After what seemed like a long regular season filled with a rollercoaster of headlines, we’re now also done with the wild card round. Now that we head to the final stretch of the season there are a few lessons learned.

Home field advantage is still a thing 

The Buffalo Bills smoked the New England Patriots 47-17 up in Highmark Stadium. And while it was wildly perceived that the Bills were the better team, it was clear the home field advantage played a major factor. From the jump, rookie quarterback Mac Jones threw a pick and the crowd erupted. The Patriots were never able to recover. All the other games except the Cowboys (no surprise there) saw the home team grab a win in the opening round as well. In a time where COVID-19 playing such a huge role with capacity and mask rules in certain cities, it’s nice to see that fans are still the 12th man. 

COVID-19 protocol isn’t going anywhere for the rest of this season

Patriots star cornerback Jalen Mills missed the playoff game due to being in COVID protocol. The NFL didn’t stop the season despite surging case numbers, but they did postpone some games. With the switching of games and key players being missed, it’s altered some records and seedings. And for the next two rounds of the postseason, best believe we may see some stars not suit up because of COVID. So expect the unexpected. 

The more experienced quarterback almost always wins in the playoffs

Mac Jones, Kyler Murray, Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts are all going home thanks to the lack of experience. There’s a few exceptions here and there like the Steelers. The Raiders had their fair share of issues throughout the season that caused them to lose from the start. Nonetheless, even Jimmy G got a win over the well balanced Cowboys. Part of the reason goes back to the top of the page of home field advantage. When the young quarterback is on the road we see them make tons of mistakes like fumbles and interceptions. Coaches love to blitz in these positions. Don’t worry, typically the loss makes them better for years to come. 

Ben Roethlisberger’s career will never be talked about amongst the best ever

Once again Big Ben and the Steelers lose to a top quarterback in the league in a high stakes game. This is no surprise as we typically see Ben and coach Mike Tomlin lost to big time quarterbacks. Not too many times we see Ben Roethlisberger overcome the hurdle of top 10 NFL quarterbacks of all time. Now that his season and career is at a end, we’ll remember Big Ben as a great hall of fame quarterback that never was considered the best. But it’s okay, we love Big Ben for his talents. If he did get the win over Mahomes and a third ring then perhaps the conversation would be different. But now he’ll be remembered more for the faults.