoided an injury tag. LB Quay Walker (ankle) and S Evan Williams (quadriceps) are questionable.

HOUSTON TEXANS – Saturday
OG Shaq Mason (knee) was ruled out. WR John Metchie (shoulder) was deemed questionable but fully practiced Thursday.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS – bye week

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS – Saturday
WR Joshua Palmer (foot) has been ruled out. RB J.K. Dobbins (ankle), WR Quentin Johnston (thigh, illness), and LB Denzel Perryman (groin) are questionable. Dobbins and Perryman fully practiced Thursday, whereas Johnston was limited.

LOS ANGELES RAMS – Monday
RT Rob Havenstein (shoulder) was limited Thursday and Friday.

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MINNESOTA VIKINGS – Monday
QB Sam Darnold (quadriceps) fully practiced Thursday and Friday. RB Aaron Jones (quadriceps) was limited Thursday and Friday.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES – Sunday
WR A.J. Brown (knee, rest), LB Nakobe Dean (abdomen), TE Dallas Goedert (knee), DE Bryce Huff (wrist), QB Jalen Hurts (concussion, finger) fully practiced Friday and will be available.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS – Saturday
No injuries of fantasy relevance.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS – Sunday
CB Jamel Dean (knee), S Mike Edwards (quadriceps), DE Logan Hall (groin), TE Cade Otton (knee), and S Antoine Winfield Jr. (knee) are listed as questionable. Hall was limited Friday, and the rest fully practiced. LT Tristan Wirfs (quadriceps) was a limited participant Friday but carries no injury tag. C Graham Barton (illness), RB Bucky Irving (shoulder, shin), and WR Jalen McMillan (finger) all practiced in full and don’t have an injury designation.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS – Sunday
WR Jamison Crowder (hamstring) was labeled questionable after being limited all week. C Tyler Biadasz (ankle), S Jeremy Chinn (rib), LT Brandon Coleman (knee), and QB Jayden Daniels (quadriceps) were full participants Friday, carrying no injury labels.

Where does the playoff matchup of Jayden Daniels, Baker Mayfield rank?

The matchup between Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield was ranked second-best this Sunday.

The playoffs are upon us, and for the first time since 2020, the Washington Commanders are making an appearance. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels burst onto the scene this year with fireworks, taking the league by storm and making everyone wonder why Caleb Williams was such a big deal.

The way Daniels performed in 2024, the way he led the Commanders and carried the team on his back, is very reminiscent of how Baker Mayfield plays. He’s not as dynamic of a runner as Daniels, but he can move. Mayfield is also known to sling the ball down the field, which Daniels is also capable of. These commonalities are the reasons this quarterback matchup is ranked second by CBS Sports for Wild Card Weekend. An excerpt from the article:

This one has the potential for the most theatrics. Mayfield aired it out for a career-high 41 scores this year, fully becoming the face of the NFC South’s scrappiest contender. And he’s had to make constant plays through the air thanks to the sudden porousness of Todd Bowles’ defense. Daniels, meanwhile, is on track to claim Rookie of the Year honors as a dual-threat superstar. Can his magic translate to this stage?

The only matchup ranked higher than Mayfield and Daniels is the meeting between Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers.

The Commanders and Bucs kick off at 8:20 pm EDT from Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

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Jason Kelce choked up on the Eagles’ sideline during what might have been his last NFL game

A Jason Kelce retirement seems imminent.

Jason Kelce will be remembered as one of the greatest centers in NFL history. He will be lionized as a larger-than-life personality who was embraced wholeheartedly by a football city. One day, he will be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer in Canton, Ohio.

Based on Kelce’s sideline emotions during the Philadelphia Eagles’ Wild Card loss on Monday night, it appears that day might be coming sooner rather than later.

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put the finishing touches on a blowout win over the Eagles, cameras panned to Kelce choking up on the side. For an older player who has already accomplished everything, these kinds of emotions would seemingly indicate that he has played his last NFL game and is ready to retire.

