The wild card was not very wild. Favorites went 4-2. Turnovers were key in both upset. In Houston, the Texans intercepted Chargers QB Justin Herbert 4 times. In Tampa, Baker Mayfield’s Q4 fumble set up Washington to take the lead and control.

Baltimore and Buffalo barely broke a sweat in advancing. I heard Bill Belichick say on Sirius XM NFL Radio Monday Night the winner of their divisional round game should be favored over Kansas City next week if the Chiefs defeat Houston as expected. “I think both teams are just a little more solid than Kansas City,” the Hoodie said.

Minnesota QB Sam Darnold set a record no QB wants to set. The Rams sacked him for 84 yards in losses. That is the most ever in a playoff game by volume. Darnold attempted 40 pass attempts and lost 2.05 yards per attempt. Only the Patriots’ Jacoby Brissett (2.27) and Chargers’ QBs (2.10) in Week 3 losses to the Jets and Steelers, respectively, lost more per attempt during the regular season.

The Eagles benefitted from several questionable officiating calls (and non-calls) in a workmanlike win over the Packers. DC Vic Fangio’s pass coverage was its usual bitter flavor of stingy and Green Bay subsidized Philadelphia with 4 turnovers. Such a performance will not receive rave reviews from the critics. But it is a time-tested effective recipe for winning playoff games.