Race to Super Bowl 50 - Playoffs Week 1 American Football

60 minutes of football, taking it to them right from the start.

Lofts it into the end zone...

-Ridiculous.

-Touchdown!

Somersault for the touchdown!

Unbelievable.

Pass is intercepted at the goal line!

The New England Patriots are the NFL champions.

Welcome to the race for Super Bowl 50.

Where I'm walking right now and standing,

that's where Kentucky is.

That's where they race horses.

Right here, in Cincinnati, Ohio,

this is where they play football.

Welcome to Wildcard Weekend.

This is huge. This is when it happens.

Let's make magic.

And the wildcard magic shapes up like this.

AFC Northern champions Cincinnati hosting the wildcard sixth seed

and division rivals Pittsburgh.

Houston, champions of the south and number four seeds,

entertaining the red-hot wildcard Kansas City Chiefs.

AFC top seeds Denver and New England enjoying the week off.

Over in the NFC, the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Cardinals,

champions of the south and the west divisions, have the bye.

For Minnesota, champions of the north and number three seed,

a home clash with the number six seed,

the wildcard Seattle Seahawks.

Washington, as champions of the east and number four seed,

host the other wildcard team, the Green Bay Packers.

Yes, hello. You all right if I do this bit,

or do you want to do this as well?

-You got it.

-You sure?

-No problem.

-OK. Fine.

This is where the going gets tough,

knockout football at its best.

With me, two-time Super Bowl winner

with the New York Giants, Osi Umenyiora,

and that man trying to take my job,

former cornerback with Dallas, Houston and the Giants, Jason Bell.

Right, our first action comes from Minneapolis

where the Minnesota Vikings took on the Seattle Seahawks

in a rematch of the Week 13 clash that saw the Seahawks win 38-7.

Revenge, however, is best served cold.

There is a glow, a protective coating of finest feathers,

that the Seattle Seahawks carry into the playoffs.

This is a flight path they know well.

They have won in Minneapolis already this season.

They have been to the last two Super Bowls.

The Seahawks may be wildcards, but they are hot.

Minneapolis is cold.

The Minnesota Vikings are masters of the frozen north.

Old Scandinavian question -

graceful Seahawk soaring in the air,

what happens when you land on ice?

This whole beginning of this game is a positive for the Vikings.

And Ryan has the field.

A low snap and he's going to take off with it!

And Jon Ryan will only get to the 29-yard line.

And that's a bigger positive for the Vikings.

The snap by Clint Gresham

was low...

You see a low snap, that's part of the cold,

You see a punter with no gloves on,

who's now going to try and take off, and they make the stop.

So are the weather conditions a factor so far? You have to say yes.

The team not used to dealing with these conditions

is having a problem so far.

A young quarterback with a huge play right here.

Got McKinnon in the backfield,

that has been a little bit of a safety blanket there. Let's see.

And he throws,

and that will be broken up at the three-yard line.

Intended for McKinnon,

and KJ Wright kind of one of the quieter of the Seahawk defenders,

you don't hear that much about him, but he's had a fabulous season,

breaking at a 4th and goal.

22-yard attempt for Blair Walsh.

Nice hold there by Locke, who had to reach up for it.

But now, 3rd down and very long.

It's 107 passing yards for the two teams combined.

3rd down and 10.

Four-man rush, pressure put on,

and a one-handed grab by Doug Baldwin - sensational catch

-on a 3rd down and 10.

-That was awesome.

Watch this catch. On 3rd down and 10,

you don't know if you're going to get drilled in the back,

you don't know what's going to happen.

He comes down and keeps that drive alive.

Pete Carroll wants to convert some 3rd downs.

Superstars have to make plays in the playoffs.

Trying to convert a 4th down.

Baldwin comes into the backfield.

Still on the move.

And Wilson - under pressure, look out for behind.

Throws...

Intercepted at the 24-yard line!

-Trae Waynes.

-He can fly!

The number-one draft choice.

Back to the 45-yard line.

3rd and 14.

If they don't get a yard here you're looking at about a 50-yard attempt.

Three receivers all to the left and looking over the middle

and then throwing and McKinnon makes the catch

and is still on his feet and then is taken down at about the 25.

So, you're looking at about a 43-yard attempt right now

to make it 6-0.

He's made six over 50 this year.

The 43-yard attempt into the frigid air is perfect.

Minnesota would add another field goal from Walsh

on their ensuing possession to make him three for three on the day.

But it didn't come without a scare

as Seattle's Richard Sherman nearly blocked the kick.

From the 39-yard line.

Whoops!

Oh, a high snap off his shoulder

and Wilson just trying to get it away.

And wide open, making the catch is Tyler Lockett.

And Lockett is inside the 20 and he gets slung down

at the four-yard line.

So, broken play, a snap that gets away and it's a first in goal.

Absolutely unbelievable, the difference!

Watch the fact that none of the offensive linemen go downfield.

So many times, on a busted play like this,

they will go down the field, and Lockett all alone.

Everybody gets distracted on something like that.

2nd down and goal.

