Eye on the NFL - Super Wild Card Weekend

Published: Jan 09, 2023 at 03:12 PM

Neil Reynolds

Neil Reynolds presents all of Sky Sports coverage in the UK

The NFL playoffs are about to begin and Super Wild Card Weekend will entertain us with six live games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday night. Just 14 teams remain on the road to Super Bowl 57 and, using some of my Sky Sports NFL research notes, here is one key thing I will be looking at in each of this weekend's vital encounters.

Seattle Seahawks (NFC 7 seed) at San Francisco 49ers (2 seed) Sat Jan 14 - 9:30pm GMT KO

Will Brock Purdy continue his march to Super Bowl immortality?

He may only have five NFL starts under his belt, but San Francisco's rookie seventh-round quarterback, Brock Purdy, is on course to write his name in the history books. Purdy has a passer rating of 119.0 in his first five NFL starts – the only rookie quarterback with a greater rating in his first five starts is Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. Purdy has bigger goals than compiling such statistics, though. He is aiming to become the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to start in a Super Bowl. And why not? The 49ers have won 10 in a row, he is surrounded by outstanding offensive talent such as Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle; and he is backed up by the number one defense in the NFL.

LA Chargers (AFC 5 seed) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4 seed) Sat Jan 14 - GMT 1:15am KO (Sun)

Which young quarterback will win on his playoff debut?

Justin Herbert (LA's first round selection in 2020) and Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville's first round choice in 2021) will both make their playoff bows on Saturday night. Who will come out on top? Lawrence has been in fine form while leading Jacksonville to five straight wins and victories in seven of their last nine contests. Since Jacksonville lost to Denver in London, Lawrence has thrown 15 touchdown passes and just two interceptions for a rating of 104.6. The Chargers won four of their last five to make the playoffs. Since Week 9, Herbert leads the NFL with a completion percentage of 70.1 while Lawrence ranks second with 69.7. They have been identical all season long, both throwing 25 touchdown passes. Herbert has a season-long rating of 93.2 compared to Lawrence's 95.2.

Miami Dolphins (AFC 7 seed) at Buffalo Bills (2 seed) Sun Jan 15 - 6:00pm GMT KO

Will Buffalo keep up their dominant home form against the Dolphins?

The Bills have owned the Miami Dolphins in recent games played in Buffalo, winning 10 of the last 11 contests. While they had to come from behind to beat the Dolphins in Orchard Park in Week 15, you would expect things to be a little easier for the Bills this time around. Miami are likely to be starting rookie third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson. Miami's most recent win in Buffalo came in 2016, the last time they went on to make the AFC playoffs. Since 2012, Buffalo have averaged 31.1 points per game on home soil against the Dolphins, while Miami could only counter with an average of 17.7. Keeping pace with Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen will be quite the challenge for the Dolphins. He accounted for 42 offensive touchdowns (passing and rushing) during the regular season – second-most in the NFL.

New York Giants (NFC 6 seed) at Minnesota Vikings (3 seed) Sun Jan 15 - 9:30pm GMT KO

Can the Giants find a way to slow down superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson?

The New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings played out a thriller on Christmas Eve that was decided by a 61-yard field goal from Greg Joseph as time expired. It was Minnesota's 11th one-score victory of the season – a campaign that has seen them win some massive games but also lose heavily to Philadelphia, Dallas and Green Bay. The one man who makes the Vikings so dangerous is Justin Jefferson, who caught 12 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown when these teams met in the regular season. Jefferson led the NFL with 128 receptions for 1,809 yards, becoming the first Viking in team history to lead the league in receiving yards. New York could not slow him last time around but did fare well against wide receivers in general throughout 2022, allowing a catch percentage of just 59.4 – fifth-lowest in the NFL.

Baltimore Ravens (AFC 6 seed) at Cincinnati Bengals (3 seed) Sun Jan 15 - 1:15am GMT KO (Mon)

Are the Bengals even better than their 2021 team that reached the Super Bowl?

The Bengals are one of the league's form teams heading into the playoffs. They have won their last eight games after starting the year 4-4. The only team in NFL history with a longer winning streak to finish the regular season after losing the previous year's Super Bowl was the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went undefeated. Quarterback Joe Burrow has improved an already-elite game, as well. Burrow led Cincinnati to 10 regular season wins in 2021 while throwing 34 touchdown passes. In 2022, Burrow has 12 wins and has tossed 35 touchdown strikes. For the Ravens to be competitive in this one, they likely need star quarterback Lamar Jackson to return from the knee injury that has cost him his last five games.

Dallas Cowboys (NFC 5 seed) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4 seed) Mon Jan 16 - 1:15am GMT KO (Tues)

Can the Cowboys snap a couple of key streaks to keep their season alive?

The Dallas Cowboys have four more regular season wins than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022 but history suggests this will be a tough game for Mike McCarthy's team. Dallas have lost eight road playoff games in a row with their last victory coming at San Francisco in the 1992 season. It is the second-longest road losing streak in playoff history. There is more concerning news if you are a Cowboys fan – Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has a perfect 7-0 record against Dallas. To snap both those streaks, Dallas will need more consistency from quarterback Dak Prescott. He has been brilliant at times this season, but he has thrown at least one interception in seven straight games. Prescott led the NFL with 15 regular season interceptions, despite missing five games with a thumb injury.