Breaking down the regular-season meetings between NFL wild-card teams

We’re just one day out from the beginning of the NFL playoffs as the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers kick off Super Wild Card Weekend Saturday afternoon.

Up next will be the Los Angeles Chargers taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars Saturday evening, followed by three games on Sunday and playoff edition of Monday Night Football featuring the Dallas Cowboys going up against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Watch and stream every game LIVE on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App. You can also see unique digital feeds, including a data-enhanced stream and multicasts on the all-new TSN+.

All six games this weekend feature teams that have met at least once before during the 2022 regular season while three games contain teams from the same division.

As the NFL enters win or go home territory, here is a look at every meeting from this season featuring wild-card teams.

Seahawks vs. 49ers

Regular season results: 49ers 2-0
Week 2: SF 27, SEA 7
Week 15: SF 21, SEA 13

Both meetings against the Seahawks featured significant points in the 49ers’ season.

San Francisco made the decision over the summer to go with 22-year-old Trey Lance at quarterback and appeared ready to move on from Jimmy Garoppolo as starter. Considering what the Niners parted with to move up in the 2021 draft and take Lance – three first-rounders and a second – it made sense. But before the Niners even had a proper chance to see what they had with their new franchise QB, disaster struck.

Lance broke his right ankle on just the second drive of the game in Week 2 against Seattle and was ruled out for the season after the game. In stepped Garoppolo, who said being back under centre was just like riding a bike as he led the team to a 20-point win for their first victory of the season.

“It felt good to be back out there. Feel terrible for Trey. I’ve been on that side of it. This league is tough. That sucks for him,” Garoppolo said.

Jimmy G started the next 10 games for San Fran and led them to a 7-3 record. But he suffered a serious injury of his own in Week 13 and needed surgery to fix a broken bone in his foot, forcing the 49ers to turn to rookie Brock Purdy.

By the time the two teams met again in Week 15, Purdy – the very last player selected in the 2022 draft – had the keys to Kyle Shanahan’s offence. A win over the Seahawks would lock up the NFC West for the Niners and Purdy was ready for the big stage, throwing two touchdowns to George Kittle in a 21-13 victory.

“My mindset was I was coming into this place to play and start. That was that,” Purdy said as his team celebrated their first division title in three seasons.

Chargers vs. Jaguars

Regular season results: Jaguars 1-0
Week 3: JAX 38, LAC 10

The Jaguars dismantled the Chargers for a 28-point win on Sept. 25 and the matchup wasn’t really close in any facet. A 16-point second quarter gave the Jags a two-score halftime lead, and they kept the pressure on from there as Jacksonville snapped an 18-game road losing streak. It was the Jags’ largest win away from home since they beat the Minnesota Vikings by 30 in 2001.

Trevor Lawrence tossed three touchdowns with no interceptions and Jacksonville outgained the Chargers 151 to 26 on the ground. Jacksonville ran 75 plays compared to the L.A.’s 58 and had 413 total yards against the Chargers’ 312.

“We played over 40 plays in the first half and I felt that in the second half, I felt like we didn’t have that same energy,” Chargers head coach Brandon Staley said. “We didn’t affect the quarterback today. That also had a big impact on the game.”

Over the past 20 years, teams that beat another by 28 or more points during the regular season and then met later in a postseason rematch are 9-4.

While he had more yards through the air than Lawrence, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert played that week with a rib injury and turned the ball over twice. But he enters the playoffs healthy and threw just one interception over the season’s final three weeks.

Stanley pointed out that Week 3 loss was a long time ago.

“I think our seasons are probably similar that way in that we played our best football at the end. They’re a complete football team; offence, defence and special teams,” he said Sunday of the Jags.

"What makes a team a formidable team, those elements are still there, and they’ve improved. We have a lot of respect for this football team.” 

Dolphins vs. Bills

Regular season results: 1-1
Week 3: MIA 21, BUF 19
Week 15: BUF 32, MIA 29

The Buffalo Bills looked like a juggernaut through the first two weeks of the regular season, starting 2-0 with wins over the Chargers and Tennessee Titans by a combined score of 82-17.

However, the Dolphins were also undefeated too and made it clear the AFC East was far from a cakewalk with an impressive 21-19 victory in Miami Gardens. But – or more accurately, butt – the Dolphins almost blew a late lead and handed Buffalo the win.

Up 21-17, Miami was pinned deep in their own territory with 1:37 remaining and had to punt from their own endzone. Thomas Morstead took the snap and booted it right into the backside of blocker Trent Sherfield, causing the ball to sail out of the end zone for a safety and hand the ball back to Buffalo where any score would win.

But the Dolphins’ defence came up huge, shutting down Josh Allen and Co. to hang on for the 21-19 and overcome the ‘butt punt,’ which caught the attention of infamous ‘butt fumble’ subject Mark Sanchez.

“I don’t like these shock endings,” said Dolphins head Mike McDaniel. “But I’m just really, really happy for the team because this much I do know: Teams win football games, and if you are going to have success over the long haul, you have to have confidence that whatever phase can win a football game for you, can go ahead and do that.”

