A 28-point second half lead was not enough for Kansas City to break their 20-year playoff win drought. Trailing 38–10 a few minutes into the third quarter, Indianapolis scored 35 second half points for the second biggest comeback victory in NFL postseason history, behind only the Buffalo Bills' 32–points comeback in the 41–38 Wild Card game win against the Houston Oilers in 1992.
The game got off to a rough start for the Chiefs, as starting running back Jamaal Charles was knocked out of the game on the opening drive. But before this, he rushed three times for 18 yards as the team drove 84 yards in 14 plays. Quarterback Alex Smith added a 16-yard run, and converted the drive's only third down with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe. Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck quickly led his team back, completing 7 consecutive passes for 74 yards. Four of them went to T. Y. Hilton, including a 24-yarder and a 10-yard touchdown catch to tie the game at 7. On the next possession, Smith completed a 68-yard pass to Bowe at the Colts 2-yard line. But the team could not get into the end zone with their next three plays and had to settle for Ryan Succop's 19-yard field goal to take a 10–7 lead. Then after a Colts three-and-out, Smith launched a 79-yard touchdown bomb to Donnie Avery, increased the Chiefs lead to 17–7 21 seconds into the second quarter.
The situation continued to deteriorate for Indianapolis. On the first play of their next possession, Trent Richardson lost a fumble that linebacker Justin Houston recovered and returned 7 yards to the Colts 17-yard line. Two plays later, Smith's 5-yard touchdown throw to fullback Anthony Sherman on a shovel pass made the score 24–7. This time the Colts managed to respond with a 61-yard scoring drive in which Luck completed a 16-yard pass to Griff Whalen and rushed for a 21-yard gain after faking a handoff up the middle on a 4th and 1 conversion. Adam Vinatieri finished the drive with a 37-yard field goal, cutting the score to 24–10. However, Smith also got to show off his skill at passing and rushing, as he carried the ball 4 times for 24 yards and completed 5 passes for 33 on an 81-yard drive that ended with Knile Davis' 4-yard touchdown run, putting the Chiefs up 31–10. The Colts managed to reach midfield on their next possession, but defensive back Brandon Flowers intercepted a pass from Luck to keep them from scoring before halftime. On the first play of the second half, defensive back Husain Abdullah intercepted Luck and returned the ball 4 yards to the Colts' 18-yard line, setting up Smith's 10-yard scoring toss to Davis that put them up by 28, 38–10. It seemed that Kansas City was in complete control of the game, but Indianapolis suddenly stormed back with 14 unanswered points. First, Luck's 46-yard completion to reserve receiver Da'Rick Rogers moved the ball to the Chiefs' 10-yard line, and Donald Brown ran the ball into the end zone on the next play. Then linebacker Robert Mathis forced a fumble while sacking Smith, and fellow linebacker Kelvin Sheppard recovered for the Colts on the Chiefs' 41-yard line just before it rolled out of bounds. The offense then capitalized with Luck completing 4 passes from 5 attempts, the last a 3-yard scoring pass to Brown that cut the score to 38–24.
Following a Chiefs punt, Abdullah intercepted another pass from Luck. Kansas City took over on the Indianapolis 28-yard line, and scored on a 42-yard Succop field goal to give them a 17-point lead, 41–24, with just over 5 minutes left in the third quarter. But Luck quickly led the Colts back, completing a 25-yard pass to Brown on the first play of the next possession, and later hooking up with LaVon Brazill for a 35-yard gain before finishing it off with a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Coby Fleener. Then after a three-and-out, Kansas City punter Dustin Colquitt's 31-yard boot pinned Indianapolis back at their own 10-yard line. But it did not stop the Colts, as Luck completed 5 out of 6 passes for 61 yards and rushed for 12 on a 90-yard scoring drive. On the last play, Brown fumbled the ball while trying to run it into the end zone, but it bounced right back into the hands of Luck, who took it across the goal line himself for a touchdown. With this score, the lead was cut to 41–38 with 10:38 left in the game.
