2024-25 NFL Playoffs Thread

[yourout]

Just now, wOOgiE22 said:

Yuck. Don’t have much interest in this Super Bowl. 

Me neither. Maybe I'll binge on old X-Files reruns.

[homer]

fun to play the what if game on that 4th down spot. 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

4 minutes ago, homer said:

fun to play the what if game on that 4th down spot. 

IMO: The Bills go up 8, the Chiefs tie the game, Chiefs get the last possession and kick a game winning FG. Just because. 

[homer]

Also fun to wonder how the last three years or so would have gone had Buffalo and KC swapped coaching staffs.

[LouisEly]

2 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

They were a Wild Card team because they finished behind the other teams, lol? You don't say!

And who were they behind?

The rest of the NFC North that year was 17-33.  The rest of the NFC West was 30-21 (and one of those teams won a really important game).

Sorry, but the Packers weren't really the best team in the NFC that year.  They were propped up by a weak schedule, and everybody knew going into the game that they were in deep doo doo being without Bakh and Jenkins against Bosa and Armstead.  Without Bakh and Jenkins, San Francisco was the better team and Rodgers was running for his life all game and was sacked five times.

[homer]

opening Line at Caesars is KC by a point and a half.

[LouisEly]

2 hours ago, adambr2 said:

Yeah, there’s nothing unlucky or injury related about why we lost that game. We flat out blew it. The defense played their rear ends off and we still blew it.

You mean besides being sacked five times because they were without Bakh and Jenkins?

[OldSchoolSnapper]

1 minute ago, LouisEly said:

And who were they behind?

The rest of the NFC North that year was 17-33.  The rest of the NFC West was 30-21 (and one of those teams won a really important game).

Sorry, but the Packers weren't really the best team in the NFC that year.  They were propped up by a weak schedule, and everybody knew going into the game that they were in deep doo doo being without Bakh and Jenkins against Bosa and Armstead.  Without Bakh and Jenkins, San Francisco was the better team and Rodgers was running for his life all game and was sacked five times.

They were 10-7 and finished 3rd. I am not sure why you think that is some trump card for you or something. I don't what reality you're living in. But nobody thought the Packers were going to lose that game. I'm honestly not sure if you're mixing seasons or something. 

The 49ers beat a crappy Dallas team and lost the following week. They weren't good. The Packers lost to a guy that threw for 130 yards and a pick. Their offense scored 6 points.

The rest of your post is just baloney. The Packers dominated the eventual champion that season and also beat the AFC champion too. I don't care how bad the division was. That season was actually the only one in recent history where the Packers played and beat the contenders during the year. Unlike the prior year where they got waxed by Tampa and the year before when they got waxed by SF. 

 

[LouisEly]

2 hours ago, adambr2 said:

Kansas City has been without their #1 wide receiver for almost the entire season this season. 

Funny, I don't see any All Pro or Pro Bowl awards to his credit.

I would hope that you understand the difference between being out a starter and being out an All Pro and a Pro Bowler.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Just now, LouisEly said:

Funny, I don't see any All Pro or Pro Bowl awards to his credit.

I would hope that you understand the difference between being out a starter and being out an All Pro and a Pro Bowler.

No offense. But it feels like you are grasping at straws and looking up obscure stats to explain away a terrible choke loss on behalf of the Packers. They were a superior team, a favorite, at home, had the best player in the league, had beaten them previously, beaten both conference champions already...they shouldn't have lost the game. 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

9 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Funny, I don't see any All Pro or Pro Bowl awards to his credit.

I would hope that you understand the difference between being out a starter and being out an All Pro and a Pro Bowler.

You don't? Might wanna look harder.

[LouisEly]

19 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

They were 10-7 and finished 3rd. I am not sure why you think that is some trump card for you or something. I don't what reality you're living in. But nobody thought the Packers were going to lose that game. I

How about this trump card:

https://brewerfanatic.com/forums/topic/37466-packer-2021-team-discussion-20/page/22/#comment-1412484

"This 49ers over Packers hype is based on a game from 2 season ago where the Packers were substantially worse and the 49ers were substantially better. "

Yes, people were saying that the 49ers were better.  You even said so yourself. 

Or this trump card:

https://brewerfanatic.com/forums/topic/37466-packer-2021-team-discussion-20/page/23/#comment-1412494

"They may be 10-7 but they are 9-3 after that 4-game skid. "

They were better than 10-7.  You even said so yourself.

[LouisEly]

12 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

You don't? Might wanna look harder.

Rashee Rice is their best receiver who was out most of the year.  And he's never been an All Pro or Pro Bowler.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

4 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Rashee Rice is their best receiver who was out most of the year.  And he's never been an All Pro or Pro Bowler.

