Month: January 2022

What can the NFL do for an encore?

After all four divisional round games ended on the final play last week, it will be difficult for the conference title games to top them, but they figure to be close.

The Rams host the 49ers and the Chiefs host the Bengals Sunday, and both home teams are slight favorites.

The interesting thing is that both games are rematches of games at the end of the season. The curious thing is that both underdogs won.

The 49ers beat the Rams for the sixth straight time in the final regular season game and the Bengals beat the Chiefs in the second-to-last game.

Three of the four coaches in the game —Andy Reid of the Chiefs, Sean McVay of the Rams and Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers — have lost Super Bowls. Reid has lost two but won one. McVay and Shanahan have yet to win one. Zac Taylor of the Bengals hasn’t been in a Super Bowl.

Shanahan was also the offensive coordinator of the Falcons when they infamously lost to the Patriots despite having a 28-3 lead in the second half.

The Chiefs are aiming for their third trip in a row to the Super Bowl and are playing in their fourth consecutive conference title game.

The Chiefs-Bengals game figures to be a shootout between Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs and Joe Burrow of the Bengals although Joe Mixon also gives the Bengals a running threat.

The 49ers-Rams game features two quarterbacks in different situations. Jimmy Garoppolo could be playing his last game for the 49ers if they lose because the 49ers may be ready to move on to Trey Lance next year.

Matthew Stafford is in his first year with the Rams after failing to win a playoff game in 12 years in Detroit. Now he is trying to make his first Super Bowl.

The scores in their recent meetings were 27-24 49ers and 34-31 Bengals.

The NFL will be happy to have those scores again.

The divisional round weekend shows the NFL was right in changing all the rules to favor the offense in recent years.

The wide-open game set the stage for the best divisional round in NFL history.

Three of the four games were decided on a field goal on the final play, and the fourth was decided on a touchdown in overtime that climaxed a shootout between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.

San Francisco beat Green Bay mainly with special teams and defense, but quarterbacks ruled the day as Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Matthew Stafford and Jimmy Garoppolo advanced to the conference title games.

The losing quarterbacks were Tom Brady Aaron Rodgers, Allen and Ryan Tannehill.

Mahomes and Reid are going to the conference title game for the fourth year in a row and aiming for their third Super Bowl appearance in a row.

Garoppolo and Kyle Shanahan are aiming for their second Super Bowl appearance after losing the first one.

Burrow and Stafford, traded to the Rams this year, are going for their first Super Bowl appearance while Rams coach Sean McVay will be shooting for his second Super Bowl appearance. He lost his first with Jared Goff as his quarterback.

The Mahomes-Allen duel was an instant classic. Allen put the Bills ahead with a touchdown pass on fourth and 13 with 1:54 left. Trailing 29-26, Mahomes threw a 64-yard pass to Tyreek Hill to give the Chiefs a 33-29 lead with 1:02 left. Allen then came back with a 19-yard touchdown pass to put the Bills up 36-33 with 13 seconds left.

And then with some help from the Bills, Mahomes tied it up and sent it iinto overtime and the Chiefs won the toss and got the win.

This game will be remembered for a long time, especially if the Chiefs go on to win the Super Bowl.

The losses by Brady and Rodgers raised questions about their futures. Brady is 44 and said he will spend several weeks thinking about what he wants to return at age 45. It is easier to think about retiring at the end of a long season. After he recharges his batteries, he may not be able to walk away.

Rodgers will return, but he has to decide whether he wants to stay in Green Bay. He has the option of leaving, but may decide his best option is to stay. He was upset at the Packers for trading up to select Jordan Love on the first round two years ago but may be ready to smooth things over since Love hasn’t challenged him.

Another quarterback whose future could be in jeopardy is Tannehill. With Derrick Henry not in top form after coming back from an injury, Tannehill was outgunned by Burrow.

But if Henry returns at top form, they may decide Tannehill remains their best option. He was picked off three times by the Bengals.

