Ranking the NFL Wild Card matchups from last weekend

The NFL Playoffs are underway, and the Wild Card round has come and gone.

Wild Card weekend saw some fireworks, but also saw some duds.

With the Divisional Round on the horizon, it’s time to recap the Wild Card matchups, while ranking them from best to worst in terms of moments and enjoyment.

No. 6: Houston Texans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Final score: Texans 30, Steelers 6

As someone who watches the wild-card matchups every year, I’ve concluded that there is always an “annual first-round blowout.”

Unfortunately for Steelers fans, Pittsburgh is normally on the wrong end of those blowouts. Monday night, they got the bad end of the stick again.

My simple review of this game would be: “The game was close, until it wasn’t.”

Houston held a 7-6 lead after three quarters. All of a sudden, a 23-point fourth quarter put the game way out of reach for Pittsburgh.

What could be Aaron Rodgers’ final pass in the NFL was intercepted by Caden Bullock and taken back for a touchdown.

Houston’s defense smothered Rodgers all night, sacking him four times and reminding the world how legit its unit truly is.

No. 5: Los Angeles Chargers vs. New England Patriots

Final score: Patriots 16, Chargers 3

Was this game great? No. Was it more consistent? Yes.

What I mean by consistent is that you still knew which outcome would happen as a viewer without an out-of-nowhere scoring blowup.

Don’t get me wrong, the Chargers still got blown out, but the Patriots were still held to minimal points in each quarter, making the viewers think LA still had a chance.

Who may have had the roughest night of all was Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who was sacked six times and received virtually no help from his o-line.

Despite just one touchdown pass and an interception to go with it, Drake Maye still threw for almost 300 yards to lead New England to its first playoff victory since 2018.

No. 4: San Francisco 49ers vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Final score: 49ers 23, Eagles 19

Down go the champs.

Despite a down season from the Eagles, many thought Philadelphia could still use the home crowd to its advantage, but costly mistakes and a good performance from San Francisco’s defense prevented that from happening.

Brock Purdy did not have his best game, but relying on his weapons was all he needed to do.

Christian McCaffrey had a down game rushing-wise, but made up for it with two receiving touchdowns, one of which was thrown by Jauan Jennings.

Eagles’ receivers gave Jalen Hurts trouble all night. AJ Brown hauled in just three of seven targets and had costly drops at the end of the game.

The loss led Philadelphia to demote its offensive coordinator, Kevin Patullo, with the 49ers advancing to the Divisional Round for the fourth time since 2021.

No. 3: Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears

Final score: Bears 31, Packers 27

This game proved once again that you can never write a team off.

Green Bay held a 21-3 lead over its rival and looked to be in the driver’s seat, until a 25-point fourth quarter from Chicago turned the game upside down.

The loss was certainly not on Jordan Love, who threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns.

Even though Caleb Williams was inaccurate and made his mistakes, he showed up when the Bears needed him to, as he threw for 361 yards.

The Packers’ defensive collapse at Soldier Field was not the first time that happened this season. The Bears had to come back and win their Week 16 matchup against Green Bay as well.

Regardless, this was another classic in the chapter of the Bears-Packers rivalry that saw Chicago win a playoff game for the first time since 2011.

No. 2: Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Final score: Bills 27, Jaguars 24

This was the most anticipated game of the weekend, and it lived up to the hype.

The Jaguars gave the Bills a true fight, with the game coming down to the final moments. Trevor Lawrence’s second interception of the afternoon sealed the win for Buffalo late in the fourth quarter.

Josh Allen did what he’s done all season, which is put the Bills on his back. He was pretty accurate, 28-for-35 passing, for a passing and rushing touchdown.

Experience was the difference maker, and Buffalo will advance in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

Meanwhile, Jacksonville got a taste of playoff action in year one under Liam Coen and can build off this season going forward.

No. 1: Los Angeles Rams vs. Carolina Panthers

Final score: Rams 34, Panthers 31

Speaking of teams that should be proud of their season… The Carolina Panthers gave the LA Rams a real fight in the wild-card round.

Despite going down 14-0 and 17-7 late in the first half, Bryce Young and company never wavered.

The score was tied at the start of the third quarter, and from there, the back-and-forth battle was on.

Carolina and Los Angeles traded scores. The Panthers took the lead on a touchdown pass to Jalen Coker with 2:39 left.

The Rams took the lead and won on a touchdown reception from Colby Parkinson with under a minute to go.

LA won the fight and advanced on, but had to earn it against the scrappy NFC South champions.

Like their AFC South counterparts, the Panthers should be optimistic about the future, like Jacksonvill,e and use this as a learning opportunity to keep building in 2026.

Adam Pietrzak is a fifth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email app5940@psu.edu