The NFL’s Wild Card Weekend is upon us, with four good games on the way over two days. There are certainly some surprises about the games –it’s not often you see the New England Patriots on the playoff’s opening weekend — but that also produces a lot of interesting storylines to be explored for these games.
What should we be considering this weekend? Here are five key questions for the Wild Card round.
1. How good are the Bills?
It’s strange that we’re still asking that question after the Bills won ten games and made the playoffs, but questions linger about Buffalo. They went 9-2 against non-playoff teams in 2019, but just 1-4 against teams that did make the playoffs, with their lone win coming against the Tennessee Titans before Ryan Tannehill became the Titans’ quarterback. They played the Patriots tough, but the Bills lack a quality win against good opposition. This weekend will show us just how good they are.
2. Can the Patriots flip the switch for the playoffs?
The Patriots looked very shaky down the stretch, right down to blowing their shot at a bye on the final weekend of the regular season. That means they have to play the Titans, a team that has scored 30 points or more in five of their last seven games. The Patriots haven’t had an elite offense all season, and they’ll probably count on their defense to carry them here. The real question is whether they can flip that switch and turn into the playoff Patriots at this exact moment, or whether their regular season issues will carry over into the playoffs and see them off to an early exit.
3. Is Ryan Tannehill for real?
This is really the key question for the Titans. Tannehill went 7-3 as a starter, with 22 touchdowns and five interceptions in that time span. Tannehill hasn’t seen a defense like New England’s, of course, which is what makes this setup so intriguing. If Tannehill plays like a quality quarterback, the Titans could win, but he’s still a question mark despite all his regular season success. Foxboro in the playoffs is a different animal, and he has a big task if he wants to win this.
4. Will Kirk Cousins finally do it under the sport’s brightest spotlight?
One of the knocks on Cousins has long been his inability to win big games. This certainly qualifies as a big one, with Minnesota just 4-4 away from home and heading into one of the toughest environments in football. It seems like a foregone conclusion that Cousins is going to have to have a big game against the New Orleans offense if the Vikings want to win this game. Whether he’s capable of doing that in a game like this on the road is anyone’s guess, but these are the moments Minnesota paid him the big money for.
5. Who will withstand the war of attrition best in Seahawks-Eagles?
The story of the Seahawks-Eagles game may be lots of injuries. The Seahawks are still short in the running back department from where they have been all season, and Jadeveon Clowney is also not a sure bet to play. It doesn’t compare to the Eagles, who have lost so many weapons on offense it’s ridiculous. Neither of these teams will be at full strength for this game, but the Seahawks look a bit better positioned — at least for right now — to win this game due to a comparative lack of injuries.