The coach on the hot seat is Sean McDermott of the Bills. Their fans are upset that they couldn’t hold the lead with 13 seconds left against the Chiefs.

He decided not to have the Bills squib kick on the kickoff and then had them in a soft prevent defense that allowed Mahomes to complete two passes that put the Chiefs in position for a game-tying field goal. They won the coin toss and scored a touchdown to win the games.

Under the current rules, teams that win the coin toss are 10-1 and there is much talk about changing the rules so each team has a possession in overtime, but the owners have voted down that idea in the past.

Now there are three games left – the two conference title games and the Super Bowl.

It won’t be easy for them to match the drama of the divisional weekend.

Now there are eight teams left with their eyes on the NFL prize – the Vince Lombardi trophy.

Reputations will be made and lost that will last a lifetime in the final seven games starting with divisional round this weekend.

Only two coaches in the final eight –Andy Reid and Bruce Arians – have won Super Bowls and both are going for their second one. If Reid wins his second in three years, it will punch his HOF ticket, although he may make it anyway. Arians is trying to enjoy the select group that won back to back titles.

Surprisingly, Reid is only 18-15 in the playoffs in his two-decade coaching career.

Three of the eight quarterbacks left have won Super Bowls. Tom Brady is going for his eighth and Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes are going for their second one. Brady is trying to join Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterback to repeat twice.

Reid and Mahomes are going for the third consecutive Super Bowl appearance, trying to join Bill Belichick and Brady, who made it three times in a row as did Don Shula and Bob Griese. The record is four times in a row by Buffalo’s Marv Levy and Jim Kelly, although they lost all four.

Two coaches, Sean McVay of the Rams and Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers, are trying to reach the Super Bowl for the second time after losing their first appearance.

McVay changed quarterbacks since that loss and is going with Matthew Stafford, who won his first playoff game last week.

The 49ers are still going with Jimmy Garoppolo, who is back for the 49ers after he threw two picks in the Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs two years ago. Garoppolo could be traded at the end of the season because the 49ers have Trey Lance waiting in the wings. But if Garappolo wins the Super Bowl, do the 49ers move on from him?

Garoppolo is the only one of the eight quarterbacks whose job is in jeopardy. Brady could always retire but then retiring doesn’t seem to be his thing.

Matt LeFleur of the Packers, Mike Vrabel of the Titans, Zac Taylor of the Bengals, Sean McDermott of the Bills are all going for their first Super Bowl appearance.

The four home teams are the Titans, Bills, Bucs and Packers. The road teams are the Bengals at the Titans, Bills at Chiefs, 49ers at Packers and Rams at Bucs.

The best game will probably be the Chiefs-Bills. These two teams could play a lot of playoff games against each other in the coming years. Both seem set for long runs.

Green Bay is considered to have a big home field edge at Lambeau Field, but they are only 7-6 in their last 13 home playoff games.

And if the wild card round was a barometer, the TV ratings are likely to be off the charts.

As expected, the wild card weekend was very good for the NFL.

They made money with the two extra games by adding two more teams to the playoffs. And they got great TV ratings. The fans can’t get enough NFL football.

For the fans, though, it wasn’t too exciting. Four of the six games were blowouts. It was no surprise the two No. 7 seeds, the Steelers and Eagles were blown out by the Chiefs and Bucs.

And not that much of a surprise that New England couldn’t compete with Buffalo. The Patriots struggled down the stretch and had a rookie quarterback.

The surprising blowout was that Arizona couldn’t compete with the Rams. There are now questions about where the Cardinals go from here.

The two close games were the Bengals beating the Raiders to end a three-decade drought of playoff wins. And the Cowboys’ loss to the 49ers showed the Cowboys still aren’t as good as they think they are. The was a lot of chatter about the final spike but the Cowboys were outplayed.

So now the playoffs are down to eight teams that all think they have a shot at that Lombardi trophy.

Now the real playoffs begin this weekend.

