There’s at all times that one sport earlier than the Tremendous Bowl that all of us want was the Tremendous Bowl. The competition between legendary quarterbacks, superb groups, titans of the NFL — who simply so occurred to be locked in the identical convention.
Usually it comes within the AFC or NFC Championship, however for the 2024 season we’re being handled to it every week early. The Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Payments are poised to provide us the most effective sport of the season, and within the Wild Card spherical, each groups proved why.
One of the best quarterbacks all got here out of the AFC this season. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are each vying for MVP, and it’s a complete toss-up on who might be hoisting the award come Feb. 6, whereas in every other season, Joe Burrow could be in competition too — however was basically eradicated from the dialogue when the Bengals didn’t make the postseason. Whereas MVP voting is now closed, being an everyday season award, subsequent week will go a great distance within the mindshare of soccer followers to find out whether or not the MVP, Lamar or Josh, actually deserves the award, or whether or not this was one other idiot’s gold of a season.
There is no such thing as a doubt that Jackson and Allen have been phenomenal in 2024. Main their groups to 12-5 and 13-4 information respectively, Lamar needed to battle out of the brutal AFC North (certainly one of soccer’s finest divisions) whereas main the Ravens to win the North whereas taking part in the 4th most troublesome schedule within the convention (+0.6).
In the meantime, in Buffalo, it was about getting the job carried out. There’s no query the Payments had a softer schedule with their -1.1 being the 2nd best opponents within the AFC this season, however this was a season the place Allen hardly had a No. 1 receiver or a top-tier operating again to his title on offense. James Prepare dinner was good, Khalil Shakir was good, however there’s no one on the Payments’ talent positions outdoors of Allen you’d come near saying was “nice.”
Now the 2 groups meet within the AFC Divisional Playoff spherical in what seems like a prelude to who will characterize the AFC within the Tremendous Bowl. Which may come throughout as deep offense to Chiefs followers, however if you happen to’re being sincere with your self, Kansas Metropolis doesn’t have the identical magic they’ve in years previous. The roster is shallow, the receivers are weak, and the protection (which carried them to the Tremendous Bowl a 12 months in the past) isn’t almost pretty much as good a 12 months later.
Again to the Ravens and Payments although: How good is that this sport going to be? There’s a cause the MVP race is solely all the way down to a hair, as a result of each Jackson and Allen have been taking part in out of their minds this season.
- Lamar Jackson: 316-of-474, 4,172 yards, 41 TD, 4 INT — 915 yards dashing, 4 TD
- Josh Allen: 307-of-483, 3,731 yards, 28 TD, 6 INT — 531 yards dashing, 12 TD
Two dual-threat quarterbacks who’ve very completely different types, each successfully are 4,000-yard passers (or close to sufficient), and every of whom are capable of punish groups in a wide range of methods. To cap all of it off, each the Ravens and Payments have stellar defenses that rank ninth and eleventh respectively in factors allowed, which means that they every have models which are tailor made to cease the sort of game-breaking gamers that every group has.
This is why Ravens vs. Payments is the Tremendous Bowl we by no means knew we wanted. It additionally underscores how deeply unfair the seeding ended up being that every group has to satisfy this early within the proceedings. However, these groups have felt destined to see one another sooner or later these playoffs, giving Buffalo an opportunity to get revenge on Week 4, after they have been beatdown by Baltimore 35-10
What made that previous assembly so attention-grabbing was how nicely the Ravens have been capable of utterly take Josh Allen out of the image. He completed the day competing barely 50 p.c of his passes, for a paltry 180 yards, and no touchdowns. In the meantime, Jackson was superb, however Derrick Henry was the distinction maker as he ran all around the Payments for 199 yards and a landing.
That’s the quandary Buffalo might want to navigate. These 2024 Ravens are in contrast to any previous season. Beforehand it was all about stopping Lamar Jackson, and the remainder would handle itself. This 12 months you’ll be able to take Jackson out of the equation, they usually can merely focus the offense on Derrick Henry and you’ve got one other large drawback to take care of.