Hurst coming across the formation.

Wilson on that roll, throws,

caught, touchdown!

-Doug Baldwin.

-Guess who he is against?

When you go to a number three cornerback

he will be in the crosshairs.

That's Mike Wallace going in motion to the outside.

Peterson makes the catch here.

And loses the ball!

And, Wagner among others, is there.

Sherman says Seattle has it and they do!

So, Adrian Peterson. They go to a back-to-back on pass plays

and he coughs this one up and that puts Seattle in great shape.

Plenty of time.

Gets by KJ Wright and then it's Kam Chancellor stripping that ball out.

Just an unbelievable turn of events in this game.

46-yard attempt.

13 field goal attempts in post-season play

and he's made them all.

Ryan will hold.

This, to give Seattle the lead, otherwise...

..Minnesota gets the ball at the 36.

Gresham to snap it

and Hauschka has just given Seattle the lead.

So, the Vikings have two time-outs.

All they really have to do is get into field goal range

with 1:42 remaining.

Walsh staying loose along the sideline

for what he hopes will be a lead changing field goal attempt.

2nd down and 10. 1:38.

Blitz coming.

Bridgwater fires deep downfield, incomplete, but a flag comes in.

Kam Chancellor, with his arms up, but Kyle Rudolph...

Coming right up the field, tries to make a move inside.

Sort of gets grabbed.

I thought that he got away with one a little earlier in the game.

Did not get away with that one.

94 seconds remaining.

Four-man rush.

Pass, caught, Rudolf down the sideline he goes.

And out of bounds at the 20-yard line.

So Peterson is in there. You've got a 3rd down and 4.

If they get the 1st down,

they can tick the clock all the way down to the end.

Peterson...

..and he's about a yard short of the 1st down. So it's 4th down.

Now they're compelled to kick the field goal.

Had they got the first down, of course they could have taken

it all the way down and kicked a game-ending field goal.

Now you have 26 seconds so, if the kick is good,

Seattle is going to get the ball with maybe 21 or 22 seconds.

Richard Sherman almost got the last one, Al, and sometimes,

the special teams coach will say, make sure you get Sherman,

and the guy inside of Sherman can jump in that gap

so it's going to be a very dangerous side

off to the kicker's right side,

off to Blair Walsh's right-hand side.

27-yard attempt. Jeff Locke is the holder. McDermott is the snapper.

And the kick is no good!

Wow!

Oh, baby, yeah! No good. Not even close.

Let's look at these laces one more time.

Jeff Locke, the holder, is going to try and put it down and, bingo!

Looking right back at the kicker and I'm telling you,

psychologically, sometimes that can get a kicker.

But there's no way to practise

making a three-foot putt to win the Masters

and there is no way to practise the pressure

of a game-winning playoff field goal.

Unbelievable.

You know, whenever you pull to the left like that,

you didn't stay long enough into the kick and commit through it enough,

and that's what I didn't do.

I had done it all day,

so I'm not sure why I, you know, didn't there.

But it's frustrating, no doubt.

I feel bad for their kicker, you know,

missing the kick right there,

and under the most difficult of circumstances,

so everything that anybody did well today should be commended,

because it was such a difficult atmosphere to play in.

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Minnesota Vikings,

thanks in part to the play of Russell Wilson,

AKA Dangerous,

AKA Ciara's boyfriend.

He is part of the new breed of quarterback that can beat you

with his arms as well as his legs

and we are going to show you examples of both.

Right here, you can see him beating you with both his arms and his legs

as he rolls out to the right and delivers an accurate pass

to my man Doug Baldwin, who gets out of bounds

and right here, you are going to see him beat you with his legs

as Everson Griffen, the defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings

is going to crash down and Russell Wilson is going to see this

and he's going to take off - look at how fast this man is running.

I've played in -2 degree weather,

I couldn't feel my hands, I couldn't feel my legs

and honestly, I couldn't feel other things.

We'll talk about that later.

And right here, you see the Minnesota Vikings

now start to take control of the game.

They are freaking them out a little bit

as you see them employing

what I like to refer to as the mush rush.

They collapse the pocket on him

and you see Russell Wilson panic a little bit

and make an errant throw, bailed out by an incredible catch

by Doug Baldwin, because, you know why?

They make those catches all the time.

Innit, Mark? Innit?

And they keep going - right here,

Minnesota is still doing a good job of it

as you see them employ the same strategy

and collapse the pocket on him again

and they are going to make him pay this time as they say,

"We don't care nothing about Ciara, we like Beyonce,

"we're going to make you pay."

"Give me that ball" says Trae Waynes,

as he goes all the way down with an incredible play

for the Minnesota Vikings, but as you guys well know,

you cannot keep a good man down,

and that's exactly what Russell Wilson is -

100 million quarterback. Geez!

And you see him, in this situation, drop the ball.

Most quarterbacks would panic. But not him.

Watch him keep his eyes down the field

and deliver an incredible pass.

