NFL Playoffs Start – Colts in Houston, Cowboys Host Seahawks

The NFL playoffs are about to start. The madness of the postseason already infected most of the country, as both fans and the organizations eagerly wait for the first kick-off. We will have the first two Wild-Card games today, both in Texas, one in Houston and another in Dallas.

The honor of opening this playoff is awarded to the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts, two division rivals from the AFC South. They already faced twice this season, and the series is tied at the moment. Both teams won their respective games on the road. Texans were better after overtimes in Indianapolis 37-34 on September 30th, while the Colts managed to get things even in early December at NRG Stadium, 24-21.

Texans have the best wide receiver in the league DeAndre Hopkins who didn’t have a single drop this season along with 115 catches. His stats are impressive if we add that Hopkins posted 11 touchdowns and 1,425 yards. He was the selected to be All-Pro First Team with the highest number of votes of any offensive player.

Houston finished the season with 11 wins in last 13 games after opening the campaign with 0-3.

Meanwhile, equally hot Colts are coming to town led by two rookies who became All-Pro too. Darius Leonard, linebacker, and Quenton Nelson offensive linemen who upgraded Andrew Luck’s protection to another level. From the team which allowed most sacks last year, 56, Indianapolis decreased that number to only 18 this season, which is the league-low. That instantly felt, and Luck who has been suffering constant injuries over the past few seasons, mostly because of bad protection threw for 39 touchdowns in 2018, and 4,593 yards.

Andrew Luck ➡️ Dontrelle Inman = TOUCHDOWN! 🏈 https://t.co/STeIJhDMMN

— Indy SportsOne (@IndySportsOne) December 31, 2018

Since 2014 this is the first playoff appearance for the Colts, who are looking very good.

The second game of the day will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Fired-up Dallas Cowboys are hosting even more enthusiastic Seattle Seahawks.

Both teams already met once, it was Week 3 and the Seahawks defeated their rivals at the CenturyLink Field with 24-13. Since then many things have changed for both teams. The Cowboys finished the season with 7-1, and on the other side, Seahawks went 6-1.

The home team’s offense is a bit inconsistent, but if they get on the right foot, any defense is helpless against them. Dak Prescott’s creativity is equally dangerous for the Cowboys as it is for the opponents, but since Amari Cooper landed in Texas, things were much easier for him. The former Oakland Raider had 53 catches for 725 yards and 6 TDs in nine games after his arrival.

During that time Prescott threw for 1,871 yards and 11 touchdowns. Finally, Ezekiel Elliot, the best running back in the league has a decent help from the other side of the offense. Zeke ended the season first in total rushing yards 1,434 and per game, 95.6.

When speaking about running game, Seattle has the best in the league, with 160 per game. Russell Wilson is finally supplied with the backfield he deserves, and the prolific quarterback is now more dangerous than in the previous season. Chris Carson broke 1,000-yard rushing limit (1,153) and collected 9 touchdowns.

https://twitter.com/NoHuddle_NFL/status/1079502130266951681

Now, what surprised most of the people was their excellent defense. The Seahawks gathered a group of talented youngsters which was supposed to blossom much later, but they created chemistry instantly and became a possible successor of the famous Legion of Boom. Having in mind that Dallas’ offensive line isn’t protecting Prescott well (56 sacks 2nd highest in the league), the Seahawks are entering this contest with high hopes.

Other two games will take place tomorrow. Bears are hosting the champions, Eagles, while the Chargers welcome Baltimore Ravens.