NFL wild-card playoffs: Questions, overreactions on AFC games - ESPN

We're through the first three games of the NFL's wild-card weekend to kick off the playoffs. The Texans opened Saturday with a 32-12 victory over the Chargers in a game that featured seven total turnovers. In the Saturday night game, the Ravens beat the division-rival Steelers 28-14. And to finish off the AFC's wild-card matchups, the Bills topped the Broncos 31-7 on Sunday afternoon. What are the lessons from each matchup, and what's next for these teams?

We asked NFL analyst Ben Solak and national insider Dan Graziano to help size up the opening three matchups and look forward from all angles. For each wild-card game, Ben answered one big remaining question and Dan judged the legitimacy of one potential overreaction.

Let's jump in, making sense of Josh Allen's recent play, the Ravens' big win, the Steelers' future and Justin Herbert's four-interception day.

Jump to a matchup:
Broncos-Bills | Steelers-Ravens | Chargers-Texans

Overreaction? This is the best version of Josh Allen we've ever seen.

Not an overreaction. Allen might not be as perpetually spectacular as he was in past seasons, but he's still more than capable of being spectacular when it's necessary. Case in point: The third-quarter touchdown pass to running back Ty Johnson. But what's different with Allen — after a regular season in which he was far better than ever before at avoiding turnovers and sacks — is how totally in command he is of an offense that isn't always Allen-centric.

«He's really been calm and confident and relaxed and not feeling like he's got to do everything all the time,» Bills GM Brandon Beane told me before this game. «He still finds a way to make those clutch plays. But in the past, if we'd go scoreless on three or four drives in a