National Football League

Page 803 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
I would agree that Buffalo is the best team right now. The key to their win was turnover free football & execution of their running game with Cook & the rotation all contributing. Allen had a sub-par game throwing the ball but weather could have been part of that, even for him.

Baltimore, OTOH, can not turn the ball over 3 times on a road playoff game against a team like Buffalo & expect to win. And on the 2-pt conversion attempt they failed to execute which would have kept them alive for possible OT.

I'm disappointed in Baltimore because how many more chances are they going to get a shot at the SB? 12 wins & another division title this season, another MVP possibility for Jackson, Derrick Henry, who's running the ball superbly & injury free, added to your team, and they come up short...again. This team's legacy will go down in history as underachieving never able to win the "big one" let alone even get to the SB (having Jackson as a multiple MVP, nonetheless). IMO, this is all on Harbaugh - he's not making it happen.

Interestingly, all four teams moving on the championship game played turnover-free football in their divisional round.

So, it'll be Allen vs Mahomes, McDermott vs Reid & the Bills vs the Arrowhead crowd. And the long range forecast for the game is showing near seasonal temperatures & dry conditions.
Ravens are under using Henry. Don't get it.
 
That's a good point. Then it's absolutely a must win for Buffalo. McDermott & Allen must figure out a way to beat the Chiefs. The Bills may not have another chance - the last time they played in the AFCCG was in the 2020 season. With Allen, you arguably have a top 3 QB in the league. He probably feels that he's every bit as good as Mahomes. It's time for him to lead his team to victory.
Neither Allen or Jackson have beaten Mahomes in a playoff game. Time for Allen to get it done and he beat the Chiefs earlier in the season. The Bills have been one of the least penalized teams in the league which will probably change next week ! But they have to limit their mistakes and penalties to have any hope.
 
Neither Allen or Jackson have beaten Mahomes in a playoff game. Time for Allen to get it done and he beat the Chiefs earlier in the season. The Bills have been one of the least penalized teams in the league which will probably change next week ! But they have to limit their mistakes and penalties to have any hope.
And they usually play Chiefs tight in Arrowhead. They need to make mistake free football and have their defense get a turnover. To be decided if someone tries taking Mahomes out when he’s fishing for a penalty.
 
And they usually play Chiefs tight in Arrowhead. They need to make mistake free football and have their defense get a turnover. To be decided if someone tries taking Mahomes out when he’s fishing for a penalty.
I was looking over some of the stats from the regular season game - the Bills won the turnover battle 1-2 (2 picks by Mahomes, 1 by Allen). Allen played one of his best games of the year hanging 317 yds of TO on KC's D (262 passing/55 rushing/1 TD pass/1 rushing TD). They also dominated TOP 34 mins-26 mins. Allen clearly was the difference maker in that game especially with that explosive 14 pt 4QT and the electrifying 26 yd TD that sealed the game.

View: https://youtu.be/JOpnK11kxpI?si=Vlt8HxQLh0FzrJFX
 
Last edited:
Mark Andrews is an outstanding TE, and he really should have caught the ball. But wasn't a perfect pass either.
I beg to differ - I think it was a perfect pass for an All-Pro TE to make. He simply choked, didn't make the play, let down his team, etc. He may be an outstanding TE statistically, but if he can't make a wide-open grab like that in a huge game, then I don't see what's so great about him (I bet Kelce wouldn't drop it). He's also a top-5 paid TE - he's has no margin of error in big games (plus he fumbled earlier in the game).

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/NiCDp-OPDV0?si=MAEam0rDHDx20bn6

I remember how both my HS & college coaches would preach the importance of executing & making plays in big games. And how failing to execute let's the entire team down. They would say football is a game of inches & that the true champions are those that can excute & make plays in critical moments.
 
Last edited:
I beg to differ - I think it was a perfect pass for an All-Pro TE to make. He simply choked, didn't make the play, let down his team, etc. He may be an outstanding TE statistically, but if he can't make a wide-open grab like that in a huge game, then I don't see what's so great about him (I bet Kelce wouldn't drop it). He's also a top-5 paid TE - he's has no margin of error in big games (plus he fumbled earlier in the game).

