by DALLAS, Tex.(Sporting Alert, Box Scores) — Results and box scores from the NFL Wild-Card playoff games that took place this weekend, on Jan. 3 and 4.
NFL PLAYOFF SCORES
AFC WILD-CARD ROUND
No. 6 Baltimore Ravens 30 beat. No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers 17 – Heinz Field
No. 4 Indianapolis Colts 26 beat. No. 5 Cincinnati Bengals 10 – Lucas Oil Stadium
NFC WILD-CARD ROUND
No. 4 Carolina Panthers 27 beat. No. 5 Arizona Cardinals 16 – Bank of America Stadium
No. 3 Dallas Cowboys 24 beat. No. 6 Detroit Lions 20 – AT&T Stadium
There were wins on Saturday (3) for the Carolina Panthers and the Baltimore Ravens, while the Dallas Cowboys and the Indianapolis Colts took the honors on Sunday (4).
In the NFC Wild-Card playoff game at the Bank of America Stadium, quarterback Cam Newton went 18 of 32 on passing for 198 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another 35 yards in his first career playoff win, in helping the Carolina beat Arizona Cardinals, 27-16.
The Panthers (8-8-1) offense tallied 386 total yards in the victory, but Newton believes the win was well setup by the defensive players, who impressively held the Cardinals to just 78 total yards, which is the fewest yards ever gained by a team in an NFL playoff contest.
“When those guys play like that, it makes it easier on us on our part,” Newton told reporters after the game.
“Those guys did everything, turnovers, they stopped them. That is championship football right there and we’ve got to do our part offensively to put points up on the board.”
Carolina will now face No. 1 Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round at CenturyLink Field on Saturday Jan. 10.
In the second game on Saturday, Joe Flacco threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns and then received high praises from his coach, as the sixth-seeded Baltimore Ravens upset No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-17 in the AFC Wild-Card Round matchup.
The Ravens (11-6) led 10-9 at halftime, but blew the game wide open after the interval en route to the victory with Flacco throwing touchdown passes to Torrey Smith and Crockett Gillmore.
“That’s playoff football,” Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh said after his team’s win.
“That’s Joe Flacco. The best quarterback in football. I’ll take him every day of the week and twice on Sunday or Saturday night.”
Baltimore will now face No. 1 seed New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round at Gillette Stadium on Saturday Jan. 10.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, No. 4 Indianapolis Colts took care of business against the seeded No. 5 Cincinnati Bengals, following their 26-10 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Andrew Luck went 31 of 44 in passing and threw for 376 yards and a touchdown, while T.Y. Hilton caught six passes for 103 yards and Daniel Herron caught the ball 10 times for 85 yards in the win.
Andy Dalton went 18 of 35 for 155 yards in a disappointing defeat for the Bengals, who came into the game full of confident about progressing further in the playoffs.
In an exciting matchup at the AT&T Stadium in the Arlington, Texas, Terrance Williams scored the go ahead touchdown with 2:32 left in the fourth quarter and the Dallas Cowboys rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to beat the Detroit Lions 24-20 in the NFC playoffs game.
Tony Romo was 19 of 31 for 293 yards and threw two touchdown passes to Williams for the Cowboys, which trailed 17-7 at halftime.
Dallas, who was winning it’s first postseason game since the 2009 season, will now travel to take on the No. 2 seeded Green Bay Packers next Sunday, Jan. 11.
