Indianapolis Colts, 26 Cincinnati Bengals, 10
The Bengals earn their fourth straight 'Thanks For Participating' sticker from the Wildcard round. In all four losses (2012 and 2013 to the Texans, 2014 to the Chargers and this year to the Colts) they have been mostly uncompetitive. Hey- the world needs Wildcard Losers too, and the Bengals are them. To say this was QB Andy Dalton's best playoff performance is sadly accurate and incredibly telling.
Without WR A.J Green, the receiving core of WR Mohamed Sanu and WR Brandon Tate were little more than intended targets for the incomplete passes on the stat sheet. Dalton didn't have the weapons down field and RBs Giovoni Bernard and Jeremy Hill were the focus of a good defensive game plan from the Colts.
With the defense containing Dalton and Company, the Colts put a winnable game in QB Andrew Luck's hands and he delivered. Luck relied on WR T.Y Hilton for 103 yards (should have been much more but for 3 long drops) and RB Boom Herron who finished with 85 receiving of 141 total yards. The most yards by any Colts RB in Andrew Luck's 3-year career.
KEY PLAY: It was just a matter of time that the Colts would crack the game wide open. The Colts' offensive line played an amazing game, Luck was under little pressure all game. Ironically, the big play came in the 3rd quarter when the right side collapsed and Luck sprinting forward launched a perfect over the shoulder dart to rookie WR Donte Moncrief for a 36-yard TD to go ahead 20-10.
MVP: The Colts O-line. They gave Andrew Luck more time than any NFL quarterback needs. Luck's 376 yards were inevitable with the O-line's performance. The Colts called 46 passing plays to 23 rushing plays and most of those rushes were to kill the clock late in the game. There was no need for running plays with that kind of protection.
Dallas Cowboys, 24 Detroit Lions, 20.
As if the weight of high expectations and career legacy wasn't already on the shoulders of QB Tony Romo, the Detroit Lions came into JerryWorld and lept out to a 14-0 lead with the explosion of WR Golden Tate's 55-yard TD and the methodical beat-down of a 99-yard march capped by RB Reggie Bush's 18 yard rushing TD.
QB Tony Romo, RB DeMarco Murray and WR Dez Bryant (2 first half yards and a fumble) continued to struggle in the 1st half until a 8-yard slant route turned into a 76-yard Touchdown to WR Terrance Williams with 1:37 remaining in the 2nd half. The Lions were able to add a field goal but it felt as if Dallas had truly saved themselves from disaster.
The Lions played tough and did not fold on the road. The 2nd half began with QB Matt Stafford's pass being tipped and intercepted by LB Kyle Wilbur. The Lions defense held, sacked Romo and forced a 41 yard field goal. Fox put up the graphic and Joe Buck commenced the celebration that K Dan Bailey has been the most accurate kicker in NFL History over 100 attempts. Of course, Bailey promptly missed the kick.
The Lions drove for another field goal after the miss to take the lead 20-10 and this time it was Dallas who did not fold. The Cowboys offense drove 80 yards for a RB Demarco Murray score and with Dez Bryant and Murray finally rolling, the Cowboy defense seemed go grow stronger from it. Eventually, Dallas was assisted by a controversial picking up of a pass interference flag on a 3rd-and-1 (honestly, more controversial than it should be), and a miserably shanked 10 yard punt the play after, Romo hit WR Terrance Williams for the go-ahead 8-yard TD. A type of signature playoff drive Romo's career has always lacked. For a oft-criticized QB like Romo, it is well deserved.
After Williams' touchdown, Detroit still had 2:32 to drive the field with the high-powered-on-paper offense. The Lions' were given a break when Stafford was stripped and instead of falling on the ball, rookie DE Demarcus Lawrence recovered, tried to run and gave the ball back to Detroit when he fumbled as well.
KEY PLAY: 7 plays and 32 yards later with 1:00 remaining, Lawrence had his revenge; a strip-sack-fumble-recovery on 4th-and-3 that ended the game.
MVP: The MVP is really Romo, but I personally think RB Demarco Murray was the difference. He didn't have the statistics he had all year (75 yards on 19 carries and 1 TD) but instead of abandoning the run and losing the game the way the Cowboys have lost games for the last 10 years, they stuck with Murray who became a factor in the game in the 3rd quarter and the entire team rallied around him.
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