2025 NFL Wild-Card Good, Bad and Ugly: Texans’ Defense Dominates Again

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Good: Texans’ elite defense doesn’t need much to win Super Bowl
Bad: Aaron Rodgers struggles in possible final playoff game
Ugly: It’s time for the Steelers, Mike Tomlin to go their separate ways
Good: Drake Maye overcame rough start to win first playoff start
Bad: Justin Herbert and big moments clearly don’t mix
Ugly: The Chargers have to get over the postseason hump
Good: Unsung heroes emerge for the short-handed 49ers
Bad: Jalen Hurts and the passing game were disjointed
Ugly: George Kittle tearing his Achilles is the worst
Good: Josh Allen comes up clutch in Jacksonville
Bad: What were the Jaguars doing offensively?
Ugly: Tony Romo’s broadcast was rough, at best
Good: Williams, Johnson overcome mistakes in thrilling playoff debut
Bad: LaFleur’s job security in the spotlight after 18-point collapse
Ugly: McManus’s missed kicks hurt the Packers in the end
Good: Stafford, Young put on a show to open playoffs
Bad: Rams coach Sean McVay makes questionable offensive calls
Ugly: Critical mistakes on both sides lead to wild finish in Carolina

Saving the best for last doesn’t apply to wild-card weekend.

On Monday night, the Texans and Steelers delivered an offensive slogfest to close out the first round of the NFL playoffs.

But if you’re a fan of excellent defense, you’re not complaining about what the Texans’ elite unit did to Aaron Rodgers and his offense. C.J. Stroud is certainly not complaining, as Houston overcame three turnovers from its quarterback to win in Pittsburgh, 30–6.

The divisional round of the playoffs is now set. In the AFC, the Texans will travel to play the Patriots, and the top-seeded Broncos will host the Bills. In the NFC, the 49ers will travel to Seattle, and the Rams will head to Chicago.

The NFL playoffs are so far living up to the hype, even with the two ugly games to close out wild-card weekend, including the Patriots’ 16–3 beatdown of Justin Herbert and the Chargers.

Let’s put a bow on wild-card weekend.

Good: Texans’ elite defense doesn’t need much to win Super Bowl

Usually, if a quarterback plays as poorly as Stroud did on Monday, there’s no shot that the team wins a playoff game. But Stroud has the luxury of playing with a special defense, one that’s capable of winning the Super Bowl with very little offense.

Houston’s defense provided a much-needed touchdown after Sheldon Rankins’s 33-yard scoop-and-score touchdown to extend the lead to 11 points with 11:23 left in regulation. It was over by this point because most offenses struggle to score 10 points against this defense over four quarters (the Texans allowed only 17.4 points per game in the regular season).

Stroud (21-of-32, 250 yards, TD, INT) did manage to drive for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, which might help his confidence after two lost fumbles and an interception against the Steelers. Again, the Texans don’t need much from Stroud, but it would make life easier if he could generate more explosive plays, which he did at times, throwing to Christian Kirk.

On a day that Nico Collins struggled (he exited in the second half due to a concussion), Kirk (eight catches, 144 yards, TD) provided enough offense to add some points on the scoreboard, as Houston entered the fourth quarter with a 7–6 advantage.

But this dominant defense decided to do the bulk of the work, adding a second touchdown after Calen Bullock’s 50-yard pick-six to continue the rout with 2:39 left.

Bad: Aaron Rodgers struggles in possible final playoff game

If this is it for the 42-year-old Rodgers, he’s not going to have fond memories of his final game in the NFL.

Rodgers’s offense started the game 0-for-6 on third down and struggled to gain yards after the catch against Houston’s ferocious defense, which was actually a strength for the Steelers in the regular season. The running back tandem of Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell only combined for 93 total yards, and star receiver DK Metcalf was a non-factor with two catches for 42 yards and one costly drop in the first half.

The Steelers did manage to keep it close, trailing 7–6 to open the final quarter. However, everything fell apart for this sluggish offense, which was no match against the best defense in football. Rodgers went 17-of-33 for 146 yards and one interception.

After looking helpless against Houston, Rodgers might opt to call it a career and focus on all of his brilliant moments throughout his legendary career. It just wasn’t his night on Monday.

Ugly: It’s time for the Steelers, Mike Tomlin to go their separate ways

The Steelers need to stop focusing on Tomlin’s 19-year streak without a losing record and pay more attention to the seven-game losing skid in the postseason.