Aided by A. J. Jenkins' 27-yard reception, the Chiefs managed to run the clock down to 5:36 with their ensuing drive. Succop finished it off with a 43-yard field goal to put the team up by 6 points. But three plays after the kickoff, Luck fired a deep pass to Hilton over the middle, who caught it without breaking stride and took off for a 64-yard touchdown catch, giving Indy their first lead of the game at 45–44. With 4:21 left, Kansas City desperately tried to get in range for a leading field goal. Smith started the drive with a pair of completions to Bowe for 38 yards. But after a 3-yard running play moved the ball to the Colts 39-yard line, Smith was flagged for a 10-yard intentional grounding penalty. The next play netted the team 6 yards, bringing up 4th down and 11. On the next play, Smith threw a deep pass to Bowe along the right sideline. Bowe made a leaping catch, but landed with only one foot in bounds, causing a turnover on downs and allowing Indianapolis to run out the rest of the clock.
For Kansas City, Smith finished the game 30-for-46 for 378 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for 57 yards. His top receiver was Bowe, who caught 8 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. Davis rushed for 67 yards, caught 7 passes for 33 yards, and scored two touchdowns. Abdullah had six tackles and two interceptions. For Indianapolis, Luck finished 29-for-45 for 443 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 3 interceptions. He also rushed for 45 yards and scored a fumble recovery touchdown. Hilton caught 13 passes for 224 yards – the third highest total in postseason history – and two touchdowns. Both teams combined for 1,049 total yards (513 for Kansas City, 536 for Indianapolis), an NFL postseason record. This was the eighth consecutive playoff loss for Kansas City, an NFL record.
That was just a nuts finish to the opening game of the weekend. Moving on to the night cap, we saw the New Orleans Saints overcome their road woes against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly, the first road playoff win in Saints history. The first quarter of the game was scoreless. The farthest the Saints made it was to the Eagles 49-yard line, and that drive ended when Drew Brees was intercepted by defensive back Bradley Fletcher, who returned the ball 24 yards to the New Orleans 27-yard line. After the turnover, Philadelphia drove to the Saints 15-yard line, but New Orleans' defense made two key plays to prevent a score. First, Curtis Lofton tackled tight end Brent Celek on a screen pass for an 8-yard loss. Then defensive end Cameron Jordan sacked Nick Foles for an 11-yard loss, pushing the Eagles all the way back to the 34-yard line. Following a 4-yard gain on third down, Alex Henery missed a 48-yard field goal 34 seconds into the second quarter.
After the miss, New Orleans drove 43 yards to score on Shayne Graham's 36-yard field goal and take the lead, aided by a replay review that caused officials to overturn a lost fumble by tight end Jimmy Graham. New Orleans subsequently forced the Eagles to punt on their next drive, but then linebacker DeMeco Ryans intercepted Brees and returned the ball 23 yards to the Saints' 44-yard line. Philadelphia receiver Riley Cooper started off their possession with a 22-yard reception, and finished it with a 10-yard touchdown catch to give the Eagles a 7–3 lead. New Orleans responded with a 47-yard scoring drive, with Brees completing a 17-yard pass to Jimmy Graham and a 13-yarder to Kenny Stills on the way to a 46-yard field goal by Shayne Graham with less then two minutes left in the half, cutting the score to 7–6 going into halftime.
