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Good morning! Enjoy nice things while you can. Inside:
Now and Laters: The fleeting glory of the wild-card round
I always find early playoff games, no matter the sport, to present a beautiful juxtaposition. For the winners, nothing feels better. You get feted for days, maybe even a week. We talk of legacy. And then … poof, it’s gone. Time for a new round that history will remember more clearly than the previous win.
We are here in the NFL postseason: through one round of mostly fantastic games — save for tonight’s game — with more important matchups on the horizon. For yesterday’s games, we should talk about the now and the later, as if this were a candy advertisement:
Now: Drake Maye’s playoff debut went pretty well. The defense was outstanding. Maye did not play up to his MVP-level standard of this year, but I’m going to give him a break in his first playoff game. The breather won’t be long, though. For the Chargers, it’s a brutal end to a season that started special.
Later: The Pats get the winner of tonight’s Houston-Pittsburgh matchup. Both are tough matchups. Maye needs to get acclimated here, quickly.
Now: The NFC West is confirmed as the best division in football, with all three teams making it to the divisional round. It was so, so impressive to watch what has been a banged-up San Francisco defense dominate against the defending world champions. Star running back Christian McCaffrey was better than his counterpart Saquon Barkley. Tight end George Kittle tore his Achilles tendon, then drank some tequila in the locker room. You might be playing for the Niners next week at this point, and they still might win.
Later: Next week is a trip to Seattle to face the NFC West champion Seahawks. These teams split the season series. Seattle is a full touchdown favorite, according to BetMGM, but I would be surprised by nothing in that game.
Now: Buffalo survived, somehow, and advanced to its sixth straight divisional weekend. Josh Allen is a super human. The Bills defense played well when it mattered. I thought at multiple points in this game that Jacksonville might coast to a win, and it never happened. Good teams survive.
Later: It’s impressive the Bills have made it to the divisional round so many times, and also frustrating. There are zero Super Bowl appearances in that run. In order to make one this year, they’ll have to travel to Denver and face the No. 1 seed Broncos on Saturday. Good luck against that defense, but Allen is capable of anything.
Need a new team to root for? Check out a bandwagon fan guide here. A few parting notes before we move on:
- Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, despite winning a ring last year, is probably on the hot seat in Philadelphia. Packers coach Matt LaFleur appears to be very much in danger. Wild, but understandable after two embarrassing collapses.
- Throughout the rest of the playoffs, all of our NFL content is free for everyone on The Athletic’s app. You can download that here.
Onward:
News to Know
Freeman accused of battery
A high school wrestling coach filed a battery complaint against Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman over the weekend, stemming from a dispute during a tournament in which Freeman’s son, Vinny, wrestled. Notre Dame released a statement vociferously defending its coach. See the full details of the alleged incident here.
Texas lands Coleman
Auburn superstar wideout Cam Coleman is officially heading to Texas, he announced yesterday. Coleman is arguably the biggest name of this transfer portal cycle and was a lone bright spot for a bad Tigers team last year. He immediately makes the Longhorns a top title contender next year. Also in Auburn transfer news: Quarterback Deuce Knight committed to Ole Miss, as it’s looking unlikely Trinidad Chambliss will get that waiver.
More news
Watch Guide
📺 NBA: Celtics at Pacers
7:30 p.m. ET on Peacock
If you’re a no-go on football, here’s your pick. I’m mostly curious to see how the refs treat Jaylen Brown after his outburst over the weekend.
📺 NFL: Texans at Steelers
8:15 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN
I suspect this will be a nervy, low-scoring affair. I could be wrong. Either way, as Mike DeFabo wrote beautifully this morning, Aaron Rodgers won’t walk off the field alone.
Get tickets to games like this here.
Pulse Picks
Steph Chambers / Getty Images
An arbitration case never makes headlines in the MLB offseason. But as Ken Rosenthal writes this morning, everyone should pay attention to what happens between Tarik Skubal and the Tigers.
I loved this story about the “Hughes Bowl,” which happens tonight in Minnesota as three Hughes brothers — Quinn, Jack and Luke — face off for the first time in the NHL. Michael Russo scored an exclusive interview with the family.
A last missive on the state of college football — for now, at least — from Joe Rexrode: Is the sport broken … or the best it’s ever been? The answer is yes.
C.J. Moore is back with his weekly men’s college basketball Top 25, which features a new No. 1 after Michigan’s loss.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on former Kansas State coach Chris Klieman saying the transfer portal forced him to retire. Read his comments if you missed.
Most-read on the website yesterday: 49ers-Eagles live blog.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.