NFL (2024 Season)

[tmoore952]

With 5 minutes left in tonight's Rams-Lions game, I was very torn.

If Rams won, Eagles would host them, if they win tomorrow.

If Lions won. They haven't won in forever (but I was around to see them win a playoff game in 1991).

Now that the Lions have won, I am glad it turned out this way. Although, now the Eagles would play in Detroit if they win tomorrow. I don't think the Eagles are good enough to win it all, and if they can't, I'd rather see them lose relatively soon and get some rest.

[tmoore952]

I might be wrong, but I'm tempted to believe that Mike McCarthy's job is numbered since coaches like Bill Belichick, Peter Carroll, Mike Vrabel, Ron Rivera, Josh McDaniels, and (soon to be fired) Nick Siriani are now available.

And now makes it 28 years down, another eight more decades left to go before the Cowboys tie the all-time record for most years between World championships in any sport set by the Cubs.  The bad news is that it won't be too long before I have to hear all over again the Cowboys fans here in my area restart their mouths and prematurely crowning their team Super Bowl champions before the next preseason even starts, and keep bragging about how many Super Bowl rings they have.

I can see Belicick going there, he would want to go to a team that could win quickly, he is going to be 72 next season. Also one that has a quarterback, which he hasn't had since Brady left.

28 years is nothing compared to the 57 years the Eagles went between championships. Or the 66 years the Lions are at now.

I think you're jumping the gun on Siriani, it depends a bit on what happens in the playoffs. It would be hard for them to do any worse than the Cowboys just did.

[Max Rockatansky]

With 5 minutes left in tonight's Rams-Lions game, I was very torn.

If Rams won, Eagles would host them, if they win tomorrow.

If Lions won. They haven't won in forever (but I was around to see them win a playoff game in 1991).

Now that the Lions have won, I am glad it turned out this way. Although, now the Eagles would play in Detroit if they win tomorrow. I don't think the Eagles are good enough to win it all, and if they can't, I'd rather see them lose relatively soon and get some rest.

January 1992 actually, the Lions had a first round bye for that playoffs.  I distinctly recall watching them throttle the Cowboys and thinking that they were going to have a prosperous future with Barry Sanders. 

I wasn't torn, I'm a Lions fan and 32 years to wait for one playoff win was way too long. 

[webny99]

What a moment. The Lions are the 32nd and final NFL team to win a playoff game in the 21st century, and the Dolphins now hold the crown for longest playoff win drought having last won a playoff game in December 2000.


I am speechless about the other game played today.

My mind races back to the first-ever #2/#7 seed matchup between the Bills and Colts in which Philip Rivers nearly led the Colts to victory in what went on to become the only 1PM Saturday playoff game in NFL history after a Monday game was added the following season. It came down to the final play with the Colts driving and only needing a field goal to force overtime. But the Bills squeaked it out to start what ended up being a three-year 6-0 run for #2 seeds over #7 seeds. That was never going to last forever, but ended with a resounding thud this evening. Crazy to think that under the 12-team format, the Cowboys would have been on bye while the Packers would have missed the playoffs entirely.

An underrated subplot of the expanded playoffs: the Lions were playing tonight for an opportunity to host a divisional playoff game, and with the win they will now get to host the winner of tomorrows Bucs-Eagles matchup. That was not possible under the 12-team format as the #1 and #2 seeds automatically hosted the divisional games. But with the way today played out, I could legitimately see any one of the remaining teams coming out of the NFC. I mean probably not the Bucs, but stranger things have happened.

[Ted$8roadFan]

In the end, the Cowboys issues boil down to four words: General Manager Jerry Jones.

With many high caliber coaches on the market (witness the Belichick to Big D memes), Mike McCarthy could be on his way out. But if JJ is unwilling to cede some control of the franchise, why would an elite coach want to go there (besides the $$ and the spectacle)?

[jgb191]

I think you're jumping the gun on Siriani, it depends a bit on what happens in the playoffs. It would be hard for them to do any worse than the Cowboys just did.

In my opinion, Siriani should be fine so I agree with you.  However this offseason is considered "Manager's Choice" with several big-name coaches now available, which is very rare.  So I can imagine many teams out there contemplating getting one of the free agent coaches.