The NFL is touting this as the super Wild Card weekend because there will be six games for the second year in a row and this time will include a Monday night game.

This format was created by adding a seventh team in each conference and having only one bye team. Problem is, the two seventh seeds – Pittsburgh and Philadelphia – don’t look too super and both are big underdogs.

The Steelers and Eagles are the only playoff teams that didn’t win at least 10 games. Last year, Chicago made it with an 8-8 record but easily beaten by New Orleans, 21-9.

The NFL will make money off the two extra games but they aren’t likely to be attractions for the fans.

Pittsburgh lost to Kansas City 36-10 in the regular season, even though the Chiefs sat on the lead in the second half when Patrick Mahomes threw just five passes. This game figures to be another rout and not exactly the kind of farewell the Steelers would like for Ben Roethlisberger.

Philadelphia lost to Tampa Bay 28-22 at home in the regular season but this time they are facing Tom Brady in the playoffs on the road. It will be rainy in Tampa this week, but it may stop before the 1 p.m. Sunday kickoff and not be a major factor.

The weather will be a factor in Buffalo, where the Bills will host the Patriots Saturday night. The NFL scheduled this game in prime time in sub-freezing weather instead of during the day because they think it will be a ratings attraction.

But the Patriots are limping into the playoffs with three losses in their last four games. The Pats did win in Buffalo during the season on a windy night when Mac Jones threw just three passes, but that is not likely to be a successful formular again.

The other three games – Cincinnati hosting Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon, Dallas hosting San Francisco on Sunday afternoon and the Rams hosting Arizona Monday night – figure to be close games. They are the best attractions this weekend.

The big question is whether all three home teams will win and knock out the wild card teams.

If that happens and all six division winners post victories, the Titans host the Bengals and the Packers host the Rams after the two home teams got first round byes.

The NFL’s last weekend of the regular season looked like it might be a lackluster weekend because so many teams had already clinched playoff spots or were heavily favored to clinch them.

But things changed when Jacksonville stunned the Colts, who would have made the playoffs if they had won.

Pittsburgh then stayed alive with a 16-13 overtime victory over the Ravens. Ben Roethlisberger completed a fourth-and-nine pass to keep the field-goal drive alive. If he missed it, it probably would have been the last pass of his career since a tie would have knocked both the Steelers and Ravens out.

So the Steelers victory ended the playoff hopes of both the Colts and Ravens, and all the Steelers needed was the Raiders and Chargers not to play for a tie for them to make it.

The Steelers’ chances seemed good when the Raiders took a 15 point lead in the fourth quarter. Then the Chargers rallied for two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime.

And the game remained tied as the teams traded field goals, the game was tied in the final minutes. Suddenly the Steelers looked like they could get knocked out by a tie.

Then things changed again. On the Raiders final drive, they appeared to be running out the clock to take the tie. They had a third-and-four at the Chargers 39 when the Chargers called timeout with 38 seconds left.

It may have been the most controversial move of the season after Josh Jacobs ran for 10 yards to put the Raiders in good field goal territory. They ran the clock down and Daniel Carlson kicked game-winner on the final play.

The Chargers said they called a timeout to get their run defense in but the real mistake by the Chargers was giving up the 10-yard run. If they had stuffed the Raiders, the Raiders probably would have punted and the game would have ended in a tie and both teams would be in the playoffs.

Instead, the Raiders and Steelers were in as the Chargers joined the Colts and Ravens on the outside looking in.

The Ravens started out 8-1 and lost their last six, five by a total of eight points. Twice coach John Harbaugh went for two at the end of games and the Ravens didn’t convert and lost both games.

Another surprise was San Francisco’s win over the Rams that knocked the Saints out of the playoffs and gave the 49ers a wild card berth. The Rams had already clinched the division title but are now the fourth seed.

Tennessee, as expected, clinched the top seed by beating the Texans and Buffalo clinched AFC East by beating the Jets. That relegated New England to a wild card spot although they lost to Miami anyway and limped into the playoffs, losing three of last four.

