NFL wild-card winners and losers: Was that the greatest round of games in NFL playoff history?

The question probably isn’t whether we just witnessed the greatest wild-card weekend in NFL playoff history (with one game to go). It almost unquestionably was.

The better question might be whether it was the greatest single set of games in any round of NFL playoff history.

There is an argument to be made it was. In terms of fourth-quarter lead changes, it had blown away the old record for any round after just three games. There were nine lead changes in the fourth quarter of the first three games, and the previous record for a single playoff round was six. Then there were three more in the San Francisco 49ers’ win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the first three games, none of the teams that led at the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter won the game. The Eagles almost made that a clean sweep through four games but their final drive came up just short of a go-ahead touchdown.

All of the fourth-quarter drama led to the first four games being decided by four or fewer points, the first time that had happened in NFL history.

The greatness of wild-card weekend went beyond stats. There were fantastic clutch drives and game-winning plays by quarterbacks Matthew Stafford, Caleb Williams and Josh Allen. The Panthers were expected to be blown out but surprised everyone by leading the Rams until the final minute of regulation. The Bears had their greatest playoff comeback in team history, and it was one of 12 playoff comebacks in NFL history of 18 or more points.

In terms of the total amount of drama and strong play through the weekend, it’s hard to imagine any set of games over a playoff round being much better.

Colby Parkinson of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates after scoring a game-winning touchdown to beat the Carolina Panthers. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

(Jared C. Tilton via Getty Images)

The New England Patriots’ win over the Los Angeles Chargers was the only dud of the weekend. An 80% hit rate isn’t bad at all. The NFL’s popularity continues to grow, and a phenomenal start to the playoffs, following a regular season that had numerous game of the year candidates, should make for a massive divisional round, in terms of viewership. That has to make their television partners happy.

The only problem might be the rest of the playoffs living up to the high bar from the wild-card weekend. It won’t be easy.

Here are the rest of the winners and losers from a scintillating wild-card weekend:

WINNERS

That Caleb Williams throw: There were a lot of great storylines from wild-card weekend. Maybe that’s why we didn’t make a bigger deal over one of the better throws you’ll ever see in the playoffs.

On fourth-and-8, with the Bears trailing by 11, Williams was flushed to his left. Without being able to properly turn his body, he contorted his body and got a pass downfield (about 35 yards in the air) to Rome Odunze for a first down. Without that play, the Bears are very unlikely to pull out a 31-27 win that will be celebrated in Chicago for a long time.

The combination of Williams defying physics to get himself in a position to throw, the arm strength, the accuracy and the situation makes it a simply stunning highlight.

It wasn’t a perfect game from Williams, but still a pretty good one. He had 361 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner to DJ Moore in the final two minutes. He did have two interceptions and only completed 50% of his passes — consistent accuracy is the one missing piece from Williams’ game — but the Bears have to be thrilled at where he’s at near the end of his second season.

Sean McDermott: Was McDermott ever on the hot seat this season? We might never find out.

The Buffalo Bills came into the playoffs as the most interesting team in the field. Their range of outcomes was a Super Bowl championship or a first-round exit. Neither would have been a big surprise. But a one-and-done playoff stay, wasting another year of Josh Allen’s prime in a season that saw the Patriots zoom by the Bills in the AFC East, would have made for plenty of criticism about McDermott and whether the Bills had stalled or were even backsliding.

Speculation about major changes in Buffalo seems less likely now. The Bills pulled out a late 27-24 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, thanks mostly to Allen’s heroics. The Bills are lucky to have Allen. They’re very flawed around him. And often, like Sunday afternoon, it doesn’t matter.

If the Bills lose at the Denver Broncos on Saturday, there will still be some angst about McDermott and the Bills seeming further away from a Super Bowl than the previous few years. But it also seems much less likely there will be any serious discussions about a change.

Carolina Panthers: For most teams, a playoff loss after an 8-9 season wouldn’t be cause for celebration. But the Panthers should feel OK about what they did.

The Panthers were expected to get blown out by the Los Angeles Rams, but instead they led until the final minute. Matthew Stafford hit Colby Parkinson on a nice play for the game-winning touchdown with 38 seconds left, but the Panthers should still feel pretty good about taking a Super Bowl contender to the brink. The Panthers got a good game from quarterback Bryce Young, and hopefully he can build on that in his fourth season. They have some good, young talent. The Panthers shouldn’t be too confident going into the offseason. They did lose 10 times this season, including Saturday’s loss. But there is more hope in Carolina than there has been in a long time.

LOSERS

Justin Herbert: Maybe Herbert should be in the winners section. Because no matter how poorly he plays, he never faces the same criticism other quarterbacks do.

Some quarterbacks get ripped no matter how well they play. Others get ripped for potential playoff losses before the postseason even begins. No quarterback goes unscathed from criticism … except Herbert, for some reason. It’s an odd phenomenon.

Herbert has been in the playoffs three times and he has had three bad performances. For the second straight postseason the most disappointing team was the Los Angeles Chargers. Their uncompetitive 16-3 loss to the New England Patriots was a lot like last season’s uncompetitive wild-card weekend loss to the Houston Texans, when Herbert threw four interceptions. On Sunday night, Herbert didn’t surpass 100 passing yards against a good-not-great Patriots defense until deep into the fourth quarter. Yes, Herbert got hit a lot late in the game behind a bad offensive line, but that doesn’t stop people from ripping other quarterbacks.

Herbert is a very good quarterback who hasn’t done well in the playoffs yet. He still has time to turn that around. And in the meantime, he won’t hear much criticism about it.

Nick Sirianni and A.J. Brown: Nothing summed up the Philadelphia Eagles’ season better than the clip of Sirianni running down the sideline to scream at Brown to get off the field, then the receiver shouting back at his coach.

The Eagles seemed miserable all season. They appeared as unhappy as any division winner coming off a Super Bowl championship as you’ll find. At least they don’t have to be around each other anymore this season.

The Eagles are done after a 23-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers that was a good snapshot of their season, and not just for the sideline fights. The offense couldn’t come up with the key plays it needed, not even against a 49ers defense that has been ravaged by injuries.

Now comes an interesting offseason. Everyone seemed to believe that Brown will be traded after a drama-filled season, though we’ll see. There likely needs to be some major changes to the coaching staff after the offense was a mess all season. Something big has to change, because the Eagles don’t want to suffer through another season like this past one.

NFL wild-card winners and losers: Was that the greatest round of games in NFL playoff history?

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