One more name I'm going to throw out there:  Bobby Slowik (currently Texans' OC) -- I believe a couple of teams might examine the possibility of him being a fit for a Head Coaching position.

[mgk920]

It's remarkable that the Dallas Cowboys continue to get such high television ratings, always being on Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football as often as permitted, and so much attention from the media, when you consider their record since their last Super Bowl win in January 1996:

28 total seasons
15 seasons:  missed playoffs
8 seasons:  one and done in the playoffs
5 seasons:  won their first playoff game but lost the next one

That's nearly three decades of what can only be described as mediocrity.

The Cowboys are not 'America's Team', they are '¡El Equipo de Mexico!'.



Mike

[triplemultiplex]

In the end, the Cowboys issues boil down to four words: General Manager Jerry Jones.

It's the one consistent factor in Dallas' post-1993 playoff woes. 
The schadenfreude in watching his little post-game interview was delicious.
Some times the world seems like an unjust place, but then a bad thing happens to a bad person and all feels right again.

Alright, I won't dunk on the 'boys too much more.  They got run over by a red hot Packer team that's suddenly firing on all cylinders.
I do wonder if a trend wasn't just started that reverses the previous default of deferring the kickoff if you win the toss.  The mentality for many years now has been kick it away to start so that maybe you can score at the end of the half, then get the ball to start the second half and score again, thus stacking points.
But maybe there's something to be said about saying nuts to that over-thinking strategy; take the ball first and score.  Make the other team play from behind right away. The Pack marched down the field on that first drive and set the tone for the rest of the game.  I wonder if that'll become the thing teams try and replicate for a while.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

In the end, the Cowboys issues boil down to four words: General Manager Jerry Jones.

It's the one consistent factor in Dallas' post-1993 playoff woes. 
The schadenfreude in watching his little post-game interview was delicious.
Some times the world seems like an unjust place, but then a bad thing happens to a bad person and all feels right again.

And this is also why they will likely struggle to attract top coaching talent. People are already throwing out the big names like Belichick and Harbaugh, but both of those guys will want more control than Jones is willing to give them. Jones's ego isn't about to let anyone else run anything.

[tmoore952]

In the end, the Cowboys issues boil down to four words: General Manager Jerry Jones.

It's the one consistent factor in Dallas' post-1993 playoff woes. 

Dallas won SB for (at end of) 1995 season as well (with Switzer as coach). But that's still a long time.

I personally feel things started going downhill for them when they let Jimmy Johnson go. Although, I do not remember the apecific details of why Johnson was let go and Switzer was brought in (and what I mean by that is -- was there a power struggle between Johnson and Jones?).

[Big John]

^^ 49ers won the SB in the 1994 season.

[tmoore952]

^^ 49ers won the SB in the 1994 season.

Noted and corrected.

[tmoore952]

Probably should go into the "minor sports things that annoy you" but I'll put it here, since the specific thought that is inspiring this post is NFL-related.

ESPN (and others) have been touting a statistic that "Dallas is the first team to win 12 games 3 years in a row, and fail to make Conference Championship game".

It's a bit easier to win 12 games in a 17 game season, and 17 game season has only been around for 3 years.
The more meaningful statistic would be to include teams to win 11-win seasons in a 16 game season.
That would take the stat back to 1978, and would be a bit more representative of the league's history.

My general rant -- Way too often, on FB, ESPN, you name it ---- statistics like this are posted, but very important caveats such as what is mentioned above (that might possibly change the answer) are not mentioned. I have a specific example in mind that is not NFL related, if I think about it I'll post it in the other thread.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm amused that at the end of the day the bad call that gave Cowboys the win over the Lions really meant nothing.  The streak of folding in playoff games the Cowboys are on is quite fascinating considering they usually have a solid roster. 

[hobsini2]

With 5 minutes left in tonight's Rams-Lions game, I was very torn.

If Rams won, Eagles would host them, if they win tomorrow.

If Lions won. They haven't won in forever (but I was around to see them win a playoff game in 1991).

Now that the Lions have won, I am glad it turned out this way. Although, now the Eagles would play in Detroit if they win tomorrow. I don't think the Eagles are good enough to win it all, and if they can't, I'd rather see them lose relatively soon and get some rest.

