The 2013 NFL Wild Card playoffs didn’t disappoint. After what has to be considered one of the most exciting regular seasons in recent NFL history, eight teams lined up over this past weekend with an opportunity to move on.
Four teams advanced, while the other four went home wondering exactly what went wrong. We saw two teams win on the final play, another come back from a 28-point second half deficit, and another upset heavy favorites on the road.
This is what the National Football League is all about. And we get to do it again next week. Here are the winners and losers from NFL’s Wild Card weekend.
Winner: Andrew Luck, Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts
How do you overcome the unfortunate situation of having to replace one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history? How about leading your team to the divisional round of the playoffs in your first two seasons in the NFL? This is exactly what Luck has done with the Colts after a stirring second half comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
Trailing by four touchdowns in the second half and seemingly set for one of the biggest playoff blowouts in franchise history, Luck responded by putting up over 330 total yards and scoring four touchdowns (fumble recovery included) in the second half.
In the end, Indianapolis outlasted Kansas City in one of the most epic performances in recent playoff history. Despite throwing an uncharacteristic three interceptions and struggling throughout the first half, Luck made everyone forget about Peyton Manning… at least for a minute in time. It was in this that the former No. 1 overall pick notched a career-defining victory. Looking at the game in retrospect for a second, it was nothing short of Luck’s coming out party.
He defined exactly what it meant to play cool under pressure, never questioning whether the Colts could pull off what would end up becoming the second-largest comeback in playoff history. Indianapolis, possibly a team of destiny, will now travel to take on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots next weekend. Can he do something that his predecessor failed to do so much in Indianapolis, defeat Brady on the road in the playoffs?
Loser: Andy Reid, Head Coach, Kansas City Chiefs
At times on Saturday it appeared that Reid had reverted back to the latter years of his Philadelphia Eagles’ tenure. Kansas City’s first-year head coach continued to fuel the fire that has been criticism of his in-game coaching over the course of his extensive career.
He refused to sit on the ball and eat time off the clock with a huge lead against Indianapolis this past weekend. Up by three scores early in the third quarter after a Colts touchdown, Reid and the Chiefs ran three consecutive passing plays, the last of which resulted in an Alex Smith fumble. It was in this that the idea that Reid refused to utilize his running back came rearing its ugly head again. I fully understand that Jamaal Charles had departed the game with a concussion early on, but this play calling was about as inept as it comes.
Reid continued to rely too much on Smith with the lead later in the second half. Following Smith’s fumble and yet another Colts touchdown, Kansas City called three questionable plays in what would end up being a three-and-out. Seemingly able to control the line of scrimmage, the Chiefs decided it made the most sense to run Kniles Davis off the right end against a speedy Indianapolis front seven, he gained two yards. Smith would scramble for three yards on the next play before missing Dwayne Bowe on third down.
It doesn’t stop there.
Kansas City would call a total of two pass plays in its next three possessions, spanning the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth. They would do so with a two-score lead. This just isn’t acceptable clock management with a decent lead in a playoff game against a quarterback known for his ability to come back in the fourth quarter. In the end, Reid lost his third consecutive playoff game.
Winner: Colin Kaepernick, Quarterback, San Francisco 49ers
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNf7YN_9KNE]
It wasn’t the crispest of performances. Kaepernick completed just over 50 percent of the passes he attempted in one of the coldest games in NFL history. He missed open targets throughout the game, threw an untimely interception, had to blow a couple timeouts and was nearly picked off in San Francisco’s eventual game-winning drive towards the end of the game.
None of that matters, as San Francisco defeated the Green Bay Packers by the score of 23-20 at Lambeau Field on Sunday evening.
Every single time Aaron Rodgers would show us why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL by leading his Packers offense to a score, Kaepernick responded with a score of his own. After Green Bay took a 7-6 lead in a drive that started on a Kaepernick interception, he drove the 49ers down the field on a five-play, 68-yard drive that culminated in a 10-yard Frank Gore touchdown.
After struggling throughout a scoreless third quarter, both teams picked up the pace in the fourth. Green Bay put up a 12-play drive that was capped off by a John Kuhn one-yard touchdown run to give it a 17-13 lead. What did Kaepernick and the 49ers do to respond? Drive down the field 35 yards on three plays before Kaepernick hit Vernon Davis down the seam for a 28-yard go-ahead touchdown.
Green Bay eventually tied the game up with a field just outside of the 5:00 mark of the fourth quarter. It was now time for Kaepernick to show the NFL and fans alike exactly what he was made out of. Did he in fact have ice water running through his veins? The third-year quarterback responded by driving San Francisco down the field 65 yards on 10 plays, including a clutch 11 yard run on third and eight to put the 49ers in field goal position. Five plays later, Phil Dawson connected on a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give the 49ers a 23-20 victory in frigid conditions at Lambeau Field.
Long story, longer…Kaepernick proved once again that he is up to performing at the highest level on the biggest stage the NFL has to offer. It might not have been pretty, but he willed the 49ers to victory with clutch play after clutch play. In the end, Kaepernick came out on top in a matchup with a team he grew up rooting for, in a stadium he grew up rooting for them in. Just 15 months removed from his first NFL start, Kaepernick now has more road playoff wins than Joe Montana and Steve Young combined. Let that sink in for a second.
Loser(s): Andy Dalton and Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals
Remember when skeptics indicated that Mike Smith and Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons couldn’t win the big game? That was crushed a bit after they defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the playoffs last season. These skeptics may now have to turn their attention to the duo a bit further north in Ohio. For the third consecutive season, Cincinnati has been knocked out of the playoffs in its first game. This time against a San Diego Chargers team that many didn’t believe deserved to be in the playoffs.
Cincinnati, entering the game as the biggest favorites of the weekend, completely crapped the bed in nearly every possible way. Andy Dalton threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the 27-10 loss. The former second-round pick has now accounted for just one touchdown and six interceptions in three playoff games, all losses. Cincinnati has scored a total of 33 points in those three games. To put that into perspective, the Bengals scored 34-plus points in each of their final five home games during the regular season.
Prior to this disastrous performance on Sunday, some wanted to give Dalton a pass for his sub-par postseason play. After all, he was a young quarterback starting on the road in the playoffs. After losing at home to a lesser team with a Super Bowl-caliber roster, Dalton’ apologists are having a hard time coming up with excuses. Heck, it might even be to the point where Cincinnati looks to draft a quarterback this upcoming May.
Meanwhile, head coach Marvin Lewis is now 0-5 in his postseason career. Losing in the playoffs with a mediocre team is one thing. Going one and done with a talent-laden roster is a completely different thing. It might not be too long before we start hearing grumblings about his job being on the line…and for good reason.
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