As tends to happen around this time of year, it was another weekend with remarkable highs and rough lows for quarterbacks in the 2017 playoffs. Here's how they graded out this week.
Matt Ryan turned in a near-flawless day in eliminating the Seahawks in Atlanta. It was exactly the kind of stat line that we've come to expect from the Falcons QB in 2017 and it temporarily silences the doubters of his playoff moxie. It should also be noted that he did it against a hot Seattle secondary which, despite being without Earl Thomas, was clicking as well as it had been all season.
Sunday gave us a classic between the Packers and Cowboys that showcased spectacular quarterback play from Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott. Rodgers finally tripped up in throwing an interception, and in a spot where he would have been able to put the game out of reach with a score. But he more than made up for it with more breathtaking late-game heroics. Here's a great look at his latest miracle:
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Prescott shocked me yet again with a stellar performance magnified by an early 21-3 deficit which destroyed Dallas' run-first game plan. Facing this hole and the best and hottest QB on the planet, Dak astonishingly threw the Cowboys back into the game and did it with aggressive downfield passes. He was not a game manager on Sunday.
Tom Brady had an off-night against the tough Texans defense. It was a peculiarly lethargic and sloppy performance for Brady, who threw the same number of interceptions in this game as he had all season. But he graded out well in the eye test due to several clutch throws that kept the game out of reach for Houston. Particularly impressive were his creative moon ball tosses which were risky but inch-perfect.
It was a rough outing for Russell Wilson, who didn't play badly but was forced out of his comfort zone due to the onslaught from the Atlanta offense. He still managed to flash some impressive moments, including a dominant opening drive. Ben Roethlisberger also had a rough one despite continuing to get tremendous help from his star running back Le'Veon Bell. Big Ben once again struggled in the red zone and the Steelers were unable to find a touchdown, leading many to question why Pittsburgh has leaned on him so heavily in the critical area the last two weeks. It is certainly something to watch on Championship Sunday, as Pittsburgh's success or failure in New England will hinge on finishing drives.
Then there are the stragglers Alex Smith and Brock Osweiler. Smith wasn't as atrocious on film as he seemed live, but had a critical and inexcusable interception and missed a few big throws. The Chiefs were killed time and time again by penalties and Travis Kelce's drop late in the third quarter was one of the critical plays of the game. Kansas City also had two other third down drops on adequately delivered balls. Osweiler had the game most expected him to have in New England, but actually looked fine in the first half. Still, he threw a bad interception from his own 11 in the fourth quarter in the Texans' only chance to get back into the game. It is shocking that they were only down eight at this point with 13 minutes left, but Brock slammed this window shut and the Patriots scored two plays later.