The NFL had no shortage of exciting games on Super Wild Card Weekend, as the first weekend of the league's postseason lived up to its name. The came back from 27 points to beat the in the most thrilling game of the weekend, while the and Dallas Cowboys were the lone road teams to snatch victory in the wild card round.None of the No. 7 seeds were able to beat the No. 2 seeds, making the No. 7 seeds 0-6 since the playoff format expanded in 2020. Even though the games were good, the top seeds were able to take care of busine s and set up an exciting divisional playoff round.With six teams having their seasons come to a close and six teams advancing, this is a perfect time for overreactions to the wild card round of the postseason. Which ones are overreactions and which ones are reality?Overreaction or reality: OverreactionPrescott deserves all the accolades for how he played against the Buccaneers, going 25 of 33 for 305 yards with four touchdowns to zero interceptions -- while also rushing for 24 yards and a touchdown -- in the Cowboys' blowout victory. Prescott finished with the highest pa ser rating (143.3) in a game in Cowboys playoff history (minimum 20 attempts) and became just the fifth quarterback to have four pa sing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in NFL playoff history. While the performance was impre sive by Prescott, he and the Cowboys need to get past the divisional round in order to earn that reputation as a postseason quarterback. The Cowboys haven't been to a conference championship game since the 1995 season, but were able to win their first road playoff game in 30 years.Prescott needs to lead Dallas past the Donovan Solano Jersey San Francisco 49ers to earn that postseason reputation. A win against the 8-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers doesn't make one a postseason quarterback.Overreaction or reality:RealityThe Buccaneers were a disaster on offense throughout the 2022 seaosn, a year which Brady broke the NFL record for completions and attempts. This was Brady's first losing record in his career as a starter (8-9) and the 18.4 points per game were the fewest for any Brady-led offense. Tampa Bay was blown out by the in the NFC Wild Card round, which Brady went 35 of 66 for 351 yards with two touchdowns and one interception (72.2 rating) -- and those two touchdowns were when the game was well out of hand.Head coach Todd Bowles couldn't seem to help Brady through what was going on with his personal life this season and couldn't keep the Buccaneers as Super Bowl contenders. Byron Leftwich's offense definitely struggled with an aging Brady and a poor offensive line, not forgetting the horrible run game and offensive line that couldn't protect him.Brady probably doesn't want to go out like this and he'll have his options in free agency with better rosters and coaches around him. He could stay in Tampa Bay, but Bowles and Leftwich may both have to go for the Buccaneers to have a chance. Overreaction or reality: RealityThis all depends on if the Chargers can lure Sean Payton into the building, giving him an opportunity to coach and bring a strong staff to get the most out of their franchise quarterback. Staley isn't a bad head coach and should get another job, yet it's hard to justify keeping a coach that plays his starters -- and gets them injured -- in a meaningle s regular season finale and throws the ball more than the team that was Dave Dravecky Jersey trailing by 27 points (a game which the Chargers lost).This is going to come down to whether owner Dean Spanos wants to pay Staley his contract and Payton a hefty salary to get him to coach the franchise. The Chargers were 10-7 this season and the expectations will be higher with Payton.This team is talented enough to be one of the best in the AFC. Payton is worth the gamble, especially with a franchise quarterback in Herbert. Overreaction or reality: OverreactionPederson already has a playoff win in his first season with the Jaguars. Who would have seen that coming heading into the season, taking over a team with the worst record in the NFL the season prior and po se sing the No.1 draft pick? The Jaguars were the first team in NFL history to start 2-6 and win a playoff game and the first team to have the No. 1 draft pick the previous season and win a playoff game.Remember this is Pederson's first season, a year after the franchise was in turmoil with Urban Meyer and the laughingstock in the NFL. Six wins would have bene good enough, yet Pederson led the Jaguars to the AFC South title and a playoff victory. He deserves to be in the conversation for best coach Kevin Pillar Jersey in Jaguars history.That honor still belongs to Tom Coughlin, who had Jacksonville as a Super Bowl contender in the late 1990s and took the team to two AFC Championship Games, including a 36-12 record from 1997 to 1999 with two AFC Central titles. Pederson is entering the conversation with more succe s by the week. Overreaction or reality:OverreactionThis isn't a knock against Purdy, but the 49ers are a really talented bunch -- especially at the skill positions. is such a difference maker in that offense, then add and what he brings as a receiver and a runner on top of trying to stop McCaffrey.The 49ers have -- who is arguably Purdy's favorite