NFL Wild Card: Seahawks get gift from missed FG, Chiefs dominate, Bengals implode

Every Monday morning, Section 215’s Akiem Bailum gives an in-depth and unfiltered look at all of the latest sports news in The Monday Morning Realist. You can follow Akiem on Twitter @AkiemBailum.

Hoyer…Oh Boyer…

The first playoff game on the 2016 postseason docket displayed a couple of things.

It displayed why the Kansas City Chiefs were a Wild Card team out of the AFC West and why the Houston Texans were champions of the AFC South by default because NFL playoff bylaws dictate that there has to be a champion from every division.

The Chiefs had come into this game riding a 10-game winning streak. They finished the season with an 11-5 record and only one game behind the Broncos for the AFC West crown. All without Jamaal Charles and all with a defense that was stepping up slowly but surely as the season wore on.

This game was over after the opening kickoff after a Knile Davis kickoff return which gave the Chiefs a 7-0 lead.

That lead only would grow and grow and grow as the Houston Texans would not even sniff the end zone or even get a field goal.

A huge part of that was Brian Hoyer. We know coming into this game that Brian Hoyer is not exactly Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Russell Wilson (more on him a bit later).

Hoyer did not even look like a quarterback that should have been playing in a college bowl game let alone an NFL playoff game. The Texans turned the ball over on six occasions. All of which could have been either partially or entirely attributed to him.

It was so bad that when the Texans walked off the field at halftime, the fans at Houston’s NRG Stadium were booing and later chanting for the name of Brandon Weeden, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback that was trying to find greener pastures in Houston.

Everyone knows about the Texans’ quarterback difficulties. This team is probably one legitimate quarterback and a few healthy offensive weapons away from being legitimate contenders as they were a few years ago when they posted a 14-2 record.

Now they look more like the Bulls on Charade as opposed to the Bulls on Parade.

Kansas City also wanted to make a statement that it they wanted to play four quarters. They remember vividly a couple of years ago what happened when they had a 38-10 lead on the Indianapolis Colts only to see that lead vanish and then Indy complete the comeback and eliminating the Chiefs from the playoffs.

They wanted to ensure that it was not happening again. And it did not in emphatic fashion.

And on top of everything else, the Chiefs also snapped a long streak where they had gone without a playoff win. With that officially on the backburner they can now look forward to what is next—facing Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Foxboro in the cold of January.

Alex Smith threw for 190 yards and was 17 for 22 passing with one touchdown and one interception. The Chiefs’ leading rusher was not Charcandrick West, but Spencer Ware who had 67 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown. Out of those 190 yards, 128 of them went to Travis Kelce who also caught eight passes.

Hoyer was atrocious. Should I even mention his statistics? He was 15 for 34 with four interceptions and a rating of less than 20. I do not think I am exaggerating when I say I could have had a better day quarterbacking the Texans. At least my rating would be somewhere between 30 and 40.

Alfred Blue did have a productive game with 99 yards on 17 carries. DeAndre Hopkins caught six passes for 69 yards.

At this point, the Texans should put classified ads in every newspaper in the Houston area for a quarterback. Any takers?

Final Score: Kansas City Chiefs 30, Houston Texans ZERO

No Chill

No chill. It is to be expected any time the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals face off on the football field. In fact it is expected to happen any time there is a matchup between two AFC North foes not named the Cleveland Browns.

Such was to be an uphill battle for the Cincinnati Bengals given that they were coming into a playoff game without Andy Dalton. Not to mention the fact that the Steelers have owned the Cincy Bengals in Cincinnati for a pretty good bit as of late.

Oh, must we also mention that whole thing about the playoff record of Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis coming into this game. It was 0-6. 0-6 and yet he continues to come back and get rehired and rehired and rehired again.

Early on this game, Chris Boswell was doing very well for the black and gold. The Steelers scored the game’s first nine points all via field goals.