In many ways, Kelce was the Eagle of this generation. He was the stalwart offensive lineman who set the table for the finest professional football team Philadelphia fielded in decades. If this is indeed the end of Kelce’s playing career, he deserves all of his flowers and then some.

After everything he’s accomplished, it should be no surprise Kelce was so emotional on Monday night.

The Eagles were down so bad that even their Tush Push play failed miserably against the Buccaneers

The Eagles’ Tush Push doesn’t work if the other team has a monster like Vita Vea.

Controversy has surrounded the Philadelphia Eagles’ insistence on using their Tush Push play all season. Virtually any third or fourth-and-short play feels automatic because the Eagles can literally push Jalen Hurts over the line.

But with the Eagles’ season spiraling, it seems even their bread and butter doesn’t work.

As the Eagles tried to rally in Monday night’s Wild Card Game battle with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they elected to use the Tush Push on a two-point conversion. It was ruthlessly stuffed, making it seem like the team forgot that the Buccaneers employ 346-pound defensive tackle Vita Vea. The cute little quarterback sneak variation won’t work if he’s the defender in the middle, you guys!

This whole sequence is just a sign of the times. The Eagles are so out of sorts that they can’t even execute the Tush Push in a sudden-death playoff game. Go figure.

Mike Tomlin dragging the mediocre Steelers to the playoffs shows he’s still underappreciated

If this is the end for Mike Tomlin, he’s cemented himself as one of the Steelers’ greatest legends.

Mike Tomlin is not at the end of his rope. Yes, he’s been coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers for nearly two decades. But because Tomlin started in his 30s, the icon is only 51 years old. Theoretically, he could coach the Steelers for another 17 seasons and cruise into a well-deserved retirement that will eventually feature a bronze bust in Canton, Ohio. He is a made man. He is flat-out untouchable as the kind of legendary coach most other NFL franchises could only dream of having roam their sidelines.

But after Monday afternoon’s 31-17 Wild Card defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, Tomlin’s professional coaching future feels murkier than ever. And because of his coaching status, it might be entirely of his accord alone.

We knew Tomlin would mull over his NFL life whenever the Steelers’ season ended. Despite his relative youth for a head coach, we understood the personal sacrifices Tomlin has made for his organization, his assistant coaches, and his players year after year after year after year. While nothing is set in stone, a scenario where Tomlin steps down for a season (or longer), and the Steelers begin launching a replacement plan suddenly feels more feasible than ever.

All of this is expressly because Tomlin has nothing left to accomplish. At this point, dragging mediocre Steelers teams to the playoffs with atrocious quarterback play from the likes of Mason Rudolph, Mitchell Trubisky, and any other player who doesn’t belong at this level of football is Tomlin’s magnum opus. He has mastered coaching this sport if he can guide the Steelers to 10-win postseason campaigns without the forward pass. There is no other mountain left for this legend to scale. There is no deep and wide river to cross. Tomlin has found the final frontier. He has MacGyver’d an undeserving NFL team into yet another postseason berth. How could anyone possibly topple such an unfathomable feat?

No wonder young tackle Broderick Jones feels so strongly about his head coach:

Considering the current state of the AFC, with seemingly countless elite quarterbacks laden all over the conference, Tomlin may also see the forest for the trees. Barring a blockbuster trade or free agent addition (Dak Prescott? Russell Wilson … I guess?), the Steelers will not be competing for a championship any time soon. Regardless of Tomlin’s golden coaching touch, the Steelers simply don’t possess the firepower necessary to compete with some of pro football’s true heavyweights. They have a definitive ceiling on what they can achieve even with Tomlin’s steady influence. Ever a forward thinker, I’d be surprised if Tomlin didn’t share this perspective.

Put another way: the Steelers aren’t good enough to compete for a Super Bowl as it stands. But Tomlin won’t let them fade away, and he might not be too keen on signing up for another full calendar year of this muddled-up Pittsburgh mess.

