Postseason Overtime

The NFL's Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs game will be considered one of the best games in postseason history ever. With how it unfolded in the final two minutes of regulation, it hit the marks of nail biting drama.  Kansas City would win in overtime and it brought up the question of postseason rule changes. Under the current guidelines, the team that has the ball first can end it with a touchdown, which is what the Chiefs did. Buffalo did not get an opportunity.

This takes me back to about three years ago where the Chiefs were on the losing end of overtime against New England. I think it stings a bit more because of the dramatics of the fourth quarter. Both sides going stride for stride. It will be a marquee matchup for the next decade. Pat Mahomes and Josh Allen were outdoing each other greatly. To not see Allen get the ball in overtime does feel like a travesty. That is kind of why Chiefs fans felt that way in early 2019.

I think you have to go kind of college football with overtime. Both teams get an opportunity to score. They score on field goals or touchdowns barring extra points, it becomes sudden death. Turnovers, special teams, safeties, those should end the game. But the opposing side should get one shot at evening the game before it becomes sudden death or they fail to get points. I know it's perfect by any stretch, but I have a feeling there will be a rule change sooner or later. I don't think for this year, but it will be in the back of many people's minds.

While this doesn't ruin the game, you think of the what ifs on both sides, mostly Buffalo. Give credit on Allen for not dwelling on the losing effort. I think we got spoiled because of how dramatic all four games were. It might be disappointing for the Championship round, but Rams vs. 49ers should be interesting and Cincinnati are a good underdog against the Chiefs. This year's playoffs are a bit refreshing.

NFL Wild Card Recap

A crazy weekend for football.

The Tennessee Titans put up a show and defeated the New England Patriots. Strong running from Derrick Henry kept the Titans in the game and Mike Vrabel's intelligence on having penalties on fourth down in the fourth quarter helped secure a big win against his former team. The future of New England lays in question with coaching opportunities and potential loss of big players. Lack of big plays killed them. Tennessee plays huge underdog against Baltimore.

I call it The Comeback II. Just the opposite. Down 16 to nothing, the Houston Texans rebounded and beat the Buffalo Bills in overtime, 27 years and a day to the day the Bills beat the Oilers in a huge comeback for the ages. Deshaun Watson showed he can hang with the best and the defense had a great second half. Buffalo faltered with the second half. Josh Allen still has work to do and progression will help him and the team make another run next year. Houston gets a chance to eliminate Kansas City, which they did in the regular season.

Another year, another New Orleans heartbreak. Again against Minnesota, the Vikings won in overtime, eliminating the Saints. Kirk Cousins gets the coveted first postseason win, Dalvin Cook puts up good numbers and the defense held their own despite letting them tie it up. Drew Brees can only do so much with a poor running game and the cobbled up secondary was not a match for the Vikes receivers. Minnesota can play upset against San Francisco.

Same score, different week. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles again. Russell Wilson was the main factor for the offense. Half his passing yards went to rookie D.K. Metcalf. And as always, the young defense made the Eagles night horrendous, including a head injury for the often hurt Carson Wentz. Josh McCown did okay. Miles Sanders proves he can be good, but no threats outside of tight ends hurt Philly's chances. The defense not showing up is another issue. No NFC East team was going to win a game, regardless of who they were going to face. Seattle can be the nightmare once again to Green Bay, who they haven't played in the postseason in five years.

The Divisional Round should bring a lot of excitement and dare I say maybe some big upsets. No New England makes it a lot more intriguing.

NFL Wild Card 2018

Another season, another set of NFL playoffs have started once again, beginning today. Here are some quick thoughts and predictions.

Today's games should be an easy one. The early match up between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tennessee Titans is one sided favored towards the Chiefs. Offensively, they are an explosive bunch and the defense can hold its own and play well. With questions on both sides for the Titans, Arrowhead should be happy to get a win unless there's some unforseen circumstances like blowing it against the Colts four years ago. On the other side is the LA Rams having their first home playoff game in Los Angeles since the 1989 season against the Atlanta Falcons. Both sides can play with tough running games, defenses that don't give up, and good arms to throw the ball. It all depends if Atlanta can keep up and hang in the game, but the Rams seem destined to get into the Divisional Round. That's who I think advances.

Sunday's matches could see any of these four win. The early game is the Buffalo Bills going up against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Buffalo could win, but it all depends on LeSean McCoy actually suiting up from last week's ankle injury. They can prevent passing touchdowns, but the run defense is one of the worst. Facing the number one rushing team is a huge task, as well as Tyrod Taylor needing a perfect game. It should be in the books as a Jacksonville win, but don't rule out the Bills entirely. Blake Bortles could throw interceptions and rely on Leonard Fournette to help the Jags. I think it goes to Jacksonville winning. The question is: How much with they win by?

New Orleans and Carolina are the last match of the weekend. For the Saints, a much better defense and a punishing ground game bolstered them into the playoffs. That's who I see going further into the postseason. As strong as Carolina's rushing is, it is inconsistent. The passing is far from great, but not horrible. It all depends on how the defense can perform. They can pull off an impressive win, but every facet has to be near perfect. Any mistakes, and it could be a blowout.

Next week, we will look at the Divisional Round and who should advance to the Championship game.