The National Football League is down to eight teams following an exciting Super Wild Card weekend. We know that the Kansas City Chiefs will play the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens will play the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Playoff games. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers will play the Los Angeles Rams, and the New Orleans Saints will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Divisional Playoff games. Here are five intriguing storylines from Super Wild Card Weekend.
5) New Orleans Saints defense is impressive. The New Orleans Saints beat the Chicago Bears 21-9 on Sunday afternoon. In the process, the Saints set a franchise record for fewest points allowed, fewest first downs allowed (11), and fewest total yards allowed (239) in a playoff game. Chauncey Gardner led the Saints with six tackles, while Sheldon Rankins recorded New Orleans’s lone sack.
4) Cam Akers runs all over the Seahawks. The Rams had massive quarterback issues Saturday afternoon in the Pacific Northwest, however their running game was spectacular. Rams rookie Cam Akers had 176 yards from scrimmage in a 30-20 Los Angeles win over the Seattle Seahawks. That is the third most yards from scrimmage by a rookie running back in NFL playoff history. Only Timmy Smith of the Washington Redskins (213 in 1988), and Ryan Grant of the Green Bay Packers (207 in 2008) have had more.
3) Lamar Jackson runs all over the Titans. His arm might not have been exceptional, but Lamar Jackson made up for it with the running game. Jackson had 16 carries for 136 yards and one touchdown in a 20-13 Ravens win over the Tennessee Titans. In the process, Jackson joined Colin Kaepernick as the only NFL quarterbacks to have 100+ rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a single NFL playoff game since the first NFL playoffs with a Super Bowl.
2) Bills and Browns end long playoff droughts. This past weekend, the Buffalo Bills beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-24 and the Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 48-37. It was the Bills first playoff win since beating the Miami Dolphins 37-22 on December 30, 1995, and the first Browns road playoff win since beating the Dallas Cowboys 38-14 on December 28, 1969. It was also the Browns’s first playoff win since beating the New England Patriots 20-13 on January 1, 1995.
1)Browns set NFL records after a dominant first half. The Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 48-37 in the AFC Wildcard game on Sunday night. In the process, the Browns set the NFL postseason records for most points in the first quarter of a playoff game (28), and most points in the first half by a road team in a playoff game (35). Browns running back Kareem Hunt had two of the four touchdowns for Cleveland in the opening 15 minutes.
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