Philadelphia was forced to punt on their opening drive of the second half, and Darren Sproles returned the ball 12 yards to the Saints 47-yard line. Aided by Mark Ingram's 3 carries for 24 yards, New Orleans drove 53 yards to score their first touchdown on Brees' 24-yard pass to receiver Lance Moore, giving them a 13–7 lead. The next time New Orleans had the ball, they matched that feat with a 66-yard scoring drive. Tight end Benjamin Watson caught a 24-yard pass, while Ingram had 5 carries for 26 yards, the last a 4-yard touchdown run that put his team up 20–7. The Eagles managed to respond, with Foles' 40-yard completion to DeSean Jackson setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy, trimming their deficit to 20–14 with just over 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
New Orleans went three-and-out on their next drive, and Jackson's 29-yard punt return to the Saints' 40-yard line set up Henery's 30-yard field goal. But Brees' 40-yard completion to Robert Meachem helped move the Saints in range for another Shayne Graham field goal to put them back up by six points at 23–17. Taking the ball back with just over 8 minutes left in regulation, the Eagles managed to drive 77 yards to take the lead, aided by a 40-yard pass interference penalty on defensive back Corey White. Foles finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown toss to tight end Zach Ertz, giving the Eagles a 24–23 lead at 4:54. However, the Saints would need to cover little ground for their game winning drive, as Sproles returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards, with a horse-collar tackle penalty on Cary Williams adding on another 15. As a result, New Orleans got the ball on the Eagles' 48-yard line and needed just 34 yards to set up Shayne Graham's game-winning 32-yard field goal – as time expired – which they managed to space out over 10 plays to run the clock down to 3 seconds on the play.
Foles finished his first playoff game completing 23 of 33 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper was the top receiver of the game with 6 catches for 68 yards. Ryans had 10 tackles – 8 of which were solo tackles – and an interception. Brees threw for 250 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions. Ingram was the game's top rusher with 18 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 3 passes for 17 yards.
That was just the hot and heavy action from Saturday. but wait there's still more from Sunday. First up saw the Bengals blow and lead and get shut out in the 2nd half, getting upset by the Chargers. And although the Bengals outgained San Diego in total yards, 439–319, and first downs, 27–16, the Chargers defense forced four turnovers, two failed fourth down conversion attempts, and shut out Cincinnati in the second half to send them home with their first home loss of the season and their 6th consecutive playoff loss since 1990.
After a pair of punts started the game, San Diego drove 86 yards in 12 plays, including a 22-yard reception by tight end Ladarius Green, and scored on Danny Woodhead's 5-yard touchdown run. Following two more punts, Cincinnati tied the score with a 60-yard scoring drive. The key player on it was rookie running back Giovani Bernard, who rushed 5 times for 28 yards and caught a pass for 11. Quarterback Andy Dalton finished the possession with a 4-yard scoring pass to tight end Jermaine Gresham, his first postseason touchdown pass in three playoff games. After a San Diego three-and-out, the Bengals appeared to gain momentum with Dalton's 49-yard completion to receiver Marvin Jones. But on the next play, linebacker Donald Butler forced a fumble from Bernard that Richard Marshall recovered for the Chargers in the end zone and returned 13 yards to the 11-yard line. San Diego was forced into a three-and-out again, and Cincinnati got the ball back on their own 32-yard line with 1:14 left in the half. Dalton subsequently completed three passes for 41 yards to set up Mike Nugent's 46-yard field goal, giving the Bengals a 10–7 first half lead.
However, that was all Cincinnati accomplished as the Chargers took over in the second half. After forcing the Bengals to punt on their opening second half drive, Philip Rivers completed a 33-yard pass to Eddie Royal that set up his 4-yard touchdown toss to Ladarius Green, giving the Chargers the lead at 14–10. Then Dalton lost a fumble at the end of a 12-yard run without being touched, and defensive back Jahleel Addae recovered for San Diego on the Bengals' 46-yard line. The Chargers then drove 40 yards in 9 plays to go up 17–10 with Nick Novak's 25-yard field goal. Then after two plays on the Bengals next drive, cornerback Shareece Wright intercepted a pass from Dalton and returned it 30 yards to the Cincinnati 3-yard line, setting up another Novak field goal that made the score 20–10. Dalton threw another interception on the ensuing possession, this one to linebacker Melvin Ingram. Although the Chargers would not convert this one into points, the Chargers' defense would go on to pin down the Bengals for the rest of the game. For their final three drives, they turned the ball over on downs twice in Chargers territory, while their final drive ended as time expired on the Chargers' 6-yard line. Meanwhile, a 58-yard touchdown run by San Diego running back Ronnie Brown made the final score 27–10.
