The NFL’s Wild Card Round has officially kicked off with six games played across three days. Who won? Who is heading to the Divisional Round? Which teams need to pack the bags and look ahead to the 2025 NFL Draft?
Current NFL Playoff Bracket and Results
Let’s look at the results from Wild Card Weekend and what that means regarding the 2024 NFL playoff bracket.
NFL Playoffs Wild Card Results
Los Angeles Rams Defeated Minnesota Vikings 27-9
The last game of Wild Card Weekend was meant to be the crown jewel of the first round. Two high-powered NFC offenses, a Vikings team breaking records by being the first-ever 14-win Wild Card squad, Justin Jefferson, Cooper Kupp – all the ingredients were there. Instead, the Los Angeles Rams came into this one and embarrassed Sam Darnold and the Vikings.
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The Rams had six sacks in the first half, the most in a playoff game since at least 2000. It’s the most by any team in a playoff half since the Rams also had 6 sacks in the second half of Super Bowl LVI vs. the Bengals. The last time they had that many was in Week 9 of 2014 vs. the 49ers. Their complete dominance on the defensive side of the ball allowed them to go up 24-3 after two quarters.
After that, they slowly bled the clock and allowed their defense to take over and put the game away. They finished with nine sacks, tying an NFL record, held by five other teams, most recently the Titans in the 2021 playoffs vs. the Bengals
Sam Darnold regressed behind an offensive line that couldn’t stop anyone, and when the lights were the brightest, the QB showed signs of “seeing ghosts” again. A free agent after this season, it will be interesting to see where Darnold ends up after ending the year with two of his worst games of the season.
Washington Commanders Defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20
Sunday’s final game was the best of the weekend. The Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fought right down to the wire, but Jayden Daniels and co. came out on top with a last-second field goal to win 23-20.
Entering today, there had only been five rookie QBs to lead a fourth-quarter comeback in the playoffs, two to do it on the road (Russell Wilson in 2012 at Washington and Mark Sanchez in 2009 at San Diego). Daniels has now etched his name into that record book.
Daniels’ 80.6 (B-) Quarterback+ ranking is third among the six rookies that have made their playoff debuts since 2019. It ranks behind C.J. Stroud’s 94.6 and Brock Purdy’s 89.9. The 80.6 ranks 6th of 16 qualified games played this season for Daniels.
Baker Mayfield’s 84.8 QB+ grade is the second-highest in a playoff loss since 2019, behind Josh Allen’s 86.6 in his 2021 loss to the Chiefs. The 84.8 is Mayfield’s fifth-best game this season (18 games). Unfortunately, an incredibly costly turnover late in the fourth quarter sealed the Buccaneers’ fate, despite Mayfield’s impressive play.
The Commanders will now travel to Detroit to take on the Lions. According to PFN’s playoff probabilities, Washington has just a 35% chance of defeating the Lions next week.
Philadelphia Eagles Defeat Green Bay Packers 22-10
Although the score makes it seem like this game was close, it never really felt like it was. The Philadelphia Eagles scored early and took advantage of a number of Jordan Love mistakes to remain ahead. They took a 10-0 lead into the half and ultimately won 22-10.
The last time the Packers won a ROAD playoff game in which they were trailing at halftime was January 8, 1994 (WC at DET). That was 11,327 days ago. Matt LaFleur couldn’t drive a car, Love was still a ways away from being born, Tonya Harding had yet to plead guilty, and Michael Jordan had yet to sign with the White Sox.
Although he got the win Jalen Hurts had one of his worst games of the year. He threw for less than 150 yards but had two touchdowns. Hurts finished the day with a D+ (69) Quarterback+ ranking, while Love finished slightly higher at C- (70.5). Hurts’ 69 QB+ is the second-lowest in a playoff win since 2019.
The 69.0 is the worst of Hurt’s six postseason games. His previous low was 70.6 last season in the loss to Tampa Bay. The 69.0 is also the worst score of the season for Hurt. In the 13 regular season games (in which he qualified), he scored no lower than 72.2. Of his 69 games in which he qualified for QB+, this game ranks 62nd.
