Biggest questions facing NFL Wild Card Weekend losers: What will the Vikings do at QB? Will the Steelers be reset?

Wild Card Weekend is in the books, with six NFL teams advancing to the divisional round of the playoffs and six more returning home for an early start to the 2025 offseason. While hopes are high for clubs that remain, with contenders like the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs preparing for their own playoff debuts, big questions swirl around those wondering where it all went wrong.

Here are the most pressing questions we have regarding the teams eliminated in the wild-card round:

Denver Broncos: Can they improve Nix’s weaponry?

More precisely, to what degree can they do it? Because Bo Nix showed in his rookie season that he has real feel for the NFL game, especially as a naturally mobile thrower. Now it’s up to Sean Payton and Co. to give him a terrific supporting cast. The forward has proven to be pretty stout throughout 2024, so we’re mostly talking about skill weapons: a dynamic running back, perhaps, or a game-changing pass catcher.

The Packers have been solid this season, but they’ve rarely been spectacular, and the biggest culprit might have been injuries: Jordan Love battled at least three notable illnesses throughout the season, while some of his top targets passes, including Jayden Reed, Christian Watson and Romeo. The Doubs were all pushed aside at the finish line. Do they just need a long break? Better depth? A more contained Love? Or all of the above?

Long hailed more for his prolific promises than for his results in big matches, Justin Herbert passed the eye test with flying colors during his first go-around under the direction of Jim Harbaugh. But the big scene brought out a frightening heaviness in the quarterback, which means Harbaugh’s top priority this offseason is twofold: 1.) adding a running mate for Ladd McConkey, and 2.) making sure his signal-caller doesn’t leave a 0- “2 playoff record eats away at his confidence”.

In late December, Sam Darnold seemed almost on the verge of getting a major contract offer from the Vikings, fearlessly leading Kevin O’Connell’s offense. Then he went from slightly nervous during a crucial Week 18 loss to downright listless during an uglier playoff misfire against the Los Angeles Rams. How will the team’s leaders define its complicated 2024 season? JJ McCarthy is in tow, but he’s also an unknown.

Management got unusually aggressive at the quarterback position last offseason, trading Kenny Pickett for Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, and for a while it looked like Mike Tomlin might snatch a significant playoff bid from them. This is not the case. With further confirmation, will aggression finally, thankfully, seep into their offensive philosophy, or will the Steelers, who are apparently still engaged to their accomplished but increasingly conservative coach, continue to live as in 2008, relying on an aging and/or slow first-run attack and a physical but war-weary defense?

Todd Bowles deserves credit for guiding the Bucs to three playoff appearances in three seasons as Bruce Arians’ hand-picked successor. His last two offensive coordinators, Dave Canales and Liam Coen, obtained good results thanks to a revived Baker Mayfield. And yet, like the Steelers, the Bucs also feel viewed as a wild card hope under his mostly conservative leadership. At 61, could he be ripe for his own change?