Miami fired Coach Brian Flores despite the victory. They were eliminated last week. He became the first coach to win seven in a row after losing seven in a row and wound up winning eight of his last nine games and was still fired.

Green Bay had clinched a bye and lost a meaningless game to Detroit and that cost the Lions the No. 1 pick since the Jaguars clinched it despite the win over Indianapolis.

So the Packers and Titans will be home this weekend enjoy a bye while the other six division winners will host the six wild card teams. Now the question is whether any of the six wild card teams, including the two seventh seeds – Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

They wouldn’t be in the postseason if they had added a seventh team in each conference to the playoffs. They get a chance to show they deserved to be playoff teams.

The NFL added a 17^th game this year, but it didn’t add much drama to the final weekend of the season.

The only game where the winner makes the playoffs and the loser goes home is the Sunday night game between the Chargers and Raiders.

In the unlikely event that Jacksonville would upset the Colts, they could both get in with a tie. The game was shifted to Sunday night because it has the most at stake.

The Colts can not only clinch a wild card spot with a win in Jacksonville, but they would eliminate the Pittsburgh-Baltimore winner.

Green Bay has already clinched the top seed in the NFC and Tennessee can clinch top seed in AFC by beating Houston.

Buffalo is expected to clinch the AFC East title with a victory over the Jets. If the Jets pulled off an upset, the Patriots can win the division with a win at Miami. If Buffalo wins, the Patriots get a wild card spot.

The Rams can clinch the NFC West by beating the 49ers. If Rams lose, Arizona can win the division by beating Seattle. If 49ers lose to Rams, New Orleans can win the final NFC wild card spot by beating Atlanta.

So if the favorites all win, Buffalo wins the AFC East, the Rams win NFC West, and the Colts get and Saints get wild card spots.

And winner of the Chargers-Raiders game gets a wild card spot.That means unless there are some upsets, there won’t be much drama in the last weekend of the season.

The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC now goes through Green Bay.

The Packers clinched the top seed in the NFC with a 13-3 record with the easy win over Minnesota, which was playing without Kirk Cousins. He was sidelined by a positive Covid test.

It is the third year in a row the Packers have gone 13-3 although this year they have one game left that is meaningless for them because the NFL is now playing a 17-game schedule.

But having home playoff games is no guarantee of success for the Packers. They are only 7-6 in their last 13 home playoff games since 2002.

And they have lost the conference title game two years in a row, including last year’s home loss to Tampa Bay. Two years ago they lost the title game at San Francisco.

Five more NFC teams – Dallas, Tampa Bay, Rams, Cardinals and Eagles – have clinched playoff spots. Dallas was the only one of the five teams to lose as the Cowboys lost to Arizona, which broke a three-game losing streak.

The Rams at least have a wild card spot and can win the division by beating the 49ers or if the Cardinals lose to the Seahawks. If Rams lose and Cardinals win, the Cardinals will win the division. And Rams will be a wild card team.

The 49ers and Saints are vying for the last wild card spot. The 49ers get it if they beat the Rams. If they lose to the Rams, the Saints can grab the spot by beating the Falcons.

There was a change at the top of the AFC when Tennessee moved into the No. 1 seed by ending the Dolphins’ seven game winning streak while the Chiefs were upset by Cincinnati. Tennessee can now clinch the No 1 seed by beating Houston in its finale. The bye is especially important for the Titans because it gives Derrick Henry another week to heal.

The Bills, Patriots, Chiefs and Bengals have also clinched playoff spots and the Colts figure to get a wild card spot by beating the Jaguars.

That would leave the Chargers and Raiders – two old rivals with new homes in recent years – fighting for the last spot. If the Jaguars pull the upset of the year and beat the Colts, the Chargers and Raiders could both get in by playing to a tie. That is also unlikely.

NFL teams are now going down the home stretch … playoff spots – six in the AFC – are still up for grabs going into the final two weeks of the regular season.

