Wild-card weekend really wasn’t all that wild.
Outside of yet another Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary (yawn, amirite?) and an eye-opening (but likely illegal) catch from a little-known Seahawks receiver, this past weekend’s slate of games were pretty uneventful: The Texans shut down the Derek Carr-less Raiders, the Seahawks ran all over the Lions, the Steelers ended Miami’s slim hopes quite quickly, and the Packers turned a tight game against the Giants into a rout.
But the first round’s results set up a fascinating divisional round featuring four rematches of 2016 regular-season games, including a follow-up to the Week 6 thriller between the Falcons and Seahawks, as well as a bid for redemption as the Chiefs welcome the Steelers to Kansas City with memories of a Week 4 throttling still fresh in their minds.
And while this past weekend didn’t offer up any thrillers, it did give us a glimpse at what we can expect in the next round.
Here are four takeaways from wild-card weekend:
Houston Texans 27 
Oakland Raiders 14
CLOWNEY RUNS RAMPANT
Connor Cook’s first-ever NFL start was never going to be easy against one of the league’s best defences, but Jadeveon Clowney made it an absolute nightmare for the rookie.
The 2014 No. 1 overall pick got the fun started early with an incredibly acrobatic interception that set up Houston’s first touchdown of the game, and gave the Raiders offence headaches all game long. The stats don’t show it (he recorded just a single tackle), but the six-foot-five defensive end was a wrecking machine.
Here’s just a taste of the havoc Clowney wreaked against Oakland:
Clowney has been doing this all season long, but due to the Texans’ drama at quarterback and the ineptitude of the AFC South it has been largely ignored or overlooked.
Houston doesn’t stand much of a chance next weekend in New England, but if Clowney can get after Tom Brady with the same effectiveness their odds are definitely improved.
Seattle Seahawks 26 
Detroit Lions 6
RAWLS A DIFFERENCE-MAKER FOR SEAHAWKS
There were plenty of questions surrounding the Seahawks ahead of Saturday night’s wild-card matchup with the Lions: How would the struggling offensive line hold up? Can the defence survive the NFC’s best without Earl Thomas?
But maybe the biggest was Seattle’s running game, which has been the key to the Seahawks’ success in the Pete Carroll era but had struggled in the regular season after the retirement of Marshawn Lynch. In the lead-up to Saturday’s game, the Seahawks had failed to record 100 yards rushing in three straight games and 10 out of 16 all season.
Well, Thomas Rawls fixed all that, galloping for a Seahawks playoff record 161 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Rawls appeared in just nine games for Seattle in the regular season because of injury and was averaging a measly 1.5 yards per carry from Week 15 through 17, so it’s hard to say if his success will be maintained throughout the playoffs.
But the 23-year-old does have the type of hard-nosed running style the Seahawks value, not to mention good feet, speed and vision.
If Rawls’s breakout against Detroit marks the return of Seattle’s run game, it’s bad news for the rest of the NFC.
Pittsburgh Steelers 30 
Miami Dolphins 12
HARRISON IS OLD BUT STILL AWESOME
In their first playoff game together, Pittsburgh’s “Big Three” did not disappoint. Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger put on a show against the undermanned Dolphins Sunday afternoon, ensuring the game was essentially over by halftime.
The effectiveness of the Steelers offence bodes well for a deep playoff run (assuming Big Ben is telling the truth about his ankle injury), but what might put Pittsburgh over the top is its defence, a unit that forced three turnovers and silenced Jay Ajayi.
And it was 38-year-old James Harrison who led the charge in Pittsburgh’s pay-back win over Miami.
The ageless linebacker was all over the place on Sunday, setting the tone for a defence that had steadily improved throughout the regular season and made a statement against the Dolphins.
Harrison gives the Pittsburgh defence the kind of boost that does wonders when paired with the three-headed offensive monster known as the Steelers’ offence.
Green Bay Packers 38 
New York Giants 13
THE PACKERS MIGHT NOT LOSE AGAIN
The Giants were a popular upset pick as Sunday’s game at Lambeau drew closer, with many expecting New York’s stifling defence to hand Green Bay the reality check it was due. Over the final seven games of the season, the Giants had surrendered just 14.2 points per game.
Apparently Aaron Rodgers didn’t get the memo.
The red-hot Packers, winners of seven straight, were held scoreless in the first 27 minutes of the game but then blew it all wide open. By the time all was said and done, Rodgers had four touchdown passes and the league’s hottest defence had just been roasted by an offence no one can stop right now.
Since Nov. 20, A-Rod has 22 touchdown passes, no interceptions and is playing at a level unrivaled by his peers. Check out these touchdown plays.
Ridiculous pocket presence:
Pin-point accuracy from 50 yards out:
A straight-up bullet:
If those don’t make Dallas fans sweat, they’re not paying attention.
Sure, the Cowboys have a respectable defence—they allowed fewer rushing yards than any other team in the regular season—but they’ve been vulnerable to the pass game, ranking 26th in yards against.
Everything points to next Sunday’s clash at AT&T Stadium being a classic, but if Dallas can’t find a way to slow down Rodgers they’ll probably be one and done.