Pittsburgh and Tomlin haven’t won a playoff game since beating the Chiefs in the divisional round in 2016. That’s now 10 years of mediocrity. To make matters worse, the Steelers have an old defense and will soon be searching for a new quarterback, and they should even if Rodgers decides to return next season.

It’s become clear that this franchise needs a hard reset. Perhaps trading Tomlin for a valuable draft pick could ignite the first rebuild in Pittsburgh this century.

With so many quality coaches available, it’s the right time for the Steelers to take a look at what else is out there.

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye — Patriots quarterback Drake Maye finished with 334 total yards against the Chargers, including 66 on the ground in New England's AFC wild-card win on Sunday night. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Good: Drake Maye overcame rough start to win first playoff start

The beginning wasn’t pretty for Drake Maye. The ending was beautiful.

Maye was 6-of-15 for 95 yards and an interception in the first half against the Chargers and coordinator Jesse Minter, including 48 yards on a checkdown to running back Rhamondre Stevenson. But by game’s end, Maye had amassed 334 total yards, including 66 yards on the ground, leading all rushers in New England’s 16–3 victory at Gillette Stadium.

In his first postseason appearance, Maye appeared nervous early. He missed some makeable throws as New England scored only six first-half points. But the defense kept the Patriots afloat with a stellar effort, permitting only 207 yards on 3.5 yards per play to give Maye time to settle down.

In the second half, Maye went 11-of-14 for 173 yards with a touchdown pass to Hunter Henry, helping New England win its first playoff game since 2018 when Tom Brady and Bill Belichick owned Foxborough.

Next week, New England will once again be home to face the winner of Houston-Pittsburgh, undoubtedly the favorite in either scenario.

Bad: Justin Herbert and big moments clearly don’t mix

Forget winning a Super Bowl. Justin Herbert would settle for winning a playoff game.

In his six-year career, Herbert has made the playoffs three times. In 2022, his Chargers took a 27–0 lead and lost 31–30 to the Jaguars in the wild-card round. Two years later, Herbert threw four interceptions (after tossing three all year) in a 32–12 loss to the Texans.

On Sunday, Herbert got another shot. This time, Los Angeles scored three points in defeat while Herbert went 11-of-20 for 93 yards (4.7 YPA) until garbage time began with 5:39 remaining and New England leading 16–3.

Yes, Herbert didn’t have his star tackles, which led to a six-sack performance for the Patriots. His run game did little, with Kimani Vidal rushing for 31 yards on 11 carries. But his defense also stifled New England, forcing an early turnover at the Patriots’ 10-yard line, which led to zero points.

At some point, if Herbert is to be considered among the NFL’s best with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, he has to be a threat in January. He needs to play well in the most significant moments. He needs to make plays. None of those things has happened in the postseason.

In his three playoff starts, Herbert has completed 52% of his attempts with two touchdowns and four interceptions. Over the Chargers’ past 10 postseason quarters, they have 18 points.

Herbert is a talented player. He has all the tools. But he doesn’t have a playoff win.

Ugly: The Chargers have to get over the postseason hump

It’s easy to put all the blame for Sunday’s defeat on the offense. Perhaps rightfully so. But the Chargers must change organizationally in the long term.

Since reaching Super Bowl XXIX to wrap up the 1994 season, the Chargers have five postseason wins. Four of those have come in the wild-card round. This is a franchise that has employed star quarterbacks Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and Herbert during that stretch, a trio arguably better than most franchises have fielded during the same span.

The common denominator? Ownership. The Spanos family has owned the Chargers since buying the team in 1984. They’ve made the right moves under center and occasionally on the sideline in Bobby Ross, Marty Schottenheimer and Jim Harbaugh, but nothing has worked.

This offseason, ownership, Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz have to figure out the next step. Getting star tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt will undoubtedly help, but Los Angeles hasn’t won a division title since 2009, and despite the Chiefs falling apart this season, it still couldn’t come close.

Something, or maybe many things, have to change.

Good: Unsung heroes emerge for the short-handed 49ers

Show me a single person who had Demarcus Robinson and Eric Kendricks on their bingo card at the season’s outset as key contributors for a 49ers playoff win.

