Report Cards from NFL's Sunday Wild Card Games

The 2014 Wild Card Weekend is now officially part of NFL history. 

We already took a look at Saturday's slate of games. Now it is time to examine Sunday's action. Once again, two teams are moving on, and two are going home.

In the early game, the Indianapolis Colts bested the Cincinnati Bengals in a fairly one-sided affair. Indianapolis won 26-10 and will move on to the divisional round.

The Dallas Cowboys pulled out a thriller against the Detroit Lions in game No. 2. Dallas needed a fourth-quarter comeback and a key defensive stop to come away with the 24-20 victory.

Over the next few pages we will examine how Sunday's games reached their conclusion, while grading both the winners and losers of each contest. 

Cincinnati Bengals

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Pass Offense

With wide receiver A.J. Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham out, the Bengals decided to get a little creative on offense. Third running back Rex Burkhead was often used as a receiver, and the team frequently turned to screens and short passes to move the ball.

Unfortunately, Bengals receivers had difficulty getting open on long and deep routes. This limited the passing offense overall and became a big factor when Cincinnati fell behind two scores in the second half. 

To make matters worse, quarterback Andy Dalton struggled with accuracy. Though he did not face consistent pressure, too many of his passes downfield were off the mark. He finished 18-of-35 for 155 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Grade: D

Run Offense

The last time the Bengals and Colts did battle, Cincinnati managed just 32 rushing yards as a team. Things were a little different Sunday.

Rookie Jeremy Hill has established himself as the top back on Cincinnati's roster, and the Bengals came out looking to make him the focal point of the offense against Indianapolis. 

The Bengals did a much better job of running the ball than during the last contest, but they were not able to generate enough explosive plays on the ground to make a real difference. 

Grade: C

Pass Defense

Cincinnati surrendered quite a few long pass plays in the first half but managed to clamp down in the red zone and force field goals. A forced fumble after a long catch-and-run also may have prevented a score just before halftime. 

The Bengals were also aided by quite a few dropped passes.

However, it isn't easy to contain Colts quarterback Andrew Luck for an entire game, and the Bengals pass defense fell apart in the second half. It did not help that Cincinnati was absolutely terrible at generating a pass rush. 

Cincinnati logged just one sack and allowed 368 net yards of passing offense.

Grade: F

Run Defense

Cincinnati certainly had a functional defense during the regular season, but it is worth noting that the team only ranked 20th against the run (116.3 yards per game allowed) as well as 20th against the pass.

Fortunately, the Colts came out with a pass-heavy mentality, and the Bengals were not forced to focus too much on defending the run early. However, Indianapolis ratcheted up its rushing attack after taking a sizable lead, and the Bengals only did a marginal job defending it. Indianapolis averaged 4.6 yards per carry. 

Grade: C

Special Teams

Kicker Mike Nugent nailed a career-long 57-yard field goal just before halftime, which helped add to the Cincinnati momentum after a forced fumble. It ended up being his only attempt of the day.

Punter Kevin Huber, a Pro Bowler, averaged a solid 43.1 net yards per punt on the afternoon. He was one of the only bright spots for Cincinnati following the early touchdown.

Grade: B

Coaching

Head coach Marvin Lewis crafted an excellent game plan to combat what the Colts do well. By grinding the game on the ground and playing to defend the deep pass, he hoped to force Indianapolis into a fast-moving, physical slugfest.

Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson also deserves a lot of credit for figuring out how to utilize Burkhead and tight end Ryan Hewitt to help overcome the absence of Green and Gresham. 

Unfortunately, good game plans are not enough to win games, and the entire coaching staff deserves criticism for this loss. There were zero halftime adjustments, which has become a playoff pattern for Cincinnati. Through the past four playoff games, the Bengals have scored six second-half points.

Injuries definitely played a part in the loss, but the Bengals were not at all prepared for playoff football and were severely outcoached. 

Grade: F

Final Analysis

While it is easy to point to key injuries as a reason the Bengals lost, the narrative is the same as it has been the past few seasons.

The Bengals are a good regular-season team, but they do not seem to have the mental makeup to compete in the offseason. Dalton cannot carry his team when the chips are down, and this may not be a coaching staff capable of ever mounting a postseason run.

When you consider the fact that the Arizona Cardinals and their third-string quarterback appeared more competitive Saturday than the Bengals did Sunday, it is hard to find many positives with the performance.

Final Grade: F

Indianapolis Colts

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Pass Offense

Luck has earned a reputation as one of the most talented young signal-callers in the NFL. He showed how on Sunday with several strong, accurate throws that are not easy to make. His ability to attack deep downfield kept the Bengals defense off balance, even though many of the deep throws were well-defended.

Unfortunately, drops were a major issue for the Indianapolis receiving corps. This resulted in several beautiful Luck passes being wasted. 

However, Luck got enough opportunities (44 pass attempts) to do his damage, and the Colts eventually pulled away from the Bengals via the pass. Luck finished the game with 31 completions, 376 yards and a touchdown.

