In this episode, Santiago and Joe recap the 2023 NFL Wildcard Weekend between Seahawks-49ers, Chargers-Jaguars, Dolphins-Bills, Giants-Vikings and Ravens-Bengals.
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Joe Toscano – @joeybagovdonuts
2023 NFL Wildcard Weekend Recap
Seahawks 23 49ers 41
Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth score in his playoff debut, leading the 49ers to a 41-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in a wild-card game on Saturday.
“Once the game started, it was just 11 on 11, I have to do my job, get it to the guys in space and go from there,” Purdy said. “We didn’t make it more than what it was. … It wasn’t, ‘Oh my gosh it’s the playoffs and we got to get all tense.’ We just have to play our game.”
Purdy picked up where he left off in the regular season for the 49ers (14-4) and showed few signs of playoff jitters by winning his sixth straight start since replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo early in a Week 13 win over Miami.
Purdy connected on a 3-yard pass to Christian McCaffrey in the first quarter, converted a 1-yard sneak in the third quarter and a 7-yard TD pass to Mitchell early in the fourth to make it 31-17.
Purdy threw for 332 yards — the second most ever for a rookie in the playoffs to Russell Wilson’s 385 in a loss to Atlanta 10 years ago — and he became the first rookie QB ever to account for four TDs in a playoff game.
The Seahawks (9-9) kept it close for most of three quarters
Geno Smith finished 25 for 35 for 253 yards, two TDs and one interception.
Chargers 30 Jaguars 31
Trevor Lawrence rallied the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 31-30 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night.
Lawrence engineered the winning drive, highlighted by Travis Etienne’s 25-yard run on a fourth-and-1 play, and put the Jaguars in position for Riley Patterson’s 36-yard field goal on the final play. It capped a 27-point comeback, the largest in franchise history and the third largest in playoff history.
Dolphins 31 Bills 34
Josh Allen shrugged off a three-turnover outing, and the three-time defending AFC East champion Bills avoided a major collapse by rallying for a 34-31 victory over the AFC’s seventh-seeded and injury-depleted Miami Dolphins in a wild-card playoff game on Sunday.
Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes over a span of 3:11, with Cole Beasley scoring the go-ahead TD with a 6-yard catch, before Gabe Davis extended the lead to 34-24 with a 23-yard TD reception.
Josh Allen finished 23 of 39 for 352 yards and three TDs, but also threw two interceptions, which resulted in the Dolphins scoring 11 points.
Giants 31 Vikings 24
Daniel Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 78 yards in his first career playoff game for the Giants in a 31-24 wild-card round victory on Sunday that gave the Vikings their first loss in 12 one-score games this season.
Saquon Barkley rushed for two scores, including the tiebreaker midway through the fourth quarter. Jones became the first quarterback in NFL history to hit these thresholds in a postseason game: 300-plus yards passing, two-plus passing touchdowns and 70-plus yards rushing.
Kirk Cousins went 31 for 39 for 273 yards and two scores and a rushing touchdown to cap the game’s opening possession, the too-short throw to Hockenson his one glaring mistake. Cousins was more upset by his placement on the third-and-8 pass to K.J. Osborn — who had a first-half touchdown catch — that was knocked down by Cor’Dale Flott.
The Giants (10-7-1) advanced to play No. 1 seed and NFC East rival Philadelphia in the divisional round next Saturday night.
Ravens 17 Bengals 24
Sam Hubbard returned Tyler Huntley’s fumble 98 yards for a tiebreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-17 in the first round of the AFC playoffs on Sunday night.
Playing behind a patchwork offensive line, Burrow passed for 209 yards and a touchdown for the AFC North champions. He also had a 1-yard touchdown run a week after the Bengals beat the Ravens 27-16 in the regular-season finale.
Bengals
Burrow – 209 yards
Mixon – 39 yards
Ja’Marr Chase – 84 yards
Ravens
Huntley – 226 yards
Dobbins – 62 yards
Gus Edwards – 39 yards
Mark Andrews – 73 yards
Demarcus Robinson – 49 yards
PREDICTIONS
MON
DAL-TB
JT: TB
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.