The query is whether or not Buffalo can boast the identical capacity to pivot if issues aren’t working, and this season has proven us they merely can’t. The Payments are 1-3 this season when Allen doesn’t generate 200+ yards of offense on his personal, and the one sport the place Allen didn’t rating a single landing together with his arm or legs this season was that Week 4 matchup towards Baltimore. In the meantime, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are 1-0 in video games the place Jackson exceeded 200 yards of offense, and there wasn’t a single sport within the 2024 common season that he failed to guide a landing drive.
We’re left with a circle-your-calendar, can’t-miss, slugfest between two of the NFL’s finest groups, with the 2 most dynamic quarterbacks, in a sport the place the season is on the road. Soccer doesn’t get any higher than this, and we’ll all be glued to our screens subsequent week.
Now onto the remainder of the winners and losers from the NFL Wild Card Playoffs.
Winner: The Houston Texans’ protection
For some groups, the playoffs are about stepping up when it issues and tilting a sport by attaining the seemingly unimaginable. On Saturday that award belonged to the Texans, who completely dismantled Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers and made them seem like utter frauds.
If you happen to picked Los Angeles this within the sport you actually couldn’t be blamed. Houston entered the Wild Card spherical permitting 21.9 factors per sport (14th within the NFL), and appeared poised to get dismantled by Harbaugh’s hard-nosed strategy.
As a substitute, the Texans obliterated Justin Herbert and made one of many league’s most constant and risk-averse QBs seem like one of many worst passers within the NFL. This season Herbert totaled three interceptions, however threw 4 towards the Texans in a single sport. Stress, protection disguised, and manufactured stress have been all on show as Houston did loads to quiet the appreciable doubt round their group within the playoffs.
This group nonetheless has issues on offense. Of their 32 factors, solely 14 got here off touchdowns — with a number of drives stalling out earlier than the Pink Zone. Nonetheless, if this group can construct off the arrogance of their preliminary playoff win there’s an opportunity they might go on a run.
Loser: Jim Harbaugh
Seeing a Jim Harbaugh group lose isn’t distinctive, however watching a Harbaugh group get utterly manhandled is one other. The Chargers misplaced in each section of the sport on Saturday, and the Cinderella story of this group is now over.
The optimistic information for followers is that that is barely the start. Fact be informed, Harbaugh had extra success than anybody imagined in his first 12 months and it’s clear there’s one thing to construct on. The personnel aren’t all in place, the group continues to be in want of a three-down operating again, and there are not any weapons within the passing sport apart from Ladd McConkey. Nonetheless, there’s one thing right here.
That doesn’t cease the sting of the weekend, and the Chargers getting bodied.
Loser: Jordan Love
Properly, that was ugly. It’s unfair to anticipate Love to return out and be the inheritor obvious to the Packers kingdom directly, however most anticipated the group to at the very least be aggressive towards the Eagles. For almost all of the sport on Sunday, it didn’t seem like they belonged, with a paltry fourth-quarter TD bringing them shut, solely to see hope vanish as soon as extra.
On the heart of all this was Jordan Love, who threw three interceptions and crumbled, very like Justin Herbert did the day earlier than.
The large disgrace is that the Packers’ protection largely did its job. Saquon Barkley was held to a good quantity, and Jalen Hurts actually didn’t burn Inexperienced Bay. It was merely a case of the Packers’ offense being unable to do something. Perhaps that may be mounted over time, however as soon as once more the identical difficulty is rearing its head: The Packers want weapons.
Winner: Jayden Daniels
These flowers belong to everybody on the Commanders who helped the franchise win their first playoff sport since 2006, however it’s especially-meaningful for the rookie QB. The No. 2 decide flourished this season, and he wanted to point out some particular heroics towards among the finest defenses within the playoffs.
Daniels generated 304 yards of the Commanders’ 350 towards the Buccaneers, propelling Washington to the Divisional Playoff spherical. It’s going to be brutal towards the Lions, however this group is gutsy and performs with a number of confidence.
After all, that is all secondary in a option to figuring out how unhappy Dan Snyder is as we speak — and that’s the actual pleasure of the week.