Then later in the game prior to the end of the third quarter, Ben Roethlisberger connected with Martavis Bryant on a touchdown play that only backed up why his nickname is “Alien.” He was praised even by the New York Giants’ Odell Beckham, Jr. on Twitter for the circus catch.

And as we know, he knows a little something about making acrobatic grabs.

It was 15-0 and it looked very much like the Bengals were heading for their seventh postseason defeat in the Marvin Lewis era. That was prior to a one-yard touchdown run courtesy of Jeremy Hill, a Mike Nugent field goal, and A.J. McCarron finding another A.J. in A.J. Green for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

This gave the Bengals a 16-15 lead.

The next drive saw Landry Jones throw a pass that Cincinnati picked off which looked to be the final play in the Steelers 2015-16 season, but then the Bengals proved why they are on the NFL Network’s list of the most snakebit franchises in the NFL.

The next play by the Bengals—a Jeremy Hill fumble that the Steelers recovered.

Then, with the Steelers well out of field goal range, Cincinnati committed two idiotic penalties, resulting in 30 yards worth of penalty and a much easier field goal try for Boswell. It was good, and the Steelers won the game 18-16 to advance to the second game of the playoffs in a game they should have given away (and seemingly wanted to give away in the fourth quarter to Cincinnati).

In this Realist’s eyes, the closing moments of the fourth quarter proved exactly why the Bengals have a losing culture and the Steelers have a winning culture. Pittsburgh did not panic late in the game when they had virtually no chance left to win. They continued to make plays.

Meanwhile the Bengals when faced with adversity collapsed under pressure. The Bengals themselves do not know how they gave away a game the Steelers wanted to give to them in the fourth quarter.

They collapsed and the Steelers maintained their poise. That is culture. That is winning/losing mindset. It is also coaching—and believe it or not, Marvin Lewis did not lose his job.

He should consider himself the luckiest man in the NFL.

Roethlisberger was 18 out of 331 with 221 yards and one touchdown. Jordan Todman had 65 yards on 11 carries and Antonio Brown caught 119 yards on seven receptions.

A.J. McCarron threw for 212 yards, one touchdown and one interception and completed 23 of his 41 passes. Jeremy Hill had 50 yards on 12 carries and A.J. Green caught five passes for 71 yards.

Next up for the Steelers—the Denver Broncos who will have Peyton Manning starting in that divisional playoff game. Next up for the Bengals—a lot of questions and a lot of disappointed fans, players, and organization for whom it will be a long offseason in Cincinnati.

Final Score: Pittsburgh Steelers 18, Cincinnati Bengals 16

The Blair Walsh Project: Laces Out

Realists, I had predicted that Seattle Seahawks vs. Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium in Minnesota would be the game to watch this Wild Card weekend.

And not to take anything away from what happened in the Pittsburgh Steelers/Cincinnati Bengals, but Realists, I personally think I was correct at least for this week.

Prior to this game though, the headlines did not have much to do with anyone actually playing for either of the two teams participating, but more or less with the conditions of the game.

With sub-zero temperatures bearing down on the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it made people remember just exactly why football may not be exactly meant to be played in Minnesota in the month of January outdoors.

But that was the scenario for a Vikings team that no longer plays at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome because said building no longer exists and is still waiting to move into their new digs—a stadium which will be the host to Super Bowl 52 in a couple of years.

And a bit of news actually occurred even before the game began as well. Seattle Seahawks runningback Marshawn Lynch was unable to play despite earlier indications throughout the week being that he probably would be able to play.

That was huge not only in terms of how it would affect Seattle’s offense, but also huge for the game’s overall complexity especially given the inclement weather.

A game like that would more than likely mean that the football will be hard to throw and it may even make things difficult for field goal kickers.

Now the Seahawks would have to potentially do a bit more throwing of the football—which has not been much of a problem for Russell Wilson as of late but none of that had to come in subzero temperatures.

