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[thspfc]

In terms of who I want to see win the Superb Owl:

1) Bengals
2) 49ers
3) Chiefs
4) Eagles

I know way too many annoying Eagles fans. The only time I've ever actively rooted for them was when they won the Super Bowl with backup Nick Foles (and it helped that that was against the Patriots). I have no problem with the Chiefs but would be happy to see someone else win.

Life comes at you fast. There was a lot of mutual respect between the Bills and Bengals dating back to Andy Dalton ending the playoff drought, and extending to the Damar Hamlin injury, which they handled with class. But things have taken a hard left turn thanks to the Bengals' seeming obsession with the neutral site game that wasn't and especially Eli Apple invoking Hamlin while trash talking Diggs. So, it seems much of Western NY will be rooting for the Chiefs.

Can't blame them for rubbing the neutral site AFC championship back in everyone's faces. Media was literally talking about it becoming a permanent thing depending on how it went. Talk about jumping the gun. Honestly it's pretty funny how Cincy has ruined everyone's fantasies about coin flips and neutral site games and the NFL "scripting" a Bills Super Bowl win because of Hamlin. Speedrunning "lovable losers to big bad winners" even faster than the Chiefs did.

[webny99]

Life comes at you fast. There was a lot of mutual respect between the Bills and Bengals dating back to Andy Dalton ending the playoff drought, and extending to the Damar Hamlin injury, which they handled with class. But things have taken a hard left turn thanks to the Bengals' seeming obsession with the neutral site game that wasn't and especially Eli Apple invoking Hamlin while trash talking Diggs. So, it seems much of Western NY will be rooting for the Chiefs.

Can't blame them for rubbing the neutral site AFC championship back in everyone's faces. Media was literally talking about it becoming a permanent thing depending on how it went. Talk about jumping the gun. Honestly it's pretty funny how Cincy has ruined everyone's fantasies about coin flips and neutral site games and the NFL "scripting" a Bills Super Bowl win because of Hamlin. Speedrunning "lovable losers to big bad winners" even faster than the Chiefs did.

They were looking for motivation and fuel for the "no one believes in us" argument. Zac Taylor even admitted it this week. But the whole neutral site thing is so ridiculous because literally every team sells advance tickets to the championship before they know if they'll be in it. Are the Chiefs riled up because the Bengals sold tickets to a potential Jags-Bengals championship? Of course not.

And I'm actually glad there won't be a neutral site game FWIW. I didn't like anything about that situation or the narratives it created. But the Bengals spinning it as "us against the world" -- and especially that the NFL used the Hamlin situation to negatively impact their season -- is just a bad look and taking it way too far.

[jgb191]

Every single Fall season, I have to hear it from the legions of Cowboys religious-like followers (even from many of my own relatives) here in my home-state:

"Cowboys have five Super Bowl rings; the Texans have ZERO!"

"Any JV team could beat the Texans!"

Anybody remember the movie "The Little Giants?"  It goes like that:  The Cowboys is that accomplished big brother widely admired accordingly, and the Texans are the youngest franchise, the little brother if you will, that just wants to be counted as a pro NFL team, but is mostly ignored (in some cases ridiculed) even by many in my state; so they have something to prove with that burning desire to beat the big brother.

The kicker is most Texan fans I know are former Cowboys fans.  Not a lot of Texan fans are former Oiler fans, so their fanbase is mostly ex-Cowboys fans.  So, when they complain about the Cowboys fanbase, I'm like, "Don't pretend like you weren't just doing that exact thing you are mad about a few years ago."  It's like when someone loses weight after being overweight for years, then they berate everyone for eating donuts like they weren't just doing that three months ago. 

I for one never had an interest in the NFL until September 8, 2002 because I never had a team to root for.  I was way too young to remember the Oilers, and by the time I was old enough to realize Houston had the Oilers, Bud Adams was just about to announce his relocation to Tennessee in the mid-1990s so there was no point in even supporting them, although the Titans are in our division, so I do like to see them do well as well as the Jaguars.  So yeah I, too, wasn't an Oilers fan. 

