NFL Playoffs: Colts and Cowboys advance to Divisional Round, Texans and Seahawks eliminated

In the first two (of four) games of the NFL Wild Card Playoff Round, the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Houston Texans, and the Dallas Cowboys handled the Seattle Seahawks.

The first game of the day featured the third seed Texans at home against the sixth seed Colts, where the Texans spluttered on both ends.

The Houston faithful were mostly quiet in the first half as the Colts picked up first downs with ease, and entered half time with a 21-0 lead.

The Colts slowed in the second half, but the defence stepped up and held Deshaun Watson and the Texans offence to seven points. Watson looked a chance of leading a comeback in the fourth quarter until the Colts defence came up big and forced a turnover on downs to ice the game.

Marlon Mack starred for the Colts, chewing the second half clock with 148 rushing yards (the most single game rushing yards by a Colt player in playoff history) on 24 carries, and a touchdown. Andrew Luck outplayed Deshaun Watson. Playing with a lead all game, Luck threw two touchdowns, and was mistake-free – apart from a tipped pass turned interception.

The Colts will face Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs next week in a battle of two elite quarterbacks.

Just up the road from Texans-Colts, the Dallas Cowboys escaped with a close win against the Seahawks.

Two unfortunate injuries marred this game: Cowboys WR Allen Hurns suffered a gruesome leg injury, and Seahawks kicker Sebastian Janikowski injured his hamstring on a missed field goal before half time.

The Seahawks missed Janikowski when they needed an onside kick recovery to stay in the game with a minute and change remaining. Aussie punter Michael Dickson had to take the (drop) kick, which fell harmlessly into the hands of a Cowboys player. Although the onside kick is a low-percentage play, Pete Carroll will wonder what may have been had his kicker been available.

Both quarterbacks were good, but Dak Prescott came up with the most important play of the game. On 3rd and 14, the Cowboys’ QB ran for 16 yards and a first down. That set the Cowboys up one yard out from the endzone. Dak then snuck in on the next play for a touchdown. Instead of settling for a fourth down and a field goal, going up by six, Dak’s big play gave his team a 10-point lead, making a Seahawks win far less likely.

Dak got help from his team. Ezekiel Elliott had a characteristically dominant game, rushing for 137 yards on 26 carries and a touchdown.

The most valuable contribution for the Cowboys though, was their defence. The Seahawks rely heavily on their running game, and the Cowboys defence held Chris Carson to 1.5 yards per carry.

Dallas’ run defence forced the Pete Carroll to deviate from his usual game plan: that was the game-changing domino to fall in the Cowboys favour, setting up the win, and a trip to the Divisional Round of the Playoffs.