NFL Divisional Round weekend thread

I’ve evolved from being tired of Mahomes and the Chiefs to simply impressed by their greatness. That guy is nails. Allen makes a lot of ooh and aah plays and then by the fourth quarter you’re feeling good with him on PlayStation, maybe had one too many, and inevitably try to overdo it. He’s a knucklehead, still, injuries on defense be damned.

 

That doesn't change the fact that they had three chances to win Sunday and they went 3-and-out, 3-and-out and missed 44-yard field goal. That injured defense forced a turnover in a dire situation after a stupid fake punt and then got another stop. So yes it is on McDermott. You have to win that game and the BEST they could do was attempt to tie it with 1:45 left and Patrick Mahomes on the other side of the field. We know how that was going to end.

 

If I owned Tampa Bay, Todd Bowles would be fired for the way he handled the final 40 seconds and the press conference answer

 

Yes.
If it was longer than 5 yards downfield, which was very close. If I remember, it was 3rd and 6.

 

Agreed, but the Chiefs not recovering that fumble by Allen wasn't just luck. Dalton Kincaid saved them on that one, reaching out to tip it away from a defender so one of his teammates had the opportunity to fall on it.

 

It might have been more than that. Losing Milano and White was huge. I think Bernard was Milano's replacement. Multiple hits at the same position can be devastating. That said, I think you are right about that last drive. They weren't aggressive enough and Pacheco made them pay for it.

 

I don't think it was more than five yards downfield, so it was probably PI or nothing.

 

That's becoming more and more a thing in regard to the "unwritten rules," it's considered cool to "know when you're beaten" and quit in the final minute of a game. Last week I saw a D1 basketball game in which Team A had an 8-point lead with under a minute left, and Team B refused to foul or even really pressure the ball. Team A responded by dribbling out the shot clock and turning it back over with about 28 seconds left. How sportsmanlike: both teams quit in the final minute.

I mean yeah it's a longshot, you're putting together a chain of like five 15% probabilities in a row that have to hit for you, yeah I hate it when games drag out, but shit, that's your job. You're trying to win. If the opposing fans don't like it, fuck 'em.

 

The sad thing is it wasn't a longshot -- Detroit fucked up and snapped too early in the playclock that if Tampa called timeout, there was like 33 seonds left. And a 48-yard field goal isn't a gimme. Make them make that field goal.

And then in the press conference to be: there's 12 seconds left and it was over. he obviously wasn't paying attention and assumed the game was over. If they had been down 11 already, yeah I get it. But it's such a bad look all around.

 

I just think Patrick Mahomes is damn good. And Josh Allen is damn good too, but not quite as damn good.

 

The thing about the Bills is that unless Miami drastically improves, they've got pretty much a lock on the AFC East. That is due to one guy, Allen. I get how it is policy to rank on playoff-losing quarterbacks, but without Allen last night, Buffalo loses by more than 10. Strike that. Without Allen, the Bills aren't a playoff team at all.

 

The point is that Josh Allen is elite, but Mahomes is in a rarefied air that very, very few quarterbacks ever reach.