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/NiCDp-OPDV0?si=MAEam0rDHDx20bn6

I remember how both my HS & college coaches would preach the importance of executing & making plays in big games. And how failing to execute let's the entire team down. They would say football is a game of inches & that the true champions are those that can excute & make plays in critical moments.

It isn't convincing the football would have gotten over the goal line before he slid out of bounds if he did make the catch.
 
Well, I did say Andrews should have caught the ball...

A lot of Raiders fans hoping Ben Johnson would go to Vegas. I would have been fine with him, but I wasn't as convinced. Why? Because he's never been a HC. What the Raiders badly need is stability, and someone in charge, someone to stand at the top of the hill and lead everything. Johnson is more of a risk, creative and inventive, but a risk as a HC. This is why I'm hoping for Pete Carroll, or maybe Mike McCarthy. The Raiders are not going to be a contender for 2-3 years. They badly need someone to come in, get the team to stability, stop making bone headed mistakes, stop making big mid-season changes in coaches, plays, schemes, and just turn the damn ship around.
 
It isn't convincing the football would have gotten over the goal line before he slid out of bounds if he did make the catch.
Huh? Are we looking at the same replay? As Andrews catches the ball he's already falling backwards into the endzone. If he secures the ball, he then breaks the plane of the goal line near the corner of the pylon. Let's say he caught it clean with the ruling on the field a score and you're the ref reviewing the play - how would you rule on it?
 
Last edited:
Had he caught it, it's 99.9% likely he would have scored a TD. Only if he bobbled it, and fell forward somehow, would he have been short. Though an argument can be made the throw was slightly behind him and could have used a little more zip, 99% of the time he catches that ball. He dropped it.

But I'll repeat what I said. There was plenty of time on the clock, and 2 TO's for Allen and the Bills. And their offense had been moving the ball fairly steadily at that point. I think it's very likely they would have gotten into FG range, and unless Norwood, I mean Bass botched the kick like last year against KC, they would have won.
I'm disappointed in Baltimore because how many more chances are they going to get a shot at the SB? 12 wins & another division title this season, another MVP possibility for Jackson, Derrick Henry...
Here's why I don't think the window is closed: Lamar is playing better than ever. Even in this game he wasn't great in the cold, but he didn't lose it the way he did playoff games in the past. Henry is good for another 1-3 years. Maybe not 1,800 yards, but certainly over 1,000. If you platoon him with another RB, you'll get a hell of a lot out of him. Baltimore's defense was better last season than this one. They are also right in the middle of the league, cap wise, for the next couple years. Better than KC. Better than Buffalo. Not a lot, but a little. A potential problem is Pittsburgh has more cap space the next couple years than most other AFC contenders.

I agree completely if you want to blame one person for this loss, blame Harbaugh. Blame Andrews for the drop. Lamar for the fumble and int. But as Bill Belicheck once said, coaches make more mistakes in almost every single game than the players. One could easily dissect this game and conclude there were many things Harbaugh could have done, beyond just 2-3 bad plays. Just like how Dan Quinn out coached Dan Campbell. In this game Sean McDermott out coached John Harbaugh. His team played mistake free, smart, and focused.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmdirt
And the long range forecast for the game is showing near seasonal temperatures & dry conditions.
I like weather games, to an extent. But am good with just a nice, cool winter day for football. Sounds perfect.
Top 5 qbs (in no particular order): Allen, Mahomes, Jackson, Burrow, Daniels. IMO.
In overall talent, including getting your team to win important games? Yes. Daniels has leapfrogged several people. He's the real deal. If you want to look at two key metrics - In the regular season he was 4th in QBR. In the playoffs, he's 1st. In Passer rating he was about 9th during the season (depending on who you omit for not playing enough snaps), and 3rd in the playoffs, so far.