Look at this guy keep his eyes down the field the whole time

and deliver a great pass to Tyler Lockett,

who goes all the way down the field again for an incredible play

for the Seattle Seahawks, and he's not done yet.

Right here, as they get down the field,

watch him roll out to the left and make an incredible pass again

for the touchdown for the Seattle Seahawks.

Russell Wilson, a great football player for the Seattle Seahawks,

getting it done.

He meant he couldn't feel his nose, either, all right?

In the other NFC matchup, the wild card, Green Bay Packers,

travelled to the champions of the East,

the Washington Redskins.

The Green Bay Packers - not so much striding into the play-offs

as tumbling through the late weeks of the regular season,

clinging to the lifeline of wildcard qualification.

The Washington Redskins,

just as erratic in the wildly fluctuating NFC East,

but racing into the postseason on a four-game winning streak.

Two teams, hard to analyse,

and with no recent history to offer guidance -

they haven't met since 2013.

Strangers about to give it the big embrace.

3rd down and 13.

And the endzone - down goes Rodgers for a safety.

The pool rush is where he could struggle

and that's what Preston Smith brings on him

right back into Rodgers in the pocket.

Great start for Washington Redskins.

Inside the red zone,

as Washington, number eight in the league this year

for scoring touchdowns.

Inside the 20.

Wide open - Jackson.

To the pylon...

Touchdown.

After review, the runner crosses the goal line,

but his foot does not land in the end zone.

The ball is at the half-yard line when he touches out of bounds.

It will be Washington's ball, 1st and goal at the half-yard line.

The clock will start when we are ready for play.

DeSean Jackson, usually with such a great nose and feel

for the endzone, had the ball in the right arm,

didn't get the foot down in the endzone.

After Jackson failed to score a touchdown,

Washington came up short on the following three plays,

settling for a 25-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal to give them a 5-0 lead.

3rd down and 10.

Protected. Endzone!

Touchdown, Jordan Reed.

One-on-one, he sails them round

as though he is going to go to the middle and not up to the post.

Just an excellent job on his part.

So far, 14 plays, ten yards, one 1st down

and they have not been able to advance the ball

past their own 32.

Give Green Bay a 1st down.

Looking right, back to his left, in the pocket, down the middle...

For Jones. Nice catch, James Jones.

Will Blackmon, the former Packer, in coverage.

This Green Bay offence in the red zone,

number 18 in the NFL this year.

The Packers go right back to the line of scrimmage, here,

causing some confusion.

-Well, he got him again, Joe.

-They got him again.

Gruden was trying to call time out, didn't get it.

Endzone - pass is caught for the touchdown.

Randall Cobb.

But there are flags on the field.

Gruden was trying to get a time out, was not granted the time out,

and we'll bring in Mike Pereira -

did you see Jay Gruden going down the field,

begging for the time out?

Yeah, I saw it, but the officials...

-REFEREE:

-..we have offside, number 99,

penalty is declined, also 12 men.

That penalty is declined

and the result of the play, touchdown.

MIKE: At the snap, Joe, they are not looking back up-field -

they got to focus on the ball, so they are not going to see that.

You've got to call time out earlier.

That drive looked like the Green Bay Packers to me -

you get the long one to James Jones down the middle,

set him up, the handoff to Cobb,

and then the completion on the free play.

On 1st down. Four-man rush...

And the ball is out.

WHISTLE BLOWS

A sack, a fumble, and we'll see who has got it.

The Packers say they have it - and they do.

Following the turnover, Rodgers led an eight-play drive

that ended with a 43-yard Mason Crosby field goal.

The Packers then forced a three-and-out,

giving Rodgers the ball back

with less than two minutes remaining in the half.

2nd and goal, here.

Just got it away -

Adams, wide open for the touchdown!

And there is life with this Green Bay Packers offense.

Cousins starts in the shotgun.

Bunch formation down here at the bottom.

Jordan Reed, all alone up top.

They are going to give him a little help with the safety.

Cousins, for the touchdown!

Spread them out and walk it in.

It's an excellent job of play calling and execution

by the center, who is making his first start in 11 weeks.

Touchdown, Redskins.

PLAY CALL

Hard count didn't work - Eddie Lacey does.

Tripped up with a 1st down.

A conversion for the guy with the bad rib.

PLAY CALL

Lacey again. Lacey breaks loose.

Goldson in his way.

And Eddie Lacey down inside the 5.

A big conversion on 4th down, and now Eddie Lacey,

good for 30.

It's the longest run of the season for Eddie Lacey.

Tossed to Starks, running right...

Touchdown, Green Bay.

The Packers answer the touchdown by Kirk Cousins

as Green Bay is back on top.

What a weapon that hard count is for Aaron Rodgers. 1st and 5.

Starks cuts back.

Good run.

And James Starks is out of bounds inside the 5.

This is Green Bay offense is rolling right now.

Eddie Lacey checks back in.

He gets it. Touchdown.

And you can forget the win and all the talk about that.

They just ran it right down the Washington Redskins' throat.

And Jay Gruden, with five minutes to play,

he doesn't have a choice but to go for it here on 4th down.

