2024-25 NFL Playoffs Thread

[OldSchoolSnapper]

That Worthy pass wasn't picked off. And there was a defensive hold. It wasn't going to be Buffalo's ball no matter the call. At best, it was 1st down + 5 yards for KC.

To be honest, none of the calls were egregious. I thought Allen had it, and the official who had the best view made that call, but it was close. And Buffalo called a tight game offensively. I didn't think they took enough shots with the coverage KC was playing. I see other teams line up on 3rd down for the tush push and throw 40 yard passes. Or KC throwing twice on that final possession. Buffalo was really conservative.

[nate82]

13 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

 

That Worthy pass wasn't picked off. And there was a defensive hold. It wasn't going to be Buffalo's ball no matter the call. At best, it was 1st down + 5 yards for KC

 

I believe the thought was that it should have been incomplete.  I wasn’t paying attention but it looked like the ball hit the ground and wasn’t fully in control by either player.  Which would have put KC around the 20-yard line.  Which would have been a more difficult spot to score from than on the 5-yard line.  

[OldSchoolSnapper]

1 minute ago, nate82 said:

I believe the thought was that it should have been incomplete.  I wasn’t paying attention but it looked like the ball hit the ground and wasn’t fully in control by either player.  Which would have put KC around the 20-yard line.  Which would have been a more difficult spot to score from than on the 5-yard line.  

Yes - but there was a defensive hold, so automatic first down and 5 yards. I am not really convinced that was any kind of needle-moving call for either team. Obviously, it's a huge call if the review is for possession of the ball and there is no penalty called.

[nate82]

8 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Yes - but there was a defensive hold, so automatic first down and 5 yards. I am not really convinced that was any kind of needle-moving call for either team. Obviously, it's a huge call if the review is for possession of the ball and there is no penalty called.

Right but first down at around the 20 is easier to defend against than at the 5 yard line.  Defensively you are in a better position to stop them around the 20 than at the 5.  If KC has to score from the 20 instead of at the 5 maybe Buffalo would have been able to hold them to a FG.  Not a critical moment but I can see why they challenged there.  It was more about the positioning on the field than if it was an INT.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

8 minutes ago, nate82 said:

Right but first down at around the 20 is easier to defend against than at the 5 yard line.  Defensively you are in a better position to stop them around the 20 than at the 5.  If KC has to score from the 20 instead of at the 5 maybe Buffalo would have been able to hold them to a FG.  Not a critical moment but I can see why they challenged there.  It was more about the positioning on the field than if it was an INT.

I mean I thought the challenge sucked, because I thought and still thought it did get caught by Worthy, and it was anything close to the indisputable threshold they need to get it overturned. I really don't get those last-ditch type of challenges that coaches seem to love. I've basically never seen one of them work.

[adambr2]

15 minutes ago, nate82 said:

Right but first down at around the 20 is easier to defend against than at the 5 yard line.  Defensively you are in a better position to stop them around the 20 than at the 5.  If KC has to score from the 20 instead of at the 5 maybe Buffalo would have been able to hold them to a FG.  Not a critical moment but I can see why they challenged there.  It was more about the positioning on the field than if it was an INT.

If McDermott wins the challenge, Kansas City is most likely draining the rest of the clock in the 1st half and then scoring rather than scoring with 2 minutes left and giving Buffalo time to drive back down and score a touchdown right before the half which is what actually ended up happening.

I think you can make a compelling case that Buffalo made out a lot better by NOT winning the challenge.

[Fear The Chorizo]

34 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Yes - but there was a defensive hold, so automatic first down and 5 yards. I am not really convinced that was any kind of needle-moving call for either team. Obviously, it's a huge call if the review is for possession of the ball and there is no penalty called.

