NFL Research offers the best nuggets from each week of games in the NFL. Here are the most eye-popping statistical accomplishments from Super Wild Card Weekend of the 2022 NFL season.
1) 49ers 41, Seahawks 23: Brock Purdy takes the playoffs
2022's Mr. Irrelevant, Purdy, could not be more relevant in the 2022 playoffs. Purdy scored four total touchdowns and the 49ers put up 41 points on the AFC West-rival Seahawks in the 2022 Wild Card. Purdy became the first rookie in NFL history with four touchdowns in a playoff game, and the 49ers scored the most points with a rookie starting quarterback all-time.
The list of players with 300-or-more pass yards and four-plus offensive touchdowns in their first playoff game includes Purdy and three other future Super Bowl champions: Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers and Kurt Warner.
Purdy became just the second rookie quarterback to have at least 200 pass yards and two pass scores in a playoff win. The first? Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh with Washington against the Bears in the 1937 NFL Championship. It was Purdy's seventh straight game with multiple pass touchdowns, including playoffs, tied with Justin Herbert for the longest streak by a rookie in NFL history.
2) Jaguars 31, Chargers 30: Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars make historic comeback
Lawrence began his playoff career by becoming the first player with three interceptions in the first quarter of his first playoff start since play-by-play started being tracked in 1991. This came after Lawrence had not thrown a first-quarter pick in his entire career prior. Jacksonville's first seven possessions against the Chargers amounted to four Lawrence picks, three Logan Cooke punts, and no points.
It did not end how it started.
Trevor Lawrence threw four pass touchdowns and led the Jaguars to 31 points on their final five drives in Jacksonville's 31-30 win over Los Angeles, the most points by any starting QB on a team's final five drives since at least 1991. The Jaguars' 27-point comeback was the third-largest comeback in playoff history. It was also the biggest comeback in Jaguars history and the biggest blown lead in Chargers history.
Lawrence was just the second quarterback in NFL postseason history with at least four pass touchdowns and four interceptions in the same game (Ben Roethlisberger in the 2020 AFC Wild Card vs Browns) and the lone one to leave the stadium with a win.
3) Bills 34, Dolphins 31: Bills overcome Josh Allen's three giveaways to advance
Despite Allen's three giveaways, the Bills escaped with a 34-31 win against the Dolphins' rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson. The turnovers brought Allen's total to 22 this season, the most in the NFL including playoffs. It was also Allen's NFL-high sixth game with multiple interceptions in 2022. However, two third-quarter pass scores to Cole Beasley and Gabe Davis were enough to be the deciding points for the Bills.
Allen became the eighth player in postseason history to record three-plus career games with 300 pass yards and three pass touchdowns. Allen has done so in each of his last three playoff games, tied for the longest streak since 1970. He also joined Hall of Famer Kurt Warner as the only players with 12 pass scores over a three-game span in the playoffs. It was also Davis' sixth receiving touchdown in his last three playoff games, tied for the second-most over a three-game span in the playoffs in postseason history. Only Larry Fitzgerald (7) has ever had more.
Thompson led the Dolphins to 31 points, tied for the second-most by a rookie in NFL playoff history. The only rookie quarterback to lead his quarterback to more…you read about him earlier…Brock Purdy against the Seahawks the day before.
4) Giants 31, Vikings 24: Daniel Jones hands Vikings their first one-possession loss of the season
Who? Daniel Jonesssss. Jones has made the Giants regret their decision not to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, and his performance in the Wild Card against the Vikings adds more validity to his value. Jones led New York to its first playoff win since 2011, when the team won Super Bowl XLVI.
The Giants' signal caller joined Lamar Jackson (2019) and Steve Young (1995) as the only players with at least 300 pass yards and 70 rush yards in a game in postseason history and the first player all-time to do so and pass for multiple pass scores. His 17 carries are the second-most in a playoff game all-time behind Jackson's 20 in the 2019 Divisional Round.
The Giants handed the Vikings their first one-possession loss of the season, after Minnesota went an NFL-best 11-0 in such games during the regular season. It helped that Dexter Lawrence had eight QB pressures, the most by an interior defensive lineman in any game in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016), while his teammate Leonard Williams had seven pressures (tied for the second-most in a game in the Next Gen era).
5) Bengals 24, Ravens 17: Sam Hubbard's NFL-record, go-ahead TD moves Bengals into Divisional Round
Hubbard flipped the Bengals' fortunes in a single play Sunday night with a 14-point swing on his fumble return touchdown in the fourth quarter. What could have been a 1-yard Tyler Huntley sneak to give the Ravens a 24-17 lead instead became the longest go-ahead, fourth-quarter touchdown in NFL postseason history.
Hubbard's 98-yard return was not only that, but it was also the longest fumble return TD in NFL postseason history. The Bengals' win probability increased by 41.8 percent (from 45.8% to 87.6%) on Hubbard's fumble return TD, according to Next Gen Stats.
It was also Joe Burrow's fourth playoff win in three seasons as the Bengals' quarterback, after the franchise had a combined five playoff wins in the 52 seasons prior to Burrow's arrival. Burrow will look to match that total in Buffalo in the 2022 AFC Divisional Round.
6) Cowboys 31, Buccaneers 14: Cowboys snap eight-game road losing streak in playoffs
The Cowboys won their first road playoff game since 1992, snapping an eight-game road losing streak in the playoffs (tied for the second-longest in NFL history). Dallas also won its first playoff game as a wild-card team since 1991.
Dak Prescott became the fourth player in the Super Bowl era with four-plus pass touchdowns and one-plus rush TD in a playoff game, joining Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan. He's also the first-ever Cowboys player with five offensive touchdowns in a playoff game. On the receiving end of Prescott's great game, Dalton Schutlz became the first Cowboys tight end with multiple receiving touchdowns in a postseason game.
On the wrong end of records, Brett Maher missed four extra points, the most by any kicker in a regular or postseason game since the stat was tracked in 1932.
Research shoutouts: Jack Andrade (@RealJackAndrade), Dante Koplowitz-Fleming (@DanteKopFlem), Matt Okada (@MattOkada), Cole Jacobson (@ColeJacobson32), Michelle Magdziuk (@BallBlastEm), Blake Warye (@bwaryeorblake), John Todd (@therealjohntodd)
