And then there were 8…  Having just wrapped up the Wild Card Weekend games and eliminating 4 wannabe’s, now we’re down to serious business.  The top seeds will be in action starting this Saturday afternoon and all 4 Divisional Playoff games look to be great matchups.  Here are the Wild Card summaries:

Tennessee Titans 22, Kansas City Chiefs 21
It was truly a Dickens classic – “A Tale of Two Halves.”  The Chiefs (who lost their 6^th straight home playoff game – dating back to 1995) looked to sew up this one up early as they jumped to a 21-3 lead in the 2^nd quarter.  Then their all-world TE Kelce got hurt and it was all-things Titans for the rest of the game.  The obvious highlight was the Titan QB Mariota TD pass to QB Mariota.  Only the 2^nd time in NFL history and the 1^st ever in the playoffs.  Another 2^nd was the 18+ point deficit they overcame to win on the road (the 1^st was the Detroit Lions 61 years ago).  Comeback Kid is the 1^st out of the HSBT gates with 40 points and JTB is at the other end of the spectrum (can you say goose-egg?).

Atlanta Falcons 26, Lost Angeles Rams 13
Who greased up the hands of the Rams kick returner?  He had 2 key miscues that allowed the playoff-experienced Falcons to surprise the super-flat Rams in the Saturday Night Live game.  The Rams were obviously jittery with their 31-year old head coach (league’s youngest) in their 1^st playoff appearance since relocating from St. Louis.

The Falcons (the only repeat NFC playoff team) looked awfully good and contained a high-charged offense all night long.  JTB earns 41 points to erase the “ouch” from the earlier game, as Comeback Kid records his 1^st goose-egg of the playoffs.

Jacksonville Jaguars 10, Buffalo Bills 3
Talk about missed opportunities.  The Bills had their chances against a very good Jags D, but just couldn’t get it past the goal line.  Blake Bortles looked like, well, Blake Bortles.  Highly erratic passing, but he did manage to rush for more yards than pass and those rushing yards all came at key points in the game.  The Bills D was staunch and the offense had some chances but just did not have enough weapons.

The Jags are lucky to win this one and Pete the Terp goes all out with 98 points to take the lead.  2 more goose-eggs are recorded.

New Orleans Saints 31, Carolina Panthers 26
Probably the most exciting of the weekend games.  Saints 39-year old QB Drew Brees has never lost a home playoff game and continued that streak with another masterpiece.  Superb accuracy (23 of 33, which is actually sub-par for him) that reminds you of Blake Bortles – NOT.  How long will the Panthers remember the missed 25-yard FG from Graham Gano, who made 4 of 5 for the day?  That would have changed how the Panthers played the last few minutes.

The Saints go marching in – to Minneapolis.  Pete the Terp (again) along with 2018 Winner take top honors in this one with 40 points each.  Hey, no goose-eggs finally!

HSBT Standings
With 4 of 11 games in the books (only 13% of our total points are amassed during the Wild Card games), here is where things stand in the quest for the coveted HSBT Trophy:

• Pete the Terp – 173 points (and off to a fast start)
• Comeback Kid – 101 points (are you still picking the Bills for the 100 point bonus?)
• JTB – 97 points (a strong start)
• Ben the Butler – 95 points (not feeling the effects of just coming off IR)
• 2018 Winner – 82 points (nicely positioned, as usual)
• Greg the Great – 79 points (the Bills hats and Beef on Weck still did not help)
• Buffalo Bill – 50 points (will look to improve next weekend, or could be facing a tough road)
• HenricoFiveOh – 38 points (plenty of time for this 6-time winner)

Look for my Divisional Playoff analysis and game predictions later in the week.  There will also be a look back at the HSBT in this our 30^th Anniversary season.  Plenty of good reading to come!

Until then, I am
~~ The Commish