Wild Card weekend yielded its share of key moments and its share of disappointments as well. With several higher seeds losing, there were inevitably some disappointments and players and units who failed to do themselves justice with their seasons on the line. They’ll probably be thinking about it all offseason.
Here are 10 big disappointments from the NFL’s Wild Card weekend.
Cody Parkey, K, Bears
Parkey suffered the nightmare scenario in Chicago, missing a 43-yarder off the upright and crossbar that would have given his team the win. He was well within his range and even made the kick before being iced by the Eagles, but he hooked it left and a combination of poor luck and a bad kick cost him dearly. Parkey had many struggles with the upright all season and was the subject of immense scrutiny. After the same thing happened in that spot, it’s safe to say the Bears will probably move on for everyone’s own good.
Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens
Jackson’s playoff debut was a reminder of his immense physical talent as well as the severe limitations that plague him at this point in his career. The Baltimore quarterback was under heavy pressure all day, but still struggles to make and execute downfield reads. Some outstanding throws late in the game made it close, but on the whole, Jackson struggled immensely and was being jeered by the fans that had so eagerly embraced him down the stretch. It’s a nasty end to a promising rookie season, and proof that he has a long way to go before he becomes an elite starting quarterback.
Chicago Bears’ red zone offense
The Bears wouldn’t have lost late against the Philadelphia Eagles had they been more efficient in the red zone. The Bears settled for three field goals inside the Philadelphia 20. Had any of those drives ended in touchdowns with all else being equal, Chicago would’ve won the game. The Bears also failed to convert a two-point conversion on their lone touchdown that would have put them up three. In short, Chicago’s defense did enough to win, while the offense simply failed to cash in on the opportunities presented to them.
Seattle Seahawks’ offensive gameplan
The Seattle Seahawks have one of the finest quarterbacks in the NFL, but Pete Carroll and Brian Schottenheimer seem clueless on how to make use of Russell Wilson. Wilson threw for 233 yards and a touchdown, but was only allowed to throw 27 times. Unsurprisingly, that tended to be when Seattle was most successful, but the Seahawks stuck to a run-heavy gameplan that wasn’t working. Could Seattle have won this game had they been more aggressive with Wilson in the passing game? Absolutely, and it looks like a huge missed opportunity in retrospect.
The referees
Sunday’s pair of games in particular were flashpoints for controversy, with major moments having a huge say in the ultimate outcomes. The Chargers got the benefit of a controversial call at the goal line. On another play, whistling a play dead in Chicago managed to cost both teams. The Eagles likely would have recovered a fumble. The Bears should have had a catch. In the end, it was ruled incomplete, making no one happy, though Chicago ultimately picked up a field goal on the drive. High-profile plays like this are not what the NFL wants in playoff games, and will only cause more confusion and skepticism in calls going forward.
Deshaun Watson, QB, Texans
Watson’s playoff debut was an up-and-down affair with more downs than ups. He completed 29 of his 49 pass attempts for 235 yards and a touchdown, but his interception was a bad one and he was lucky to escape Saturday’s game with only one turnover. Watson looked rattled at times and showed that his decision-making still has some way to go. He and his weapons were held in check by Indianapolis on Saturday, leading to another disappointing early playoff exit for Houston.
Baltimore Ravens’ offensive line
Lamar Jackson had a rough enough time on Sunday as the Chargers made things very hard for him downfield, but his offensive line didn’t really give him much opportunity to get things going. Jackson was sacked seven times by the Chargers while being flushed out of the pocket and hurried on numerous other occasions, and much of that was down to pass protection that spent much of the day being overwhelmed by Los Angeles’ pass rush. This unit failed Jackson on Sunday, and they deserve their share of the blame for three quarters of total offensive ineptitude.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Texans
One of the reasons Deshaun Watson was so ineffective on Sunday was because the Indianapolis Colts effectively took away his weapons. Chief among them was Hopkins, who was targeted ten times but only caught five of them for just 37 yards while battling a shoulder injury. Only once during the regular season did Hopkins have fewer receiving yards, and that came against Indianapolis too. Clearly they have a scheme that works against him, and it ensured that Houston didn’t get anything going offensively until it was far too late.
Seattle Seahawks’ run game
Part of what made Seattle’s reliance on the run game so baffling against the Dallas Cowboys is that it wasn’t really working. Seattle’s running backs were given 21 carries and got just 59 yards out of them, with Chris Carson proving completely ineffective to the tune of just 20 yards on 13 carries. Rashaad Penny had four carries for 29 yards, but 28 of those came on one carry, the only good one of the day. They were a total non-factor, which made their refusal to put the ball in Russell Wilson’s hands even more inexplicable.
Lamar Miller, RB, Texans
The Texans’ run game wasn’t able to augment their struggling passing game, as the Colts bottled that up too. While he was a threat in the passing game, Miller only had five carries for 18 yards, with Deshaun Watson essentially serving as Houston’s de facto running game. Miller had a very good run of four 100-yard games in six appearances in midseason, but an ankle injury seemed to wipe out his momentum and he never quite recovered from it straight through to the playoff exit.
