Cancun: Flight II

Flight II to Cancun is filled with exhausted, devastated, and heartbroken passengers as four more teams get the ticket to the gallow. Green Bay, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, and Houston get the rope and the next flight out to Cancun. It's going to be either a silent flight, or an explicit language led voyage. I expect a little bit of both.

Thankfully, we got a better dose of comp' in the Divisional round compared to the lackluster Wild-Card. The Clash III between Mahomes/Reid and Allen/McDermott electrified to our expectations and then some, Green Bay and San Francisco brought the thrill, and Tampa Bay battled tough in unreal enemy territory in Detroit. The only flaw was the Texans, who got slaughtered by a far superior Ravens team in Baltimore. All in all it was a damn great weekend of playoff warfare on the gridiron that sets up an electric Conference Championship weekend. Before I can properly create hype and prep for the next round; I must quickly evaluate what went down in the Divisional Round and what the four losers need to focus on as they start their off-seasons.

Kyle Shanahan tops Matt LaFleur again in the playoffs as the Packers lost a game they should have won on the road against the 49ers. The game was a pure chess match between the two squads with LaFleur vs. Shanahan being a straight heavyweight fight under the 'sets. Both defenses showed that there is levels in the first half as both offenses were SHUT DOWN, going into the half 7-6 49ers. It felt like we were going to experience a mirrored version of the second playoff clash between LaFleur and Shanahan.

That didn't happen as both offenses gained a step and matched tuddys in the 3rd quarter. Green Bay seemed to have been ignited by a LaFleur halftime speech comin' out of the break scoring touchdowns on their first two offensive drives that gave them the advantage. Then with just a snap of the fingers- doom hit LaFleur and the Pack. Packers' defense stepped up in a big way to force a punt after the back-to-back offensive tuddys to give the offense the chance to make it three in a row to push them to the finish line. Instead, Jordan Love botched the opportunity by missing the right read and throwin' a high duck that was batted and picked by Dre Greenlaw at midfield. The defense bailed them out again by holding the 49ers to a field-goal. So, what does Jordan Love and co. do? They blow it, again!

I thought the game was over after this 53-yard dash by Aaron Jones that flipped the field with nine minutes left in regulation:

video via NFL//X

Unfortunately for Green Bay fans, I was wrong. A slew of bad play-calls and a missed field goal allowed Brock Purdy and the 49ers offense a golden chance to march for a game takin' lead. That's exactly what they did. Packers should have had a 7-14 point lead, instead they had their fingers crossed a final time with their season hanging on the balance of Jordan Love's shoulders. J-Love proved there is more growth ahead as he threw a nasty, cross the field interception that sealed the win for the 49ers:

video via NFL//X

An awful-awful decision by Love to throw that pass. The cat pulled a full on Brett Favre with that one. Tough pill for Packers fans. This game should have been in the bag. Instead, Green Bay is sent packin' and LaFleur losses to his former coaching companion once again. The way out is a tough one, but the fact that this Packers team routed the 2-seed Cowboys in Dallas and then almost (should have) won against the 1-seed 49ers in Santa Clara is quite unreal to say the least. That they can sure keep their heads up on that.

Packers have some work to do as they sip on their Cancun margaritas pondering what could have been in San Francisco. They have a slew of depth hittin' the market that they need to decide on and/or replace. Darnell Savage is their big name pending free agent that they must bring back. Outside of that, you want this team being active in free agency. They need some aid and upgrades to reach the next step. I don't see the need in resigning Jordan Love until next off-season when his deal is up. They sure won't do that, as they feel they need to "award" him for a stellar regular season in his FIRST year as starter. I'd wait, but we know they won't. Packers have some work to do no doubt, but this was a pretty damn good season considering the expectations set at the beginning of the year. I am willing to bet that LaFleur doesn't want to see Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers again in the playoffs.

Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers came up short in the off-shore war and must sail back to Tampa Bay empty handed and hurt with casualties. I don't have much smoke for them and the defeat, they fought in a LOUD enemy territory and put themselves in a position to steal a win. That's my negative... Todd Bowles and staff could have won this game. They kept themselves in the position to win, just couldn't capitalize when they needed to the most.

Bowles shows time and time again that he coaches conservative. He was battling against a guy on the complete other side of the spectrum in Dan Campbell. Which should have forced Bowles to be less conservative as things can swing quickly with that type of crowd and the type of team the Lions are. Not saying Bowles needs to be doing fake punts and going for 4th downs, but show some giddy up on the offensive. Playing chess and relying on your defense to keep that kind of Lions offense under 20 points was a mistake. The final drive of the first half proves my words right. OC Dave Canales finally called plays down the field to hurt the Lions' lackluster secondary as he focused on the mismatch of Mike Evans and Cameron Sutton. 7 plays for 93 yards in 73 seconds. Their best offensive drive of the game. Mayfield gettin' the ball out quick and finding Evans for big plays tired the Lions defensive line and created openings in the pass game. They showed that type of drive twice, to end the half and to make the game 31-23 late in the 4th. That was it.

