Participants,

The Wild Card Weekend lived up to its name.  In spades…  3 road team wins, da Double Doink in Chicago, the callback of a 102-yard fumble return for a TD that would have put the Ravens ahead late in the 4^th quarter, and so many other close calls on reviews of key plays that it left your head spinning.

Let’s get to the results.

Indianapolis Colts 21, Houston Texans 7
How did the Texans get to the playoffs with an O line this poor?  No wonder why QB DeShaun Watson had over 500 yards rushing in the regular season.  I’d call it survival.  This one was basically over after the 1^st quarter.  Another famous snoozer in Houston.  Watch out for the Colts, as they appear to be a SB contender and are clicking on all cylinders on both sides of the ball.  QB Andrew didn’t need any Luck to easily pull this one out.  With a healthy T.Y. (Paris) Hilton, this group seems to be destined!

JTB begins his trophy defense with the top point total of 36 in this game, while Greg the Great quickly collects the 1^st goose-egg of the playoffs.

America’s Team 24, Seattle’s Team 22
Did Dak Prescott really outplay Russell Wilson?  That’s not supposed to happen in the playoffs.  The difference was the Dallas D, with a sprinkling of Zeke (137 rushing yards).  Losing K Janikowski (doesn’t he look to be in good shape??) at the end of the 1^st half created a different Seahawk strategy and was a larger factor than one would believe.  Too little, too late for the Seahawks.

Greg the Great reverses his fortunes from the earlier game and, along with 2019 Winner, earns the top points with a paltry 30.

Bolts 23, Baltimore Colts/Ravens 17
The Sunday games started with a cliff hanger.  San Diego QB Rivers was delivering his own thunder and lightning all afternoon, while the Ravens rookie QB Jackson looked like, well, a rookie (until that 4^th quarter surge).  Were you surprised Flacco didn’t come in to try and rescue the day?  Was Bolts RB Gordon really down inside the 1 before he fumbled (which was scooped up for a TD by the Ravens)?  Like the Colts, the Chargers are the real deal, particularly on D.  And – like the Seahawks – too little, too late.  That missed FG by Ravens K Tucker had a dramatic impact on the final Raven drive, when they needed a TD instead of a FG…  Chargers stay undefeated this season in games where they had to board an airplane.

Henrico FiveOh comes to life with a 62-point effort (outscoring all other participants combined), while Buffalo Bill posts his 1^st goose-egg.  Pete the Terp (I believe a Ravens fan when his beloved Bills aren’t playing) smartly picked a low scoring game, but unfortunately picked the wrong team to win.

Philadelphia Eagles 16, Chicago Bears 15
What a way to end Wild Card Weekend!  A seesaw battle that unfortunately ended with da Double Doink by Bears K Parkey (formerly of the Eagles).  Apparently he’s practiced these, as he hit the upright 5 times during the regular season.  Do you have any fingernails left?  Is Nick Foles (Mr. Playoffs) going to do it again?

Everyone picked da Bears to win and Pete the Terp bounces back nicely with a 64-point effort (tops for the weekend), while JTB keeps the goose-egg party alive and well.

HSBT Standings
So, with the 1^st 4 games on the books (and 7 to go), below are your HSBT standings.  It was an overall miserable weekend for picking the game winners – not 1 participant could get 2 of the 4 Wild Card games correct (1^st time in the 31-year history of the HSBT!):

• Henrico FiveOh is in the lead with 100 points – the lowest lead point total since 2005 (when there were only 5 participants)
• Pete the Terp – 96 points and a half a nose behind the leader
• Greg the Great – 93 points and half a nose behind Pete the Terp
• 2019 Winner – 81 points and just starting to warm up
• JTB – 56 points and in better position than he was at this juncture a year ago
• Comeback Kid – 52 points and a firm hold on 6^th place right now
• Buffalo Bill – 32 points, with an 0-4 record, so better days are definitely ahead

Stay tuned for my analysis and predictions going into the Divisional Games this coming weekend.  This is the weekend where we have had the most points scored (over 31%), so be sure you do your homework and have your pencils sharpened.  The games are shaping up to be classics!

Have a good week
~~ The Commish