Robinson began the year with a three-game suspension and then proceeded to catch 22 passes for 276 yards in the regular season. But against the Eagles, he had only the third 100-yard game of his career and first in the postseason, totaling 111 yards on six catches with a touchdown.

Defensively, Kendricks was once a first-team All-Pro for the Vikings in 2019. However, the 11-year veteran has bounced around in recent years, spending time with the Vikings, Chargers and Cowboys from 2022 to ’24. But the free agent signed with the 49ers’ practice squad in late November.

During the season, Kendricks played three games and 46 defensive snaps before replacing Dee Winters in the middle of the unit on Sunday. All he did was record 10 tackles, including two for loss, before breaking up Jalen Hurts’s desperation pass on fourth down to seal a victory.

With Fred Warner out for most of the season with a fractured ankle, Nick Bosa sustaining a torn ACL and now George Kittle going down with a torn Achilles, San Francisco needs star performances from fringe players. They got two against the Eagles.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts — Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts struggled against the 49ers, completing only 20 of 35 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Bad: Jalen Hurts and the passing game were disjointed

The 49ers came into the playoffs with the worst pressure rate and fewest sacks in the NFL this season. Against the Eagles, coordinator Robert Saleh managed to scheme up only a single QB hit and a sack, but it was enough to slow down Philadelphia’s anemic passing attack.

Jalen Hurts was bottled up throughout, going 20-of-35 for 168 yards and a touchdown, averaging a meager 4.8 yards per attempt. Hurts couldn’t get anything going with star receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, who managed just 11 catches for 95 yards across 18 targets.

During the regular season, the Eagles were 23rd in passing, ranking ahead of only the Panthers among playoff teams. That issue showed up facing San Francisco, despite the rushing game notching 140 yards and a touchdown.

The big question around Philadelphia now will be whether the Eagles fire offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who has been on the hottest of seats all year with the Eagles 19th in points and 24th in yards.

Ugly: George Kittle tearing his Achilles is the worst

Few players have been more fun, or more productive, than George Kittle since he entered the league in 2017.

Unfortunately, Kittle has often been as injured as he has been great. On Sunday against Philadelphia, Kittle went down in the second quarter with an apparent torn Achilles, an injury that could threaten to sideline him into the 2026 campaign.

It’s fair to wonder what Kittle, who will turn 33 in October, has left. The seven-time Pro Bowler hasn’t played a full season since 2018 but seemed to have shaken the injury bug coming into this season, missing only five games over the previous three years. This season, Kittle was limited to 11 contests, catching 57 passes for 628 yards and seven touchdowns, earning Pro Bowl honors for the fifth consecutive year.

However, with such a serious injury and age not on his side, Kittle faces the biggest challenge of his potential Hall of Fame career.

Good: Josh Allen comes up clutch in Jacksonville

No player is under more pressure this postseason than Josh Allen. In his eighth season, Allen has yet to reach the Super Bowl despite making the playoffs seven consecutive years. And, without Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson to challenge him, his path is clear.

On Sunday, Allen passed his first test in a 27–24 win over the Jaguars. He rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another, but the story of the afternoon was Allen twice leading go-ahead drives in the fourth quarter for Buffalo’s first road playoff win since the 1992 AFC title game.

Allen has to be special over the next month. His receivers are underwhelming and only got worse this week with an apparent knee injury to Gabe Davis, plus Josh Palmer was placed on IR earlier this week. In short, Allen has NFL rushing champ James Cook II and slot receiver Khalil Shakir to rely on (Shakir was brilliant in Jacksonville with 12 catches on 12 targets), but little else.

Buffalo trailed twice in the final quarter, but, both times, Allen rescued the Bills. —Matt Verderame

Bad: What were the Jaguars doing offensively?

Liam Coen had a great year in his first season with the Jaguars. He took over a 4–13 team and turned its record around. But the play-calling Sunday will have him facing some restless nights.

Despite never trailing by more than three points the entire game, Jacksonville at times went away from its dominant run game. Facing the Bills’ 30th-ranked run defense by YPC, the Jaguars called five runs and 14 passes in the second and third quarters combined. All this while Jacksonville repeatedly gashed Buffalo on the ground with the combination of Travis Etienne Jr. and Bhayshul Tuten rushing for 118 yards on 14 carries (8.4 YPC).

The usage of Tuten was bizarre. He had three consecutive rushes totaling 47 yards to end the first quarter, and then was put in mothballs.