Canales was bamboozled by the Lions stumping the rushing attack. The pressure from Aaron Glenn's nickel packages and the corner blitzes played dividends. Glenn sure knows how to use his stud rookie Brian Branch, sendin' the rookster on 4 blitzes and keeping him near the trench to reek havoc on the outside and in the gaps. Baker had to mention and show some respect to Branch after the game, who was a gamebreaker on the attack and gettin' to ball carriers. The blitz packages and success is what won this game for the Lions. It's what has won most of their games this season outside of their relentless offensive attack. Glenn wasn't changing his gameplan with Mayfield and the Bucs having a final chance to tie the game. He sent another blitz that forced a bad Mayfield decision and a berth to their second NFC Championship appearance and first since 1991:

video via NFL//X

Bucs got outcoached and outplayed in the grand moments of the game. Lions won the turnover game, got to Baker more than Tampa got to Goff, and won the 4th quarter. The three keys to victory belonged to Detroit. For a team that went 9-8 and barely got into the playoffs- this was one impressive playoff run. They need to keep their heads up. Shoutout to Mayfield for his high level season. Baker may not be a Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, but the cat is an ultimate pro and more importantly- a fierce competitor, teammate, and leader. Which leads Tampa to their first order of business as they start their off-season: resign Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield isn't the only high caliber pending free agent on the Bucs' list. They have a slew of free agents including arguably their two best players in Mike Evans and Antoine Winfield Jr. They also need to decide on captain Lavonte David, Devin White, William Gholston, and Ryan Neal. Big time decisions await, and if they bypass on resigning any of those cats, then holes will be created that must be filled by September. This is a busy off-season for the Bucs. You start by resigning Winfield Jr. and Mayfield. Get those out of the way and then the decisions begin. I'd hope they would keep David, but he may want a different route. Good luck Jason Licht... at least you aren't rebuilding your coaching staffs like your division foes are.

What a season it was for rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans and his Texans. It may have ended in some tough fashion with being routed by the mighty Ravens, but there is so much light in the tunnel for the first time in awhile in Houston. The positive light helps the loss not be ultra-disappointing. A loss that is needed for a rookie QB and HC to grow from so they can reach that next step higher. Getting your butt-whopped still leaves some pain.

Ravens defense was just too haunting and dominant for C.J. Stroud and Bobby Slowik to handle in The Bank. They had no answers as the Texans offense only mustered to score 3 points with the lone tuddy comin' from Steven Sims' 67-yard punt return house-call. When I say Slowik had no answers; I mean he had NO answers. Not the type of bulletin points he wanted to bring into his little head coaching interviews with Atlanta and Washington. He needs to stick put and grow into a comfortable OC, first. Lots of room for him to grow after that loss. Same thing goes for Stroud, obviously. What a tier he put himself in after his first season in the league. Stroud didn't have a bad game against the Ravens nor did he turn the ball over, they just lacked preparation, execution, and play-call as an offense. Got shut down; plain and simple. Stroud (and Ryans) needs to look at all the negatives in the loss and study them to find positive adjustments to make sure when they get back to that spot- they will have an a-game.

Can't take anything away from Stroud and his stellar season. He had arguably one of the greatest rookie campaigns ever for a quarterback. As we near draft time, I will gather a list of my biggest misses and my biggest hits in terms of rookies I said would bust or not in the past. Stroud will be on the very top of the misses list. I shanked that one like Tyler Bass. Stroud seems to have broken that OSU to NFL quarterback curse, which led me to my superstitions and doubts. Stroud completely proved me wrong, I happily will call myself out on that. I am excited to see him continue to grow; I think he will be a top 4 AFC QB for years to come. Which leads GM Nick Caserio to one main off-season task: build talent around Stroud. Hopefully replacing Slowik isn't added to his list, but for now that is the main to-do.

Caserio has a busy next few months ahead of him. Texans have 29 pending free agents that include a good bulk of their defense with the likes of captain Steven Nelson, Jonathan Greenard, Sheldon Rankins, and Denzel Perryman makin' up the top half of the list. Add starting running-back Devin Singletary, starting tight-end Dalton Schultz, and the starting kicker and punter to the list too. Yeah, Caserio got to get down to business! One thing that pays dividends- H-Town should be a hot designation for young and thriving free agents to want to join. Like Dan Campbell in Detroit, players want to play for DeMeco Ryans in Houston. Skill-players will want to play with Stroud and defensive players will want to play for Ryans. Caserio needs to be aggressive in his negotiations to bolster this roster for next season.