Rivers finished the day 12-for-18 for 128 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. Dalton finished 29-for-51 for 334 yards and a touchdown – and rushed for 26 yards – but was intercepted twice and lost a fumble. Bernard rushed for 45 yards and caught 7 passes for 73. Jones caught 8 passes for 130 yards, setting a postseason franchise record and making him the first Bengals player to have over 100 receiving yards in a playoff game since Cris Collinsworth in the 1983 season. Bengals receiver A. J. Green, who had 1,426 receiving yards during the season, finished the game with just 3 catches for 34 yards.
Finally we had the night cap Sunday which saw the Packers host the 49ers in a rematch from last years NFC Wild Card Game. Colin Kapernick had a field day a season ago, and to the Packers credit, they did a better job containing him than a season ago. Sadly for Packers fans, the result was exactly the same: a 49ers victory.
After the Packers punted on their opening drive, San Francisco started off the scoring with a 69-yard drive, featuring a 31-yard completion from Kaepernick to Michael Crabtree, that ended with Dawson's 22-yard field goal. Green was subsequently forced to punt again, and Tim Masthay's kick went just 29 yards to the Packers 49-yard line. Frank Gore rushed 4 times for 21 yards for the 49ers as they drove 42 yards to go up 6-0 on Dawson's second field goal of the day.
The Packers were forced to a three-and-out on their next drive, but this time their defense managed to step up and make a big play. Early in the second quarter, defensive back Tramon Williams intercepted the ball from Kaepernick and returned it 17 yards to the Green Bay 30-yard line. After the turnover, Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers completed 6/7 passes for 45 yards as the team went 70 yards and 14 plays on a drive in which they never gained more than 9 yards on a single play. Rodgers capped it off with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson that gave the Pack a 7-6 lead. In a notable contrast, the 49ers quickly struck back, scoring with just five plays as Kaepernick took off for a 42-yard gallop to set up Gore's touchdown on a 10-yard run. Green Bay responded with Rodgers completing a 19-yard pass to Nelson and a 13-yarder to running back James Starks on a 59-yard drive that ended with Mason Crosby's 34-yard field goal as time expired in the half, making the score 13-10 at halftime.
San Francisco drove to the Green Bay 25-yard line on the first drive of the second half, but on third down, linebacker Nick Perry sacked Kaepernick for an 8-yard loss and the 49ers decided to punt rather then attempt a long field goal. Following one more punt from each team, Rodgers led the Packers on a 80-yard drive to take a 17-13 lead on fullback John Kuhn's 1-yard touchdown run. The highlight of the drive was a 4th down 2 conversion in which Rodgers managed to power out of a tackle attempt and throw a pass to Randall Cobb for a 26-yard gain. However, like Green Bay's earlier touchdown, the 49ers quickly struck back, starting with LaMichael James' 37-yard kickoff return to the 37-yard line. Kaepernick then broke off a 24-yard run and soon finished the drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis, retaking the lead for the 49ers at 20-17.
Taking the ball back with just over 10 minutes left in regulation, Rodgers led the Packers back with 4 completions for 46 yards, including a 25-yard pass to Cobb. Crosby finished the drive with a 24-yard field goal, re-tying the game at 20 with 5:16 to go. But this was matched by the 49ers, who drove 65 yards for the game-winning score. Kaepernick completed three passes for 39 yards along the way, two for 28 to Crabtree, and also rushed for 11. Gore also played a key role, rushing 5 times for 15 yards, including 4 consecutive carries that forced Green Bay to use up all their timeouts. Then with just 3 seconds left, Dawson managed to narrowly get his 33-yard field goal inside the right upright to give the 49ers a 23-20 win.
Rodgers finished the day 17/26 for 177 yards and a touchdown, along with 11 rushing yards. Kaepernick completed 16/30 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. He also rushed 7 times for 98 yards. Crabtree was the leading receiver of the game with 8 receptions for 125 yards. 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks had 6 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble.
So there you have it. You are now caught up with the action from a crazy Wild Card Weekend. By the end of the week we will have full previews for you of the Divisional Round of the playoffs!
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