2024 NFL Wild-Card Recap: Bills-Chiefs Headed for Rematch, Buccaneers Topple Eagles

Two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks—Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes—will square off next Sunday in the divisional round after Buffalo’s win over Pittsburgh. Plus, Baker Mayfield propels Tampa Bay past Philadelphia.

The first of two Monday night matchups is in the books.

In western New York, the Buffalo Bills hammered the overwhelmed Pittsburgh Steelers, taking advantage of two first-half turnovers to pull away, winning 31–17. As usual, it was Josh Allen setting the tone, an effort punctuated by a 52-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter.

The AFC divisional round is set, with the top–seeded Baltimore Ravens hosting the fourth–seeded Houston Texans at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN/ABC/ESPN+), while the second–seeded Bills will host the third–seeded Kansas City Chiefs at 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS) Sunday.

The NFC divisional round is also set after Monday’s other wild-card game, which saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clobber the Philadelphia Eagles, 32–9.

As a result, the top–seeded San Francisco 49ers hosting the seventh–seeded Green Bay Packers at 8:15 p.m. ET (FOX) Saturday, while the Buccaneers will visit the Detroit Lions at 3 p.m. ET (NBC) Sunday.

Monday

Bills 31, Steelers 17

Allen scored on a 52-yard touchdown run along with throwing for three scores against the Steelers.  :: Mark Koneznyi/USA TODAY Sports

• What it means for Bills: Buffalo showed why it’s such a terrifying team in an easy win over the Steelers. Josh Allen combined for 277 yards and four touchdowns. Additionally, the defense created two turnovers after leading the league in takeaways during the regular season. With their sixth consecutive win, the Bills now square off with the Chiefs at Orchard Park, with the previous two postseason engagements with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. This is the moment Buffalo has been waiting for. Now it has to make it happen.
• What it means for Steelers: Pittsburgh can’t allow a playoff berth to fool it about the future. The Steelers should move on from Kenny Pickett as their starting quarterback, either by bringing in a veteran such as Russell Wilson, or by spending another high draft pick. Pittsburgh also needs to revamp the secondary around Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joey Porter Jr., with the unit finishing 30th in yards per completion allowed. Mike Tomlin deserves credit for keeping the Steelers in the race every year, but they’re an easy out come the postseason.

Buccaneers 32, Eagles 9

Mayfield passed for 337 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Buccaneers past the Eagles :: Kim Klement Neitzel/USA TODAY Sports

• What it means for Buccaneers: Few believed the Buccaneers would compete for a playoff spot this season, even in the woeful NFC South. Then Baker Mayfield threw for more than 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns, propelling Tampa Bay to both the division crown and now a playoff victory. Going to Detroit, the Buccaneers will be underdogs, but also have enough juice to make things interesting against the Lions’ 29th-ranked pass defense. From here, it’s all house money for one of the league’s Cinderella stories.
• What it means for Eagles: It’s almost unfathomable that Nick Sirianni would be fired after making three consecutive playoff appearances, including reaching Super Bowl LVII. And yet that’s going to be the chant of many on talk radio this upcoming week after the Eagles not only finished their season 1–6 and with a first-round exit to the Buccaneers, but also doing it while essentially quitting defensively. Philadelphia showed no fight or fundamentals Monday, which is consistent with what it did throughout December as well. Sirianni, should he retain his job, needs to figure out why things went so horribly wrong after a 10–1 start.

Sunday

Lions 24, Rams 23

Goff was outstanding against his former team, throwing for 277 yards and a touchdown :: Junfu Han/USA TODAY Network

• What it means for Lions: Detroit is finally back. After 65 years of complete ineptitude, a span in which the Lions won a grand total of one playoff game, the Lions are a factor in the NFC. After not hosting a postseason game for 30 years, Detroit finally did so and won Sunday night, and will do so again next weekend against either the Eagles or Buccaneers. Detroit isn’t just a feel-good story. The Lions are a really good team that will be favored to reach the NFC championship game, a place they haven’t been since 1991.
• What it means for Rams: It was a solid season for Los Angeles, which was not expected to make the playoffs during what appeared to be a soft rebuild. However, the Rams now must build up the secondary this offseason if they’re going to take the next step in 2024. Ultimately, Los Angeles has a quartet of fantastic offensive pillars in Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp and Kyren Williams. They need to find players of a similar caliber to match with Aaron Donald and Kobie Turner.

