Buffalo Bills blow 16-point lead

In the first game of the American Football Conference (AFC) Wild-Card round, the Buffalo Bills faced the Houston Texans.

The game looked like an easy win for the Bills, who led by 16 points with only a few minutes left in the third quarter, but the Texans, led by quarterback Deshaun Watson, had other plans. Watson led the Texans to score two touchdowns, one in the third quarter and one in the fourth, to put them up by 3 points with just under 5 minutes left in the game.

The Bills went on to score a game-tying field goal and send it into overtime, which was dominated by Watson and the Texans. During overtime, Watson had one of the most impressive plays of his career to win the game, avoiding a sack and throwing to his running back, who would run for 34 more yards.

The Texans won the game with a field goal from kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn. They will face the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL Divisional Round on January 12.

Tennessee Titans stun New England Patriots

On the other side of the AFC Wild-Card, the Titans, led by running back Derrick Henry, handed the New England Patriots their earliest exit from the playoffs since 2009.

According to NFL.com, the Patriots’ loss also marks the first time in quarterback Tom Brady’s playoff career that he threw no passing touchdowns and one pick-six interception. While Brady and the Patriots offense struggled, the Titans’ defense had a field day behind Henry. Henry rushed for 182 yards, the most by any running back in a single playoff game against Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. The Titans will face the Baltimore Ravens on the other side of the AFC Divisional Round on January 11.

New Orleans Saints lose to Minnesota Vikings in overtime

The Saints and Vikings faced off in a wild game for one side of the National Football Conference (NFC) Wild-Card game. The game was an even matchup throughout and was decided by late fourth quarter and overtime decisions.

With under a minute left in the fourth quarter, the Saints trailed by 3 but were driving down the field. A false start penalty left New Orleans with 11 seconds on the clock, and after an incomplete pass by quarterback Drew Brees, they kicked a field goal to send the game into overtime.

In overtime, the Vikings received the ball first to begin their game-winning drive. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins found wide receiver Adam Thielen for a huge 43-yard pass that would bring them two yards away from the end zone. On third down, Cousins found tight end Kyle Rudolph for the game-winning touchdown.

The Vikings’ win places them in an NFC divisional matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on January 11.

Controversial hit on Carson Wentz

The other side of the NFC Wild-Card rounds saw a matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks, which included a controversial helmet-to-helmet hit on Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz.

During the first quarter of the game, Wentz ran the ball and was hit by Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.

No flag was thrown on the play, but it would force Wentz to sit out for the remainder of the game. Backup quarterback Josh McCown replaced Wentz, but it was not enough as the Eagles lost to the Seahawks 17-9. Following the game, Les Bown of the Philadelphia Inquirer said referees did not believe that Clowney’s hit was on purpose and ruled it as “incidental.”

Seahawks’ DK Metcalf sets rookie record

While the Eagles were forced to rally around their backup quarterback, the Seahawks were led to the win by rookie wide receiver DK Metcalf.

Metcalf had 160 receiving yards on seven catches, which became the most by any rookie in NFL playoff history. He also set the Seahawks’ playoff record with his total receiving yards. Metcalf’s record game helped propel the Seahawks to a 17-9 win, placing them in an NFC Divisional matchup against the Green Bay Packers, set for January 12.

Two sixth-seed teams emerge as winners

During the Wild-Card round, the road teams finished with a 3-1 record, with two different sixth-seed teams winning their matchups.

In the AFC, the six-seed Titans defeated the Patriots, while the NFC’s six-seed Vikings defeated the Saints.

The same thing happened during last year’s Wild-Card rounds when the sixth-seed Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Chicago Bears in the NFC and the sixth-seed Indianapolis Colts ended the Houston Texans’ season in the AFC.