Kansas City, which plays Cincinnati in the early game on CBS Sunday, is the only AFC team to clinch a division title. The Chiefs at 11-4 are only playing for the top seed while Cincinnati is playing for a division title or a playoff spot if they don’t win the AFC North.

The game will match Patrick Mahomes vs. Joe Burrow in what is likely to be only the first of many matchups they will play over the coming years. They could play again in the playoffs this year.

The Bengals are 9-6 with a lead over the 8-7 Ravens, who host the Rams, and the 7-7-1 Steelers, who host the 7-8 Browns Monday night in what is likely to be Ben Roethlisberger last home game.

Buffalo and New England are 9-6 in a tie for the AFC East lead and both are expected to win with the Bills hosting Atlanta and the Patriots hosting Jacksonville. Since the Bills have the tie-breaker, they clinch the division by winning their last two against the Falcons and Jets. The Patriots would then be the wild card team.

Tennessee at 10-5 has a one-game lead over the 9-6 Colts in the AFC South with the Titans hosting Miami and the Colts hosting Las Vegas. Miami is at 8-7 with seven wins in a row. The Raiders are also at 8-7. Neither can afford another loss if they are to stay in the playoff hunt.

The Chargers at 8-6 are fighting for wild card when the host Denver.

The NFC picture is a big clearer with five teams in the playoffs. Three of them – the Packers, Cowboys and Bucs– have clinched division titles and two more – Rams and Cardinals – have clinched playoff spots. One will win the division title and the other will be the wild card team.

The Rams have a one-game lead and play the Ravens while the Cardinals have a tougher task against Dallas.

San Francisco and Philadelphia are both 8-7 and have the inside track on the final two wild card spots. The Eagles go to Washington and San Francisco hosts Houston so they should both with win.

Who are the real Buffalo Bills?

Are they the team that started off 4-1 and then fell to 8-6 including losses to Jacksonville and a home loss to New England in the wind when the Patriots threw just three passes?

Or are they the team that crushed New England last Sunday and didn’t have to punt once. That has never happened to a Bill Belichick team.

The Bills are now tied for first place in the AFC East with New England but they have the tie breaker and can win the division title by beating the Falcons and Jets in their final two regular season games.

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs clinched the AFC West title for the sixth consecutive year with a 36-10 rout of Pittsburgh and are 11-4 with the top seed in the AFC. The Chiefs are aiming for their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.

The Steelers, meanwhile, fell to 7-7-1 and are in full rebuilding mode. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger may have reached the end of the line.

Cincinnati took a one-game lead over the Ravens at 9-6 in the AFC North as Joe Burrow passed for 525 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-21 over the Ravens. They made no apologies for continuing to throw with a big lead. We find out how good the Bengals are when they take on the Chiefs.

The Ravens are still in the playoff hunt at 8-7 but those two costly decisions to go for two instead of playing for overtime may come back to haunt them.

The Chargers fell to 8-7 with a stunning loss to the Texans and now face two division games against 8-7 Las Vegas and 7-8 Denver to finish the season.

The Raiders beat the Broncos 17-13 to stay in the wild-card race, although Denver hasn’t been eliminated. Kansas City is the only AFC team to clinch a playoff spot but the Bills, Bengals, Titans, Colts and Patriots are in good position to make it.

That just leaves one spot likely open with the Chargers, Raiders and Dolphins all at 8-7. The Dolphins are the first team to win seven in a row after losing seven in a row.

Green Bay has the top seed in the NFC at 12-3 while four other NFC teams — Cowboys, Bucs, Rams and Cardinals — have clinched playoff spots. The Cardinals clinched despite a loss to the Colts.

The 49ers and Eagles, both 8-7, have the inside track on the final two spots while three 7-8 teams –Falcons, Saints and Vikings — have their playoff hopes hanging by a thread. The 49ers have the Texans and Rams left, while the Eagles have Washington and Dallas.