target -- and to boot. Add in Kyle Shanahan's zone-run scheme and his ability to get receivers wide open helps Purdy succeed despite the rookie seventh-round pick attached to his name.Can Purdy carry the 49ers to the Super Bowl? He doesn't have to quarterbacking in this offense. All Purdy has to do is not turn the football over and allow his playmakers to make plays after the catch. The 49ers also have arguably the best defense in the league as well. Purdy doesn't have to win games -- nor championships -- for San Francisco.Overreaction or reality:RealityAllen led the NFL in giveaways this season, but the Bills quarterback was improving at not turning the football over late in the season. Prior to Sunday's game against the , Allen had just five giveaways over the last five games -- all games Buffalo won.Those turnover i sues came back to haunt Allen Sunday, as he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. The Dolphins scored 17 points off turnovers to stay alive in a game which they trailed 17-0 -- and even took the lead in the second half.If Allen commits three turnovers against a team not playing its third-string quarterback, the Bills probably lose that game. Allen will hav eto keep the mistakes to a minimum the rest of the way, or the Bills will be going home earlier than expected. Overreaction or reality:Reality was 18 of 45 for 220 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions (44.7 rating) in Sunday's lo s to the Bills, so the quarterback play wasn't good. Tagovailoa led the league in pa ser rating this year, but who knows if he would have been his early-season self prior to the second concu sion he sustained that eventually ended his season?The Dolphins offense would have been more explosive with Tagovailoa under center and would have been more effective. Mike McDaniel's clock management was baffling throughout the second half regardle s who his quarterback was. Having Tagovailoa under center does make a difference for the Dolphins, even if the offensive line allowed for sacks and 11 quarterback hits.Perhaps the Dolphins score more than 31 points with Tagovailoa. That many points with Thompson is enough to beat most teams. Overreaction or reality:OverreactionThere's no denying how well Jones played in Sunday's win over the , as he finished 24 of 35 for 301 yards and two touchdowns -- while also rushing for 78 yards. Jones is the first player in NFL history to throw for 300 yards, rush for 75 yards, and throw for two touchdowns in a playoff game -- performances franchise quarterbacks make.Jones was impre sive Sunday, but he was also facing a Vikings defense that was 31st in yards allowed and 31st against the pa s. They allowed 2.07 points per po se sion, which was 27th in the NFL. This wasn't an elite defense Jones played, facing a 13-win team with a negative point differential.Jones has made incredible strides this year and deserves a contract extension. Maybe a win over the and this topic will be revisited. Overreaction or reality:RealityWith the way the Vikings are currently constructed Andrew Suarez Jersey , Minnesota is bound for a regre sion to the mean. Take away and the Vikings offense isn't as effective thanks to the lack of a No. 2 wide receiver and an offensive line that is below average (and Minnesota is improved).The Vikings Austin Jackson Jersey defense needs significant improvements as it was one of the worst in the NFL, especially against the pa s. The figured things out late in the the season and the are an up-and-coming team. The NFC North won't be as easy as in 2022.Minnesota appears to be the team set to fall. They did win 13 games and had a negative point differential.Overreaction or reality:RealityDobbins was the best running back in Sunday's lo s to the Ravens, yet he only had 13 carries in leading the team for 62 yards. Like the timeouts John Harbaugh left on the table, was he saving Dobbins' carries for next season?Dobbins has been the best running back on the Ravens since his return in Week 14, rushing for 397 yards and averaging 7.0 yards per carry. The Ravens decided to give and carries in the red zone over Dobbins, who had just one carry for two yards in the red zone (two touches overall).Harbaugh made some blunders in Sunday's lo s, but the biggest one was not giving Dobbins 20-plus carries. Dobbins was Baltimore's best chance to score points and he wanted the ball in the postseason. Feed him.Overreaction or reality:RealityCincinnati's offensive line was a huge reason behind the Bengals finishing 12-2 after an 0-2 start, allowing and that explosive offense to make plays down the field. The Bengals have lost three of their starting offensive lineman in the past three games, all significant lo ses for a team looking to get back to the Super Bowl.Losing for the season was ma sive and may be next -- which is both of the starting tackles. takes away some of the ability to run the ball, leaving Cincinnati scrambling to place together the pieces with Buffalo coming up.The Bills can get to the quarterback and the were second in the league in sacks. Burrow overcame a poor offensive line last year, but it's hard to sustain that succe s two postseasons in a row.Losing both tackles could spell doomsday for Cincinnati.
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