What an absolute thriller we witnessed in Buffalo. The Clash III lived up to the expectations and then some as a record breaking (for Divisional Round) audience of 50.39 million viewers tuned in to watch the madness unfold. No matter the setting, Mahomes versus Allen always delivers. Another classic, but also another disappointment for Sean McDermott, Josh Allen, and Bills Nation. This one stings just like the other two, as Buffalo had plenty of chances to win this game. McDermott once again fell short in defeat by the hands of his former boss Andy Reid and former coaching companion Steve Spagnuolo.

We witnessed a pure chess match as advertised. Everyone raves about Mahomes vs. Allen, rightfully so, but the Joe Brady vs. Spagz head-to-head and Reid vs. McDermott head-to-head delivered the same noise. First half was a barn-burner as both teams delivered blow after blow to one another in a noisy first half of action. So noisy it unleashed the wonderful Jason Kelce into the wild:

video via NFL//X

God love him. Such a football guy. The second half is when the chess vibes came more strategic and slow pace. We still saw pure madness through the strategy. Steve Spagnuolo is the absolute king at makin' adjustments on defense throughout a game. McDermott is right there with him. Rooted from the same tree. It was a pure joy to watch them work their defenses. Especially for me, as I watched these guys grow in Philly under Reid. Bills defense was SUPERB in crunch time to put the game in Joe Brady and Josh Allen's hands to win. After a devastating miscue to run a fake punt that turned the ball over in Bills' territory, the defense caused a jaw-droppin' fumble touchback that shifted the game up to the classic tier:

video via NFL//X

Pure mayhem and anyone who wants this touchback rule changed need to stop acting like fans of football. I almost always will accept other people's opinions, but not in this case. You are pure goofiness if you think that rule is a) unfair or b) bad for football. No, you are bad for football. Get out of here with that. Containing possession of the football in the red zone and near the pylon is an offense's most important priority. The rule is in place to deliver consequence to the offense for fumbling in enemy territory and to award a defense for holding the pylon and causing the fumble. Teams having this rule affect them is of their own fault. If it happens at a point of a game like the Chiefs/Bills instance, then so be it. It's football. We are so quick to change the nature of the game because we don't like game results. It's pathetic. Don't fumble at the goal-line. Plain and simple. Why would we change the rule? Those who vote for change can go kick rocks. You drive me nuts.

That touchback outcome was massive as it flipped the game on it's axis. All of a sudden the Bills went from havin' a potential season ending miscue with the fake punt to gettin' the ball back still down three. That's when Joe Brady's rollercoaster ride began. He had an awful drive play-callin' that made the Bills go three and out after such a wild momentum change with the touchback fumble. Mahomes yet again had a chance to ice it, but to no prevail as the Bills gave Allen the chance to win the game.

JA seemed to be about the moment per usual. Allen launched one of the more beautiful balls that you will see on the first play of their final drive. Unfortunately, it went through Stefon Digg's hands:

video via cjzero//X

Checkout a better angle of the drop:

video via NFL UK//X

A gutting drop that gave you the feeling the Bills were doomed in beating the Chiefs in the playoffs. Joe Brady's rollercoaster faced the sharpest turn. He drew up a GORGEOUS 4th-down play to extend the drive just to completely sh**the bed. Well, Allen sh** the bed with him. JA missed on two gigantic plays that forced the Bills to settle for a potential game-tying field goal. Both plays were designed well, but Allen read them both poorly and threw to the wrong reads. If he hit the right reads, the Bills not only march further by moving the chains, but they take out the clock and could have easily punched in a score to win the game with no time left for Mahomes to work with. Instead they put their season on the leg of Tyler Bass who shanked the kick wide-right leavin' Orchard Park in an ocean of silence. Lets be honest, if Bass makes the kick- Chiefs march and win the game in regulation. A good chance at-least. Brady and Allen had a chance to win the game and they failed. Diggs failed. That's the writing in the sand. So where does Buffalo go from here?

It's safe to say that the Chiefs are the Bills kryptonite in the playoffs. The loss in no way, shape, or form closes their window with Allen and McDermott. They have one giant task to accomplish as they start their off-season: bring back Joe Brady as OC. It's pivotal they bring him back and have a full off-season and training camp with him as OC instead of taking over Dorsey's foundation as an interim replacement. That will come down to his head coaching interviews, surely. Bills must hope those go haywire so they can lock him in as OC. Then they have some starting defensive veterans hittin' pending free agency they must eval' and decide on. Vets being defensive anchors in Micah Hyde, DaQuan Jones and Leonard Floyd. All three are extremely productive and staples to McDermott's defense. Losing them will create some holes. With the window open, they need to upgrade and bolster the roster. I would think about trading Stefon Diggs. If anything you need to bring in more weapons in the passing game not lose weapons, but Diggs doesn't seem to be a fit. They are running out of time in gettin' assets for him in a trade- might as well pull the trigger when you can. Try and bring in Tee Higgins to replace him on the outside. I don't know, just quick ponder. One thing is for sure- bring back Joe Brady as OC!

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