The opening round of the NFL Playoffs embarked this past weekend and it didn’t disappoint.
Well, that is unless the team you root for was ousted.
It was an entertaining foray into the postseason chase as of the five wild card round tilts, four were nail-biting thrillers. The nightcap, however, was a lopsided beatdown. And it was the AFC West’s Los Angeles Chargers who were on the receiving end of said thumping.
Wild Card Scores
NFC
- (5) Los Angeles Rams 34, (4) Carolina Panthers 31
- (2) Chicago Bears 31, (7) Green Bay Packers 27
- (6) San Francisco 49ers 23, (3) Philadelphia Eagles 19
AFC
- (6) Buffalo Bills, (3) Jacksonville Jaguars 24
- (2) New England Patriots 16, (7) Los Angeles Chargers 3
For the 18 teams watching the playoffs from afar, the postseason dance is always opportune time to learn why others are still playing for that coveted Lombardi Trophy. The rebuilding Las Vegas Raiders have plenty to glean from these playoff games. And here are four key takeaways from this past weekend:
- Hitting on the coach and quarterback can result in rapid turnarounds.
- Protect the quarterback.
- Tailbacks as pass catchers.
- Special teams merit attention too.
The Coach & Quarterback Combo
Caleb Williams was already there as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft and a year later, in comes rookie head coach Ben Johnson. That young quarterback and coach combo — wink, wink, Raiders — is showcasing you hit on the lead men at arguably the two most important parts of a football team and rapid turnarounds are indeed possible.
“The league is littered with when you get the top pick right, those guys are franchise altering players,” Raiders general manager John Spytek said in his season-ending press conference last Monday. “There’s probably no more important hire in an NFL organization than the head coach. They’re the daily guy. They set the vision, they set the cadence. They are what touches the players every day and demand excellence from players. And the players are the ones that have to go out there and do it. And the more good players you have, and the better person at the helm that you have steering that ship, my experiences is, the more successful you are.
“And you look at, are there two more important hires in an organization than a quarterback and a head coach? I think we probably all would agree that those two men usually steer the ship, and that’s out in front of us right now.”
The Silver & Black is off and running on its coach search interviewing candidates this week with a slew of requests made this weekend. The presumptive prospect Las Vegas will select with the No. 1 overall pick is Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
For Las Vegas, the team has the opportunity to land both a new head coach and a quarterback — especially with the top pick in the 2026 draft at the Raiders’ disposal.
Shore Up The Trenches
The shootout-style games each saw the team’s respective quarterbacks remaining upright. Sure they were pressured at times, forced to move in or out of the pocket, but the ability to remain on their feet to deliver the football correlated to the scoring.
But the Patriots’ victory over the Chargers was a strong contrast.
Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert was under constant duress and was sacked six times and hit a whopping 11 times in the Bolts’ loss. His counterpart, New England’s Drake Maye, was sacked five times and hit the same amount. Four field goals resulted in a 9-3 advantage by the Patriots at the tail end of the third quarter. And the lone touchdown was a 28-yard dime from Maye to tight end and former Charger Hunter Henry.
The Raiders’ head coach hire looms, as does the draft (and perhaps a quarterback). But just as important as the new lead man is going to be, the head coach’s offensive line coach selection will be critical. As will the linemen at their disposal. If the investment is indeed a QB at No. 1, Las Vegas must protect said expenditure.
Multipurpose Running Backs
Tom Brady calling the 49ers’ win over the Eagles on FOX should prove a fortuitous turn of events for Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty. Brady got a bird’s eye view of San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey doing work as equal parts ball carrier (15 carries for 48 yards) and receiver (six catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns).
Jeanty brings similar running/receiving skills and and we saw glimpses of what he can do as a multipurpose back this past season. A new head coach being or bringing in an offensive play caller to maximize the 2025 sixth overall pick’s participation and production would be sound.
Just like the one heard on the broadcast during the 49ers’ trick play that resulted in a pass from wide receiver Jauan Jennings to McCaffrey. That excitement — especially at the end — from Brady says it all.
Kick Up A Fuss
Watching kicker’s whiff on extra points coupled with the Packers’ Brandon McManus going 0-for-2 on field goals while also missing a point after, laments on the Raiders on kicking spot.
Veteran Daniel Carlson, who spent the last eight seasons as place kicker, is slated to hit the free agent open market sans a new deal. The nearly 31-year-old (Jan. 23) Auburn product went 22-of-27 (81.5 percent) in 2025 and made 21-0f-22 extra points.
If you have the Raiders making an upward trend and returning to a competitive team that makes a postseason run, having a dialed in kicker is vital, especially in tight ball games decided by a field goal or an extra point.
Up Next
Only one AFC West team remains in the hunt for a Lombardi Trophy: The top-seeded Denver Broncos. Denver earned a first-round bye as the AFC’s No. 1 seed and plays host to the Buffalo Bills next Saturday in the divisional round. The sixth-seeded Bills dropped the No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24.
