NFL playoff video games ranked from least to most watchable: Greatest matchups – USA TODAY

Rejoice NFL followers, for the 2023 postseason has arrived. “Tremendous Wild Card Weekend” – apparently the nomenclature is right here to remain – begins Saturday afternoon and goes till Monday evening, that means the playoff pandemonium will flicker for greater than 48 hours. 
Each No. 1 seeds, the Baltimore Ravens within the AFC and the San Francisco 49ers within the NFC, earned byes and won’t be taking part. The opposite 12 playoff groups are in motion. 
Choosing a matchup based mostly on “watchability” in comparison with one other might really feel sacrilegious. It’s the NFL playoffs! However not all video games are created equal. 
Fortunately for many who favor their playoffs with a aspect of drama, there is no such thing as a scarcity of storylines this spherical.  
The Payments proudly owning the No. 2 seed appeared unimaginable two months in the past. The identical may very well be stated of the Steelers qualifying for the postseason following their loss to the Indianapolis Colts three weeks in the past. Mason Rudolph helped Pittsburgh rattle off three straight wins, however the heartfelt third-string QB story can solely final so lengthy (until you’re Brock Purdy). Buffalo has gained 5 in a row since its Week 13 bye. 
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This sport may go the blowout route, it may very well be ugly, and it is likely to be a mix of the 2. Plus, no T.J. Watt for the Steelers makes this one much less intriguing. In 11 video games with out Watt since drafting the go rusher, Pittsburgh is 1-10. 
Tampa Bay hosts the “Monday Night time Soccer” contest within the wild-card spherical for the second straight yr.
As for the Eagles, 1-5 to finish the season after beginning 10-1: The final workforce to make the playoffs with 5 losses of their ultimate six video games was the 1999 Miami Dolphins. In Corridor of Fame quarterback Dan Marino’s final sport, they misplaced to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 62-7. The Eagles probably gained’t endure the identical destiny, however they’ve performed like they’re wandering the wilderness for an alarmingly lengthy stretch. 
The Buccaneers’ offense is inconsistent, however Philadelphia’s protection is putrid to the purpose Mike Evans may need some vertical alternatives. Will or not it’s a final stand for Eagles heart Jason Kelce and the group of veterans introduced again with targets of reaching a second straight Tremendous Bowl?
They performed this matchup three weeks earlier, minus a key stakeholder: Texans QB C.J. Stroud, who missed the regular-season tilt whereas recovering from a concussion. The probably soon-to-be Offensive Rookie of the Yr has dazzled along with his means to make all varieties of throws, and the Browns’ protection will current one of many greatest challenges he’s confronted in his first season. 
Over 5 video games, Browns quarterback Joe Flacco’s efficiency pushed him into the Comeback Participant of the Yr dialog. It was six weeks in the past the 38-year-old was answerable for coordinating pickup and dropoff for his kids. Now he returns to the stadium the place he helped Amari Cooper set the Browns’ single-game receiving report on Christmas Eve. 
Value noting: Flacco has an interception fee of three.9%, which might rank final within the league if he’d thrown sufficient passes to qualify in 2023. Stroud led the league in that class (1.0%).
There’s a potential for offensive fireworks from either side. The betting unfold signifies that Vegas expects a detailed sport. Stroud and the Texans must overcome their inexperience to drag off the upset.
That is the purpose within the rankings the place the NFL scriptwriters begin displaying off. Tyreek Hill has already confronted the workforce that traded him in 2022, besides he’s but to return to GEHA Area at Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs. That modifications Saturday evening. 
The forecast calls for cold temperatures, and Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa, the native Hawaiian, hasn’t at all times fared effectively in such climes. A September sport between these groups would have a greater likelihood of being higher-scoring. But when the Dolphins’ offense can flip again the clock to earlier this season when the group appeared like some of the explosive items of all time, it ought to be a enjoyable chess match between Miami head coach Mike McDaniel and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. A depleted Dolphins protection ought to give Patrick Mahomes and the shaky Chiefs offense an opportunity. 
Necessary public-service announcement: The sport is completely out there on Peacock, an indication of the NFL’s all-in method to the streaming period. 
Some of the storied NFC postseason rivalries in league historical past takes heart stage Sunday afternoon. From The Ice Bowl to the convention championship video games of the Nineties to “Dez Caught It,” Cowboys-Packers has delivered throughout the many years when the stakes are highest. 
Dallas’ offensive efficiency at residence offers the Packers a lot to be involved with defensively, as coordinator Joe Barry’s unit has been inconsistent and uninspiring. However Inexperienced Bay’s means to run the ball – one thing Dallas has struggled to defend and do themselves – may open the door for an upset. If Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and the Cowboys offense get off to a quick begin, it will not be a difficulty.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has already downplayed the emotional angle of the matchup; McCarthy coached in Inexperienced Bay from 2006-18 and gained a Tremendous Bowl with the Packers. If McCarthy’s present workforce doesn’t get the job performed, his job safety will change into the subject of dialog in Dallas. 
Will the NBC broadcast have sufficient time to cowl the entire connections on this one? (They’ll, as a result of the Mike Tirico-Cris Collinsworth-Melissa Stark saying crew has been top-notch all yr.) 
There’s Rams QB Matthew Stafford, the primary total decide by the Lions in 2009 who performed 12 seasons in Detroit, in what can be an emotional homecoming of kinds. 
There’s Lions QB Jared Goff, the primary total decide by the Rams in 2016 who performed 5 seasons for Los Angeles, in what can be a revenge sport of kinds. Lions basic supervisor Brad Holmes additionally got here from the Rams and rebuilt the Lions right into a workforce that gained 12 video games for the primary time since 1991. 
The surroundings ought to be electrical, with Detroit hosting its first playoff game in 30 years. Two of probably the most energetic head coaches in Sean McVay and Dan Campbell can be head-to-head. On high of that, the sport ought to be tightly contested. No workforce had a stronger second half than the Rams, who gained seven of their final eight video games – the one loss coming in overtime to the Ravens. The Lions cannot ensure what they are going to obtain from record-breaking rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who who suffered a knee damage within the regular-season finale in opposition to the Minnesota Vikings. Los Angeles can have its record-breaking rookie, although, in wideout Puka Nacua. 

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