Jacksonville also had a chance early in the second quarter to take a 10–3 lead on what would have been a chip-shot field goal for Cam Little, but decided to risk the three points on a fourth-and-2. The result was Trevor Lawrence slipping and failing to make the first down. Buffalo then took the ball 92 yards for a go-ahead score.

Coen should be proud of the job both he and his team did this year, but there were a lot of curious decisions in this one. —Matt Verderame

Ugly: Tony Romo’s broadcast was rough, at best

When Romo began his broadcasting career with CBS in 2017, he was correctly ballyhooed as one of the best in the business. On Sunday, none of that showed up.

Romo was off-base repeatedly throughout the telecast. When Buffalo scored its first touchdown on an Allen run, Romo shouted over the ensuing few seconds that an official seemed to come in and indicate no play. The play went on as normal. Later in the second quarter, Brandin Cooks was initially deemed to have caught a deep pass. On replay, it seemed obvious the ball hit the ground. Before going to commercial, Romo declared the ball was caught. When CBS came back to the game, the call had been quickly reversed to no catch.

The broadcast was such a struggle that, during the game, Awful Announcing wrote a story detailing the issues.

With Romo and Jim Nantz as CBS’s top broadcast team, the former Cowboys quarterback will be getting two more games before NBC takes over for the Super Bowl. Here’s hoping Romo redeems himself with a far, far better performance. —Matt Verderame

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver DJ Moore celebrate their game-winning touchdown against the Packers on Saturday night. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Good: Williams, Johnson overcome mistakes in thrilling playoff debut

Williams made a handful of throws in the second half that showed why he’s going to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL sooner rather than later.

He was erratic at times, which might have frustrated coach Ben Johnson, who has favored a less-is-more approach in their first year together. But this was not the time to pull back the reins on the 2024 No. 1 pick, especially not with a 15-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.

Instead of taking off running for small yardage, Williams often kept his eyes downfield as the pocket collapsed, hitting Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III for lengthy completions. Williams hit DJ Moore for the eventual game-winning 25-yard touchdown pass to give the Bears their first lead since early in the first quarter with 1:43 left in regulation.

From there, the Chicago defense did enough to keep Love & Co. out of the end zone. The Bears wouldn't have won without their defense forcing the Packers into four consecutive punts to open the second half. Williams finished 24-of-48 for 361 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Love went 24-of-46 for 323 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers.

Before the comeback, Williams expressed plenty of frustration with the questionable play-calling from Johnson, who had a few head-scratchers on fourth down. But the Bears’ offense finally broke through after the fourth consecutive punt from the Packers. Williams had two 20-plus-yard completions to Loveland before D’Andre Swift found the end zone on a five-yard run to make it 21–16 with 10:08 left in regulation. —Gilberto Manzano

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur — Matt LaFleur's Packers blew a 21-3 lead to the Bears, the biggest playoff collapse in Green Bay playoff history. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Bad: LaFleur’s job security in the spotlight after 18-point collapse

Plain and simple, the Packers were one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL this season. They finished the same way they did last year, the only difference being that they kept Saturday’s wild-card loss close compared to being handled by the Eagles in 2024.

Green Bay was supposed to make a deep playoff run after the team sent two first-round picks to Dallas for star edge rusher Micah Parsons. Perhaps LaFleur can lean into the excuse that Parsons wasn’t around the final month of the season after sustaining a season-ending ACL injury. But the Packers also struggled with Parsons on the field, including upset losses to the Panthers and Browns.

To make matters worse, LaFleur’s offense was inconsistent for long stretches throughout the season, and it didn’t help that rookie first-round wide receiver Matthew Golden struggled to find his footing. Ironically, Golden’s best performance came Saturday night. He had four catches for 84 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown catch, his first of the season, to give Green Bay a 27–16 advantage with 6:36 left in regulation.

It seemed the Packers were going to overcome their second-half meltdown after Golden’s score, but now the team heads into the offseason with several questions, including whether to bring back LaFleur. —Gilberto Manzano

Ugly: McManus’s missed kicks hurt the Packers in the end

We wouldn’t be talking about LaFleur’s job security if kicker Brandon McManus had made all of his kicks on Saturday night.

McManus missed two field goals and one extra point, which cost Green Bay four points in the fourth quarter. Instead of Love needing a desperate heave as time expired from the 28-yard-line, the Packers could have been in position to win the game with a McManus field goal.