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Packers 48, Cowboys 32

Love destroyed the Cowboys in his first playoff game, passing for 272 yards and three touchdowns :: Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports

• What it means for Cowboys: Could this be the end for Mike McCarthy in Dallas? The Cowboys have reached the playoffs each of the past three years under the former Packers coach, and they’ve won a grand total of one postseason game. This year’s showing was the worst, with Dallas getting blown out at AT&T Stadium to become the first No. 2 seed to ever lose in the wild-card round. If owner Jerry Jones decides to make a move, perhaps he considers a record-setting check for Bill Belichick. Additionally, the Cowboys have to consider a litany of offseason questions now, including whether to retain Tony Pollard, Tyron Smith, Stephon Gilmore, Jayron Kearse, Jourdan Lewis and others. The upcoming months won’t be quiet in Dallas.
• What it means for Packers: For Green Bay, this season has been a wild success based on reaching the playoffs, and the production of Jordan Love. Now, it’s a fever dream. The Packers went into Dallas, where the Cowboys had won 16 consecutive games, and dominated throughout. Love was spectacular with 272 passing yards and three touchdowns, while the defense picked off Dak Prescott twice, including a pick-six from Darnell Savage. The long-term takeaway is Green Bay has a phenomenal pairing of Matt LaFleur and Love for the next decade. The short-term story line is the Packers are playing without pressure and a team enjoying the moment, leading to terrific results.

Saturday

Chiefs 26, Dolphins 7

Rice had eight catches for 130 yards and a touchdown in Kansas City's wild-card win :: Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports

• What it means for Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes might have found his new No. 1 wide receiver after the sensational performance rookie Rashee Rice delivered against the Miami Dolphins. Rice often moved the chains for the Kansas City Chiefs and got things started with an 11-yard touchdown catch. Rice finished with eight catches for 130 yards, while Travis Kelce contributed seven receptions for 71 yards. The Chiefs also had a balanced attack with Isiah Pacheco, who scored on a three-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to extend the advantage to 19 points. Kansas City’s defense shut down the Dolphins’ explosive offense after allowing a 53-yard touchdown to Tyreek Hill in the second quarter. Now the Chiefs will wait for the results of the Bills-Steelers matchup to find out whether Mahomes will play his first road playoff game.

• What it means for Dolphins: Miami didn’t do much after Hill’s downfield touchdown in the first half. The Dolphins’ short-handed defense forced Mahomes & Co. to settle for four field goals in the red zone. But Tua Tagovailoa struggled to ignite the offense, going 20 of 39 for 199 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Running back Raheem Mostert and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle were cleared to play, but had quiet performances against the Chiefs’ stout defense. The Dolphins will now go into the offseason with a looming contract dilemma with Tagovailoa, the league’s regular-season passing leader. The organization will likely pay Tagovailoa but will need to make adjustments to Mike McDaniel’s speedy offense, which faded after a strong start to 2023.

Texans 45, Browns 14

Collins had six receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown in Houston's win over Cleveland :: Thomas Shea/USA TODAY Sports

• What it means for Texans: Houston broke the game open after two pick-sixes in the third quarter—one for 82 yards from cornerback Steven Nelson and the other for 36 yards from linebacker Christian Harris. The Houston Texans’ pass rushers forced Joe Flacco into killer mistakes with frequent hits and pressure. C.J. Stroud also did his part with a sensational first half, including three touchdown passes. The Cleveland Browns’ secondary had no answers for Stroud and wide receiver Nico Collins. Stroud finished 16 of 21 for 274 yards and no turnovers, and Collins recorded six catches for 96 yards and one touchdown. The surging Texans will play in the divisional round for the first time since 2019, when they blew a 24–0 lead to the Kansas City Chiefs.

• What it means for Browns: Flacco’s turnover issues finally caught up to the Browns. But Cleveland’s offensive line failed to protect Flacco, who took several hits while attempting to throw. The Browns’ defense probably played worse than the offensive line. The defense was ranked near the top of most statistical categories during the season, but the unit played poorly in a handful of road games, including at Indianapolis, Denver and Los Angeles. The theme continued with the Browns failing to contain Stroud, Collins and running back Devin Singletary at NRG Stadium. Flacco finished 34 of 46 for 307 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Tight end David Njoku contributed seven catches for 93 yards. Now the Browns head into the offseason with plenty of uncertainty at quarterback. They will likely return to Deshaun Watson, who missed most of the season due to injury. But perhaps the Browns will decide to retain Flacco as a backup quarterback.