He's referring to Deandre Hopkins...at least I thought he was

[LouisEly]

2 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

He's referring to Deandre Hopkins...at least I thought he was

 

Hopkins played 10 games this season.  And he was acquired in a trade from TEN in week 7 and played 16 games this season.  That's not missing "almost the entire season".

You might want to read a little closer.

 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

18 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

How about this trump card:

https://brewerfanatic.com/forums/topic/37466-packer-2021-team-discussion-20/page/22/#comment-1412484

"This 49ers over Packers hype is based on a game from 2 season ago where the Packers were substantially worse and the 49ers were substantially better. "

Yes, people were saying that the 49ers were better.  You even said so yourself. 

Or this trump card:

https://brewerfanatic.com/forums/topic/37466-packer-2021-team-discussion-20/page/23/#comment-1412494

"They may be 10-7 but they are 9-3 after that 4-game skid. "

They were better than 10-7.  You even said so yourself.

Quoting me saying I thought the Packers would win isn't a trump card? The Packers were -6. 

Nor is finding a random poster saying the 49ers could win. I'm pretty sure you could do that for every single Packers game that's ever been played. 

By the way, that supposed weak schedule the Packers played included wins over both Super Bowl teams, the 49ers, and the entire NFC West. "You might want to know your facts a little better."

[OldSchoolSnapper]

17 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

 

Hopkins played 10 games this season.  And he was acquired in a trade from TEN in week 7 and played 16 games this season.  That's not missing "almost the entire season".

You might want to read a little closer.

 

Seems kinda open to interpretation, since he was playing for a different team. Point is still pretty valid either way...teams overcome injuries every year. Much more significant ones than your guard, who had already missed a bunch of time that season (and the prior game against SF). They had 2 months to prepare a fill in. 

Pretty lame excuse for them dropping a home playoff game. 

[adambr2]

1 hour ago, LouisEly said:

Funny, I don't see any All Pro or Pro Bowl awards to his credit.

I would hope that you understand the difference between being out a starter and being out an All Pro and a Pro Bowler.

Rice was one of the best receivers in football when he went down. No he didn’t make a Pro Bowl or All-Pro as a rookie, and it’s hard to when you’re our most of the second year.

You make these arbitrary arguments with totally subjective grades and measurements to support your points. We can’t count injuries as significant unless they were an “All Pro” or made a “Pro Bowl?” Ok, man. I’ve never heard anyone else suggest that the Packers lost their 2022 playoff matchup to the 49ers because they were just too banged up. I’ve never seen anyone else that will go to the lengths you will go to, to make excuses for Packer losses.

[adambr2]

9 hours ago, LouisEly said:

And who were they behind?

The rest of the NFC North that year was 17-33.  The rest of the NFC West was 30-21 (and one of those teams won a really important game).

Sorry, but the Packers weren't really the best team in the NFC that year.  They were propped up by a weak schedule, and everybody knew going into the game that they were in deep doo doo being without Bakh and Jenkins against Bosa and Armstead.  Without Bakh and Jenkins, San Francisco was the better team and Rodgers was running for his life all game and was sacked five times.

Wow, “everyone” who knew the Packers were in deep doo doo going into this game must have made a fortune in Vegas off of it since the Packers were 5.5 point favorites.

You are completely rewriting history with your own narratives.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Bhaktiari appeared in a single game in '21, this narrative reads like they were expecting him to be available, and Jenkins missed over half the season yet they still won 13 games. Including...wait for it...the prior game against SF in which both were inactive! IIRC, Jenkins slid over to replace Bhaktiari, which is significant, but he had been out for 2 months by this game. It's not like he got hurt that week.

 

Let's be serious, the Packers were accustomed to playing without him by then out of necessity. He was useless.

 

The games they did lose were suspect too. A week one fluke against the Saints, the finale they treated like a bye and a game Jordan Love started.

 

Then the premise of the argument is that the 49ers division was so incredible, yet it was a division the Packers swept that season (without the same 2 guys against Donald and the Rams) and the team they crushed the worst was the team that won the Super Bowl. So which is it? Amazing division or the entire NFL was soft that year? Oh, they beat the AFC champion too.

 

Then there's the absurdity that they lost the game without SF scoring an offensive TD. That should never happen when your QB is league MVP - I am a big AR fan, but that is pathetic and nobody makes that excuse for any QB of his stature.

 

If these are the excuses people make for the Packers, I dunno what to say. No loss will ever be considered bad. The one thing you could claim, is that the Packers ST were horrible all year and it ended up killing them. 

 

It's the playoffs. You can make a case for almost any team "having a chance." The Packers had pretty much the ideal set-up that year. HFA, Rodgers playing like a superstar, and really no standout opponent. As I said, it was the ONLY year under MLF where the Packers played - and beat - the contending teams. 