4th down and 10.

Cousins...is sacked!

And the Packers take over.

Nick Perry.

And Aaron Rodgers onto the field, celebrating what has got to feel

like a fantastic game for the road team.

The Green Bay Packers really stepped up here today.

It's huge for us. It really is.

I talked a lot the last couple of weeks about being able to turn it on

and a lot of you probably thought that was lip service.

But...we just needed a game like this to get our mojo back

and get our confidence going.

I said this week that it just takes one, you know,

it just takes one performance

to get us going back in the right direction

and believing we can make it run.

That's the way you want to play offence, you know?

When you get in the playoffs,

you don't have to talk about regular season no more.

I don't know if you guys got the memo on that, so...

-LAUGHTER

-But, yeah, thanks. It's...

It's, you know, it's the way you need to play,

and we are going to have to play that way moving forward.

Right, we'll come back to that game in just a moment,

but let's go back to the first game, Seahawks winning at the Vikings.

You've done Russell Wilson, brilliantly.

Talk to me about laces,

cos this is everywhere in the NFL community as a moment,

about why it is harder for a kicker to kick

when the laces are facing him - why?

Well, obviously, it matters because he missed the kick,

but you know, it's all psychological with those guys, it's so routine,

that if they are not used to kicking with their laces out,

if they see it, I just think it gets to them.

They should be able to make a kick anyway.

-So a psychological thing for you, as well?

-Absolutely, man.

This is something they've practised and honestly, the holder should know

that his kicker likes the ball a certain type of way

and for him to make that mistake at that crucial of a time,

disastrous for the Minnesota Vikings.

Do you think the cold affected the guy placing it

in the sense that normally, they'd spin it round, wouldn't they?

But obviously, it was so cold,

you want to concentrate on catching the ball.

Yeah, and he had gloves on. Most of the time,

holders don't wear gloves,

so that definitely affected them turning the ball.

Probably couldn't even feel the ball.

He was just like, "Just put it down..."

Blair Walsh was in tears afterwards.

He said he was the only one of the Vikings

who didn't do his job properly.

If you had been in the locker room, how would you both have dealt...?

Look, he is laughing already! How would you...

How would you have dealt with it? I'll start with you first,

because you're the more sensitive of the two.

I definitely would have went up to him, cos I'm a team-mate,

but it's got to be very lonely for him.

Kickers already have a lonely life, you know?

They do a lot of things by themselves,

but losing a game, they definitely feel at the bottom of the barrel.

I would have went to him, too,

but I would've went up to him to give him an earful.

MARK LAUGHS

-That wouldn't have helped!

-Honestly, it really depends.

We had a kicker, Laurence Tynes,

who would make crucial kicks all the time,

so if it was somebody like him who made a mistake like that,

I wouldn't say anything to him,

I'd go and give him a hug, I'd tell them how I feel about him.

But if it is a guy who doesn't come through all the time

and then he is put in that situation to get us over the hump

-and he doesn't...

-HE WHISTLES

..we'll have to let him know about it.

Just because it winds you up,

I'm going to show a couple of great catches from the two games,

starting with the Doug Baldwin catch,

which you have already thrown back at me.

-Do you appreciate this at all?

-I mean, it's a routine catch, but...

-Oh, my goodness!

-We do that all the time.

Well, they do that all the time.

Whilst we see several replays of that "routine" catch,

this Seahawks will worry the Panthers, won't they?

I think so. They are similar teams

and I believe that the matchup with the tight end

versus their defensive backs - Seattle's -

I think they have the advantage and at this close of a game,

any advantage is what is going to turn the corner for them.

As we see the Reed catch again, just to wind you up -

I don't even want to talk about the Reed catch,

I just want to wind you up - is this...

Was this game more reminiscent of the Packers

at the start of the season

or do you have to take into account the fact they were playing

a Redskins side who haven't beaten

a side with a winning record this season?

A pretentious Redskins side, should you say?

I mean, I don't think Redskins were really that good.

They were hot down to the end, but like you said,

they hadn't beaten a team with a winning record.

You go up against a team like the Packers,

playing for their playoff lives, it's going to end up like that.

But even for somebody as great as Aaron Rodgers, I mean,

he was smiling in two, three and four, those quarters.

So, psychologically, he needed that kind of game before going back

to the Cardinals, where he got beaten up just a couple of weeks ago.

Absolutely - even if it's not for himself as a player,

it's for that offense and the rest of the team to know,

"Hey, our guy still has it." Because he is that guy for them.

-That ain't going to help 'em, Mark.

-So that won't help them at all?

He is going to need a lot more than that to go to Arizona

-and win that game.

-That's true.

-Right.

If you want to get involved, use the hashtag, #RaceToSB50.

If you are new to the sport, #NFLRookie.

Jason and Usi will try and answer some of those questions.

Now, in last week's crucial AFC Eastern division matchup,

Buffalo's wide receiver Sammy Watkins was a man

in the thick of the action, and he was wired for sound.

Revis really giving Watkins a lot of cushion.

Taylor and Watkins, that chemistry is developing.

