NFL (2020-2024)

[Big John]

(Replaying that classic meme) "See that son, that's the Super Bowl, no Lion has ever been there!"

Mike

Technally, Goff was there when he was with the Rams.

[epzik8]

I'm totally down for a Ravens-Commanders or Eagles Super Bowl now.

[dvferyance]

I could see Detroit losing to Philadelphia but losing to Washington? You got to be kidding me. As a Colts fan I remember what a heartbreaking end to our 2005 season was. At least we came back and won it all the following year.

[thspfc]

What a game. So many great players on the field. Refreshing after coaching blunders and referee blunders took over yesterday. And the most anticipated game of the year (so far) is still to come . . .

If people hate NFC east primetime games, maybe a different division should start winning something. Best in the NFC 2 of the last 3 years.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Eagles vs. Commanders as our NFC Championship game? That's going to be a good game next weekend!

[webny99]

Eagles-Commanders is sneakily one of the best rivalries in the entire NFL, and I don't say that lightly. A true classic division rivalry where you never know what you're going to get when they play, but it's always competitive.

[JayhawkCO]

Eagles-Commanders is sneakily one of the best rivalries in the entire NFL, and I don't say that lightly. A true classic division rivalry where you never know what you're going to get when they play, but it's always competitive.

I would say that each team would say that the other is their third least liked in the division though.

[SEWIGuy]

I could see Detroit losing to Philadelphia but losing to Washington? You got to be kidding me. As a Colts fan I remember what a heartbreaking end to our 2005 season was. At least we came back and won it all the following year.

How did you get to be a Colts' fan?

[ZLoth]

A hint as to who I will be rooting for in next week's NFC Championship game...

[Great Lakes Roads]

Who's ready for another Bills-Chiefs matchup- AFC Championship game?

[Max Rockatansky]

My wife and her family today in Firebaugh proposed a drinking game.  Essentially every time they mention Firebaugh in a Bills broadcast everyone has to take a shot.  Probably not the best idea on a Sunday afternoon but I can take the following Monday off.

[dvferyance]

I could see Detroit losing to Philadelphia but losing to Washington? You got to be kidding me. As a Colts fan I remember what a heartbreaking end to our 2005 season was. At least we came back and won it all the following year.

How did you get to be a Colts' fan?

Peyton Manning.

[RZF]

My wife and her family today in Firebaugh proposed a drinking game.  Essentially every time they mention Firebaugh in a Bills broadcast everyone has to take a shot.  Probably not the best idea on a Sunday afternoon but I can take the following Monday off.

Yes broadcasters, I get it, Josh Allen is from a small farming town in California. No need to repeat it 15 times.

[webny99]

WOW. The Bills narrowly avoid the fate of adding to their resume of four straight Super Bowl losses with an NFL-record fourth-straight divisional round loss.

Instead, their 2024 season continues on with strong parallels to Josh Allen's breakout season in 2020:

• 13 regular season wins
• Only 1 multi-score loss
• Win AFC East
• #2 seed in the playoffs
• Win in the wild card round
• Beat the Ravens in the divisional playoffs
• Advance to AFC Championship in Kansas City

And now, of course, is where the rubber meets the road, and where the vibes and expectations have shifted massively since four years ago. Will the 2020 trajectory continue or will they FINALLY get past the Chiefs and back to the Super Bowl?

[webny99]

As for the actual game, it was honestly a very strange feeling being on the right side of a team making brutal mistakes for once. Mark Andrews is getting heavily criticized for dropping the 2pt conversion that would have tied the game, but I don't pin the result on that one play at all. It was the earlier failed 2pt conversion* and 3 turnovers that cost the Ravens and put them in the position to begin with. Plus, even if he makes that catch, the Bills have over a minute to put a game winning drive together, and even if that doesn't happen, overtime is a coin-flip at best. Failing on the 2pt play eliminated their most likely path to victory, but the odds were stacked against preventing a Bills score in regulation and/or winning in OT anyways.


*I think the first 2pt attempt was too early in the game to worry about the advantage of being tied vs. down by one point, and the scenario that played out is exactly why. Had they kicked the XP the first time, they wouldn't have had to go for 2 the second time.

[Max Rockatansky]

The Ravens had the same issue the Lions did, they turned the ball over way too many times.

[webny99]

Eagles-Commanders is sneakily one of the best rivalries in the entire NFL, and I don't say that lightly. A true classic division rivalry where you never know what you're going to get when they play, but it's always competitive.

I would say that each team would say that the other is their third least liked in the division though.

Interesting. I think I'd agree for Eagles - meaning they hate the Giants and Cowboys more - but for the Commanders I think the Cowboys and Eagles are both more hated the Giants. Washington fans following this thread please correct me if I'm wrong here.

[webny99]

The Ravens had the same issue the Lions did, they turned the ball over way too many times.

In fact all four losing teams this weekend had turnover issues.

[CoreySamson]

The Ravens had the same issue the Lions did, they turned the ball over way too many times.

In fact all four losing teams this weekend had turnover issues.

Unless you consider downs and missed/blocked field goals as turnovers (which is a valid opinion to have, I suppose), the Texans did not turn over the ball once.