And it clearly affected the Seattle offense in the first three quarters in this game, so much to the point to where when they had a chance to attempt a game-tying field goal at the end of the first half, they elected to go for it on fourth down instead of taking the points.

Blair Walsh was the one through the first three quarters accounting for all Minnesota points as the Vikings lead became 9-0.

Or should I say the Twins’ lead over the Mariners.

But Seattle came back on what must have been a weak bullpen in the latter stages of the game with a field goal from Steven Hauschka, an Adrian Peterson fumble, and a Wilson touchdown to Doug Baldwin which made it a 10-9 game.

Then the final drive of the game came and the Vikings were driving DEEP into the Seahawks’ territory. Hella deep. So much to the point where a penalty against Seattle seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for their 2015-16.

Then Blair Walsh happened again. With a chance to attempt a 27-yard field goal to win the game, instead it went wide left, allowing Seattle to start game planning for next week at the Carolina Panthers.

Weeks like this sort of make you wonder if there really are football gods. Unfortunate incidents happened this playoffs to teams like the Vikings and Bengals—two teams who have had more futility than success in their respective histories.

And the beneficiaries of those were the Steelers and Seahawks—two teams that have had success in their histories.

The game plan for the Seahawks was exactly as it was earlier in the season—to take out Adrian Peterson and make Teddy Bridgewater be a passing quarterback. It worked except this time thanks to the subzero conditions, Seattle did not put up enough points to make this game a laugher.

And the Seahawks offense in this game also clearly missed Marshawn Lynch. They could have definitely used him especially in these conditions.

Wilson was 13 for 26 and threw for 142 yards with one touchdown and one interceptions. Christine Michael rushed for 70 yards with 21 carries and Baldwin with his one touchdown caught five passes for 42 yards.
Bridgewater threw for 146 yards on 17/24 passing the football. Peterson carried the football 23 times for only 45 yards. Stefon Diggs caught four passes for 26 yards.

Perhaps Lynch will be back for Carolina where the temperatures will be a bit balmier? If they could have used him against the Vikings, they will definitely be thankful to have him back (if he does come back) against the Panthers’ defense.

Final Score: Seattle Seahawks 10, Minnesota Vikings 9

Wisconsin Likes That…

We cannot be afraid to admit when we get one wrong, Realists. And this one I (and many others too) absolutely butchered.

I absolutely did not expect for the Green Bay Packers to defeat the Washington Redskins in Landover, Maryland given the direction both teams have been in over the past few weeks.

Remember how I mentioned how it was sort of fitting that the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans and eliminated them in the playoffs’ opening week? The same can also be applied to the Redskins who were winners of the NFC East—a division from Week One to Week 17 seemingly no one wanted to win.

And despite all of the hoopla regarding Kirk Cousins and the ‘Skins, games like this still sometimes make us remember that Aaron Rodgers can still be Aaron Rodgers and when he is it means bad news for the team on the receiving end of his greatness.

At one point in this game, it was 18-17 in favor of the Redskins, and it appeared as if this would indeed be close from start to finish. Ever since that point, Rodgers absolutely ran things and the Packers owned the fourth quarter en route to an emphatic 35-18 victory.

Rodgers completed 21 of his 36 passes and threw for 210 yards with two touchdowns. Lacy put in 12 carries with 63 yards on the ground while James Jones caught seven passes for a total of 81 yards.
As for the Washington Redskins, Kirk Cousins ended his day with 329 yards and completing 29 of his 46 passes. He also had one touchdown. Alfred Morris had 50 yards with only 11 carries and Jordan Reed caught nine receptions with 120 yards and one touchdown.

The good news for the Packers is that they will be moving on in this year’s playoffs. The bad news is that they have to go to Arizona to play the Cardinals—the team that made Green Bay look like a college team a few weeks ago and made Rodgers look like a college quarterback.

Good luck Packers. You will need it—Honey Badger or no Honey Badger.

Final Score: Green Bay Packers 35, Washington Redskins 18