Bucs, Bills, Rams win NFL wild-card games
Old hat for Brady, new thrills for Buffalo. And a defensive gem by the Rams. The first tripleheader of NFL wild-card games saw Tom Brady extend his postseason record for victories to 31 with a 31-23 win for Tampa Bay at Washington on Saturday. Brady was the key to New England winning six Super Bowls and making nine overall, and now he has taken the Buccaneers (12-5) to their first playoff victory since their 2002 run to the NFL title.
After a quarter-century, the Bills got one of those triumphs that Brady collects — and they even figured out how to stop a Hail Mary.
Buffalo (14-3) snapped a 0-6 postseason skid with a 27-24 victory Saturday over Indianapolis (11-6). The previous playoff win was over Miami on Dec. 30, 1995. And it came in the Bills’ first home playoff game in 24 years, with a limited number of fans in attendance (6,700) for the first time this season.
Los Angeles (11-6) rattled Russell Wilson and dominated even though it was without unanimous All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald for much of the second half of a 3020 victory at Seattle. A pick-6 by Darious Williams was a major contributor, as were five sacks, two by Donald. Buccaneers 31, Washington 23 Brady threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns in his 42nd postseason start and first not in a New England uniform. He used all of his weapons well, from receivers Mike Ev
ans, Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin to tight end Cameron Brate and running back Leonard Fournette.
But Tampa Bay’s defense got leaky and Washington’s unheralded Taylor Heinicke, in his second pro start in place of injured starter Alex Smith, ran for 46 yards and a touchdown and threw for 306 yards and a score.
In the end, though, it was another W for Brady.
“He is a fighter, he plays hard, works hard and studies hard,” Fournette said of Brady, “and he is the man for the job.”
Well, yeah — for two decades. RAMS 30, SEAHAWKS 20 » “A lot of guys stepped up and answered the bell in a big way,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “Darious Williams showing up, I thought that was a huge momentum shift for us.”
Cam Akers rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown, and Jared Goff, though shaky for portions of the game, replaced injured starting quarterback John Wolford early on and avoided major mistakes. Less than two weeks after undergoing surgery on his right thumb, Goff capped the victory with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Robert Woods.
“I think it was really just a stinger. He definitely seemed good,” McVay said of Wolford.