NFL’s wild-card weekend was filled with fourth-down enjoyable and folly together with a dearth of punts :: WRALSportsFan.com

By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Pro Football Writer

The NFL set a document for fewest punts per recreation in 2025, and wild-card weekend was full of fourth-down enjoyable and folly as punters have been largely spectators, particularly Chicago’s Tory Taylor, who by no means stepped off the sideline within the Bears’ come-from-behind win over the Green Bay Packers.

In all, groups transformed 15 of 29 fourth down makes an attempt on wild-card weekend, when there have been solely 41 punts, 9 of them Monday night time within the Houston Texans’ 30-6 rout of Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bears first-year coach Ben Johnson was significantly aggressive, going for it a half-dozen occasions on fourth down Saturday night time, together with two backfires within the first half that led to a pair of Green Bay touchdowns and put the Bears in a 21-3 halftime gap.

Caleb Williams was intercepted on fourth-and-6 from the Packers 40-yard line, resulting in Jordan Love’s 18-yard landing throw, and Williams threw incomplete on fourth-and-5 from his personal 32. That one led to Love’s TD throw on fourth-and-goal from the Bears 2 that gave Green Bay an 18-point halftime cushion.

The Packers could not capitalize on one other turnover on downs by Chicago simply earlier than halftime as a result of Brandon McManus missed a 55-yard subject purpose on the ultimate play after Williams threw incomplete deep on fourth-and-4 from the Green Bay 37.

When Prime Video’s sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung requested the Bears’ coach about his aggressive strategy and going for it on fourth down a number of occasions on his personal facet of the sphere, Johnson replied, “Yeah, we wish to maximize our possessions and we wish to go for fourth-down performs.”

Her follow-up was about easy methods to decelerate Green Bay’s environment friendly offense.

“That’s a big reason why we’re being aggressive on offense, so that we can extend our drives and score points ourselves,” Johnson mentioned. “It’s a really good offense we’re going against.”

Although the Bears would convert simply twice on their six fourth downs — Green Bay was 3 for 3 on fourth down — that technique paid off in the long run. Williams threw a 27-yard cross to Rome Odunze to the Packers’ 30-yard line, which led to the TD that pulled Chicago to 27-24 with 4:21 remaining.

Johnson mentioned the sport plan featured an aggressive fourth-down mentality, and “I think where it gets misconstrued is, there’s a lack of confidence in your defense when you do that. I think the opposite, I think it’s because I have confidence in our defense and their ability to stop teams in the red zone.”

“I’m never going to apologize for being aggressive or doing things that might be a little unorthodox,” Johnson added, “if it’s what we deem is greatest for us to win a ballgame.”

Johnson was the Lions’ offensive coordinator when Detroit blew a 17-point halftime lead and misplaced the NFC championship to San Francisco 34-31 after the 2023 season. In that recreation, Lions coach Dan Campbell went for it on fourth down twice in field-goal vary however got here up brief, later saying he’d do it once more if he may.

Those failures did not curtail the Lions’ aggressive fourth-down philosophy, one which Johnson took to Chicago when he was employed by the Bears a 12 months in the past.

He had loads of firm over the weekend as a development from the common season continued. There have been simply 3.55 punts per recreation per group this season and that determine fell within the first spherical of the playoffs with groups averaging simply 3.41 punts per recreation.

The Panthers and Rams obtained the enjoyable going Saturday when early fourth-down failures led to touchdowns by every group.

Trevor Lawrence thought he had the primary down when the Jaguars went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Buffalo 9 solely to see the evaluation reveal his shin had hit the bottom shy of the first-down marker, a fourth-down fake pas that proved pivotal in Jacksonville’s 27-24 loss to the Bills.

The Bills twice went for it on fourth-and-1 deep in Jaguars territory. Josh Allen had a four-yard keeper on the primary one and was carried 9 yards on an astonishing tush push to the 1 that additionally led to a Buffalo landing.

The 49ers did not try a single fourth-down conversion of their 23-19 win at Philadelphia, the place the Eagles have been 3-for-5 on fourth down.

The Patriots transformed their solely fourth-down strive, on fourth-and-4 from the Chargers’ 30, which led to a subject purpose. When the Chargers took a delay after failing to induce an offsides name after which punted from midfield, NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth mentioned, “I think Jim Harbaugh’s been watching the games this weekend.”

And when Steelers coach Mike Tomlin selected to take the three factors with a 32-yard subject purpose strive fairly that chancing it on fourth-and-3 from the Houston 14 Monday night time, ESPN analyst Troy Aikman commented: “We’re in a time as we all know when a lot of offenses would be going for it. … But points are going to be (at) a premium. You’ve got two defenses that are capable of dominating their opponent. Get ’em when you can.”

Well, factors actually have been at a premium for Pittsburgh, which hung in there many of the night time earlier than the Texans’ 23-0 fourth-quarter blitz in what may need been Rodgers’ farewell recreation.

If so, Rodgers’ remaining cross was a pick-6 by security Calen Bullock, whose 50-yard interception return for a landing got here on … you guessed it, fourth down.

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