NFL Wild Card Instant Reactions; Indiana vs Miami Championship

TRENDING FAN CONVERSATIONS FROM THE WEEKEND IN SPORTS

JANUARY 9 - 11, 2026

Top Story

The Bears climb back from being down 21-3 at halftime to win the rubber match game against the Packers 31-27.

It’s still hard to comprehend how the Packers lost this game. So much so that Jordan Love, with 323 passing yards, became only the third quarterback in playoff history with four touchdown passes and no interceptions, but still lost the game. His potential fifth, which might have been his most prolific, highest-difficulty pass of the night, was met with a less-than-stellar attempt to catch the ball at the goalline by Christian Watson on the game-winning drive.

Packers’ coach Matt LaFleur entered the game with a high likelihood of being extended, regardless of how the playoffs unfolded, barring a collapse of epic proportions that was evidently his doing. Which is exactly what happened.

The Packers’ second half was so egregiously mismanaged that it realistically should cost LaFleur the opportunity to ever coach the team again. Bears’ QB Caleb Williams made a few great throws, but the Bears’ offense was by no means their best self, and Ben Johnson was uncharacteristically reckless. But the Packers couldn’t hold onto the ball for more than 60 seconds a drive in the third quarter, handing Chicago countless opportunities to score points.

Green Bay’s special teams once again failed them when it mattered most, but it never should have been as much of a factor on the outcome as it was if the coach had a killer instinct or made necessary in-game adjustments to prevent it from becoming one. To open the second half, the Packers immediately, and noticeably, looked like a different offense. One that was going to cowardly shrivel up and hopefully burn off enough clock to win the game without scoring anymore. A LaFleur special with a lead.

As has been seen throughout his tenure as Packers’ coach, LaFleur’s only of note adjustments tend to involve going as conservative as possible, as soon as possible, getting away from everything that worked, and allowing teams to chip away at the Packers with 1,000 cuts while they self-implode to lose every ounce of momentum.

His coaching entirely changes playing with a lead, as seen by Green Bay leaving behind all play calls under center that were torching the Bears in the first half in favor of continued calls almost exclusively out of shotgun, runs up the middle that accrued zero yards to start every possession, and passing only when it became entirely predictable that they needed to.

The NFL is a business, and the Packers have not improved their year-over-year end results under LaFleur. In fact, they have continually regressed despite continued strong quarterback play. The collapse was masterclass of “how to get fired 101” and a culmination of all the seemingly unfixable shortcomings throughout LaFleur’s tenure. By definition, it would be bad business for the Packers to keep this train going with LaFleur, regardless if there are no Ben Johnsons on the market.

In a league where you have to earn your keep to piss with the big dogs in the tall grass, LaFleur has done an incredible amount well designing the Packers offense and navigating plenty of challenging situations. But in the moments it’s mattered most, he routinely can’t navigate the tall grass. As great as he’s been at consistently having a winning regular-season record, he’s been just as consistent in having questionable game management and getting outcoached no matter who’s under the headset on the other side.

This was a loss that most wouldn’t come back from if you’re a head coach whose success has only regressed come playoff time. At this point, it’s safe to label him a B-tier coach who delivers B-tier results when the season is all said and done. There is excuses galore for why Green Bay hasn’t got over the hump with him, but he’s the only common denominator on the sidelines through it all.

Taking a swing in this year’s coaching market arguably offers more upside at this point, and the Packers are due for a mindset, preparedness, and accountability reset. After all, you can count on one hand the number of coaches in history who have made their first Super Bowl after year five with a team.

So ask yourself. Does Matt LaFleur’s body of work as a head coach stamp him as the caliber of coach who can do it in year eight with Green Bay and enter rarefied playoff air? If the answer is no, well…

NFL

Josh Allen leads the Bills to their first road playoff victory in 33 years, taking down the scorching hot Jaguars 27-24.

The Bills entered this playoffs with as much pressure as any team has ever faced to deliver results and finally get over the hump. It’s taken Josh Allen being Superman and James Cook running through the bottom of his shoes to carry the team all year, but this time they get some help from their defense with a game sealing interception as the Jaguars started their game-winning drive.

The Bills have hardly produced a great team win this season, but they picked the perfect day to have one. The defense swatted nine passes, two interceptions, nine players had a catch, they scored twice on the ground, and Allen was upright all game to deliver an surgical 28-35, 273 yard performance. In case anyone forgot, he is still that freaking guy and still the most inevitable quarterback in the sport.

The Jaguars entered the playoffs as the hottest team in football, with the hottest quarterback in football, and the hottest coach who has his team ahead of schedule in year one of his regime. This team is going to be very good for the foreseeable future as Liam Coen has been the first coach to finally unlock Trevor Lawrence’s ceiling. Unfortunately, this game saw Lawrence revert back into more familiar form, as he finished with his NFL leading seventh interception since his playoff debut.

Despite the Bills’ Super Bowl window only being propped open with with Josh Allen’s pinky finger at this point, as they’ve yet to make it to the big game after six straight years of playoff appearances, this week was not the week it closes.