Honestly, if you discount the special teams and offensive line problems, the Texans had a decent game (probably their best divisional round game effort, well, ever!). I don't think that the Texans would have won if the refs called the game completely fair, but I do think that the game would have been closer. It's absolutely nuts how opportunistic KC was in that game.

[webny99]

In fact all four losing teams this weekend had turnover issues.

Unless you consider downs and missed/blocked field goals as turnovers (which is a valid opinion to have, I suppose), the Texans did not turn over the ball once.

Yes, I do consider turnover on downs to be a turnover, and I was sort of grouping "special teams issues" in with turnover issues even though they're technically distinct.

Honestly, if you discount the special teams and offensive line problems, the Texans had a decent game (probably their best divisional round game effort, well, ever!). I don't think that the Texans would have won if the refs called the game completely fair, but I do think that the game would have been closer. It's absolutely nuts how opportunistic KC was in that game.

I agree it was a strong effort on both sides of the ball considering their talent deficiency. It's definitely fair to criticize the officiating but I don't think that necessarily swung the game either. Though it's hard to say for sure when you have the effects of multiple big calls compiling, they probably weren't winning with that O-line and special teams performance.

[webny99]

Not going to answer why you think the NFC doesn't have any star quarterbacks?

I completely missed this earlier but I think divisional round weekend answered that question sufficiently. Besides arguably Stafford, Jayden Daniels is the closest the NFC has to a superstar QB... and he's a rookie.

my point was that webny99 is saying that the NFC is wide open while the AFC has clear favorites. In my opinion, there are three clear favorites from both conferences.

Two of the NFC favorites were bounced before the conference championships.

the teams in NFC North division look as imposing as any team in the league.

The NFC North went 0-3 in the playoffs.

On the note of which conference has more teams capable of making a run, the most generous possible position for your argument is that it's 3-2 in favor of the AFC. KC/BUF/BAL vs. DET/PHI. That's not enough of a gap for me to completely disregard the depth of the NFC.

That was never my argument. My argument was that *any* NFC team was capable of making a run (because there were no dominant teams) while only 3 AFC teams were capable (because no other playoff entries were good enough to make it past those 3).

[Max Rockatansky]

Despite how Goff played this last game, how exactly he not a top five Quarterback?  Statistically if he has been playing like one the last several seasons and he does have a conference championship appearance (and a previous Super Bowl appearance with the Rams).  I'm not saying he on the same level as Allen or Mahomes, but he certainly right there with someone like Lamar Jackson.  Likewise, the resume of Jalen Hurts suggests he has been floating around being a top five quarterback in the NFL.  And yes, right now Jayden Daniels appears to be on track to be in this conversation sooner rather than later.

As much as a like Matt Stafford, he hasn't been a top five level quarterback in the NFL since the Rams won a Super Bowl.   

[mgk920]

Eagles vs. Commanders as our NFC Championship game? That's going to be a good game next weekend!

Kind of like the Packers at the Bears in 2011.

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

I'm not saying he on the same level as Allen or Mahomes, but he certainly right there with someone like Lamar Jackson.

Oh my. That is a terrible take. Lamar Jackson lead the league in all sorts of categories this year including passer rating, QBR, yards per attempt, net yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, etc.  He threw 41 TDs and 4 interceptions.  Goff has only once lead the league in anything - yards per catch back in 2017.

Jackson has won two MVPs and has been first team all pro 3 times. (He also could win it this year.) The best Goff has finished in MVP voting is sixth back in 2022.

I guaranty you that if the Lions could trade Goff for Jackson, they would do so in a heartbeat. Wouldn't even pause. And if the Ravens made that trade, the fans would tear the stadium down.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm not saying he on the same level as Allen or Mahomes, but he certainly right there with someone like Lamar Jackson.

Oh my. That is a terrible take. Lamar Jackson lead the league in all sorts of categories this year including passer rating, QBR, yards per attempt, net yards per attempt, touchdown percentage, etc.  He threw 41 TDs and 4 interceptions.  Goff has only once lead the league in anything - yards per catch back in 2017.

Jackson has won two MVPs and has been first team all pro 3 times. (He also could win it this year.) The best Goff has finished in MVP voting is sixth back in 2022.

I guaranty you that if the Lions could trade Goff for Jackson, they would do so in a heartbeat. Wouldn't even pause. And if the Ravens made that trade, the fans would tear the stadium down.

Lamar Jackson gags in big games.  Much of Jackson's passing game relies on him being mobile to buy time for open receivers versus staying in the pocket.  When he is forced to stay in pocket against better defenses he tends to produce really bad turnovers like last night.  What happens as he ages and suddenly becomes less mobile? 

A lot of pressure was take off Lamar Jackson this year because of Derrick Henry.  That most certainly helped with boosting opening up the Ravens passing game.  Aside from the third quarter the Bills contained Derrick Henry last night which forced the Ravens offense to rely on Jackson to beat them. 

I'm not denying that most fans would prefer a flashy mobile quarterback.  I do question the narrative that it yields superior results.  Regular season MVPs are nice, but they don't amount to much unless it comes with a Super Bowls.  I guess we'll see if Josh Allen has what it takes to beat the Chiefs in the playoffs and have an opportunity to win a Super Bowl.  I'd argue this is the best chance they are likely to ever have.

And I'm not saying Goff doesn't have a tendency to fold in the big moment. He certainly did against the Commanders with four turnovers.