First up we had the Bengals and Texans in Houston. For the second year in a row, Houston dominated Cincinnati in the first game of the playoffs, outgaining them in total yards 428–198 and holding their offense to just two field goals in nine drives (including 0/9 on third downs). The win was especially satisfying for Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, who was playing in his first playoff game in his 9-season career.
On the Texans' second drive of the game, they moved the ball 65 yards and scored on a 48-yard field goal from Shayne Graham (a former Bengal). Then after forcing a punt, they drove the ball all the way to the Bengals 9-yard line, but once again settled for a Graham field goal a few minutes into second quarter.
Following another Cincinnati punt, the Bengals took their first lead of the game when defensive back Leon Hall intercepted a pass intended for James Casey on the left sideline and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown. But the Texans took it back with a 61-yard drive to the Bengals 4-yard line, 46 coming from Arian Foster, that resulted in Graham's third field goal, making the score 9–7 at the end of the half.
Early in the third quarter, a fair catch interference penalty on Bengals defensive back Chris Lewis-Harris gave Houtson the ball on the Cincinnati 49-yard line. Houston then drove 51 yards, featuring a 22-yard completion from Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson, and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Foster. The Bengals struck back with Andy Dalton's 45-yard completion to A. J. Green setting up Josh Brown's 34-yard field goal to cut the score to 16–10. Cincinnati managed to force a punt on Houston's next drive, but with just over 3 minutes left in the third period, defensive back Johnathan Joseph (another former Bengal) intercepted Dalton's pass and returned it 16 yards to the Bengals 24-yard line. This lead to Graham's fourth field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter.
Bengals receiver Brandon Tate returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards to the 39-yard line, sparking a drive that ended with Brown's 47-yard field goal that trimmed the lead to one score, 19–13. Cincinnati then forced a punt and drove into Texans territory, but on 4th down and 11 from the Houston 36-yard line, rookie receiver Marvin Jones was tackled by Joseph and Shiloh Keo 3 yards short of the first down marker. Houston then took over and held the ball for the final 2:44 of the game to clinch the victory.
Foster finished the game with 32 carries for 140 yards and a touchdown, along with 8 receptions for 32. He became the first player ever to rush for over 100 yards in each of his first three career playoff games. Tight end Owen Daniels was the top receiver of the game with 9 receptions for 91 yards, while Green had 5 receptions for 80 yards to lead Cincinnati. With this loss, Cincinnati's playoff win drought was extended to 23 years and remains the longest among all 32 NFL teams.
Next up we have the Packers playing host to the Vikings. Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder had started all 16 games during the season, but just hours before this game he was declared inactive due to injury and replaced by Joe Webb. Webb became the first quarterback to start a playoff game without throwing a single pass during the season. But after this game, his amount of completions did not increase by much. Webb was held to just 11/30 completions and lost two turnovers to a Green Bay defense that dominated the game the whole way through.
Minnesota's Marcus Sherels returned the opening kickoff 37 yards to the 35-yard line. From there, the Vikings drove to the Packers 15 with eight running plays, including a 17-yard scramble by Webb. Rookie kicker Blair Walsh finished the drive with a 33-yard field goal to give Minnesota a 3–0 lead. After an exchange of punts, Green Bay drove 82 yards and scored on an 8-yard touchdown run by DuJuan Harris with 33 seconds left in the first quarter. Harris was initially ruled down at the 1, but the call was changed to a touchdown by Mike McCarthy's replay challenge.
In the second quarter, Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers hit James Jones for 20 yards and Greg Jennings for 32 on a 72-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. After forcing a punt with under two minutes left in the half, Rodgers completed passes to Jordy Nelson for 22 yards, Jennings for 14, and Nelson again for 23 before fullback John Kuhn completed the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, making the score 17–3 halftime.
