AFC Wild Card Weekend Storylines

The NFL postseason is upon us and with the inclusion of a seventh team and just one bye week, we are treated to three wild card games in each conference.

Fortunately for us, many of them come with quite a bit of intrigue which should make this a great weekend, and Monday, for NFL fans.

Here are the biggest storylines as the quest for Super Bowl LVI begins.

Patriots vs. Bills: Round III

The two AFC East rivals met twice in the month of December, each winning on the road. First, the Patriots eeked out a 14-10 win in windy Buffalo on December 6th and then the Bills returned the favor at Gillette with a 33-21 win a day after Christmas. If there wasn’t enough intrigued, both teams entered Week 18 with identical 10-6 records. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the Bills victory clinched the AFC East for the second consecutive year and ensured the grudge match is played in Buffalo.

The Bills were one win away from reaching the Super Bowl a year ago while the Patriots missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Not coincidently, each season was without Tom Brady under center. However, rookie Mac Jones has New England right back in the mix a year later and 2020 MVP runner-up Josh Allen has the Bills thinking bigger than just an AFC Championship Game appearance. It’s quite fitting that each team will have to start by going through one another. With the Dolphins moving on from Brian Flores and the Jets being the Jets, this is shaping up to be a hot rivalry for the foreseeable future.

Big Ben’s Last Hurrah?

Almost as improbable as how Ben Roethlisberger and Steelers made the postseason was how they almost were eliminated late Sunday night. Nonetheless, the 9-7-1 Steelers are postseason bound with the Roethlisberger retirement tour extended for at least another week. Considering they are heading to Kansas City, a team they lost to 36-10 just a few weeks ago, it will likely only last one more week.

If it is the end for the 39-year-old quarterback, he will head to retirement a two-time Super Bowl Champion and top 10 all-time in passing touchdowns and yards. In his career, he went 165-81-1 with 64,088 yards, 418 touchdowns, and 211 interceptions. He was the 2004 rookie of the year and a six-time Pro Bowler over his 18-year career.

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Raiders/Bengals Eye End To Long Playoff Droughts

You don’t have to remind either fanbase about the last time they won a playoff game. But, if you aren’t familiar with the suffering of both fanbases, here is the rub. The Las Vegas Raiders last won a playoff game when they resided in Oakland and Tom Brady only had one Super Bowl to his name. This came on January 19th, 2003 when the Raiders defeated the Titans in the AFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl XXXVII. Unfortunately, that Super Bowl is a very forgettable memory for Raiders fans and they have only made one playoff appearance since.

For the Bengals, it is even worse. At least for the Raiders, they can fall back on past history whether it was in Oakland or Los Angeles. Now, Cincinnati has made a few more appearances than the Raiders in the last decade or so, however, they have not won a playoff game since January 6th, 1991 against the Houston Oilers. Or, in other words, the Titans before they were the Titans.

Fortunately for both teams, they have two franchise quarterbacks at the helm in Joe Burrow for the Bengals and Derek Carr for the Raiders. Now, in his second season, Burrow will be making his first postseason start. Ditto for the 30-year-old Carr who missed the Raiders 2016 playoff game with an injury. One of these team’s streaks will end this weekend and one fan base will be able to breathe a bit easier.