Passer Rating is often criticized for not taking scrambling and running into importance. QBR criticized for the opposite. You can look at YPC, total yards, TD/INT, completion percentage - and he's up there in every category. Plus he's a very effective, smart runner. More of a passer than a dual threat, but he can definitely run, and runs smart.
To be decided if someone tries taking Mahomes out when he’s fishing for a penalty.
Lots of chatter out there about this. Both from journos in big media, but also fans. The Texans and their fans got a rude awakening that Raider fans have been aware of for a couple years. But few people listen to, or care about the Raiders (I've been aware of this my entire life, and accepted it! :triumph:). I don't want to see any player get seriously hurt, but like Antonio Pierce alluded to, some player is going to figure if you're going to get flagged for just touching the guy, you might as well get your money's worth. May not happen this coming game. But at some point...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nomad and SHAD0W93
Lots of chatter out there about this. Both from journos in big media, but also fans. The Texans and their fans got a rude awakening that Raider fans have been aware of for a couple years. But few people listen to, or care about the Raiders (I've been aware of this my entire life, and accepted it! :triumph:)
America loves the Raiders when they win. I'm old enough to remember them in the 70s, in my mind THEY were America's team back then, the Madden years.

I bet I could name more Raiders from the 70s than I could Redskins from the 2010's
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmdirt
Here's why I don't think the window is closed: Lamar is playing better than ever. Even in this game he wasn't great in the cold, but he didn't lose it the way he did playoff games in the past. Henry is good for another 1-3 years. Maybe not 1,800 yards, but certainly over 1,000. If you platoon him with another RB, you'll get a hell of a lot out of him. Baltimore's defense was better last season than this one. They are also right in the middle of the league, cap wise, for the next couple years. Better than KC. Better than Buffalo. Not a lot, but a little. A potential problem is Pittsburgh has more cap space the next couple years than most other AFC contenders.
I'm speaking more in terms of injury risk to these players. Jackson being a dual-threat RPO running guy is one hard hit away from a major injury - same with a lot of the other running QBs. That's the risk you have with running QBs. You saw some of the brutal hits on Daniels & Allen in these playoffs. And how Mahomes hasn't sustained a major injury with some of the hits he's taken is beyond me.

Henry, at his age has already pushed the envelope for longevity of an NFL running back. Obviously, his massive size & strength is a big factor in his durability. But these big RBs aren't infallible, they blow out ACLs, Ankles, Achilles, etc., like the rest of them.

What's happens if Jackson or Henry go down next year - especially Jackson? Look at the catastrophe at SF when Christian Mac went down - season over before it ever began. Lol
 
Last edited:
But you could say that about almost any team? Any player? At least someone who isn't young, and never had an injury. No? We've written the last two seasons about all the QBs who have gone down. This year seemed slightly less than normal at least. But even young guys got hurt. Jordan Love got banged up this season. Was it inevitable that Anthony Richardson did last year? Justin Herbert is 26, not really a runner but still a big "stiff" and this is the first season I remember him making it all the way through. All three of the Raiders QBs suffered injuries that caused them to miss games. And O'Connell and Ridder are fairly young, and Minshew is like 28. Two years ago Lamar got hurt when he was basically tripped trying to escape the pocket. That's it. Even as big and tough as Josh Allen is - built like a tight end, he's one bad hit from missing who knows how many games.

Isn't that football, period? Not just Henry and Lamar.

Very few QBs today play like Brady and Manning did at the end of their careers, where they never run, almost always stay in the pocket, and if a defender gets close they either throw the ball into the dirt, or just drop to the ground. I predict within the next handful of years every QB coming out of college will be expected to be mobile, if not a true dual threat. QBs who move around well like CJ Stroud, don't run much, but will take off when needed, may be considered the minimum qualified. It's just a matter of the NCAA cultivating enough of them for the NFL to feed off of. Add in an 18, then 20 game season that the NFL wants, and it's like burning the candle at both ends of the wick.