NFL playoff winners and losers of Sunday: Jayden Daniels keeps taking Commanders to new heights

The NFL’s wild-card round is very nearly in the books, with only one game – the Minnesota Vikings at the Los Angeles Rams – left to play Monday night.

And, with Sunday’s games through, the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders have all stamped their berths to the divisional round.

And with that, Washington became the first lower-seeded team of the NFL playoffs to pull off the road upset. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels was efficient and directed a game-winning drive inside the final minute of the game, playing like a steady veteran.

Elsewhere, fans were treated to another efficient quarterbacking performance in the form of MVP candidate Josh Allen, who extended plays and helped humble one of the league’s top defenses.

Here are the winners and losers from Sunday of wild card weekend.

WINNERS

Efficient Josh Allen

The Denver Broncos posted the NFL’s third-best scoring defense, allowing 18.3 points per game over the regular season. They ranked eighth in turnovers forced (25). All that Allen did was complete 20 of 26 passes for 272 yards and two scores while adding 46 rushing yards in a 31-7 rout.

As he has all season, Allen emphasized efficiency and ball protection. Coupled with his ability to extend plays, that compromised Denver’s defensive assignments and allowed Bills receivers to leak out into open space. That was most evident during a fourth-and-1 touchdown pass late in the third quarter to running back Ty Johnson in the back of the end zone, a score that built considerable momentum for the Bills.

Jayden Daniels plays like a vet, a seasoned one at that

Making his first playoff start, Daniels lifted Washington to its first playoff victory in 19 years. In fact, Daniels was 5 years old the last time the franchise broke through in the postseason, also in a road game against the Buccaneers. Yet the moment, on the road, was nowhere near too big for him – especially in high-leverage situations and in the clutch. On 15 third- and fourth-down passing attempts Sunday night, Daniels scored two touchdowns while also picking up eight first downs.

Late in the game, with the score tied at 20, Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury leaned on Daniels to make the right decision on a pair of key third downs: a 21-yard completion up the middle on third-and-6 to receiver Dyami Brown and a 4-yard keeper on third-and-2 that set up the game-winning field goal.

Philly’s hot start

Through the first 13 games of the 2024 season, the Eagles combined to score 17 first-quarter points. Over their last six, including Sunday’s victory in which they scored 10 in the first frame, that number has spiked to 65.

The Eagles have become a very difficult out, precisely because of their hot starts. Given the dominance of running back Saquon Barkley, who improbably seems to get better as a game wears on, Philadelphia can wear down opposing defenses with a barrage of rushes. Barkley (119 yards on 25 carries), however, isn’t the only weapon; quarterback Jalen Hurts (concussion) played his first game in three weeks, and the Packers had no answer for his mobility when plays broke down. Which prompts the thought: The best way to get past Philadelphia seems to be to jump out to an early lead, forcing them to throw the ball.

Joe Brady and balance

Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady deployed an effective, balanced attack to unsettle the Broncos. If anything, Brady leaned on the ground game, even though Denver ranked third in the NFL in rushing defense (96.4 yards allowed per game) during the regular season.

The Bills rushed the ball 44 times for 210 yards, with James Cook racking up 120 and one touchdown on 23 carries; the Bills averaged 10 plays per series, excluding the five-play sequence they needed to close out the game.

LOSERS

Jordan Love, Green Bay’s downfield passing game flame out

With their starters well rested, the Eagles pressured Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who never appeared to settle and struggled to push the ball down the field. The most concerning part about Love’s three picks, however, was that they came in clean pockets with time to throw.

One was a tremendous play by Eagles corner Darius Slay. Another was a misread telegraphed into the awaiting hands of linebacker Zack Baun. The final was a heave in desperation time into double coverage All came on pure dropback throws. All could’ve been avoided with checkdowns. Love has an abundance of talent. The Eagles defense is well balanced and one that forced 26 takeaways. Love and the Packers miscalculated by testing a secondary that had the fewest passing yards allowed per game (174.2).

Late Bucs fumble spoils Mike Evans gem

The NBC broadcast did a good job of hyping up the longstanding rivalry between Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans and Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore — with good reason. The two have feuded for years, dating back to the start of Lattimore's run as a corner for the NFC South-rival New Orleans Saints.

Evans got the better of the matchup, beating Lattimore in single coverages when they were matched up. He hauled in all seven of his targets for 92 yards and a score. He had a key effort conversion on a third down early in the fourth quarter that extended a Tampa drive that could’ve widened the Bucs lead, but quarterback Baker Mayfield misjudged a handoff, fumbling the ball to Washington deep in Tampa territory. The Commanders took a lead on a touchdown four plays later. Though the Bucs would later tie the game, that fumble completely altered the trajectory of the game and, eventually, the outcome.

Denver’s inability to stay on the field

It was promising for the Broncos once they raced out to an early lead just five plays into the game, on a 43-yard bomb to receiver Troy Franklin. After that, however, the offense struggled to sustain any type of effective drive. Buffalo scored the game’s final 31 points. Denver’s opening 70-yard drive was its longest of the day.

The Broncos couldn’t stay on the field, running only 42 offensive plays compared to Buffalo’s 72. Denver converted just two of nine third downs. The Bills outgained Denver 471-224. Against a team like Buffalo, with Allen’s playmaking, that was going to make it very difficult to win.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL playoff winners, losers: Jayden Daniels keeps lifting Commanders