Grade: A

Run Offense

The Colts have clearly moved away from Trent Richardson in the running game, and the move seems to be working. Former Bengal Dan Herron handled the bulk of the work on the ground and proved to be mostly effective. Rookie Zurlon Tipton saw work when Herron wasn't on the field.

A lot of early deep passes, though unsuccessful, helped to keep the Cincinnati defense away from the line of scrimmage, which further aided the Indianapolis running game. 

Toss in the fact that Luck is a capable scrambler, and it finally appears that the Colts have a playoff-caliber rushing attack. The team topped 100 yards on the ground and was able to put the game away with the run.

Grade: B

Pass Defense

As bad as the Indianapolis defense seemed at times in 2014, the unit actually ranked a respectable 12th against the pass (229.3 yards per game allowed). The secondary did a nice job of taking away the deep ball against Cincinnati, but it has to be mentioned that the Bengals were without Green and Gresham.

The Colts did not get a ton of pressure on Dalton, though they did generate enough to change his delivery point at times. The strength of Indianapolis' pass defense on Sunday was in solid coverage and sure, quick tackling.

Cincinnati finished by netting just 144 yards of passing offense.

Grade: A-

Run Defense

Indianapolis had some difficulty containing the run early in this contest. The Bengals were easily able to dictate the tempo and make a physical statement in the first quarter.

However, the Indianapolis defense got better after the initial period and began limiting big plays in the running game. The Cincinnati ground game became even less of a factor once the Colts took a two-score lead.

As a team, the Bengals totaled 110 net yards rushing.

Grade: B

Special Teams

A Tipton gaffe resulted in a kickoff being returned a mere nine yards late in the first quarter. Other than that, however, the Colts special teams unit appeared on point.

Adam Vinatieri connected on all four of his field-goal attempts, while return man Josh Cribbs averaged a solid 33.5 yards per kickoff return.

Grade: B+

Coaching

It is pretty hard to find fault with the game plan implemented by head coach Chuck Pagano and his staff. 

Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton called enough deep passes early to take pressure off the running game and ran the ball efficiently enough for deep passes to start hitting later in the contest. His use of screens and short crossing routes also kept the Bengals defense off balance. It never seemed that the Bengals defense was fully prepared for what was coming.

Though the Colts defense was a weakness during the regular season, coordinator Greg Manusky's unit did more than enough to stop the limited Cincinnati offense.

Grade: A

Final Analysis

This was an overall impressive performance by the Colts. They did allow the Bengals to hang around in the first half but shut them down completely in the second.

Aside from a fumble, there were few glaring mistakes, and it was evident throughout the contest that this was the team that deserved to move on to the divisional round. There isn't a lot of criticism to be leveled here. However, Indianapolis likely won't be able to get by with just one half of dominant football against the Denver Broncos next week.

Final Grade: A-

Dallas Cowboys

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Pass Offense

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had a fine regular season (3,705 yards and 34 touchdowns) and looked to continue his efficient play in the postseason against the Lions. 

"Hell yeah, he is. He's the MVP," Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant said of Romo last month, via John Breech of CBSSports.com. "Look at the performance. He's giving 'em hell in December."

With the running game struggling a bit, Romo was forced to shoulder the offense against Detroit and did an efficient job of doing so.

His biggest throw of the night might have been a 21-yarder on 4th-in-6 late in the fourth quarter with the Cowboys trailing—though, the eight-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams a few plays later was awfully pretty. Romo finished the game 19-of-31 for 293 yards and two touchdowns.

Grade: A-

Run Offense

Facing Detroit's No.1-ranked run defense (69.3 yards per game allowed), it wasn't clear that the Cowboys would have an opportunity to lean on running back DeMarco Murray in this contest.

However, Murray played his role to perfection. Though he didn't net a big gain on every single play, he kept grinding and began to find some real running room in the second half. His third-quarter touchdown on 4th-and-goal was huge and definitely boosted Dallas' momentum.

Murray finished with 75 yards rushing, two yards more than the Cowboys netted as a team.

Grade: C

Pass Defense

Dallas was able to mask many of its defensive deficiencies during the regular season but struggled mightily against the Lions' balanced offense early Sunday. Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 191 first-half yards, led two touchdown drives and a field-goal drive that came just before the half.

Fortunately, the Cowboys were able to force an interception to open the third quarter. The bad news is that the turnover didn't result in points, but the defense did play better in the second half. One of the bigger problems for Dallas was that every time it seemed the Lions were in a hole, they hit a big pass play. That trend ended on a controversial non-call on what appeared to be pass interference in the fourth quarter. 

A forced Stafford fumble could have sealed the game late, but Dallas fumbled the ball back to Detroit on the same play. However, the drive after Dallas' go-ahead touchdown still ended in a stop.