Saquon Barkley was pivotal again, rushing for over 100 yards. The Eagles won despite a 33.3% passing success rate. That’s tied for the lowest in a playoff win over the last 10 seasons.
The Eagles will now face off against the winner of Monday night’s Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings game.
Buffalo Bills Defeat Denver Broncos 31-7
The final AFC game of the Wild Card Weekend was between the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos. Unfortunately, this one was only really competitive for about a quarter and a half. Then, Buffalo and Josh Allen seemed to shake off the nerves and cruised to a dominant win.
Bo Nix and Co. started the game with a quick score and held the Bills to just three points. As Broncos fans got their hopes up, Allen responded with a quick touchdown score to take the lead. They never looked back and scored four more touchdowns on their way to a 31-7 victory.
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The Bills called a run 63% of the time in the first half, their third-highest first-half run rate in the last five seasons. For context, they only ran 42% of the time in the first half during the regular season.
The Bills were 9-0 when leading at halftime in the regular season. Their last loss when leading at the half was the Divisional Round last year vs. the Chiefs. They went into the half with a 10-7 lead in this one.
Rookie QBs have now lost 14 straight when trailing by 6+ points in the second half of a playoff game.
The Bills will now host the Ravens in the Divisional Round.
Houston Texans Defeat Los Angeles Chargers 32-12
The first game of the NFL Wild Card Round did not disappoint. Yes, it wasn’t the high-scoring affair some thought it would be, but it was a close, hard-fought battle nonetheless. The first half was pretty much all Chargers, right up until the final drive, where the Texans marched down the field with some big chunk plays.
The Texans recorded the fifth 99-yard drive in the playoffs since 2001 to take a 7-6 lead. That was after having just 70 total yards through their first five drives.
After that drive, the wheels fell off for the Chargers. The second half was plagued by Justin Herbert interceptions and Nico Collins’ breakout. Collins put up the most receiving yards ever by a Texans player in a postseason game. DeAndre Hopkins had 118 at the Chiefs in the 2019 Divisional Round, Andre Johnson had 111 in the 2011 Divisional game (at Ravens), and Keke Coutee 110 in the 2018 Wild Card game (vs. Colts).
Herbert threw three interceptions in his first 27 attempts after throwing just three in 504 attempts during the regular season. Herbert is the second QB since 2000 to qualify for the passing leaderboard and throw as many interceptions in a playoff game as he did the whole regular season. The other was 2016 Tom Brady, who obviously missed four games. Brady threw two picks in 12 games that regular season and then two picks in the playoff opener (also vs. the Texans).
The Texans will now travel to Arrowhead to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.
Baltimore Ravens Defeat Pittsburgh Steelers 28-14
In the third matchup between these two teams this season, the Ravens continued what they accomplished the last time around and defeated Russell Wilson and co. It was a team effort, with both Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry gashing the Steelers’ defense.
Henry became the first player over 30 years of age to have four games in a single season with 130 rushing yards and multiple rushing scores. He entered the night tied with Priest Holmes (2004) for the most such games.
The Steelers have now lost their sixth consecutive postseason matchup. Prior to this stretch, they had never lost more than three in a row.
Only Marvin Lewis now has a longer losing streak all-time than Mike Tomlin.
- Marvin Lewis 7
- Mike Tomlin 6
- Marty Schottenheimer 6
- Jim Mora Sr. 6
- Steve Owen 6
A whopping 28 coaches have won a playoff game since Tomlin’s last win.
The Ravens now head to Buffalo to take on the Bills in the Divisional Round.
NFL Playoff Dates and Divisional Round Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 18
- Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- Washington Commanders vs. Detroit Lions: 8:15 p.m. ET (FOX)
Sunday, Jan. 19
- Los Angeles Rams vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 3 p.m. ET (NBC)
- Baltimore Ravens vs Buffalo Bills: 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
Conference Championship Round
Sunday, Jan. 26
- NFC Championship Game: 3 p.m.
- AFC Championship Game: 6:30 p.m.
Super Bowl 59
- Date: Feb. 9, 2025
- Location: Caesars Superdome (New Orleans)
- Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
- TV: Fox