GRUNTING

It is caught by Sammy Watkins, who else?

Let's go, pick it up. Let's sell out, man.

Watkins...continues to burn the Jets.

And guess who? Watkins on the receiving end.

Myers. He's got Sammy...bottles it, catches it again.

A second time - he's on a run.

The Sammy Watkins Show today, ladies and gentlemen.

Sammy Watkins, 11 catches, one every 37 yards.

Yeah, baby!

I love it. The snow, the cold - that's what I live for.

That is when big-time players make big-time plays,

in any type of weather.

We came out today as a team and we fought and played well.

It's what we expected.

Right, time now to turn our attention to the AFC's wildcard games.

We sent Jason stateside to see

if Cincinnati could win a game in the play-offs

for the first time in 25 years.

To make things even more interesting -

although a visit from Jason is interesting enough, we'd agree?

-Absolutely.

-Absolutely. Such a lie!

They were up against divisional rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers.

We are in Cincinnati, home of the AFC North champions.

They are playing their bitter rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It is live in this city right now.

Let's go, baby! Whoa!

This is a rivalry game.

These two teams kind of hate each other.

It's our time. Our time to take over.

It doesn't matter where we play - Steeler Nation!

It's time. It's time to win one.

Let's see if Cincinnati can finally pull off a win in the play-offs.

SIREN CHIRPS

Pulling up right now is the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And, unlike the Cincinnati Bengals,

they have their starting quarterback, Big Ben,

who is pretty good and I should know,

cos I played against him.

-E-Man!

-My guy.

-What's up, man?

-I'm doing good, man. I'm blessed.

So, this is a football city.

I mean, they love their Cincinnati Bengals.

What would this do for the fans, a win tomorrow?

I mean, tell me how it would feel for them.

I feel like the fans would go crazy in the city, man.

They'd have to have cars patrolling the areas and all that.

But man, it'd be good for the city, of course.

It's been a long time, you know, winning a championship here, but...

In terms of as far as the Super Bowl.

But, you know... It'd be good to have that,

but right now, you know, we're just taking one day at a time.

You guys have duked it out over and over again.

It's like a boxing match where you've fought the guy three times.

What is the key, man?

Um...eliminating mistakes,

just doing our job to the best ability,

just competing and...eliminating fouls, of course.

Does the pressure of the old Cincinnati Bengals,

as far as what's happened in the playoffs,

do you feel like that affects you guys

or do you guys not even think about that?

No, man - the past is the past, know what I mean?

We hear that a lot. You've got to leave the past where it's at.

Just focus on what we have right now, what's at stake.

You're talking about two teams that are so equally matched -

that's what it comes down to, right?

-Who doesn't make...

-Mistakes.

-Mistakes.

-Exactly.

That's what it's going to come down to, man -

who makes less mistakes and who wants it bad.

How bad do you want it, man?

That's what it's going to come down to.

That's what I believe.

Both sides as a team, hanging out, pre-gaming it,

having some barbecue...

Look at this!

..this is the only time they're going to be friends.

Cos as soon as this game starts, they are going to hate each other.

But right now, they are enjoying the atmosphere. This is football.

It's going to be a close game, but I think that the Bengals

are going to pull it out.

-Look at him!

-THEY LAUGH

You're looking good, man. You ready to rock and roll?

-You know it, man.

-Man, I'm pumped.

It's been dry all day,

and now you start to see the rain come down.

It's going to affect this game.

We are going to see who can play good in the weather.

We know, on the road to Super Bowl,

we've got to play in some bad weather.

Let's see which team is one step closer.

The first half was a nervy affair.

Things started to heat up in the third quarter.

From the 29, McCarron. Has the ball come out of his hands?

That's a free football.

And it's recovered by Cam Thomas,

and it slips out of his hands.

William Gay, taking off for his second touchdown of the year

against the Bengals.

Gay takes it all the way. They don't rule Thomas down.

They've got all kinds of things to check, here.

-That's Jarvis Jones, getting around Whitworth...

-No question.

Reaches out and hits it.

The William Gay return will not stand.

This was Cam Thomas, making the recovery,

and he is down, tackled by Boling.

Pittsburgh would go three-and-out on the ensuing possession.

But they would come away with points

on a 34-yard Chris Boswell field goal.

Pittsburgh got the ball back

on the failed Cincinnati possession

with a 9-0 lead.

From the gun - Roethlisberger.

Endzone bound...

And it is a touchdown!

Martavis Bryant living up to the challenge.

Yeah, nice route by him.

Well, look at the catch - as he tried to control it,

make sure he didn't lose it, this is amazing acrobatic effort.

-From behind.

-I was so busy watching...

And a flip!

-Does he keep control?

-Yes!

Packing off the blitz, giving McCarron time.

Goes underneath.

And he is smashed - Shazier lays out Bernard

and Shazier comes up with the football.

Meanwhile, Bernard has barely moved.

He launched himself, used the top of his helmet,

but Bernard has caught the ball, turned,

so that's why no flag was thrown.