And yeah there are sore fans in every base....those that take winning for granted are the worst ones.  Many fans in every base don't realize how hard it is to win a single game, let alone win the Lombardi Trophy; only one winner per season, and the other 31 fall short.  Since the Texans entry into the league only 13 of the 32 teams have won the Super Bowl, and still several teams who have never even played in the Super Bowl all-time.  So I don't take winning for granted.

[Henry]

Since the Bengals are the only one of the last four teams standing that hasn't won a Super Bowl, I'll be rooting for them to go all the way. It was fun to see the Eagles do the same thing four years ago, when they also had no previous Lombardi trophies to show off.

[JayhawkCO]

Go Chiefs. Patty deserves more than one ring.

[jeffandnicole]

The media is getting worse and worse, coming up with stories that most people don't agree with.  They may need to interview 30 people, but once they find someone who agrees with their side of the story, that'll be the person you see on the news, seemingly giving them credibility.

Almost no one - not the teams, and not the fans - want neutral site games.  It's accepted for the Superbowl, but the few fans lucky enough to secure tickets also face steep pricing for airlines, hotels, and just about everything else involving the game.

But the whole neutral site thing is so ridiculous because literally every team sells advance tickets to the championship before they know if they'll be in it.

Eagles season ticket holders are charged for playoff tickets only when it's known what game they'll play.  Using this year as an example, I was charged the day after the Eagles clinched the first round bye for the Divisional round.  After the Eagles beat the Giants, I was then charged for the Championship game.

Tickets for the remaining unsold seats went on sale 5 days prior to the game being played. 

[webny99]

But the whole neutral site thing is so ridiculous because literally every team sells advance tickets to the championship before they know if they'll be in it.

Eagles season ticket holders are charged for playoff tickets only when it's known what game they'll play.  Using this year as an example, I was charged the day after the Eagles clinched the first round bye for the Divisional round.  After the Eagles beat the Giants, I was then charged for the Championship game.

Tickets for the remaining unsold seats went on sale 5 days prior to the game being played.

Yes, and I'm sure most teams do something similar. The tickets are still "sold" before the game is confirmed.

[webny99]

On another note... the five COTY finalists have been announced: Sirianni (Eagles), Shanahan (49ers), Daboll (Giants), McDermott (Bills), Pederson (Jags).

And there's at least another handful that you could argue should be on the list: Campbell (Lions), Carroll (Seahawks), Tomlin (Steelers), O'Connell (Vikings)... not to mention the two AFC Championship coaches. I don't think there's ever been such a broad field.

[kurumi]

Go Chiefs. Patty deserves more than one ring.

Old: Go Pats
New: Go Pat

[thspfc]

More news of Joe Judge being a confirmed terrible NFL coach: https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/01/26/inside-the-most-dysfunctional-patriots-season-under-bill-belichick-ive-never-seen-anything-like-it/

Especially considering the Giants’ relative success in their first year without him, I don’t understand why he’s not up there in the discussion of worst recent head coaches.

[1995hoo]

But the whole neutral site thing is so ridiculous because literally every team sells advance tickets to the championship before they know if they'll be in it.

Eagles season ticket holders are charged for playoff tickets only when it's known what game they'll play.  Using this year as an example, I was charged the day after the Eagles clinched the first round bye for the Divisional round.  After the Eagles beat the Giants, I was then charged for the Championship game.

Tickets for the remaining unsold seats went on sale 5 days prior to the game being played. 

