Hot Takes: Wild Card Round

It’s the Wild Card edition of HOT TAKES!

Chiefs vs. Texans

*This game was over on the very first play. I’m not as high on the Chiefs as everyone else is because they haven’t beaten anyone of note, but that doesn’t change the fact that they have an outstanding defense and a solid quarterback. Meanwhile, the Texans have no offense and an overrated defense. The Texans were only in the playoffs because Andrew Luck decided to be terrible for most of the season before getting hurt and, unlike the Panthers last year, weren’t fortunate enough to play a back-up quarterback in a playoff game that they had no business hosting.

*If the Chiefs don’t have Jeremy Maclin next week, their offense could be in trouble.

*I honestly didn’t watch much of this game. Can you blame me?

Steelers vs. Bengals

*I felt so bad for my boy Steve Cook by the end of this game. AJ McCarron proved me right and turned out to be THE TRUTH and then the Bengals screwed it up like they almost always do. First it was the Jeremy Hill fumble, then it was letting Ben Roethlisberger completing really anything despite the bum shoulder, then it was the hit on Antonio Brown, and it was all capped off by “Pacman” going all TNA on the Steelers coach. It was the most embarrassing meltdown I’ve seen in the playoffs in perhaps forever.

*Marvin Lewis needs to be fired. I get it. He’s led them to a lot of playoff appearances and that should count for something. But he’s led them to zero playoff wins. John Fox got fired in Denver one season after he led them to the Super Bowl. Job security as a NFL head coach is almost none, yet the Bengals bring back Lewis every year despite failing after failing. I understand that consistency counts for something. But consistently losing when it matters should count for a lot more. Lewis has never had control over his players. The Bengals were notorious for getting in trouble on and off the field. They’ve cleaned up their off the field issues, but there’s no restraint on the field. It showed once again on Sunday.

*If the Steelers ended up winning in a different manner, would Lewis still be the coach? The Bengals were never in this game until they knocked out Roethlisberger and forced Pittsburgh to go with Landry Jones. That got them back in the game. If Ben had stayed in and the Steelers went on to win 22-7, does Lewis’ fate remain the same? Probably, because the Bengals organization could’ve chalked it up to Dalton’s injury. Having the lead and imploding in the final 2 minutes was far worse than being blown out.

*A banged up Roethlisberger and an old Peyton Manning. That game should be a treat.

Seahawks vs. Vikings

*This game sucked.

*At least it had a memorable ending with Blair Walsh missing a field goal to give the Seahawks the victory. Poor Walsh. He was the only guy to contribute anything to the team for 59 minutes, but one miss in the final seconds and he’s to blame for the loss. Teddy Bridgewater couldn’t throw a pass more than five yards and Adrian Peterson ran the ball 23 times for 45 yards. Maybe if the Vikings best players took advantage of good field position, Walsh never would’ve needed to kick the field goal.

*Also, maybe they should’ve contained Russell Wilson when he had to pick up the ball 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

*As a Panthers fan, I’m extremely worried about this week. I know that we beat Seattle at Seattle earlier in the season, but the Seahawks have been playing great in the last half of the season and they are without a doubt one of the luckiest teams in the past three years. I can only hope that Marshawn Lynch is a huge distraction in returning. Otherwise I’m confidently picking Seattle.

Packers vs. Redskins

*Home teams went 0-4 on the weekend. Related, all four home teams had first time starting QBs in the playoffs.

*The Packers didn’t look great early, but I had full confidence that Aaron Rodgers would turn things around for his team. It helped that they were playing a fraud Redskins team.

*What was DeSean Jackson thinking? Everyone is taught to put the ball forward when going to the goalline and for some reason Jackson decided to put it behind him. Should the Redskins have been able to score from the half yard line? Yes. But if Jackson put the ball in front of him, it never would’ve come to that. The Packers were going to win regardless, but the Redskins killed their own momentum.

*Rodgers is going to need another superhuman effort to beat the Cardinals and he’s going to need a lot of help from the defense to slow down the best offense in the league.