32 things we learned from Super Wild Card Weekend of the 2022 NFL season:
1. The average margin of victory per game in the 2022 regular season was 9.7 points, the lowest in the league in 90 years. But things got tougher before the playoffs, with the first five games decided by an average of 7.2 points.
1a. Throw the San Francisco 49ers 41-23 over the Seattle Seahawks in Game 1 of the weekend, an 18-point spread, and the next four games were decided by one team. general 18 points (average 4.5 points).
2. The seven teams that played Saturday and Sunday — the Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and Seattle — failed to make the playoffs last year. Only the Jags and G-Men advanced from that group.
3. It’s the first time in 23 years that all three of Florida’s NFL teams — the Jaguars, Fins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — have all advanced to the Super Bowl.
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4. How quickly can the playoff scenario change? At the 17-17 goal line and the 6-5, 265-pound defensive end needed to kick the other way for a TD to return it 98 yards. Credit to Sam Hubbard of the Cincinnati Bengals, who now has the longest fumble recovery in NFL playoff history and the longest game in Cincy’s playoff history.
5. … Like the number of head coaches who reached the playoffs in their first season with their current team: Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles, Giants’ Brian Daboll, Miami’s Mike McDaniel, Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell and Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson.
5a. He set a new high-water mark by beating four coaches who debuted with the Crews in the 1997 postseason.
5 p. Daboll and O’Connell were the first HC rookies to face each other since 2009.
5c. McDaniel is also the NFL’s first head coach. Three of the playoff games were in 1992 and 2008.
5d. Bowles’ record is 2-2 entering Monday night’s game.
6. … As in the number of games, that is, all wildcards that have been regular season rematches, the most of any playoff game in league history.
6a. It was also the fifth time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger that all first-round postseason games have been regular-season replays.
6 p. Only two of the rematches (Niners-Seahawks and Jaguars-Chargers) were season tests before Monday.
7. … The fourth quarterbacks to make their playoff debut in the wildcard round are: Chargers’ Justin Herbert, Baltimore’s Tyler Huntley, Giants’ Daniel Jones, Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, San Francisco’s Brock Purdy, Seattle’s Geno Smith and Miami’s Skylar Thompson.
7a. Most QBs made their first playoff trip together in 1999.
7p. Purdy and Thompson were the first seventh-round draft picks to start the playoffs.
7c. It was the first time in a decade that multiple rookies started in the same qualifying round. In the first weekend of the 2012 playoffs, Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson were all in their first seasons.
7d. The starters were 3-4.
7th. Purdy became the first player since Wilson to win a playoff game.
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8. Sunday’s 31-24 loss to the Giants dropped Vikings QB Kirk Cousins’ playoff record to … 1-4. The stat line (31-for-39 for 273 yards and 2 TDs) looked good – but TE TJ Hockenson’s 3-yard pass on the Vikes’ final play on fourth-and-8 must have been frustrating. if you’re a Minnesota fan … or a player.
9. Plus, Jones looked like a player ready to earn a postseason signing bonus. A free agent after the Giants waived his fifth-year option, he passed for 301 yards and a pair of scores and ran for 78 more, playing as the centerpiece of an offense that repeatedly upset the Vikings. Jones and RB. Saquon Barkley (109 total yards, 2 touchdowns). But given what the duo has already proven in 2022, it will be difficult for general manager Joe Schoen to move on.
9a. Jones’ performance was also poked fun at by the Giants’ social media team at Cousins’ expense.
ten. Did you know that the 49ers’ 10-game playoff winning streak was the longest regular season since the NFC’s inception in 1970?
10a. The Niners were one of five teams – Bengals (8), Bills (7), Chiefs (5) and Jaguars (5) – to start the playoffs with at least a five-game winning streak, the most in league history.
10 p. Those five streaks will remain until the divisional weekend, when Buffalo hosts Cincinnati and at least two will be snapped if the Jags head to Kansas City.
11. Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen certainly didn’t have his greatest playoff game in Sunday’s 34-31 rout of the Dolphins, but — despite three turnovers — he joined Matt Ryan as the only players with at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in three straight playoff games. . games.
12. In 12 games, including Saturday’s win, with San Francisco this season, RB Christian McCaffrey has 1,346 yards and 11 touchdowns.
13. If you thought the Buffalo-Miami game went on forever even though it didn’t go to overtime…well, yeah. Three hours and 53 minutes – but those breaks cost the teams 141 games, 31 practice sessions, nine penalties… and 43 incompletes.
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14. San Francisco’s sweep of Seattle marked the first time the 49ers had beaten the same opponent three times in a season. Their failure last year against the Los Angeles Rams cost them a spot in Super Bowl 56.
15. Philadelphia will begin a three-game stretch next weekend against the Giants. The bitter NFC East rivals shared four playoff appearances in 2000, with the Big Blue sweeping the Eagles.
16. For anyone comparing a quarter of the 2020 draft class to 1983, let’s pump the brakes a little. Herbert’s Bolts couldn’t hold a 27-0 lead, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) couldn’t post, and the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts (throwing shoulder) might not be the player we’ve seen through the first three months of the regular season.
17. But this Joe Burrow is pretty good, even if he’s rough when he’s working behind three backup linemen. Joey Brrr’s playoff record is now 4-1 against anti-Cousins.
18. … Like the number of seasons without a repeat Super Bowl champion. The longest streak in league history was extended a few weeks ago when the 12-loss Super Bowl champion Rams were officially fired.
18a. The 2003 and 2004 New England Patriots remain the most recent consecutive champions.
19. The Jags became the first team to win a playoff game all season long after holding the NFL’s worst record. Their 2021 edition, largely coached by Urban Meyer, finished 3-14.
20. The Bosa brothers are like ships passing in the night.
20a. Niners DE Nick Bosa is 5-2 all-time in playoff games. He was 1-1 in bowl games at Ohio State.
20 p. Chargers OLB Joey Bosa is 1-2 all-time in playoff games. He went 3-1 in the playoffs at Ohio State and was part of the 2014 Buckeyes national champions.
21. The Dolphins’ Mike Gesicki became the first (and only) tight end to win a touchdown against the Bills this season.
22. Kudos to Dean Marlowe, the Bills’ third-string safety after injuries to Micah Hyde and Damar Hamlin. It would be easy to dismiss Marlowe as the weak link in Buffalo’s defense, but he had four tackles and one assist on Sunday.
23. As for Hamlin, although he visited his teammates on Saturday, he wasn’t ready to show up at Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium on Sunday and cheered on the Bills while he recovered from home.
24. Were Melissa Stark’s questions real? that invasive, Harbs?
25. The Ravens became the first team in 13 years to open the road playoffs at the same venue (Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati) to finish the regular season.
26. Of course, Super Wild Card Weekend isn’t over yet, with the Bucks hosting the Dallas Cowboys on Monday for the second straight year.
27. Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady is looking to extend his career record to 8-0 against Dallas.
28. The Cowboys have lost eight straight playoff games, with their last victory coming in the 1992 NFC title game at Old Lamp Park in San Francisco.
29. Dallas’ Dak Prescott is the fifth quarterback to start a playoff game with at least one interception in seven games since the playoffs expanded to 12 teams in 1990. His four predecessors were all one and done.
30. The Buccaneers-Cowboys winner will travel to Northern California to face the 49ers, who are 3-0 in playoff games at Levy Stadium in addition to their scorching streak.
31. With a single game remaining, six teams have scored at least 30 points this weekend, the most in any playoff Super Bowl era (since 1966).
32. The last element of the “Super Wild Card” context? Teams playing wildcards on the weekend have won the Super Bowl 11 times, seven of which were true wildcards. A year ago, the Bengals and Rams advanced from the wildcard round to Super Bowl 56. The previous season, the Buccaneers took a wildcard streak — three playoff wins — to win Super Bowl 55.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
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