The last day of Wild Card Weekend kicked off as the No. 7-seed Pittsburgh Steelers battled the No. 2-seed Buffalo Bills. Later, The No. 4-seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced off against the No. 5-seed Philadelphia Eagles. Both games had their drama as Highmark Stadium looked like a winter wonderland and the Eagles fought to stay together after losing five consecutive games.
Bills vs. Steelers
The Bills started the game with an impressive advance down the field, ending with quarterback Josh Allen sending a touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox. As the Bills scored, fans threw snow into the air from the stands in victory as Buffalo had gotten about three feet of snow the day before.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, wide receiver George Pickens dropped the ball after being hit by Bills defense. The play was initially ruled to be an incomplete pass. However, after a challenge by Bills coach Sean McDermott, the ruling was overturned and ruled to be a fumble.
Later, the Steelers were halted by the Bills as Kaiir Elam picked off Mason Rudolph, forcing a turnover and keeping Pittsburgh from scoring their first points of the game.
Josh Allen immediately threw a touchdown pass to rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid, who was able to achieve his first ever career touchdown catch. The Bills now had two touchdowns but the Steelers had failed to get on the board.
The Bills widened the gap even more with a miraculous play from Josh Allen, who ran from the Bills’ 48-yard line through the Steelers defense and into the endzone for yet another touchdown.
Eventually, the Steelers began to answer. They were able to block a field goal attempt by the Bills. Soon after, quarterback Mason Rudolph threw a touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson, finally getting the team on the board. Entering halftime, the score was 21-7.
Tightening the gap ever so slightly, the Steelers scored the first points of the second half by kicking a field goal.
Suddenly, the Steelers began to make a larger comeback, managing to score a touchdown. Mason Rudolph threw a touchdown pass to Calvin Austin, making the score 24-17. To tie the game, the Steelers would only need to score one more touchdown.
However, the Bills did not let the Steelers’ scoring streak stand. They responded with a touchdown of their own, which was completed by Khalil Shakir, who was able to shake a tackle attempt before running into the endzone.
The Steelers ultimately never caught up, and the game ended with a score of 31-17, Bills. The Bills would advance to play the Chiefs in the AFC divisional round. However, they suffered multiple injuries during the game, making prospects uneasy.
Eagles vs. Buccaneers
Almost immediately, the Buccaneers were able to score a field goal. Despite being stopped in the red zone, the points put the team on the board first and proved that they would be fierce competition against the Eagles.
Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans dropped a pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield that almost certainly would have been a touchdown a few minutes later. However, the Buccaneers were able to make up for it when fellow wide receiver David Moore ran 44 yards for a touchdown.
Entering the second quarter, the Buccaneers widened the score gap by scoring a 54-yard field goal, the longest in Buccaneer playoff history. The Eagles finally responded with a field goal of their own, putting themselves on the board and making the score 13-3.
Keeping up with the trend of scoring field goals, the Buccaneers responded to the Eagles with yet another field goal of their own, making for a very nervous Eagles team.
However, the Eagles weren’t done yet. They were finally able to get their first touchdown of the game near the end of the second quarter. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts passed to tight end Dallas Goedert for the touchdown. However, the Eagles tried to use a “tush push” to get a two-point conversion. Unfortunately, it failed, only making the score 16-9.
Near the end of the third quarter, Anthony Nelson of the Buccaneers was able to tackle Jalen Hurts in his own end zone before he could get the chance to get rid of the ball, resulting in a safety and giving them an extra two points.
Wide receiver Trey Palmer then scored yet another touchdown for the Buccaneers, further widening the score gap to 25-9.
To add insult to injury, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay suffered a leg injury and had to be carted off of the field.
To end the game, Baker Mayfield threw one last touchdown pass to Chris Godwin, making him the second Buccaneers quarterback with over 300 passing yards in a playoff game. The final score of the game was 32-9, Buccaneers, meaning they would join the Lions in the NFC divisional round.