Fast forward to Week 14 and it was the Bills winning a close one as they beat Miami 32-29 in Orchard Park, N.Y., to lock up their fourth straight playoff berth.

Miami led 26-21 to begin the fourth quarter, but snow that was expected for much of the game finally started to fall and the Bills kicked it into gear, scoring on their final two possessions to clinch in front of the home fans.

“Almost like it was all supposed to happen, right?” safety Jordan Poyer said.

“Josh takes the offence down and the snow starts falling down. It was actually kind of surreal. It was a fun, fun atmosphere, though”

Giants vs. Vikings

Regular season result: Vikings 1-0
Week 16: MIN 27, NYG 24

One week removed from the largest comeback in NFL history – a 39-36 shocker over the Indianapolis Colts – the Vikings found themselves in a Christmas Eve dogfight with the Giants, who were battling for their playoff lives.

With the game tied at 24, Cousins and the Vikings took over at the New York 25. On third and nine, Kirk Cousins hit Justin Jefferson for a 16-yard pickup that advanced the ball to mid-field. After being sacked two plays later, Cousins found Jefferson again on third and long to get Minnesota into Giant territory, but the Vikings had no timeouts and time was ticking. Cousins ran to the line and spiked, stopping the clock with four seconds to go and the ball on the 42.

The Vikings had three options, and none were particularly high-percentage. Trying to pick up extra yardage and get out of bounds with so little time left was risky. And a Hail Mary was just that, a Hail Mary. So out came Greg Joseph to attempt a 61-yard field goal, which, if made, would be the longest in franchise history by five yards.

Already with a walk-off winner the week before, Joseph’s kick cleared the crossbar as time expired to give the Vikings their fourth win in five games.

“Never had a doubt in my mind,” linebacker Danielle Hunter said. “I knew he was going to make it.”

The Vikings went 11-0 in one-score matchups and built their 2022 season by winning the close ones. But so did the Giants, who went 8-4-1.

All of the narrow victories mean each team enters the postseason with negative point differentials. Sunday will be the fourth playoff matchup ever featuring two teams that had negative differentials during the regular season.

Ravens vs. Bengals

Regular season result: 1-1
Week 5: BAL 19, CIN 17
Week 18: CIN 27, BAL 16

Each of These teams met on very different terms during the regular season.

In their first showdown in Week 5, former MVP Lamar Jackson led the Ravens down the field on the final drive and Justin Tucker nailed a 43-yard game-winner to hand Baltimore a narrow 19-17 victory.

Jackson wasn’t at his best, throwing for 174 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but got the job done when it mattered most. So, when the Ravens didn’t have Jackson for their Week 18 rematch, John Harbaugh’s team was at an obvious disadvantage. 

Jackson suffered a PCL sprain on Dec. 4 against the Denver Broncos, sidelining him for what is now expected to be the rest of the season. The Bengals came in winners of seven straight and needed to defeat the Ravens to avoid a coin flip to decide home-field advantage should the two teams meet in the postseason.

The Ravens elected to sit multiple starters and trot out third-string QB Anthony Brown – who had attempted just five passes all season – as Cincinnati rolled to an easy 27-16 victory. Brown threw for 286 yards but was just 19-of-44 passing and turned the ball over three times.

With Jackson all but ruled out and backup Tyler Huntley dealing with a shoulder issue, the Bengals enter the rematch as heavy favourites. Still, that doesn’t mean the Ravens won’t be up for the challenge.

“I’m looking forward to next week and seeing these guys again,” Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith said. “It will be for all the marbles. I don’t look at it any differently. Just excited to get back out next week.”

Cowboys vs. Buccaneers

Regular season result: Buccaneers 1-0
Week 1: TB 19, DAL 3

Tom Brady has owned the Cowboys throughout his career and Week 1 was no different. The first Sunday Night Football matchup of the year saw Brady return for his 23rd season and take down the Cowboys 19-3 in Arlington.

The win moved Brady to 7-0 against the Cowboys lifetime, his best record against any team, including the playoffs. Monday night will be Brady’s first meeting against Dallas in the postseason and he can tie Randall Cunningham for the longest win streak against Jerry Jones’ squad.

The game also marked Brady’s return after a brief retirement, and it reminded him why he decided to come back and play.

“Just being around [my teammates] is something I always enjoy. It keeps me very grounded, very humble. I feel like just one of the guys. Not many places where I can go where I feel like just one of the guys, but the locker room’s definitely one of those places,” he said.

It was a season opener to forget for the Cowboys as they managed just 244 total yards and were a dismal 3-of-15 on third down, going scoreless over the game’s final three quarters.
To make matters worse, Dak Prescott fractured a bone in his throwing hand after colliding with Tampa’s Shaq Barrett on a follow-through, an injury that would sideline him until Week 7.

But Prescott has started every game since and will try to help the Cowboys win their first postseason game on the road since 1992.