Grade: C-

Run Defense

Just as the Cowboys defense allowed big plays in the passing game, it allowed Detroit to make some things happen on the ground. However, the Cowboys did enough here to limit the type of explosive plays that could have cost the game.

Detroit totaled just 90 net rushing yards and couldn't put the game away with a two-score lead. Credit the Dallas run defense for at least part of that. 

Grade: B+

Special Teams

Kicker Dan Bailey missed a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter that would have brought Dallas to within a score.

Bailey made his next attempt, however, and the special teams unit began to redeem itself in the final period. Limiting Detroit to a five-yard return on the kickoff following Bailey's was a big potential momentum-shifter. Overall, it was a fair outing. 

Grade C+

Coaching

The Cowboys didn't stick with their usual game plan of leaning on Murray and the running game, but this isn't altogether surprising considering the opponent. Instead, head coach Jason Garrett and play-caller Scott Linehan called for a passing attack that moved away from No. 1 target Bryant.

This strategy worked as the Cowboys found ways to move the football against the stout Detroit defense.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli also deserves credit for his bend-but-don't break game plan that ultimately proved to be good enough. Of course, there is a good chance that this type of plan won't work next week against the Green Bay Packers. 

Grade: B

Final Analysis

The Cowboys proved that they can win without a big game from Murray and when the defense isn't playing at its top form. 

Dallas also proved that it has plenty of weapons not named Bryant in the passing game. This was a complete team performance and the type of win that should give Dallas a ton of confidence moving forward.

This was by no means a dominant performance, however, and one could easily say that the Cowboys got lucky a couple of times during the game. Next week will have to see an even better team effort for Dallas to leave Lambeau Field with a victory. 

Grade: B-

Detroit Lions

Associated Press

Pass Offense

Stafford had a decent season in 2014 but rarely made the kind of big plays that get a quarterback noticed on a national level.

He made plenty of those plays against Dallas. Stafford's arm strength was on full display as he made some beautiful deep throws and rocketed the ball into some pretty tight windows on shorter passes.

Unfortunately, Stafford came up short when it mattered on the Lions' final drive. A fourth-down sack ended Detroit's chance and keeps Stafford's streak of losing on the road to teams with a winning record alive and well. He finished the game 28-of-42 for 323 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Grade: B+

Run Offense

The Lions ranked just 28th in rushing offense (88.9 yards per game) during the regular season but did a nice job of making the ground game work against Dallas. Runs were generally productive, and perhaps more importantly, the Lions stuck with the running game even when it wasn't. 

Joique Bell led the rushing attack, with Reggie Bush playing the change-of-pace role. The two combined for 80 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Grade: C+

Pass Defense

The Lions defense did a tremendous job of clamping down on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo early in the contest, but it allowed a huge 76-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams late in the second quarter.

Pressuring Romo with the pass rush and taking away his top target in Bryant worked for much of the contest, though Romo did find ways to amass yardage. As the yardage began to mount along with the penalties in the Detroit secondary, things began to shift. 

Romo passed for nearly 300 yards and avoided major mistakes, despite taking six sacks. Penalties in the secondary ultimate cost the Lions, especially on Dallas' game-winning drive.

Grade: C-

Run Defense

Virtually everyone knew that the Cowboys would come out riding Murray in the run game, and Detroit did a solid job of limiting his production in the first half. However, Murray began to pick up some steam in the third quarter.

Still, the reigning NFL rushing leader was held to just 75 yards and a touchdown, which should be considered a victory for Detroit. Had the pass defense held up better, this definitely could have been the story of the game.

Grade: A-

Special Teams

After having plenty of special teams issues early in the regular season, it appears that the addition of kicker Matt Prater has helped settle things. He nailed a 39-yard field goal just before halftime.

However, special teams issues returned in the fourth quarter, when punter Sam Martin shanked a punt that went just 10 yards and set the Cowboys up with solid field position. 

Grade: D+

Coaching

Head coach Jim Caldwell did an excellent job of having his team prepared for this playoff game, especially considering that the Stafford-led Lions have never defeated an opponent with a winning record on the road. 

Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi implemented a balanced attack that kept the Dallas defense off balance for much of the game. However, his strategy seemed to become less effective as Dallas picked up momentum in the second half. Getting Calvin Johnson (five catches, 85 yards) might have been a good idea.

The worst decision of the night may have been punting on 4th-and-short in the fourth quarter in Dallas territory. That was the decision that resulted in a 10-yard punt. Dallas scored the go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing drive, which wipes out all of the coaching positives the Lions had in the game. 

Grade: C+

Final Analysis

The Lions played well enough to win and certainly performed better than any of the other losers of Wild Card Weekend. Had just one more call or play gone in Detroit's favor, this easily could have been a win.

It has to hurt the Lions to watch the defense fail in the second half, especially after seeing what the unit was capable of during the regular season. Still, this was an above-average performance, and it took a little bit of luck and a lot of late-game heroics for Dallas to pull out the comeback.

Grade: C+