The Rams needed a defensive stop on a game winning drive to take down the Panthers 34-31 in a rematch that saw the Panthers take game 1 during the regular season.

Sean McVay captured his 9th playoff win in 9 seasons, which is the exact amount of playoff games the Rams won in the 33 years before him. Is that good?

Somehow the Carolina Panthers, in their still finding their footing state of affairs, have had the Rams’ number throughout one of their more dominant seasons. That said, if Stafford’s throwing hand doesn’t take the hit, who knows if this one stays as close as it did. He was down bad after the injury, his efficiency dropped off the grid, but he proceeded to throw a game winning touchdown on a throw that Next Gen Stats gave only a 27% chance of completion on. True. Grit. Get his man’s jacket ready!

This epic clash saw four fourth quarter lead changes, tieing a playoff record, and once again Bryce “Carolina Reaper” Young led a late game drive to take the lead.

As much as everyone expected the Rams to prevail, the Panthers set out to show they belong in these games, and they proved a damn point. Dave Canales has silently built up a newfound culture and belief in Carolina football that won’t be flying under the radar for much longer. Their fans left a home playoff game with an L, but left the season with a W.

Patriots prevent the chargers from scoring a touchdown in 16-3 victory. Drake Maye led the game with 66 yards rushing and the Patriots defense showed out with their most stifling effort of the season.

Not a ton to report in this absolute barn burner besides Drake Maye delivered big plays when he needed to and it was his rushing that ended up being the difference maker in this game.

New England’s defense also needs a ton of credit. The Chargers were a top 3rd down team in football during the regular season but only managed to go 1-10, coughed up the rock two times, and Justin Herbert was held to his second lowest QBR of the season.

The Chargers’ season should be remembered more as a minor miracle they made the playoffs rather than a disappointment they didn’t get a playoff win. Especially seeing that their offensive line, that was broken last year, found a way to be in worse shape this year. It’s getting difficult to continue to make excuses for Herbert’s playoff woes, now 0-3 with seven turnovers and only two touchdown passes, but he dragged a structurally dysfunctional offense into January. It’s a testament to his ceiling, but clock is ticking to take the next step.

Unfortunately for him, Greg Roman as the Chargers offensive coordinator has offered very little more than lackluster schematic leadership and it’s hard to contest that the Chargers would be better off ushering in a new offensive regime next year.

The good news? The Chargers have the cap space and roster foundation to fix this properly. They get back two All-Pro offensive lineman, have a strong foundation of pass catchers, an extremely dynamic running back in Omarion Hampton, and defensive stars on every level.

An unusual hero in Demarcus Robinson puts up top receiving numbers to lift the 49ers to a 23-19 win to knock out the Eagles. Jauan Jennings throws his second career playoff touchdown pass and AJ Brown is busy fighting Sirianni about not getting targets, only to drop the ones he gets.

The Eagles have a toxic cloud looming over their franchise in the form of AJ Brown. The argument can be made that Jalen Hurts and OC Kevin Patullo have done a poor job commanding the Eagles’ passing attack and doing so has regressed Brown’s involvement in the offense. But Brown owns plenty of the blame himself.

How many times will a player be allowed to publicly get into with or show destain for the head coach before he has to go? Not only that, but when the team tries to wipe dry the tears under his eyes with forced targets, the offense losses rhythm and Brown increasingly tends to not hold up his end of the bargain. This clearly is not working anymore and Philadelphia would be wise to pursue a divorce from their once prized receiver.

As for the 49ers, losing George Kittle to a torn achilles is another massive blow to a team that is apparently sustaining never ending injuries thanks to electromagnetic waves emitting right next door (it’s a fascinating, surprisingly data-backed theory).

But as he has all season, Kyle Shanahan put on an A-tier coaching clinic to pull his team to victory. With the injury adversity the 49ers have faced this season, they realistically shouldn’t have even been in playoff contention. Instead, they were competing for the division title in the final week, in a division with the greatest single division output in NFL history, and won a playoff game against the reigning champs despite losing an All-Pro mid-game.

NCAA

The CFP hasn’t got much right, but Indiana and Miami meeting for the College Football National Championship is the best possible game to end the season.

In one corner, undefeated Indiana packs one of the single greatest seasons in college football history, with a team full of 22 and 23 years olds who were all low to mid star recruits, and the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, all playing out of their minds under the mastermind coach that is Curt Cignetti. Cignetti & Co. beating the breaks off Oregon in the semifinals, with a potential top 5 pick at QB of their own, is a testament to how far and away better this team is than everyone else right now.

In the other corner, Miami brings the single sweatiest man in the building (Michael Irvin) and his belt, with the nastiest punch you in the mouth trenches in the sport on both sides, a scrutinized coach proving everyone wrong, and a quarterback rejuvenating his draft stock as the lights keep getting brighter. No one predicted we’d see so many Gatorade coolers assaulted on a weekly basis but Michael Irvin’s belt has been getting a serious workout in Miami’s “Belts To Ass” tour. The energy around this program’s late season run is undeniable and terrifying to have to line up against.

Give me the HO-HO-HOOSIERS!