Super Wild Card Weekend playoff storylines to follow
The NFL playoffs are here, and wild-card weekend kicks off with six intriguing games over the next three days.
It will be wall-to-wall playoff football, with only the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers sitting this round out thanks to earning the top seed in their respective conferences.
Here are the storylines for four of this weekend’s best matchups.
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams
After SoFi Stadium was overrun by San Francisco 49ers fans on Sunday in the Rams’ loss to their bitter division rivals, none other than Matthew Stafford’s wife, Kelly, took to the airwaves to plead with the Rams not to sell their wild-card playoff tickets to Cardinals fans.
The Rams, though, might have bigger problems, namely, the consistently shaky play of Stafford, who has been a turnover machine over the last month.
The always dangerous Kyler Murray and a Cardinals defense that, when on, can be effective, also presents significant challenges.
A win by the Rams in the Monday night game, especially if Stafford delivers a big performance, could set the stage for a playoff run.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs
The Steelers have Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley to thank for their playoff bid. It was Staley who misread the room at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday and, rather than accept the gift the Raiders were offering of a tie game and the playoff berth that came with it, Staley called an inexplicable timeout that led to a Raiders win and the Chargers going home for the winter.
As a result, Ben Roethlisberger now gets a chance to play in one last postseason before likely calling it a career.
There is no reason to think Big Ben and the Steelers can venture into Arrowhead Stadium as the seventh seed and slay Patrick Mahomes and the second-seeded Chiefs. But then, as crazy as this NFL season has been, are we really in a position to rule anything out?
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
These AFC East rivals, after splitting their two regular-season games, will finally settle the score in what will certainly be cold, blustery conditions in upstate New York.
You would think that favors the Bills and their experienced and talented young quarterback, Josh Allen, who is built both physically and mentally for bad weather games on the biggest stage. Allen has worked his way to this moment, and he seems primed to seize it.
Except that is Bill Belichick on the other sideline, and there isn’t an opposing coach in the NFL with a more thorough book on Allen and how to slow him down.
A close game gives rookie New England quarterback Mac Jones a real chance here.
San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys
We are still a little confused how the 49ers actually forged a path to the playoffs. Certainly no one really saw them rolling into SoFi Stadium and beating the Rams for the sixth straight time. San Francisco inexplicably has L.A.’s number, and it is the reason they now find themselves in the playoffs and, frankly, presenting plenty of challenges for the Cowboys.
It feels like the 49ers are playing with house money while, conversely, the Cowboys are playing with the weight of the world on their shoulders. At least on paper, they are the better team.
But we have seen Dallas falter in these moments so many times in recent years, would anyone be surprised if they coughed up yet another playoff game?
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.
