This weekend’s Wild Card playoff games may go down as the best in NFL history. From the Bears’ 18-point comeback to the 49ers’ road upset in Philadelphia, there was no reason to leave the couch. We have a lot to get to, so let’s dive into this weekend’s recap.

Rams 34, Panthers 31

Stafford Delivers Late to Escape the Upset

The Rams and Panthers kicked off the weekend with a dandy of a game. The Panthers looked dead to rights early, down 14–0, but came back to take the lead late, 31–27, thanks to a crucial blocked punt by Isiah Simmons.

What happened next was pure greatness.

Matthew Stafford led the Rams down the field and hit TE Colby Parkinson on a go-ahead touchdown, sealing a 34–31 win and allowing Los Angeles to escape the upset.

Bears 31, Packers 27

Caleb Williams Leads Historic Comeback

The Packers–Bears nightcap looked like it might turn into a runaway. Green Bay jumped out to an early 21–3 halftime lead, and with Jordan Love tossing three touchdown passes, it seemed almost too good to be true for the injury-riddled Packers.

Turns out, it absolutely was.

Caleb Williams flipped the script in the second half, leading Chicago on a furious comeback. The Bears stormed back to win 31–27, earning their first playoff victory in 15 years and stunning the favored Packers.

Bills 28, Jaguars 24

Josh Allen Saves the Day

The morning slate couldn’t have started any better. The Bills and Jaguars traded blows all game, and after Buffalo took a 10–7 lead into halftime, it looked like a chess match in the making.

That’s exactly what it became.

The Jaguars took a late fourth-quarter lead on a Travis Etienne touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence, putting the Bills against the wall. Josh Allen responded by putting on the “Superman” cape once again, leading a clutch drive capped by a go-ahead rushing touchdown to make it 28–24.

On the very next play, Lawrence threw a game-sealing interception, ending Jacksonville’s season and sending Buffalo on to Denver. What a game.

49ers 23, Eagles 19

San Francisco Stuns Philly in Windy Thriller

The 49ers traveled to Philadelphia in brutal conditions, with winds reaching 25 mph. San Francisco struck first with a Demarcus Robinson touchdown pass, but the Eagles answered with a Dallas Goedert rushing score.

Momentum shifted toward Philadelphia after George Kittle tore his Achilles on his first catch of the day, ending his season. The Eagles held a 13–10 lead at halftime and appeared firmly in control.

San Francisco’s defense responded, stuffing the run and forcing punts. After an Eagles interception, Philly extended its lead to 16–10 heading into the fourth.

Then it finally clicked.

On a trick play, WR Jauan Jennings took an end-around and, just as it seemed doomed, threw a touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey, silencing the crowd. The Eagles briefly reclaimed the lead at 19–17 after Brock Purdy’s second interception, but the 49ers weren’t done.

Purdy led a legendary final drive, capped by McCaffrey’s second receiving touchdown of the day. A late defensive stand sealed the upset of the weekend.

After the game, Purdy reflected:

“It’s just cool for everybody across the board to be able to have this kind of win and celebrate all the stuff that we’ve been through.”

Patriots 16, Chargers 3

Defense Dominates in Foxborough

To end the Sunday tripleheader, the Chargers headed to New England in a defensive battle. After a sluggish first quarter, the Patriots drew first blood with an Andy Borrégales 23-yard field goal.

The score sat at 6–3 Patriots at halftime after multiple stalled drives from both teams.

In the second half, New England’s run game began to find success, though turnovers stalled drives. A critical Drake Maye strip sack by Odafe Oweh gave the Chargers life, but Justin Herbert continued to take sacks as the Chargers failed to capitalize.

Borrégales added his third field goal to make it 9–3 before Maye connected with Hunter Henry for a 28-yard touchdown. Shortly after, LB Klavon Chaisson stripped Herbert to ice the game, clinching New England’s first playoff win since 2019 and a trip to the Divisional Round.

Texans 30, Steelers 6

Houston Dominates on Monday Night

The Wild Card slate wrapped up Monday night in Pittsburgh. Early on, it looked like a defensive slugfest, with Chris Boswell opening the scoring via a 32-yard field goal.

Houston led 7–6 at halftime, but that would be the last moment of hope for the Steelers.

The Texans exploded in the second half, scoring three touchdowns—two on defense—and completely took over the game. Houston cruised to a 30–6 victory, a result that may mark the final NFL appearance of future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.

Final Thoughts

Wow.

This weekend was pure chaos, and that’s exactly what makes the NFL so exhilarating. If you were lucky enough to watch these games, you witnessed football at its absolute finest.

In regard to my predictions, they went 5-6 with the only miss on Monday Night in the Texans vs Steelers game.

So close to perfection but we will have to wait to predict until next time!

We’ll be back this Thursday, only on The Rocky Roar Newspaper, to preview the Divisional Round matchups and make our predictions.

Stay tuned.