AFC Wild Card Preview

Story posted January 13, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Jameson Kramer

When Damar Hamlin went down on the football field just a few short days ago, nobody was concerned about the implications it had on the AFC playoff picture.

The Monday night game between the Bills and the Bengals had huge playoff implications for both sides, and making the game a no-contest made things complicated in the AFC. Hamlin is now on the road to recovery as wild card weekend is swiftly approaching.

After working out all of the possible kinks, the NFL released their finalized plan on how to tackle any scenario that may have arisen in the AFC playoff picture. The Bills controlled their own destiny prior to the cancellation, but now the Chiefs are the team that gets the coveted first-round bye despite losing to both of the other contenders for the 1 seed in the AFC.

Should the Bills and Chiefs meet in the AFC Championship game, the game will be held in the Mercedez Benz Stadium in Atlanta, home of the Falcons. Everything is now in focus, and the Bills and Bengals will both have to play wild card weekend after all.

There are now three wild card games in each conference, so let’s dive right into these super wild card weekend matchups.

(5) Los Angeles Chargers @ (4) Jacksonville Jaguars (Saturday 8:15 p.m.)

In the first of the three wild card matchups, we get to see what many are anticipating as the closest game on the AFC slate.

The Jaguars have had an improbable journey to making it to the playoffs in Doug Pederson’s first year at the helm in Duval. Jacksonville only went 9-8 on the season, but it was a massive improvement from years past and it was enough to come out on top of a weak AFC South.

Young quarterback Trevor Lawrence is really starting to get a feel for the game, and it is clear when you watch him play. Lawrence was the first overall pick for a reason and he is going to be a star in this league for many years to come.

On the Charger side of things, a similar story is unfolding with their young star QB, Justin Herbert. Herbert has been putting up gaudy numbers ever since he came into the league, but this is the first year he has been able to lead his squad into the playoffs.

The Chargers are getting healthier as well, with star edge rusher Joey Bosa making his return to the field this week.

In a battle of young talented quarterbacks on their first trip to the playoffs, who will make their mark and show the league they are for real?

The Chargers have the more talented roster and should be able to take care of business, but you can never count out Doug Pederson in the playoffs.

(7) Miami Dolphins @ (2) Buffalo Bills (Sunday 1:00 p.m.)

As mentioned before, the Bills are playing for more than just their season, they are playing for their brother that can’t in Damar Hamlin.

In what seemed to be straight out of a storybook, the Bills returned the opening kickoff of their first game since the incident for a touchdown, sending Bills mafia and the entire football community into a frenzy.

The Bills are going to be playing with a ton of emotion, and they are on their turf in Buffalo. This, coupled with the fact that Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will not be playing with a head injury, I do not think this one will be very close.

For the Dolphins to win their star players are going to have to show up in a huge way to cover for the loss of Tua.

In divisional games anything can happen, but I don’t expect the Bills to have much trouble cruising to the divisional round of the playoffs.

(6) Baltimore Ravens @ (3) Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday 8:15 p.m.)

Another game where the star quarterback will not be playing will take place on Sunday night.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson will very likely not be suiting up in Cincinnati on Sunday, leaving Tyler Huntley to take the reins, provided he is healthy enough to play.

The Bengals have been absolutely rolling as of late after getting out of the gate a bit slow to start the season on the heels of a Super Bowl defeat.

These two teams played in week 18 with similar circumstances to this week, and it didn’t go well for Baltimore.

The way the Bengals are playing right now it might not even matter that Jackson isn’t able to play, but the fact that he isn’t makes it very hard to imagine a scenario where the Ravens win this football game.

Jameson Kramer is a fourth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jek5650@psu.edu.