Green Bay scored another touchdown on their opening drive of the second half, moving the ball 80 yards in 12 plays and closing it out with Rodgers' 9-yard toss to Kuhn. Meanwhile, all that lay in store for the Vikings was three consecutive turnovers. First they drove to the Packers 38-yard line, but then linebacker Clay Matthews forced a fumble while sacking Webb and recovered it. Then, following a punt, they drove to the Green Bay 46, only to lose the ball again on an interception by Sam Shields. The Vikings defense forced another punt early in the fourth quarter, but Sherels muffed the kick and Green Bay's Dezman Moses recovered the ball. Later on, another drive into Green Bay territory was ended with no points when the Vikings failed to convert a fourth down and four on the Packers 43-yard line.
Minnesota eventually managed to score a touchdown on a 50-yard pass from Webb to receiver Michael Jenkins. But by then there was only 3:39 left in the game.
Rodgers completed 23/33 passes to ten different players for 274 yards and a touchdown. Harris was the team leader in rushing yards (47) and receptions (5 for 53 yards). Matthews had four tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Shields had seven tackles and an interception. Webb finished with 180 passing yards, with one touchdown and one interception, while also rushing for 68 yards. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was the top rusher of the game with 99 rushing yards. He also caught a pass for 8. Jenkins had 3 receptions for 96 yards and a score.
So that takes care of the Saturday games. Now lets move on to Sunday's wildcard action. We start it off with Ray Lewis's last home game EVER as the Colts traveled to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. Despite racking up 419 yards and 25 first downs, Indianapolis was unable to dent the end zone and against a stingy Ravens defense, who recorded three sacks, forced two turnovers, and limited them to just four field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Baltimore's offense rolled up 441 yards and 24 points
Both teams blew scoring chances in the first half. After forcing a punt on the opening drive (which Jacoby Jones returned 34 yards to the 48), Baltimore drove all the way Colts 11-yard line. But then lineman Cory Redding stripped the ball from Ray Rice and Lawrence Guy recovered it for the Colts. Then Indy took over and drove to the Ravens 30, only to lose their own fumble when quarterback Andrew Luck was sacked by Paul Kruger and defensive end Pernell McPhee dove on the ball.
In the second quarter, a 22-yard reception by Ravens receiver Torrey Smith and an 18-yard run by rookie Bernard Pierce set up a 23-yard field goal by Justin Tucker. Following an exchange of punts, Luck completed 4/4 passes for 50 yards on a drive that ended with Adam Vinatieri's 47-yard field goal to tie the game. Jones responded with a 37-yard kickoff return. Four plays later, Rice caught a screen pass from Joe Flacco and ran it 47 yards to the Colts 2-yard line. On the next play, fullback Vonta Leach scored a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Ravens a 10–3 lead with 55 seconds left in the half. But Luck quickly lead his team back, completing 4/5 passes for 62 yards to set up Vinatieri's 52-yard field goal, cutting the score to 10–6 at halftime. For Vinatieri, the NFL's all-time leader in postseason scoring, it was the longest playoff field goal of his career.
Midway through the third quarter, Flacco's 46-yard completion to Anquan Boldin moved the ball to the Colts 15-yard line. Following an incompletion and a false start penalty, he hit tight end Dennis Pitta for a 20-yard touchdown throw, increasing the lead to 17–6. Indianapolis responded with another drive deep into Ravens territory, but it was halted on the 8-yard line where Vinatieri kicked his third field goal of the game (and 48th postseason field goal of his career).
Early in the fourth quarter, Colts linebacker Pat Angerer recovered a fumble from Rice, leading to another drive into the Ravens red zone. But this time they came up empty when Vinateri missed a field goal from 40 yards out. This was Vinatieri's first postseason miss against Baltimore. He had been 18/18 when playing against the Ravens up to this point.
