NFL playoffs looming

[dr morbius]

I'm gonna be honest. I will be mad if our playoff game streams exclusively on Peacock.

The Saturday night game is supposed to be on Peacock. Someone is going to be very understandably upset.

 

[FrankZ]

The Saturday night game is supposed to be on Peacock. Someone is going to be very understandably upset.

We aren't on Peacock.

 

[dr morbius]

We aren't on Peacock.

Yeah, me neither. However, the Bears had two games this season on Thursday nights (won them both, actually). Both games were on Amazon Prime Video but were also broadcast on local television. If your team is playing, there's a shot a local station will be allowed to carry it. This is not certain, though.

Hmm. Chesapeake Bay? That's Maryland, right? Baltimore isn't in the wild card. Which is your team?

 

[dr morbius]

Wild card weekend, AFC:

Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills

Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs

Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans

Well, now! As I wrote above, I'm taking the Browns over the Texans. Joe Flacco has been here before and he's playing at a high level. C.J. Stroud has been a revelation, having the best season for a rookie QB in recent memory, but I think his Christmas eve experience against Cleveland won't be enough. In the playoffs, taking the team playing better defense AND with more experience rarely goes wrong.

I think Miami will beat a struggling Chiefs team that just drops the football too much. Neither one of these teams is terribly convincing but K.C has struggled against lesser competition. For years now a playoff game at Arrowhead meant an automatic win for the Chiefs. Not anymore. I fully expect Kansas City to try to improve their receiver room through free agency, but this is a deep draft for receivers. They may not have to. This is the closest pick of the wild card weekend for me, because the Chiefs are playing quite well defensively. It might be enough. I don't think so, but I might be wrong.

I like these Bills. A lot. They've won their last five games and Buffalo in January is a difficult place for a visiting team to win. Josh Allen's improvisational skills should not be underestimated. I think what the Steelers have done without a real QB is impressive, but this is big boy time now. Bills move on to round two.

 

[Marlingardener]

The only time I've enjoyed football is when we lived in upstate NY and the Bills went to the Super Bowl. There was a great restaurant near us, one that you made reservations for a month in advance. Husband would bet against the Bills (everyone else at work bet their hearts, not minds) and on Super Bowl Sunday we would go to the restaurant. No other customers! It was the equivalent of having a private chef, wait staff, and wine steward. An expensive dinner, but the next day husband would collect his bets and more than pay for our night out. Sometimes football has its moments . . . .

 

[Kathleen]

Hmm. Chesapeake Bay? That's Maryland, right? Baltimore isn't in the wild card. Which is your team?

Frank is a Brown's fan being from Cleveland and all. I'm a Bears fan. We are both "behind enemy lines."

I'd really love to see a Lions - Browns Superbowl

@Marlingardener It's hard not to bet your heart! But....football can have lots of moments....starting with a tailgate whether you are at the game or not.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Am I the only football fan here?...

Nope. Here we go Brownies, here we go! Right, @FrankZ? Hubby's job was moved from OH to MA in 2000...the same year Mr. Mumbles became the Patriots head coach. We lived through his first stint as a HC in Cleveland, which didn't go well for most of the time. Then the Patriots started winning. We're taking credit for turning the Patriot's luck around. (And the Red Sox, and the Bruins, and the Celtics, all of whom have won at least one championship since we've lived here.)

...Well, now! As I wrote above, I'm taking the Browns over the Texans. Joe Flacco has been here before and he's playing at a high level. C.J. Stroud has been a revelation, having the best season for a rookie QB in recent memory, but I think his Christmas eve experience against Cleveland won't be enough. In the playoffs, taking the team playing better defense AND with more experience rarely goes wrong...

Don't forget that CJ's "experience" on Christmas eve was riding the bench. He was still in concussion protocol. I hope the Browns' D scares the bejeebers out of him. BwaHaHa!

 

[dr morbius]

Don't forget that CJ's "experience" on Christmas eve was riding the bench. He was still in concussion protocol. I hope the Browns' D scares the bejeebers out of him. BwaHaHa!

Yeah, I did forget that. FYI, I've heard that for the Miami-KC game, the one on Peacock, local channels in Miami and Kansas City will carry the game. The rest of us can't see it unless we subscribe.

 

[FrankZ]

Nope. Here we go Brownies, here we go! Right, @FrankZ?

WOOF WOOF!

 

[Kathleen]

Luke Getsy - Bye-bye, baby, bye-bye!

Dare I dream for a quality Bears Offense Coordinator?

Until the superbowl, go, Browns!

 

[dr morbius]

Talk around town has it that the better offensive coordinators will be taking other jobs. This is a "win-now-or-else" situation here. Matt Eberflus will be in his third year as head coach. If the Bears don't make the playoffs, fans will be calling for his head. If they get a new quarterback, they're taking two steps back. I don't see them making the playoffs this year in that scenario.

In my opinion, in January of 2025 or 2026 Justin Fields will be winning games as a QB in the NFL. I just want it to be here. But on the other hand, this might be the best thing for Justin. The Bears can trade him for a 2nd round pick, and Sean McVay can ride him to another Super Bowl championship or two.

 

[Kathleen]

I will be so upset if they release Justin. Mere words cannot express how upset I will be if they let him walk. I totally agree that Justin will be winning games as a QB in the NFL in 25-26. If the Bears had any vision, it could be this coming year with Justin leading the way.

Eberflus. I don't like him. Have never liked him. But feel that I am stuck with him for the betterment of the team. I'll rah-rah along....as long as the Bears wise up, keep Justin, and add what they need to their team!