Here's the thing that makes me crazy about KC and the refs.....yes there was a defensive hold call on that key 3rd and 5 that would have negated an INT or given them a 1st down if the review did deem it an incomplete pass (which it should have since neither player demonstrated possession when that ball hit the ground).  But why is the defensive hold call overlooked by people about that entire sequence/call, when Mahomes' TD run late in the game was heavily influenced by an obvious offensive hold on the perimeter that wasn't flagged? Those type of subjective calls (defensive/offensive holding away from the ball, illegal contact, etc) that many people say could be flagged on nearly every play are simply not called with any consistency when the Chiefs are on the field. The defensive hold in that situation was marginal, and it occured on a receiver not involved in where the ball actually went.  Then later in the game we're seeing refs throw holding/PI calls on Bills' DBs getting launched from 30 yards downfield.

Also, why aren't we made aware of whatever late flag that was picked up by the officials on that 4th down heave a Bills receiver dropped?  I'd assume that flag got dropped in the event the Bills completed that pass somehow and got a 1st down, and it was some sort of ineligible downfield or illegal formation or offensive hold that would have negated that play, too.

There are layers to the insanity that is the officiating support KC routinely receives, and frankly expects, at critical points in playoff games.  I'm not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but it's to the point with the Chiefs and refs that I can't help myself - too much smoke not to be something going on.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

7 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

Here's the thing that makes me crazy about KC and the refs.....yes there was a defensive hold call on that key 3rd and 5 that would have negated an INT or given them a 1st down if the review did deem it an incomplete pass (which it should have since neither player demonstrated possession when that ball hit the ground).  But why is the defensive hold call overlooked by people about that entire sequence/call, when Mahomes' TD run late in the game was heavily influenced by an obvious offensive hold on the perimeter that wasn't flagged? Those type of subjective calls (defensive/offensive holding away from the ball, illegal contact, etc) that many people say could be flagged on nearly every play are simply not called with any consistency when the Chiefs are on the field. The defensive hold in that situation was marginal, and it occured on a receiver not involved in where the ball actually went.  Then later in the game we're seeing refs throw holding/PI calls on Bills' DBs getting launched from 30 yards downfield.

Also, why aren't we made aware of whatever late flag that was picked up by the officials on that 4th down heave a Bills receiver dropped?  I'd assume that flag got dropped in the event the Bills completed that pass somehow and got a 1st down, and it was some sort of ineligible downfield or illegal formation or offensive hold that would have negated that play, too.

There are layers to the insanity that is the officiating support KC routinely receives, and frankly expects, at critical points in playoff games.  I'm not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but it's to the point with the Chiefs and refs that I can't help myself - too much smoke not to be something going on.

Well, for one, I wouldn't call that defensive holding marginal. That was a mugging. It was, I believe, somebody trying to cover Kelce across the middle of the field and they were going to get run over. I actually saw the hold live and thought it did not get called and couldn't believe it. 

Offensive holding not getting called is like a 50% chance of happening on every play. Not kidding to say that I see a run to the outside or a QB getting protected where holding looks so clear on TV go uncalled like 50% of the time I see it. These dynasty teams have always gotten a lot of breaks from the officials. I guess no, it's not fair, but you have to clear your margin for error wide of the officials if you are playing QBs like Mahomes and Brady. Buffalo didn't really seem to play that way to me. They tried to squeak by and got really pensive in the 4th.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Just now, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Well, for one, I wouldn't call that defensive holding marginal. That was a mugging. It was, I believe, somebody trying to cover Kelce across the middle of the field and they were going to get run over. I actually saw the hold live and thought it did not get called and couldn't believe it. 

Offensive holding not getting called is like a 50% chance of happening on every play. Not kidding to say that I see a run to the outside or a QB getting protected where holding looks so clear on TV go uncalled like 50% of the time I see it. These dynasty teams have always gotten a lot of breaks from the officials. I guess no, it's not fair, but you have the clear your margin for error wide of the officials if you are playing QBs like Mahomes and Brady.

I do understand that the poster boys tend to get more calls go their way than not in the NFL....but at some point there has to be a critical game where 100% of those calls don't go their way.  The fact that has not happened for 3 seasons running with the Chiefs (and predated some of their current run, tbh) is alot more than just what we've grown used to seeing from NFL officiating over the years.