Uh-oh - Look at midfield, here.

Jeremy Hill's about to take on four Steelers.

That had the potential to be a whole lot worse.

Tomlin showing the challenge flag.

He might want to say... There it comes.

He's going to say Bernard made the catch

but fumbled the football.

-Definitely comes out.

-Came out - and the ball is loose.

But let's see what happens wit it.

It is a fumble.

Pittsburgh football, 1st and 10, 37.

Adjust the game clock to 1:37, please.

1:37 on the game clock.

REPORTER: Jim, you talked about the crowd being in a frenzy.

Well, the Cincinnati Bengals' sideline is in a frenzy,

specifically Vontaze Burfict.

He is out of control right now.

He got in the officials' faces twice so far.

They have to keep a watch on Vontaze Burfict to make sure

he doesn't do anything silly and get himself or his team in trouble, Jim.

You can hardly imagine there won't be some other incident

before this game is over.

38 seconds to go, 3rd quarter,

3rd and 18.

Roethlisberger in trouble.

Decked at the three by Burfict,

who has the football,

but the quarterback is hurt.

-Roethlisberger...

-Fell on his shoulder.

-Oh, boy.

-Yeah. Got pinned, couldn't protect himself.

Roethlisberger playing safe, he knows he's got to lead,

and there you see, the weight just falls right on him.

REPORTER: Ben Roethlisberger has a right shoulder injury.

His return is questionable.

He remains in the X-ray room right now.

As soon as we receive any information,

I will pass it on to you, Jim.

Well, here's Hill, the tailback.

He tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns this year.

They give it to him...

And he's in for the touchdown.

Cincinnati forced Pittsburgh to punt on the ensuing possession

and McCarron led them on a 13-play drive

that ended with a 36-yard Mike Nugent field goal.

That cut the lead to five points.

When we saw him go directly into the X-ray room,

he spent about ten minutes inside there,

and then he was carted out without his pads,

no sling on whatsoever.

Well, it's not - he had the helmet on, but Jones is coming out.

There you go - it's not good enough to come back into this game.

Here's a 3rd and 4 play.

Jones...

Down the field and incomplete.

No flag.

Here's a 3rd and 7 and McCarron goes down the field...

It's caught - and Green's in for the touchdown!

Just as he had done in both meetings in the regular season,

Green is in the end zone tonight.

Go for two, here, try to up the margin to three

with a minute and 50 to play.

Four players shift in the formation.

A little toss over to Hill, the Steelers are all over it,

and deny him.

That was dangerous.

Steelers have all their timeouts.

Take another attempt at a winning field goal.

Jones, middle of the field and that is...intercepted!

And it's Burfict who comes away with the football.

Vontaze Burfict caused a lot of trouble

but the sack, the tackles, awesome job.

This game is not over. The Steelers have all their timeouts.

Here's Hill.

Jarvis... Ball is out!

Shazier had it for a moment and now it's picked up by Cockrell.

Call a fumble on the play,

it will automatically be reviewed, of course.

REFEREE: ..recovered by Pittsburgh,

1st and 10. Pittsburgh.

Oh, my goodness, what a change of events here.

After reviewing the play,

the ruling on the field stands as called. 1st and 10, Pittsburgh.

And look who's coming at him.

Looking across the way,

Ben Roethlisberger trots onto the field.

Hill, so concerned his miscue could be the difference here,

praying that his defence can somehow end it right now.

4th and 3.

Roethlisberger has the 1st down.

Brown to the 48.

WHISTLE BLOWS

They've called a time-out immediately.

14 yards away from being able to put them in a position

that would match the season-long by Boswell,

but you would think they...

You know, if they'd got 10 yards now, you would have to bring him out

and see if he could convert it from 55.

Roethlisberger coming to pop it, middle of the field.

Incomplete.

-Oh, a flag does come in!

-Went to the head.

Lewis-Harris is going to be flagged for this

on the hit, on Antonio Brown,

and it's going to put the Steelers in field goal range.

-Personal foul, defence number 55. 15-yard penalty.

-How about that?

Automatic first down.

Burfict in the in.

-Out of control.

-Out of control.

It's going to be everything.

That's going to be suspension, fine...

It may cost this team the game.

All right, Brown is on his feet,

and now there's a little flare-up again.

An official just got pushed.

And, now, if this is just a penalty against Cincinnati,

he's going to make this a chip-shot field goal

and lose their season over it.

Personal foul, defence number 24.

15 yard penalty.

1st down.

Adam Jones. There have been a couple of times tonight

you have wanted to use the word disgraceful.

It's disgraceful, on so many fronts, by everybody.

I'm going to get back to the fact that this young man right here,

a first-year kicker,

has a chance to put the Steelers ahead with 18 seconds to go.

It's going to likely be a 35-yard attempt.

Goes for the kick that, in all likelihood,

would win it if he makes it,

and the kick is drilled,

and the Steelers are back ahead at 18-16.

I mean, this has got to go down as one of the worst defeats

imposed on yourself,

with the penalties.

What a game.

