Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Can the NFL really call this Super Wild-Card Weekend when six games is the new normal?
In today’s SI:AM:
🇦🇺 Aussie Open previews for men’s and women’s singles
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The road to the Super Bowl starts here
The longest weekend of playoff football in NFL history gets underway tomorrow. There are two games tomorrow, three Sunday and a Monday-night playoff game to close things out. Let’s take a look at each of the games on the schedule:
No. 7 Seahawks at No. 2 49ers (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox)
Geno Smith has enjoyed a career renaissance this season (his first as a full-time starter since 2014), leading the NFL in completion percentage, but can he and the Seahawks’ offense overcome a stifling 49ers defense? Seattle has a good offense (ranked ninth in the league in points per game), but San Francisco has a great defense. The Niners are ranked first in points allowed per game, allowing an average of 16.3 points, which is more than a point better than the second-ranked Bills. Good luck with that, Geno.
No. 5 Chargers at No. 4 Jaguars (Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC)
Sit back and enjoy what could be the first installment of the next generation of great quarterback battles. With the Urban Meyer mess behind him, Trevor Lawrence has looked more like a guy worthy of the No. 1 pick in his second season. And while Justin Herbert wasn’t quite as prolific this season as he was in 2021, these are still two of the best quarterbacks to enter the league in the past three years. It’ll be fun to see them go head-to-head for just the second time.
No. 7 Dolphins at No. 2 Bills (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on CBS)
If you’re going to skip any of the games this weekend, this is probably the one. With Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) and Teddy Bridgewater (dislocated pinky) injured, the Dolphins will turn to rookie seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson at quarterback. Thompson was under center for last week’s 11–6 win over the Jets in which he completed 20 of 31 passes for 152 yards. Miami doesn’t even have a great running game to make up for the absence of its top two quarterbacks. The Dolphins rank 25th in the league with 99.2 rushing yards per game.
No. 6 Giants at No. 3 Vikings (Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox)
If the Giants are going to pull off the upset, it’ll be because of the running game. Saquon Barkley had his most healthy season since he was a rookie in 2018, rushing for 1,312 yards, while Daniel Jones ranked fifth among quarterbacks with 708 yards on the ground. Jones has also improved as a passer under new play-caller Mike Kafka (he had the lowest interception rate of any quarterback this season), but it’s the ground game that steers the ship for the Giants. They averaged 148.2 yards per game on the ground, fourth in the NFL.
No. 6 Ravens at No. 3 Bengals (Sunday, 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC)
Like the Dolphins, the Ravens are going on the road without their star quarterback. Lamar Jackson is still dealing with a knee injury and won’t be available Sunday. There was some concern earlier in the week that backup Tyler Huntley might also be sidelined, but he returned to practice yesterday. Still, all but one of our experts picked the Bengals to advance.
No. 5 Cowboys at No. 4 Buccaneers (Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN and ABC)
This may very well be Tom Brady’s final NFL game—or maybe not, if you believe the rumors about him perhaps joining the Dolphins—so enjoy every minute of it. Whether he leads a classic fourth-quarter comeback or gets blown out and spends the whole game pouting like a baby, you’ll want to remember this one even if it’s not his last game. We have only so many chances left to watch the greatest ever play.
The best of Sports Illustrated
Douglas DeFelice/USA TODAY Sports
- Today’s Daily Cover, by Alex Prewitt, is a profile of the Ravens’ unlikely perennial Pro Bowler: fullback Patrick Ricard.
- Here are our experts’ predictions for the NFL playoffs. Several think the Bengals are due for a return trip to the Super Bowl.
- Pat Forde explains what Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren’s departure means for college sports at large. And, according to Ross Dellenger, there is already a favorite emerging to replace Warren.
- Howard Beck came away from the Nets’ loss to the Celtics concerned about how the team will fare without Kevin Durant.
- The Australian Open begins Sunday night in the U.S. Jon Wertheim has predictions for the men’s and women’s singles draws.
- Kyle Wood breaks down the betting trends and stats for every team in the NFC and AFC playoffs.
The top five...
… things I saw yesterday:
5. Alex Killorn’s spinning assist in the Lightning’s 5–4 win over the Canucks.
4. Shaquille O’Neal’s eating frog after losing a bet on the CFP championship game.
3. Luka Dončić’s game-tying three in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. (The Mavs beat the Lakers in double overtime.)
2. Ansu Fati’s long-range volley in stoppage time for Barcelona in the Supercopa de España. (They advanced on penalties to face Real Madrid in the final.)
1. K’Andre Miller’s goal for the Rangers in the final second of regulation to send the game to overtime. (New York beat the Stars on this goal by Adam Fox in OT.)
SIQ
Oilers star Connor McDavid, who turns 26 today, made history in 2016 when he became the youngest player to be named the captain of an NHL team. Who held that distinction before him?
- Sidney Crosby
- Jonathan Toews
- Wayne Gretzky
- Gabriel Landeskog
Yesterday’s SIQ: An ACC-record 11,520 fans saw one of the best games in women’s basketball history on Jan 12, 1991, featuring which two schools? (Hint: The coach of the current No. 1 team in the country had a triple double.)
- NC State and Virginia
- Duke and North Carolina
- Maryland and Clemson
- Georgia Tech and Wake Forest
Answer: NC State and Virginia. The No. 2 Cavaliers outlasted the No. 3 Wolfpack in triple overtime, 123–120. The two teams set a new NCAA record for most combined points scored in a game (now held by Kentucky and Baylor, who scored 163 in four overtimes in 2013). Virginia guard Dawn Staley recorded the first triple double in ACC women’s history with 24 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds before she fouled out in the final seconds of regulation.
Virginia won when Tonya Cardoza stole a pass and drove for a go-ahead layup with two seconds left in the third overtime. (The clinching play is the only video of the game I can find online.)
The game attracted 11,520 fans to Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, the most ever for an ACC women’s basketball game. A month later, the two teams had a rematch in Charlottesville, which became the first advance sellout in Virginia women’s history with 8,864 tickets sold. Virginia won that one 95–78.
NC State went on to win the ACC tournament but was upset in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament by UConn. Virginia, meanwhile, earned a one-seed despite losing in the ACC semis to Clemson but lost to Tennessee in the national championship game.
More than 30 years later, fans are still packing gyms to see Dawn Staley–led teams. Her South Carolina team led the NCAA in average attendance last season with 12,268 fans per game, almost 3,000 more than second-place Iowa State.