 

I wish the Packers would give us something to talk about besides old playoff chokes though. It's about all we've got for the last decade and a half. I might find this argument a tad less ridiculous if it wasn't made every single year.

 

[Fear The Chorizo]

12 hours ago, homer said:

fun to play the what if game on that 4th down spot. 

yep...especially because he unquestionably got the 1st down.

I will say this about KC - they simply do not beat themselves and force opponents to make plays through the final whistle to beat them.  That is a combination of coaching and personnel that is a tough out in the playoffs in today's NFL.  Defensively, they are consistently aggressive at "winning time" instead of playing coverage or any sort of prevent style defense, and more often than not opponents aren't equipped to handle that pressure and make plays consistently.  Offensively, there hasn't been a coordinator/offensive head coach that is a better combination of play designer/play caller than Andy Reid in NFL history - that's a bold statement, but one I feel is true considering how long Reid has been in the league doing it with different teams/personnel/roles.

That mix plus the consistent calls KC gets from officials at critical moments of a game essentially make them unbeatable unless a team can find ways to generate multiple turnovers - honestly what the Eagles did to Washington Sunday is the exact blueprint to beat the Chiefs..disruptive Dline with an aggressive secondary behind it and LB's constantly trying to cause fumbles when tackling ball carriers.  Coupled with an offense that can run the football from multiple formations and a pair of receivers who can abuse press man coverage and make plays downfield.  Eagles have to get their Center/Guard situation shored up with all the walking wounded lineman they currently have so Jones doesn't wreck the game, but if they do that and the officials let the secondaries play physical on equal terms I think Philly should win.

 

[homer]

Reid is really a master at calling the right play at the right moment. You could say the same about Spagnuolo as well. 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

The Bills are going to be like the 80s Bucks. A great team that can't get out of its conference because an all-time dynasty is stuck in their path. The Chiefs are pretty similar to most of those Patriots teams in that they don't knock your socks off watching them for the most part, but they just make it look easy. Mahomes is spectacular and does have that ability, but the last couple iterations of that team have been awfully bland.

[Joseph Zarr]

All this talk of the Chiefs (predictably) getting the benefit of the doubt on nearly every close call - a known commodity when playing at Arrowhead versus this Chiefs team. No calls going the Bills way as well, ostensibly. This is why, as a team, you enter that environment knowing full well you can not leave it in the officials' hands.

The 4th down run: Did he get it? Probably. Was it overly convincing? No. Too close. You clearly aren't going to get that call given the circumstances and the known favoritism. You enter that play knowing you need to beat it by a yard. Is it incredible the NFL still measures first downs via part time aged employees chasing chains and a stick? Absolutely. BUT that is a known factor.

The Short spot on what was it a 2nd/3rd down swing pass earlier? Same thing applies. You don't get that call at Arrowhead. Clearly.

The Worthy Pass? Ahhhh shades of ye old Fail Mary. Knock it out. Or catch it cleanly yourself. You won't get that call and you certainly won't get it overturned. The pain is real. Hello, Nixon illegal hit on the WC Rd opening KO return and GB fumble recovery. Oh, what's that you say? The refs didn't have our camera angle? Shame.🫠

All the failed opportunities. Predictable no calls etc. and it all comes down to an improbably strategically located desperation heave under duress and Kincaid T-Rex arm botches the cradle catch. Five man protection called and, lo and behold, it can't handle the out numbered rush. On the radio call, at least, Harlan said the refs picked up a late flag (true story!😅). The Bills inability to rise above the disadvantages of their moment reminded me infinitely of the inability the Packers have routinely demonstrated in key gut-wrenching post-season letdowns. Whether with A-Rod and Big Mac teams or LaFleur led teams. It was eerie and hard to watch dejá vu. Given all the inherent advantages the current Chiefs are given, they continue to embrace these and they time and time again find the right play call under Reed and Spags and nearly always make the key play when needed. It's nauseating. BUT, until the underdogs can have their shining moments of brilliance this is going to continue to be the case.

You have to bring your A+ game. There are no other options.

The Bills, unfortunately, left too much to question.

 

[OldHeidelberg]

 

4 hours ago, homer said:

Reid is really a master at calling the right play at the right moment. You could say the same about Spagnuolo as well. 

This is what separates the great head coaches. We all talk about analytics but making those calls takes more than just looking at the chart like MM does. It's knowing your team's and the opponent's strengths and the flow of the game to make those calls. I feel like it's getting harder with so much pressure to be aggressive. Someone else said it but if you are good like the Chiefs just play it safe and the other team will screw up eventually. We all know our division rivals figured this out playing the packer this season.