 

[adambr2]

The thing about the Chiefs is… on that Allen play, one official ran in with a decent spot, and one ran in with a garbage spot.

And there was ZERO doubt in my mind that they were going to use the garbage spot. And that sucks.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

And the one who gave the garbage spot had an indisputably worse look at the ball and overruled the other official who had already signaled 1st down.

[adambr2]

It wasn’t the most egregiously referee favored Chiefs playoff win … but that shouldn’t be the bar.

Coaching matters so much in games of this caliber. I don’t think McDermott is really a bad coach in the same way that I don’t really think Matt Lafleur is really a bad coach, but there are levels to this and neither one can carry Andy Reid’s jockstrap. 

Something as simple as the QB sneaks was won on coaching yesterday. The Chiefs had the play coached and scouted every time. They knew what to expect. If the Bills are just making the plays on the QB sneaks yesterday, this game probably swings the other way.

[endaround]

3 hours ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

Here's the thing that makes me crazy about KC and the refs.....yes there was a defensive hold call on that key 3rd and 5 that would have negated an INT or given them a 1st down if the review did deem it an incomplete pass (which it should have since neither player demonstrated possession when that ball hit the ground).  But why is the defensive hold call overlooked by people about that entire sequence/call, when Mahomes' TD run late in the game was heavily influenced by an obvious offensive hold on the perimeter that wasn't flagged? Those type of subjective calls (defensive/offensive holding away from the ball, illegal contact, etc) that many people say could be flagged on nearly every play are simply not called with any consistency when the Chiefs are on the field. The defensive hold in that situation was marginal, and it occured on a receiver not involved in where the ball actually went.  Then later in the game we're seeing refs throw holding/PI calls on Bills' DBs getting launched from 30 yards downfield.

Also, why aren't we made aware of whatever late flag that was picked up by the officials on that 4th down heave a Bills receiver dropped?  I'd assume that flag got dropped in the event the Bills completed that pass somehow and got a 1st down, and it was some sort of ineligible downfield or illegal formation or offensive hold that would have negated that play, too.

There are layers to the insanity that is the officiating support KC routinely receives, and frankly expects, at critical points in playoff games.  I'm not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but it's to the point with the Chiefs and refs that I can't help myself - too much smoke not to be something going on.

This sounds exactly like a Vikings fan talking about the Packers.

[adambr2]

3 minutes into the Super Bowl and the Chiefs have already benefited enormously from an absolute atrocious call.

[yourout]

I'd be happy to never hear Brady do color ever again. 

Won't shut up 

[HarveysWBs]

My goodness this is atrocious football. Makes me feel about thirty percent better about Love.

[duewizard]

Everyday I curse Gute's name for taking Morgan over DeJean

[HarveysWBs]

Seems the Chiefs have more room to complain about the officiating so far, which is a flip of the prevailing narrative. I’m not crying for them, of course, but I think on some level, the NFL would be quite happy to have this narrative behind them and are relieved with how this is turning out.

[Fear The Chorizo]

The Eagles are just better....way better

[wildcat83]

1 hour ago, yourout said:

I'd be happy to never hear Brady do color ever again. 

Won't shut up 

Yea, he got the assignment because of his name.  Shame for the announcers who are actually good at their job.  This broadcast is painful.

[homer]

I like that the Chiefs are getting crushed. Now the Eagles can turn into the team everyone hates.

[yourout]

7 minutes ago, homer said:

I like that the Chiefs are getting crushed. Now the Eagles can turn into the team everyone hates.

That won't take long. 

Maybe by the end of the week.

[HarryDoyle]

Anyone else still think we should pass on Garrett?

[LouisEly]

I'm at peace with losing to the Super Bowl champs.  And holding them to the fewest yards and points of any team in the playoffs, including a gift short-field TD courtesy of the refs.

Arguably you could say that the Packers looked the best against them of any team the Eagles played.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Packers don't look so bad in the end.