Sounds similar to what at least the Washington Capitals, and I suspect other NHL teams, do for the Stanley Cup Playoffs: Season-ticket holders are eligible for "Pay as We Play," where you get billed a day after each playoff round for the home games actually played during that round (thus, for example, if they’re the higher seed and they win the series four games to one, you get billed for three games). Anyone who doesn’t have a season ticket either pays in full in advance for the entire playoffs or pays for individual games when buying them. All this mattered a little more in the days of paper tickets when season-ticket holders received ticket books in advance of the playoffs. Now, with fully electronic ticketing, they can make just a particular round available in the online account manager. (They don’t do it game-by-game because people who already know they can’t make a particular game, say due to business travel or whatever, need time to be able to transfer to a friend, sell the ticket, or donate it.)

It makes sense to offer something like that for season-ticket holders because the customer has an incentive to make good on the payment lest he lose his season ticket and the team has an incentive to keep the customers happy because they spend a lot of money with the team. (By all accounts the Washington Commanders' current ownership does not understand this principle, given their various lawsuits against season-ticket holders who run into financial trouble, but it’s not like they have to deal with home playoff games anyway. A friend of ours and her husband were long-time season-ticket holders. He died in 2014 or 2015. The team refused to let her out of her season ticket and said either she paid in full for both seats or she’d face legal action.)

[jgb191]

My prediction for this year's Super Bowl will a revenge of Super Bowl LIV -- Niners will avenge their last Super Bowl appearance and beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

[epzik8]

Most QB changes I've seen in one game

[Great Lakes Roads]

My prediction for this year's Super Bowl will a revenge of Super Bowl LIV -- Niners will avenge their last Super Bowl appearance and beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

The Eagles beat the 49ers in a score of 31-7! I was expecting a close game between the two teams...

[Max Rockatansky]

My prediction for this year's Super Bowl will a revenge of Super Bowl LIV -- Niners will avenge their last Super Bowl appearance and beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

The Eagles beat the 49ers in a score of 31-7! I was expecting a close game between the two teams...

What other result could there have been when suddenly you have no QB?

[Ted$8roadFan]

When your star Running Back is on the QB depth chart (Christian McCaffrey) and is a legitimate possibility of playing, it won’t end well. And for SF it didn't.

[thspfc]

I can’t think of a team that went from Super Bowl to dysfunction and back to the Super Bowl faster than the Eagles. Also, not to take credit away, but I can’t think of a team that faced a less resistant playoff path to the Super Bowl. They played a marginally above average Giants team and a team that literally could not throw a pass in the second half. But that’s why getting the 1 seed is so important.

[ethanhopkin14]

I can’t think of a team that went from Super Bowl to dysfunction and back to the Super Bowl faster than the Eagles. Also, not to take credit away, but I can’t think of a team that faced a less resistant playoff path to the Super Bowl. They played a marginally above average Giants team and a team that literally could not throw a pass in the second half. But that’s why getting the 1 seed is so important.

Maybe it's the jilted Cowboy fan in me, but I think had the Eagles played the 49ers of last week, they would have lost. 

[webny99]

I can’t think of a team that went from Super Bowl to dysfunction and back to the Super Bowl faster than the Eagles.

Interestingly, the Bengals and Eagles were both laughingstocks just two years ago. The Bengals lost Burrow to injury, and Wentz completely tanked. Both teams finished with just 4 wins and a tie - against each other! - to finish 4-11-1. There were major questions about Zac Taylor, and the season ended with an extremely low point for the Eagles (and the NFL) as they were the only team eliminated in the terrible NFC East and actively tanked in the season finale to avoid sending the 6-10 Giants to the playoffs. What a difference two years makes.

Also, not to take credit away, but I can’t think of a team that faced a less resistant playoff path to the Super Bowl. They played a marginally above average Giants team and a team that literally could not throw a pass in the second half. But that’s why getting the 1 seed is so important.

I certainly can't think of an example where the score in both games was so lopsided. There were some Pats seasons where they didn't face a great opponent until the Super Bowl - ironically including the 2017 season, where they met the Eagles, but they still had to sweat it out against a surging Jags team. And yet, this year's Eagles don't seem like an untested team because of their relative struggles in December. I've downplayed the bye week in the past, but it was absolutely key for this Eagles team.

