2025-26 NFL Playoffs Thread

[yourout]

54 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

Less than four minutes into the game and Seattle already has this game wrapped up. We could have the Final Four from hell this year with Seattle, Chicago, New England and Denver.

Yeah that would be as bad as it gets.

[yourout]

How does every other team routinely pop 50+ yarders and we can't even hit Xtra points when it matters?

[HarryDoyle]

And now Bo Nix suffered a broken bone in his ankle that will end his season and we will now get Jarrett Stidham instead.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

22 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

And now Bo Nix suffered a broken bone in his ankle that will end his season and we will now get Jarrett Stidham instead.

Broncos fans told me injuries are part of the game when Parsons went down. And Payton is an ******, so, whatever. 

[yourout]

23 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Broncos fans told me injuries are part of the game when Parsons went down. And Payton is an ******, so, whatever. 

He is an ass but if you had to pick between him and MLF to get to a super bowl he would win in a landslide. 

His abrasive personality would only get a couple of shots but he is light years ahead of MLF.

[HarveysWBs]

There is a possible world where our third quarter against the Bears looked like this third quarter for the Seahawks, and it makes me sad to think of it.

[adambr2]

55 minutes ago, yourout said:

He is an ass but if you had to pick between him and MLF to get to a super bowl he would win in a landslide. 

His abrasive personality would only get a couple of shots but he is light years ahead of MLF.

Careful, I got a big thumbs down in the Packers/Broncos game thread for pointing out the obvious fact that Payton is a better HC than MLF.

[adambr2]

Hate this for Josh Allen. Really wanted this for him with us out.

[yourout]

39 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Hate this for Josh Allen. Really wanted this for him with us out.

Yeah that really sucks. Would like to see him get a ring.

[HarryDoyle]

Honestly. It's a miracle the Bills even got the game to overtime with their four turnovers and then the overtime Cooks catch for an interception.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

8 hours ago, yourout said:

He is an ass but if you had to pick between him and MLF to get to a super bowl he would win in a landslide. 

His abrasive personality would only get a couple of shots but he is light years ahead of MLF.

Is he? Because he has one Super Bowl and a lot of coming up short in big games. His win % is almost identical to Mike McCarthy. 

[adambr2]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Is he? Because he has one Super Bowl and a lot of coming up short in big games. His win % is almost identical to Mike McCarthy. 

You say one Super Bowl like it’s a small detail. If Matt Lafleur could even just reach one Super Bowl, let alone win one, half of the arguments that his detractors like myself have wouldn’t be valid arguments.

I don’t care for Sean Payton personally and when he was hired I was right where you are on him. But that Broncos organization was in rough shape from the Russell Wilson trade when he took over. Payton has already accomplished as much with 2 years of Bo Nix as MLF has with 7 years of Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

16 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Payton has already accomplished as much with 2 years of Bo Nix as MLF has with 7 years of Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love.

No he hasn't. MLF and Rodgers went to 3 of these games. I get that we all want MLF fired but that just isn't true. Lest we forget they were a losing team when MLF took over, too. And they drafted a 1st round QB for Payton.

Being better than MLF is a low bar to clear IMO. I'll give anyone that Payton is better. But a huge chunk of his tenure with the Saints is playing good regular season ball and losing to a lower seed in the playoffs. Not sure he even has a Super Bowl if not for Brett Favre. It's textbook recency bias to be back on his jock again. He's a fine coach. I don't think he's this super genius wizard that we are constantly told he is.

[HarryDoyle]

An ass as a head coach is just what this team needs. Ben Johnson has instilled a dog mentality in Chicago. Where is the dog on this team?  

 

[adambr2]

4 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

No he hasn't. MLF and Rodgers went to 3 of these games. I get that we all want MLF fired but that just isn't true. Lest we forget they were a losing team when MLF took over, too. And they drafted a 1st round QB for Payton.

Being better than MLF is a low bar to clear IMO. I'll give anyone that Payton is better. But a huge chunk of his tenure with the Saints is playing good regular season ball and losing to a lower seed in the playoffs. Not sure he even has a Super Bowl if not for Brett Favre. It's textbook recency bias to be back on his jock again. He's a fine coach. I don't think he's this super genius wizard that we are constantly told he is.

3? They’ve been to 2, and lost they both. So it’d be safe to say if Denver wins next weekend, he’s already accomplished more with them than MLF has here.

The Packers weren’t great when MLF took over, but he still had Aaron Rodgers, not a washed Russell Wilson and no picks to work with because of that deal.

I didn’t say he’s a super genius wizard. I just said he’s a better head coach than Matt Lafleur.

[adambr2]

9 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

An ass as a head coach is just what this team needs. Ben Johnson has instilled a dog mentality in Chicago. Where is the dog on this team?  

 

Agreed. Give me a HC any day that says “eff the Bears” in the locker room after the game.

Our current one may as well trot out to midfield in a sundress to shake Ben Johnson’s hand especially after the last two games.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

14 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

3? They’ve been to 2, and lost they both. So it’d be safe to say if Denver wins next weekend, he’s already accomplished more with them than MLF has here.

The Packers weren’t great when MLF took over, but he still had Aaron Rodgers, not a washed Russell Wilson and no picks to work with because of that deal.