I mean, that was fantastic.

Heartbreak for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Pittsburgh Steelers advancing to play Denver next week.

This was some great football out here.

Let's go! Party!

Yeah!

Yeah, my guy, man.

Tell me, that was huge, man. How did it feel?

Man, it's... You know,

that's a classic Bengals and Steelers matchup, man.

You know, Bengals are a great team, they're coached well,

and they fight hard, they got a great defence, man. It just...

It comes down to who's going to make less mistakes,

and it was great. It was great but we've got another.

We've got a lot of games ahead of us.

So, give a message for your fans over in the UK, man.

There are big Pittsburgh Steelers fans...

Oh, man, I'm sure they were celebrating hard for us.

Steeler Nation supported us the whole time,

and we were able to get the victory. We're happy for it.

Are you ready for next week?

Definitely, you know, we're going into Denver.

It's going to be a great matchup.

We're going to prepare good this week,

and get ready and get out there and get it done.

Plenty to discuss after our final action from Wildcard Weekend,

which features the hottest team in the NFL,

the Kansas City Chiefs, on a ten-game win streak.

They visited the Houston Texans, champions of the AFC South,

in a rematch of their Week 1 encounter,

which the Chiefs won 27-20.

The Kansas City Chiefs wasted no time in showing their class.

And Knile Davis will bring it out from six deep.

Davis across the 15, Davis is gone!

Knile Davis starts the playoffs with a bang.

106 yards, touchdown, Chiefs.

Ahead by 7 after only 11 seconds,

the Kansas City defence then put pressure

on Houston quarterback Brian Hoyer.

The jump by Ford was legal.

It was knocked out and free.

Allen Bailey knocked it out.

Hoyer is scanning.

Underneath, he threw a pick in the red zone to Josh Mauga.

Hoyer was to commit five turnovers,

including a career-high four interceptions,

and was loudly booed during the second half.

Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith

threw a nine-yard scoring pass to Chris Conley

in the third quarter,

and Spencer Ware ran in a five-yard touchdown in the fourth,

to complete a 30-0 shut out,

rounding out the Chiefs' first post-season win

since beating the Oilers in Houston in 1994.

They have now won 11 straight games.

You know, last week when you said, "If I was a quarterback

"I'd just throw interception after interception"?

I went to Houston this week. I put on a Hoyer shirt.

-THEY GROAN

-Oh, my Texans!

Sorry, sorry.

The other thing we said last week

was how important home-field advantage was

and all four away sides won this weekend.

First time on Wildcard Weekend.

It shows how much Jason Bell knows.

LAUGHTER

Let's go back to the Steelers at the Bengals,

they couldn't wait, in the commentary box,

to get the word "disgraceful" out to describe the Bengals' behaviour.

And a couple of players in particular.

Would you go as far as to say

that Vontaze Burfict's behaviour was disgraceful?

-Absolutely not.

-You wouldn't say it was disgraceful?

I wouldn't say it was because, in the context of the game,

these guys go at each other, this is what they do,

and some guys have a lot of passion.

That is disgraceful that, though, isn't it?

He's...

It wasn't right. He led with the shoulder, you know...

I just feel like he should have pulled up.

He should have pulled up, but...

I mean, they are playing out there.

You know, he's not trying to take him out and hurt him,

but, you know, you can't make it close any more.

Was he out of control?

Abso... What are you talking about J-Bell?

Of course that was disgraceful!

That was not only disgraceful, it was idiotic. That was one of the...

You lost your game.

You lost the game for your team by making stupid plays like that.

Was he out of control? Of course.

There's been an emphasis

on not being able to hit players in the head in the NFL

and you do something like that,

along with the play by Pacman Jones?

Ridiculous!

Burfict's been banned for three games and fined by the NFL.

He is going to appeal.

What you are doing, though, is you're trying to balance it up

with the Burfict that you know

and actually with the Burfict that, when you're out in Cincinnati,

you spent time with.

He looked out of control earlier with 1:40 to go

when he did this interception and then ran off down the field

and could have caused a safety

depending on whether he had been down and touched or not.

But talk to me about the Burfict you went out with before the game

because that's a different individual.

Oh, man, he's a great guy.

His team-mates love him, he's passionate about the game,

he's passionate about protecting his team-mates, you know?

He's that kind of guy.

He's the kind of guy you want to build your defence around.

We have to remember he's still a young guy.

He's learning about this game and things you cannot do.

But the guy has the passion and the fire and, yeah,

he should be suspended and hopefully this will turn a corner for him

to know that, hey, he's got to tone it down in some way.

Does he need a leader alongside him?

Because there are also some rumours of unrest in the locker room

and that Lewis can't control, particularly the defensive players.

Jason has been saying that all year about the Cincinnati Bengals.

Like, this is the type of team they are.

And he's correct about Vontaze Burfict.

Players do like him, but there's a reason why this man wasn't drafted.

It's because he has all the talent in the world,

but there's something wrong up here,

like he has a loose screw in his head

and he goes on making plays like this all the time.

Kansas City have to go to the New England Patriots.