(Also, in hindsight, the 49ers really should have had the #1 seed. They just needed to win one of three against the Falcons, Bears, or Broncos. It seems almost impossible that they went 0-3 against those teams.)

[Great Lakes Roads]

The Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl after beating the Bengals by a score of 23-20...

[Max Rockatansky]

Who dey?  Dey staying home.

[webny99]

So, it is the Chiefs who will advance from the AFC.

I didn't think Mahomes would fall to 0-4 against Burrow, didn't think Burrow would start his playoff career 6-0 against the AFC, didn't think the Chiefs would fall to 2-3 in AFCCG's under Mahomes. I guess all that is to say that I don't have a take other than... I'm not surprised. And very glad I didn't have a real rooting interest. Not quite Bills-Chiefs level of heartbreak for the Bengals, but it's up there... and there will be a lot of scrutiny of the refs following this one.

[US 89]

Refs handed that game to the Chiefs on a silver platter. The last late hit was probably the right call, but there were a lot of things that raised some eyebrows. The lack of an intentional grounding call on Mahomes on that second-to-last play when the same thing was a foul on the other side of the field, for starters.

[amroad17]

Who dey?  Dey staying home.

Yes, they are.   Patrick Mahomes was due to win one over Cincinnati and Joe Burrow.  Could this be the 2020's version of Tom Brady-Peyton Manning?  Oh well, start to prepare for next season after a bit of decompression time.

Hopefully, Super Bowl LVII will be a good game to watch.  The top teams from each conference are in--one easily, the other having to work harder for it.

As an aside, the mayor of Cincinnati is kind of idiotic, saying that there should be a paternity test to see if Joe Burrow is Patrick Mahomes father--a weak-assed attempt at saying "Who's your Daddy?".  Sometimes it is better for politicians to just keep their mouths shut about matters they are not experts at.  Nothing like stirring a pot that did not need to be stirred.

Apparently, officiating at the NFL level seems to be getting a bit worse every year based on what I am reading in these posts as I did not watch the game but would check my phone for score updates.

[jeffandnicole]

I can’t think of a team that went from Super Bowl to dysfunction and back to the Super Bowl faster than the Eagles. Also, not to take credit away, but I can’t think of a team that faced a less resistant playoff path to the Super Bowl. They played a marginally above average Giants team and a team that literally could not throw a pass in the second half. But that’s why getting the 1 seed is so important.

Maybe it's the jilted Cowboy fan in me, but I think had the Eagles played the 49ers of last week, they would have lost. 

A lot of people have been dismissing the Eagles like this throughout the season.  It started with many people saying the Eagles had an easy schedule, which was based on how the teams finished in 2021.  After everything was settled in 2022, Eagles had a fairly moderate schedule; certainly not an easy one, especially when you consider the entire Division which was 6 of their games made it to the playoffs.

The Giants won their Wild Card weekend game.  The next weekend, they're "marginally above average". Being that they're playing in a weekend that 75% of the teams have already packed up for the year, that seems to be "above average" in most books.

If the Eagles played the 49ers of last week, then that also means the 49ers wouldn't have played the Cowboys of that week either.  Good teams beat their opponents no matter who is playing. 

The 49ers had some tough QB luck recently, which rarely pans out well entering the playoffs.  For a recent example, the Eagles of 2017 lost their starting quarterback in week 14 of that season, had to go into the playoffs with their backup QB, and, oh, wait, yeah, nevermind.

Apparently, officiating at the NFL level seems to be getting a bit worse every year based on what I am reading in these posts as I did not watch the game but would check my phone for score updates.

Overall, I wouldn't say so.  But with the networks providing more and more cameras at each game, and the ease of commenting on social media, any possible error can instantly get blown out of proportion.  The replays often show how many calls the refs get right, but those are going to be quickly forgotten, because they were correct.