Monday Commentary: Weekend Of The Upset

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The NFL saved the best for last.

On the annual Wildcard Playoff Weekend – regarded by most as the *best* weekend of the football year – the closest and wildest game came Sunday night in Tampa Bay.

A back-and-forth Round 1 game went right down to the wire but in the end, mistakes cost the Buccaneers and their quarterback Baker Mayfield, and they were upset 23-20 by the Washington Commanders.

If you needed anymore evidence how much of a difference a new coach and a quarterback can make; it was the first Commanders playoff win since 2006 and they did it with new coach Dan Quinn and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

There was one other upset on the weekend, and it came in the first game on Saturday when the Houston Texans manhandled the L-A Chargers 32-12.

The other games went according to script, with Baltimore hammering Pittsburgh 28-14, Buffalo throttling Denver 31-7 and Philadelphia handling Green Bay with ease, 22-10.

There is one game remaining and it’ll be played tonight in Glendale, Arizona. The displaced Los Angeles Rams will host the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium, as the California wildfires have forced the relocation of the game.

Could this be the third upset game out of six this weekend?

Depending on which sportsbook you follow, the Vikings are favoured by them all. The only discrepancy is by how much.

We’ve been assured that the Rams have “got this” and won’t be distracted by having to play a home game in a rival’s stadium. That’s one thing, but how many of their minds will be on their family back home rather than on the biggest game of the year? And who could blame them?

I’ve got the #Skol to win tonight.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary.

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm & 4 pm ET on Game+TV, Podcast & YouTube Live)