That's if the Eagles who are in a freefall wake up. I got Tampa winning.

[tmoore952]

With 5 minutes left in tonight's Rams-Lions game, I was very torn.

If Rams won, Eagles would host them, if they win tomorrow.

If Lions won. They haven't won in forever (but I was around to see them win a playoff game in 1991).

Now that the Lions have won, I am glad it turned out this way. Although, now the Eagles would play in Detroit if they win tomorrow. I don't think the Eagles are good enough to win it all, and if they can't, I'd rather see them lose relatively soon and get some rest.

That's if the Eagles who are in a freefall wake up. I got Tampa winning.

I did say "if", in what you quoted from me.

Although, after yesterday's Cowboys game, who knows?

[Great Lakes Roads]

Bills won... Now it's time for an ugly game between the Eagles and the Bucs!

[webny99]

The entire Bills organization, players, and fans have been waiting quite literally years for an opportunity to host the Chiefs in a big game. They've played five straight at Arrowhead dating back to the 2020 AFC Championship which feels like a lifetime ago. But this year, they squeaked past the Chiefs in the regular season to clinch the tiebreaker they ended up needing to earn the #2 seed and the right to play at home in the divisional playoffs. And so they will face off against the Chiefs next Sunday night in Orchard Park in what should be an electric divisional round finale. It will also be the first true "road" playoff game of Mahomes' career, excluding the two neutral site Super Bowls and the one coincidental road Super Bowl which had limited fan attendance.

Oh, and they did absolutely have to beat the Steelers tonight and thank goodness they did so without too much drama (aside from a missed 27-yard field goal that would have made it a 3-score game).

[epzik8]

C.J. Stroud revenge game in Baltimore next week???

[JayhawkCO]

C.J. Stroud revenge game in Baltimore next week???

I don't follow college football all that much. Was there some Ohio State/Maryland game of impact I'm not remembering?

[CoreySamson]

C.J. Stroud revenge game in Baltimore next week???

I don't follow college football all that much. Was there some Ohio State/Maryland game of impact I'm not remembering?

No. The Ravens did however crush the Texans in Week 1 of this year.

[Henry]

I should've known that the playoffs are where Dallas' biggest downfall lies. So now I'll be rooting for the 49ers in the Divisional round.

And although I'm a diehard Bears fan, I enjoyed watching the Lions win their first playoff game since 1992. Also, Jared Goff beating Matthew Stafford was quite a fun thing to see, as they were traded for each other, and one of them led the Rams to a Super Bowl win in 2022.

[JayhawkCO]

C.J. Stroud revenge game in Baltimore next week???

I don't follow college football all that much. Was there some Ohio State/Maryland game of impact I'm not remembering?

No. The Ravens did however crush the Texans in Week 1 of this year.

25-9 is a crushing and worthy of a revenge game?

[Great Lakes Roads]

With the Eagles' horrible loss over the Bucs, expect a ton of firings to happen sometime this week!

[tmoore952]

With the Eagles' horrible loss over the Bucs, expect a ton of firings to happen sometime this week!

I expect the OC and DC to go. I'm not sure about the head coach.

Outside of OC and DC problems, I wonder if there is something much more deep rooted going on (don't ask me to define what, I have no idea). I do wholeheartedly believe that Hurts is injured more than was let on. And with Brown out, and all the injuries in the 4th quarter tonight, even if they won tonight, they weren't going to last too much longer.

Aikman IMO hit it on the head when he said in the 4th quarter that the change in OC and DC can (and did) have a huge effect on a team.

What needs to happen is that the Eagles need to hire away an OC or a DC from one of the teams that reach the championship games or the Super Bowl. That's what happened to them last year. Some other team can collapse next year. Every fan base should experience a year like this. It will humble you. (I said in an earlier post that 10-1 was a mirage. I still feel that way. I never saw the team play this year like it did last year, except maybe in one or two games).

But then two minutes later the broadcasters mentioned how the Bucs had a new OC this year too. Sometimes you can't win (that's the Eagles fan in me saying that).

I somewhat expected the Eagles to lose, but not as thoroughly as this. But I will say, Tampa Bay has a very good defense. It'll be interesting to see how they match up with the Lions.