 

[caseydog]

Born and raised a Steelers fan, currently living in the Dallas enclave of Steeler Nation. We beat the unbeatable Ratbirds to get into a Wild Card game. Now we just have to beat the unbeatable Bills. A passer rating of 118.2 isn't bad for a guy who isn't a real QB.

BTW, that game has been moved from Sunday to Monday, due to expected weather conditions on Sunday in Buffalo.

And yes, the Cowgirls got a gimme from the Zebras against Detroit.

CD

 

[dr morbius]

This isn't supposed to happen.

Rookie QBs with first time coaches are supposed to struggle to win games. They're not supposed to be in the playoffs. Even if they do make the playoffs, perhaps because they're in a bad division, they're not supposed to win when they get there. They're really not supposed to torch the number one defense in football for 45 points.

That's why they play the games.

Houston absolutely stunned the Cleveland Browns 45-14 today to advance to the divisional round of the 2024 playoffs. C.J. Stroud became the youngest QB ever to win a playoff game. I feel sorry for Browns fans. I know full well what it feels like to be disappointed by your football team, but it's hard to imagine three generations of disappointment. If it is any consolation, Cleveland suffered many injuries this year, and it is more than fair to expect them to be better next season.

I was absolutely wrong about this one. 0-1 in my playoff predictions so far.

FYI, my coworker tells me there's a way to watch the Dolphins/Chiefs game without Peacock. It is apparently airing on the NFL network... in Spanish.

 

[dr morbius]

The Kansas City Chiefs ended the regular season with the #2 defense in terms of yards allowed and in terms of points allowed, and that defense - coupled with ridiculously cold weather - allowed them to crush the hopes and dreams of the fans of the Miami Dolphins, 26-7. The Chiefs allowed 264 yards, but at least 1/3 of them came after the game's outcome was no longer in doubt. Of course I didn't see it - most of the country didn't see the game - but from my place on the internet monitoring the game, it sure looked to me like one team was ready and one team was not.

Oh, boy. Wrong again. I'm 0 for 2.

Tomorrow's Bills/Steelers game has become Monday's game owing to the weather.

 

[Kathleen]

Houston absolutely stunned the Cleveland Browns 45-14 today to advance to the divisional round of the 2024 playoffs. C.J. Stroud became the youngest QB ever to win a playoff game. I feel sorry for Browns fans. I know full well what it feels like to be disappointed by your football team, but it's hard to imagine three generations of disappointment. If it is any consolation, Cleveland suffered many injuries this year, and it is more than fair to expect them to be better next season.

I was absolutely wrong about this one. 0-1 in my playoff predictions so far.

FYI, my coworker tells me there's a way to watch the Dolphins/Chiefs game without Peacock. It is apparently airing on the NFL network... in Spanish.

Cubs fans totally understand three generations of disappointment. The Cleveland-Houston game was so disappointing. In addition to ending my hopes for a Lions-Browns SB, it seriously dampened our play-off party of Cleveland supporters.

The Peacock thing is crappy to do to people - especially those who paid for NFL all season. Idk, but I think if you get the Sunday Ticket, it should include playoffs.

 

[Kathleen]

The Kansas City Chiefs ended the regular season with the #2 defense in terms of yards allowed and in terms of points allowed, and that defense - coupled with ridiculously cold weather - allowed them to crush the hopes and dreams of the fans of the Miami Dolphins, 26-7. The Chiefs allowed 264 yards, but at least 1/3 of them came after the game's outcome was no longer in doubt. Of course I didn't see it - most of the country didn't see the game - but from my place on the internet monitoring the game, it sure looked to me like one team was ready and one team was not.

Oh, boy. Wrong again. I'm 0 for 2.

Tomorrow's Bills/Steelers game has become Monday's game owing to the weather.

Did you watch Hard Knocks? This season featured the Dolphins. I love the show and, while I enjoy watching the Chiefs, I did cheer for the Dolphins because I felt an affinity due to the show.

Also 0 for 2.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...The Peacock thing is crappy to do to people - especially those who paid for NFL all season. Idk, but I think if you get the Sunday Ticket, it should include playoffs.

Roger Baddell said that the NFL was "making its product available to people using all means of broadcasting to reach a wider audience" or something like that.

So...putting a game exclusively on a pay-only service is a way to reach MORE people? I just don't understand lawyer-speak.

 

[dr morbius]

The Green Bay Packers are the youngest team in the NFL as of the end of the 2023 regular season, and every football pundit in the land says they did well to nab the 7th and final seed in the NFC playoffs. They were sent to Dallas to face the mighty Cowboys on the road, and accordingly were expected to be sent packing in short order.

Green Bay 48, Dallas 32.

Actually, the game wasn't as close as the score might indicate, because the Packers led by 32 with just six minutes to play. Green Bay has a bunch of unheralded receivers, most of whom were drafted after the second round. But good coaching and stellar quarterback play from Jordan Love led to good distribution, zero picks, and zero sacks. Another solid game from RB Aaron Jones and a pick six from DB Darnell Savage didn't hurt a bit, either. The Cowboys just couldn't stop the Pack on the ground or in the air, and they couldn't get anything going on offense themselves until it was too late to matter.

Green Bay will face the 49ers next week, the first team in NFL history to have four men (Samuel, Aiyuk, Kittle, McCaffrey) with at least 1000 yards from scrimmage. These Packers are clearly a very good team; next week we will see how good.

I am 0-3 in my predictions. None of these games were even close.

 

[Kathleen]

I've not enjoyed the wild card games nearly as much as I thought I would.