2018/2019 NFL Wild Card Weekend Review

Matt Kelly, PHS PaperClip Writer

The field is set for the Division Round of the NFL Playoffs after the four wild-card games took place over the weekend.

In the Saturday opener, the 6th seed Indianapolis Colts traveled to Houston to face the 3rd seed Houston Texans. Despite being the lowest ranked team in the AFC, the Colts managed to pull out an impressive  21-7 win over the Texans. Scoring two touchdowns in the first half saw the Colts up 21-0 by halftime. Andrew Luck dominated the game with 222 yds, 2 Touchdowns himself. The Colts will now travel to Kansas City to face the #1 seed Kansas City Chiefs.

In the Saturday prime time game, the Seattle Seahawks went to Dallas to face the NFC East Champs, Dallas Cowboys. Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott ran for 137 yards on 26 carries, including the game-winning touchdown to push the Cowboys into the divisional round with a 24-22 win. The Cowboys will now head to Los Angeles to play the second-seeded Rams.

The 1 pm kickoff on Sunday saw the Los Angeles Chargers take on the Ravens in Baltimore. An early sloppy offensive by the Ravens saw the Chargers up 12-0 halftime. A late surge by the Ravens cut the lead late in the fourth to 23-17, but a forced fumble by the Chargers defensive saw them book their trip to Foxborough to face the New England Patriots.

The defending Super Bowl champs traveled to Chicago to face a tough Bears defensive. A close game in the first half with the Bears up only 6-3 come halftime. The Eagles converted a 4th & Goal to take the lead 16-15. A nice return by the Bears on the kickoff saw them set up a 43-yard field goal with 10 seconds left. As the ball was snapped, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson called a timeout to ice the kicker. Cody Parkey made the first field goal which was waved off due to the timeout. The Bears lined up for the kick again, with the season on the line. The ball nailed the left upright and hit the crossbar and came back no good.

A shock was felt around Soldier Field as Parkey missed the game-winning field goal, and just like last year, the underdog Eagles, led by Nick Foles moves on. They will play the Saints in New Orleans next Sunday.