The miss turned out to be devastating. Just two plays later, Pierce ran the ball 43 yards to the Colts 18-yard line, and then Flacco finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Boldin, giving the team a 24–9 lead. Then their defense closed out the game by forcing two turnovers inside their own 40. First they stopped the next drive when defensive back Cary Williams intercepted a pass from Luck on Ravens 15-yard line and returned it 41 yards. Then after a punt, Indianapolis turned the ball over on downs at the Baltimore 37 with 2:10 left in the game.
Flacco finished the game 12/23 for 282 yards and two touchdowns. Boldin caught 5 passes for a franchise playoff record 145 yards (all in the second half). Pierce rushed for 103 yards, while Rice had 70 rushing yards and a 47-yard catch. Jones returned 4 punts for 57 yards, two kickoffs for 60 yards, and caught an 8-yard pass. Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who returned for this game after missing most of the season with injuries and had recently announced his intention to retire after the postseason, finished with a team leading 13 tackles and a pass deflection. Kruger had four tackles and 2.5 sacks.
For the Colts, Luck finished his first playoff game 28/54 for 288 yards with 1 interception, while also rushing for 35 yards. Receiver Reggie Wayne caught 9 passes for 114 yards.
Now we take a look at the final game of wild card weekend as it was the battle of star rookie QB's as Russel Wilson took on Robert Griffin III. Seattle overcame a 14-point deficit in the first quarter to earn their first playoff win on the road since 1983. Seattle has now won three straight playoff games against Washington, who were playing in their first home playoff game since 1999. This was the second playoff game ever to feature a rookie starting quarterback on each team. The first was in the previous season (Houston vs Cincinnati).
Washington stormed out of the game with touchdowns on their first two drives. After receiving the opening kickoff, they drove 80 yards, featuring a 30-yard reception by Pierre Garçon and an 18-yard run by Alfred Morris. Robert Griffin III finished the drive with 4-yard touchdown pass to reserve running back Evan Royster. Then the Redskins defense forced a three-and-out, and Richard Crawford gave them good field position with a 12-yard punt return to the 46-yard line. Washington subsequently moved the ball 54 yards and scored on Griffin's 4-yard toss to tight end Logan Paulsen.
But Seattle dominated the rest of the game, holding the Redskins to a final total of just 202 offensive yards. The Seahawks responded with a 66-yard drive, including a 19-yard scramble by rookie QB Russell Wilson, that ended on field goal by Steven Hauschka. Following a punt, running back Marshawn Lynch's 20-yard gain on a fumble recovery set up their first touchdown of the game. Fullback Michael Robinson also made a big impact on the drive, catching a 19-yard pass from Wilson and capping the drive with a 4-yard touchdown catch. On the next possession, safety Earl Thomas intercepted a pass from Griffin on the Seattle 26-yard line. Wilson's subsequent completions to Doug Baldwin and Zach Miller for gains of 33 and 22 yards set up Hauschka's second field goal, cutting the score to 14–13 at the end of the half.
Seattle started the third quarter with a drive to the Redskins 1-yard line, but then Lynch lost a fumble that was recovered by Washington lineman Jarvis Jenkins. In the fourth quarter, he managed to redeem himself with a 27-yard touchdown run. Then Wilson completed a pass to Miller for the two point conversion, giving his team a 21–14 lead. Then after the kickoff, Bruce Irvin sacked Griffin for a 12-yard loss. On the next play, Griffin fumbled the snap and suffered a game-ending injury. Seahawks lineman Clinton McDonald recovered the ball on the Redskins 5-yard line, setting up Hauschka's third field goal to make the final score 24–14. Washington responded with a drive to the Seattle 20, but turned the ball over on downs with 1:08 left in the game.
Wilson finished his first playoff game 15/26 for 187 yards and a touchdown, along with 67 rushing yards. Lynch rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown, and caught a pass for 9 yards. For the Redskins, safety Reed Doughty had 11 tackles and 2 sacks. Morris was their top rusher with 80 yards.
So there you have it, the full recap of the events of wild card weekend. Check back here on Friday as we will be previewing the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs then!
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