I didn’t say he’s a super genius wizard. I just said he’s a better head coach than Matt Lafleur.

It's just a combination of everyone rightfully tired of MLF + Payton winning a game yesterday. If the argument is that he's better than MLF, ok fine. I really don't think he is anything special. It would be hard not to replicate the success he had in N.O. with Drew Brees. And honestly, they missed the playoffs 6 times, went 7-9 for three straight years and played in a single Super Bowl. He gets slob knobbed for some mysterious reason and mostly evades the treatment that a guy like McCarthy gets.

He won a Super Bowl 17 years ago and has had an arguably worse, less consistent trajectory than the Packers since then.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

26 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

An ass as a head coach is just what this team needs. Ben Johnson has instilled a dog mentality in Chicago. Where is the dog on this team?  

 

I don't think being an ass matters or not. Just don't be a dope. But I think Ben Johnson knew exactly what he was doing with that 2x a year comment, he was getting into Matty's head, which seems to be something known around the league, and he did.

[adambr2]

14 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I don't think being an ass matters or not. Just don't be a dope. But I think Ben Johnson knew exactly what he was doing with that 2x a year comment, he was getting into Matty's head, which seems to be something known around the league, and he did.

In Matt’s case I think he absolutely could use a little bit more of an edge. I think he’s too “nice” and it translates a little bit into the identity of this team. We have a reputation for being soft. We have a reputation for not knowing how to respond when someone gets rough with us and fights back. Usually our response is just stupidity in the form of 15 yard personal foul penalties, not more intense football.

Things like MLF and Eberflus going to basketball games together were kind of ridiculous. I think Matt expected the same kind of relationship with Ben Johnson. I think he expected the warm handshakes, pats on the shoulder and short post-game conversation at midfield.

When Ben talked about how much he enjoyed beating MLF twice a year, MLF seemed totally miffed. He genuinely didn’t know how to react or respond to a rival not liking him because he’s a rival. 

[homer]

Buffalo got screwed. Bo Nix getting hurt was karma.

[adambr2]

I will be very curious to see what the Bills do with McDermott. 

I am still blown away by the MLF extension:

- He lost his last 5 games

- He blew an 18 point lead in the last game against his division rivals

- He hasn’t finished better than the 7 seed in the conference in 4 seasons and has won one playoff game during that span.

- After all that, which would have likely earned him his walking papers much earlier in just about any other NFL city, he is going to likely get a 50% or more raise and multiple more years of commitment.

If McDermott gets a pink slip, MLF becomes the longest tenured NFL head coach never to play in the Super Bowl.

[homer]

The extension does not surprise me. Look at the retreads getting jobs and interviews; Stefanski has won 1 playoff game in six years and has a career record of 45 - 56. Mike McDaniel has won 0 playoff games in 4 years and has a career record of 35 - 33. Jim Schwartz and Matt Nagy have interviewed for multiple jobs, with career records of 29-51 and 34-31, respectively.  Jason Garrett is interviewing for jobs. McCarthy might get his third shot (at least he won a Super Bowl, albeit during the Obama administration). 

[HarveysWBs]

While I agree that MLF, and the team generally, could probably use more of an edge, I think discussions about this get silly very quickly (which is not so much me saying that’s a problem on this board, but in some of the wilder corners of Packer fandom it’s more of an issue). Allow me to indulge in some recent examples:

- Robert Saleh had his rather damning quote a few years ago when we lost to the Jets where he talked about “dragging [the Packers] out to deep water and realizing they can’t swim.” Cool, cool, and probably even accurate—and had to hurt coming from MLF’s best friend—but doesn’t change the fact that the Jets are still the Jets and Saleh got to go back to San Fran and watch his D get boat raced last night by a divisional opponent. Maybe all Saleh’s bravado kept the Seahawks from scoring 50?

- Dan Campbell started with “biting kneecaps” and the Lions got to wear “Green Bay Sucks” shirts for a year and now he’s crying in postgame pressers.

- Now Ben Johnson has his little boomlet about beating MLF twice a year and “F the Packers” yadda yadda.

It’s all the same garbage. There’s having an edge and there’s being a performative macho bung-hole. Mike McCarthy won a Super Bowl and as far as I can tell is a man of unimpeachable character. But his offensive lines were willing to immediately throw down if someone lay hands on Rodgers late or out of bounds. Andy Reid seems like one of the nicest dudes in the league and his bona fides are beyond question, meanwhile there are some absolute dogs on that roster that will rip your heart out. That’s what I want.

I am on record thinking this was time for a coaching change. I still think that’s the case, but obviously my thoughts on the matter change nothing. I have little reason to expect dramatically better results next year. But if the team needs some more intensity, that isn’t just a HC thing. I think the next DC will have a lot to say about that, as will Parsons and Kraft stepping back between the lines. That’s where the hope has to be if there is any.

[homer]

Bears are getting very favorable weather. 

[HarryDoyle]

6 hours ago, homer said:

Buffalo got screwed. Bo Nix getting hurt was karma.

Buffalo also shouldn't have turned the ball over four times, including a fumble at the end of the first half when they were better served taking a knee and going into halftime only down by seven. The officiating was certainly questionable, but Buffalo also had a lot of self-inflicted wounds as well. I can't feel too sorry for them.