They might be without Jeremy Maclin who has got a high ankle sprain.

Get your ankle on the table because I want you to show me...

Put your ankle on the table!

Why you putting me on the spot like this, man!

I'm not putting you on the spot. You've had make-up on your ankles!

-Look at that ankle!

-I would have worn my glass slipper!

Where is the high ankle sprain

-and what is different from a normal ankle sprain?

-OK.

A regular ankle sprain is down here and a high ankle sprain is also

down here, but what happens is the pain travels all the way up here.

It feels like you've almost broken your ankle.

I've had this injury. Really difficult to get over.

No way is he going to be able to play this week.

So you think he will definitely be out?

Yeah, and even if he does play, like Usi said, it's so painful.

It's hard to cut on that.

This guy's got to plant and get open in tight spaces.

-It could be hard. That's an ugly ankle!

-Put both up. You're fine!

Relax! It's like a second home to you now.

Right, time now for Jason to mark all the twists and turns

on the coach's carousel.

In a surprise move, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers late last week

released head coach, Lovie Smith,

after just eight wins in two seasons.

Better news for Miami fans.

Adam Gase, formerly the offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears,

signed a five-year deal to be the head coach of the Dolphins.

Interim boss Dan Campbell has been released

to look for other opportunities.

The New York Giants are still interviewing

after the resignation of Tom Coughlin.

Philadelphia are still searching to replace Chip Kelly

who has expressed an interest in replacing Jim Tomsula

in San Francisco, although the bookies' favourite is now

Cincinnati offensive coordinator, Hue Jackson.

That just leaves two teams with the top two picks in April's draft.

Cleveland are still in the interview process after firing Mike Pettine

and Tennessee may well stick with interim coach Mike Mularkey.

When you were in Cincinnati,

-our cameras caught you talking to Hue Jackson. Here.

-Yeah!

Who is a man that a lot of these teams want.

So, what's he saying to you here?

Saying, "Yeah, Jason, I'm going to go to...?"

He told me I still look like I can play.

LAUGHTER

And I said, "Coach, only for you!"

And he said, "I'm going...?"

He was going to run around the track a couple of times.

-He didn't say anything.

-Oh, J-Bell!

-Rubbish, rubbish!

Right, let's round up the sights and sounds

you may have missed from the Wildcard Weekend.

CHEERING

Hey, hey, hey! Hey, just for all those fans that showed up.

How about those...

ALL: Chiefs!

We're going to break it down, man.

We are on that mission. We ain't stopping. We ain't stopping.

-We ain't stopping.

-On one. One.

THEY CHANT

Great job. OK, great job! Enjoy it. All right?

We're up in Arizona Saturday night.

APPLAUSE

Right, nice job all three phases. That's playoff victory number one.

We've earned the right to go get playoff victory number two.

So, we're down to just eight teams

in the race to Super Bowl 50.

In the AFC, Denver and New England are back in the fray this weekend

as top seed, Denver, must play the lowest remaining seed,

so next week they'll host the sixth seed,

Pittsburgh Steelers, in a rematch of their Week 15 encounter.

Can the Steelers win again?

That also means the Kansas City Chiefs

will be travelling to New England.

Over in the NFC, Carolina, as top seed,

will host the sixth seeded Seattle Seahawks,

who ran them close in Week 6.

Green Bay will be eager to avoid a repeat of their Week 16 debacle

as they travel to the Arizona desert.

Just a bit of social media to finish

starting with the NFL rookie question which comes from Batman.

"Still don't understand,

"what needs to be in the endzone to get a touchdown?

"Is it both feet, just the ball, corner pylon, or what?"

-It is just the ball.

-The ball needs to break.

-As long as it breaks the line.

-Yes, as long as it breaks the goal line.

OK. I like some of the photos that have been sent in

on the NFL UK Twitter feed.

There's a picture of the security staff at the Viking-Seahawks game.

It was that cold. I think that's a snood hat. And balaclava.

Harry Kane sent this picture as well of two of his dogs,

one in a Brady shirt and one in a Russell Wilson shirt.

Is that a compliment for your, you know,

dogs to dress up in somebody's...?

Yes, it's a huge compliment in this country.

Right, Wildcard Weekend is done, the divisional playoffs leave

Nat and Mike in their regular Sunday night slot on 5 Live

Sports Night Extra, 7:30. They'll have the end of Seahawks-Panthers

and then Steelers against the Broncos.

We'll see you next week. Bye.

Four teams came through the wildness of the Wildcard round.

Among the four that sank, the Bengals, lanced.

The horns of the Vikings, blunted.

What thrills, what spills, what meltdowns in the ice!

What cool was lost in the fury of the moment!

All for the right to play the four that did stay calm,

safely detached,

now limbering up for re-entry.

Patriots, Cardinals, Panthers, Broncos.

On we go, deeper into the extremes.

New England, Arizona, Carolina and Denver.

Who will be scorched by ice?

Frozen in rage? Gasping for air on high?

There is no middle-of-the-road in the race to Super Bowl 50.