This game could have looked a lot different if Love had gotten the ball with a 31–31 tie and 1:43 left in regulation. But McManus chose the worst time to miss kicks. —Gilberto Manzano

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford — Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 24-of-42 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns in L.A.'s 34-31 victory over Carolina in the wild-card round. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Good: Stafford, Young put on a show to open playoffs

The story was nearly about Young, the 2023 No. 1 pick, carving up the Rams’ weak secondary, but the Panthers left too much time on the clock for the future Hall of Famer standing on the other sideline.

After Young connected with Jalen Coker for a go-ahead seven-yard touchdown pass, Stafford and the Rams’ high-scoring offense stepped up on the field with nearly three minutes left in regulation. The front-runner for MVP produced a sensational seven-play, 71-yard scoring drive that ended with Parkinson crossing the end zone with 38 seconds left in regulation.

Stafford finished 24-of-42 for 304 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Young went 21-of-40 for 264 yards, one rushing touchdown, one passing touchdown and an interception.

The Rams jumped to an early 14–0 advantage, but the pesky Panthers found ways to even the playing field, with coach Dave Canales giving Young the green light to throw passes of 10-plus yards. Even against a rocky secondary, it was impressive how Young picked apart L.A.’s defense, considering that he lost his left tackle Ikem Ekwonu due to injury early in the game.

But the Rams stopped the bleeding after Puka Nacua broke up a potential Stafford interception in the end zone, allowing the Rams to restore order in a game that was slipping away. Kyren Williams converted on fourth-and-1 with a two-yard run, and a few plays later, Williams crossed the end zone on a 13-yard go-ahead touchdown catch to give L.A. a 27–24 advantage and silence the crowd with 8:47 left in regulation.

From there, Young and Stafford traded go-ahead touchdowns, and it appeared that the Panthers were going to benefit from having the ball last. But the Rams caught a break with Horn dropping the pass on fourth down. —Gilberto Manzano

Los Angeles Rams tight end Colby Parkinson — Rams tight end Colby Parkinson celebrates after scoring the game-winning touchdown against the Panthers on Saturday night. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Bad: Rams coach Sean McVay makes questionable offensive calls

The Rams produced the highest-scoring offense in football partly due to a unique personnel with three tight ends on the field. But coach Sean McVay didn’t lean on his tight ends for nearly three quarters, which allowed the Panthers to overcome a 14-point deficit.

It wasn’t until Carolina took a 24–20 advantage early in the fourth quarter that McVay leaned heavily on his beefier personnel. He kept calling plays for Stafford to attack the Panthers’ stout cornerbacks with wide receivers Davante Adams and Nacua. It worked initially, but Carolina’s defense, led by DC Ejiro Evero, quickly adjusted.

It wasn’t too late for the Rams, but they could have put away the Panthers a lot sooner if McVay decided to play away from cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson. Then again, the trio of Stafford, Nacua and Adams is capable of having success against any defense. But what makes the Rams’ offense the best unit in football is all the weapons at Stafford’s disposal.

Perhaps McVay will use more of the tight ends and running backs after all of the contributions L.A. received down the stretch of a chaotic playoff game. —Gilberto Manzano

Ugly: Critical mistakes on both sides lead to wild finish in Carolina

While there were moments when it looked like the Panthers were going to pull the upset, Los Angeles often appeared a step ahead because of a handful of critical mistakes from Carolina, especially in the first half.

From the jump, Canales searched for advantages, but his fourth-down decision on the opening drive backfired, leading to a short-field touchdown for L.A. (Carolina later had another failed fourth down). The Rams again got the ball in enemy territory after Young threw an interception due to a communication error with Coker, costing the Panthers another seven points and giving them an early 14–0 deficit.

There was also a dropped pass from Chuba Hubbard on third down, a muffed punt from Trevor Etienne and a kickoff that didn’t hit the landing zone to give the Rams another beneficial starting position. But the Panthers only trailed 17–14 at halftime because Young managed to pick apart the Rams’ weak secondary, which struggled to keep tabs on Coker and rookie sensation Tetairoa McMillan. Also, the Rams hurt themselves with a rare dropped pass from Nacua and a failed fourth-down conversion.

Carolina had opportunities to pull off another upset as a 10-point underdog, but the team committed too many mistakes against a dangerous offense. —Gilberto Manzano