The race for the Lombardi Trophy continues Sunday, Jan. 12, with a Wild Card playoff triple-header. Lucky fans can watch roughly 10 consecutive hours of NFL football.
It all begins with an AFC showdown between the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills. Buffalo rested their starters in the final game of the regular season and finished with a 13-4 record. The big question: Will the Bill’s MVP candidate, Josh Allen, be able to pick up where he left off? He threw 28 touchdowns against six interceptions in the regular season and also ran for 12 more scores.
On the other side, rookie quarterback Bo Nix has grown into the job. The Broncos needed a win on the final day of the regular season to get in the playoffs and destroyed Kansas City 38-0.
Needless to say, the team impressed Bills head coach Sean McDermott.
“Every team in the playoffs is dangerous, this is high-level competition and high stakes, right?” McDermott said. “So, it doesn’t matter what your seed is, that’s been played out over and over, year after year, right? So, it’s who plays the best on the field.”
Sunday’s middle game is in Philadelphia, where the NFC East champion Eagles welcome the 11-6 Green Bay Packers. The teams faced off four months ago in the first game of the season in Brazil, of all places. The Eagles won that game 34-29.
Both starting quarterbacks were injured toward the end of the regular season, but the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and the Packers’ Jordan Love will play on Sunday.
Finally, Sunday’s nightcap is another rematch from the first week of the season. The Washington Commanders, who won 12 games for the first time in 34 years, will be in Tampa to take on the NFC South champion Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay won that first meeting at home 37-20, ruining Jayden Daniels’ debut as an NFL quarterback. However, he said he’s ready for the rematch.
“It’s exciting, but you still gotta deal with those emotions,” Daniels said. “At the end of the day, you still gotta go out there and play ball. A lot of people are going to put an emphasis on it because, at this point, it’s really win or go home.”
