The final day of Super Wild Card Weekend finished the job of setting up matchups for the divisional round of the playoffs. The Buffalo Bills took care of business against the Pittsburgh Steelers and will square off against the Kansas City Chiefs -- this time in Buffalo -- while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stunned the Philadelphia Eagles and will travel to Detroit to face the Lions.
On the other divisional matchups, the Houston Texans will face the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC and the Green Bay Packers will travel to San Francisco to face the 49ers, setting up a thrilling second weekend of the playoffs.
With Super Wild Card Weekend coming to a close, here's what we learned from the Monday games.
Significant changes are coming for the Eagles
The Eagles became the first team since the 1986 New York Jets to lose six of their final seven games after starting 10-1 on the season. Philadelphia underwent a late season coaching change on defense and looked lifeless on the defensive side of the ball since, ranking 31st in points per game allowed (30.6) and pass touchdowns (15) in the final seven games of the season. Since Week 9, the Eagles were one of the worst -- if not the worst -- defense in the league.
The entire defensive staff will be revamped, and the offensive coordinator (Brian Johnson) appears set to be let go after Philadelphia's offense looked lifeless towards the end of the season. The Eagles had no answers to handling the blitz late in the season, nor any creative ways to counter any pressure.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie isn't afraid to fire coaches after a rough season (see: Andy Reid, Chip Kelly, and Doug Pederson). Is Nick Sirianni next? The Eagles coach had no answer to get the team out of a funk that lasted for nearly two months, not a good indicator he's the right coach to lead the roster despite a .667 win percentage.
The Eagles are set to begin a massive overhaul.
Baker Mayfield arguably best free agent signing this offseason
Anyone who paid attention to the Buccaneers this season saw how well Mayfield performed in his one-year trial run with the franchise. Mayfield has the look of a franchise quarterback again, culminating with his excellent performance against a poor Eagles defense.
Mayfield finished 22 of 36 for 337 yards and three touchdowns in Monday's win over the Eagles (119.8 rating). He was crisp in the pocket and had an answer for whatever the Eagles defense threw at him. This is a quarterback who threw for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns in the regular season, finishing with a 94.6 passer rating.
The Buccaneers weren't supposed to be a playoff team this season, yet alone win a playoff game. Mayfield's emergence is why this aging football team has an opportunity to make a deep playoff run.
Josh Allen might be the best QB left in AFC playoffs
Allen had another standout performance in a playoff game, finishing 31 of 30 for 203 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions (121.9 rating) and rushing for 74 yards with a touchdown (9.3 yards per carry). Allen is the first player in NFL history to throw three-plus touchdown passes while also rushing for 70-plus yards and a touchdown in a playoff game.
Allen is the 10th player in NFL playoff history with 3-plus passing touchdowns, 1-plus rushing touchdowns, and zero interceptions. This continues a run which Allen has been willing the Bills to wins, even though he has just eight touchdown pass to five interceptions for an 88.6 rating during the six-game win streak.
In the postseason, Allen is on a different level. He's thrown for 2,537 yards and 20 touchdowns to just four interceptions for a 101.4 passer rating. Included are 491 rushing yards and three touchdowns-- an average of 336.4 total yards in nine games.
Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are still in these playoffs, but Allen just plays on a different level come January. Based on how Allen played Monday, he has an argument as the best quarterback left in the AFC playoffs this year.
Bills continue to survive injury after injuries on defense
There might not have been a roster that was more significantly impacted by injuries than the Bills this season. Matt Milano, Tre'Davious White, and Jordan Phillips are out for the season. Micah Hyde and Von Miller missed significant time as well.
Six Bills players that took the field in the Week 18 win over the Dolphins either did not play in the wild card win or left the game due to injury. Terrel Bernard left with an ankle injury, Taron Johnson left with a head injury, and Baylon Spector left with a back injury. Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Taylor Rapp, and Tyrel Dodson did not play.
The Bills defense still allowed just 17 points and 324 yards in their victory over the Steelers. The unit also forced an interception and a fumble that led to 14 points for the offense -- important since the Bills ended up winning by 14 points.
No matter what obstacles the Bills face, their defense keeps on plugging away. This group is battle tested.
