2022-23 NFL Playoffs: NFC Wild Card Quiz

Answer: Geno Smith

Geno Smith was born in 1990 and he was drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Smith started 29 games for the Jets during which his team was 11-19 and he threw more interceptions than touchdowns. He relinquished his starting role after the 2014-15 season and it would be another eight seasons before he was a regular starter again. Smith resurrected his career in 2022-23 as he led the Seahawks to a 9-8 record, was selected to the Pro Bowl, was the only quarterback in the league to take every offensive snap for his team and he led the NFL in completion percentage.

However, the 2nd half of the Wild Card game against the stout 49ers defense was a struggle as the Seahawks were outscored 25-6 and Smith threw an interception and lost a fumble.

Answer: Christian McCaffrey

Christian McCaffrey was born in 1996 and he was the eighth pick of the 1st round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. His best season with the Panthers was in 2019-20 when he eclipsed 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving becoming just the third player to do so.

Injuries caused McCaffrey to miss most of the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. He played the final 10 games of the 2022-23 season with the 49ers and he immediately made their offense more explosive. In the Wild Card game against the Seahawks, McCaffrey had 119 yards on just 15 carries in addition to his two receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown.

Answer: Brock Purdy

Brock Purdy was born in 1999 and he played college football at Iowa State before he was drafted by the 49ers. At the start of the season he was third on the depth chart after Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance but injuries to those two players put Purdy in the starting role. Aided by a strong defense and great offensive talent around him, Purdy won his five regular season starts.

He had a sensational first playoff game as well against the Seahawks as he threw touchdown passes to Deebo Samuel, Elijah Mitchell and Christian McCaffrey.

Answer: Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones was born in 1997 and he played college football at Duke. He was the sixth pick of the 1st round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Giants. Outside of losing a league leading 11 fumbles, Jones had a solid statistical rookie season in spite of his team's 3-9 record in his starts.

The 2022-23 was his breakout season as Jones threw for 3,205 yards, rushed for 708 yards and had just five interceptions and three lost fumbles over 16 starts. In the Wild Card game against the Vikings, Jones consistently found his playmakers and he effectively ran the ball on designed runs and scrambles.

Answer: T. J. Hockenson

T. J. Hockenson was born in Iowa in 1997 and he played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Hockenson was drafted with the eighth pick of the 1st round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Hockenson was selected to the Pro Bowl for the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons.

In the Wild Card game against the Giants, Hockenson had great chemistry with his quarterback, Kirk Cousins, but he did not score a touchdown.

Answer: Brian Daboll

Brian Daboll first entered the coaching ranks in the NFL with the New England Patriots in 2000 and he served as the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills from 2018-2021. In his first season as head coach of the New York Giants, the team finished 9-7-1 and as the 6th seed in the NFC.

He called a great game in the Wild Card round against the Vikings in which his quarterback, Daniel Jones threw 35 passes and had 17 rushing attempts.

Answer: Dalton Schultz

Dalton Schultz was born in Utah in 1996 and was drafted in the 4th round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. In the 2022-23 Wild Card game against the Buccaneers, Schultz had two first half touchdown receptions and ended the game with seven receptions for 95 yards.

Answer: Their kicker missed the extra point.

The kicker of the Dallas Cowboys, Brett Maher, missed the extra point after the first four touchdown scores. These four misses set an NFL record for the most extra point misses in a playoff game. Two of Maher's kicks sailed wide right, one wide left and one hit the right upright. Luckily, Maher made the extra point after the fifth Cowboys touchdown.

Answer: Tom Brady

Tom Brady completed 35 of 66 passes for 351 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the Wild Card game against the Cowboys. Although he had an ineffective Wild Card game, Tom Brady had a prolific career setting numerous records in both the regular and postseason for passing yards, touchdowns and wins.

Answer: San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers hosted the 2-7 matchup and dominated the second half of their game against the Seattle Seahawks and won 41-23. Although they won four more games than the Buccaneers, the Cowboys were the road team in the 4-5 matchup since the Buccaneers won their division and the Cowboys made the playoffs as a wild card and the Cowboys won 31-14.

The New York Giants won the 3-6 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings as the road team 31-24.