If this is the end for Tomlin in Pittsburgh, he should be lionized in Western Pennsylvania. He is every bit the beloved figure that Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher were and then some. A resume that features 11 playoff berths, seven division titles, two AFC championships, one Super Bowl win, and no losing seasons isn’t even the standard for a blueblood like the Steelers. That sort of coaching ledger is not typical, and no one should reasonably expect these results, regardless of organizational history. Tomlin could probably do this forever, punching in and out every day as an iconic coach, adding a new notable bullet point to that distinguished resume every year.

If this is the end for Tomlin, he’s earned the right to hang up his headset whenever and however he wants. No one should question the decision-making of a person who could coach a Mason Rudolph-led team to the playoffs. Everyone should appreciate a bona fide legend potentially taking the long view, who understands there are bigger things in life than football.

Everyone crushed Bills fans for throwing snowballs at George Pickens during a TD catch attempt

What a classless move by Bills fans.

We were all well aware of the massive blizzard that leveled Western New York over the weekend. We probably should’ve been prepared for Buffalo Bills fans to take advantage of that fact a little too much once their team actually squared off with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As Pittsburgh tried (and failed) to mount a late-game rally, Mason Rudolph launched a moon ball to George Pickens in the end zone. Just before he braced himself for the catch, a video showed snowballs thrown in Pickens’ direction, seemingly trying to interfere with his catch.

Pickens didn’t make the play anyway, but this sequence was Bills fans absolutely stepping over the line:

The Bills already have a fantastic home-field advantage. Traveling to Buffalo in the middle of winter, especially after a giant snowstorm, is hard enough for any opposing team. There’s no place in the game for fans to make contact with players by actually throwing objects on the field in the middle of play.

It’s bush league, and it’s completely uncalled for.

Josh Allen faked a slide before a long TD run and the Steelers should really know better

The silly Steelers somehow thought JOSH ALLEN would actually slide.

Josh Allen has a (mostly warranted) reputation for being reckless.

This trait serves him well as a bona superstar quarterback taking the Buffalo Bills on deep playoff runs every winter, but it’s still a part of his make-up. It’s what makes Allen special. He is going to launch bombs to his playmakers in triple coverage if he thinks he can make the play. On runs, he will get the extra yards by barreling through defenders. He is the last quarterback any defense should expect to surrender and slide in the open field.

Someone did not pass along this memo to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday afternoon.

On a third-and-long late in the first half of this Wild Card matchup, Allen found a lot of running room. When he crossed the first-down marker, Allen slowed down and feinted that he would slide. This got all the Steelers defenders in front of him to stop and relax.

Big mistake. This Terminator of a quarterback was never, ever going to slide, and 52 yards later, he had himself a ridiculous touchdown run.

I feel like this probably should’ve been in the Steelers’ defensive scouting report. Allen will do whatever it takes to help his team win. He will never give up on a play, and he will sacrifice his body without hesitation if it means more yards for his team.

Oh, well. It’s not like this happened in a sudden-death playoff game. Oh … right.

Diontae Johnson brashly trash-talked the Bills’ Kair Elam right before he stole a TD from him

Diontae Johnson’s cockiness blew up in his face at the worst time for the Steelers.

While they weren’t quite out of it just yet, the underdog Pittsburgh Steelers needed to show some sort of pulse on Monday afternoon.

With the Buffalo Bills already holding a two-score lead, a crucial early second-quarter Pittsburgh possession felt like it might decide the game. The Bills as a team are simply too potent without an apt response. And for a moment, with a Kair Elam penalty on Diontae Johnson serving as the catalyst, it looked like the Steelers would finally land a punch on the Bills.

Johnson ensured that Elam understood this fact when he started trash-talking the young Buffalo cornerback. Note: Johnson had zero catches for zero yards and zero touchdowns at the time of this sequence.

Naturally, Elam made Johnson eat his words almost immediately when he picked off Mason “Geno Smith?” Rudolph two plays later. Even better, Elam appeared to steal away a touchdown from the Pittsburgh playmaker:

Let that be a lesson to players like Johnson. You should probably wait until your team actually scores a touchdown before a Super Bowl contender like the Bills gets a chance to respond.