Wildcard weekend

[dolphins4life]

It almost happened.

Why didn't the Tennessee player just go down with the ball instead of scoring?

[BuccaneerBrad]

Bill Belichick's quote in the locker room to his players,

"We haven't been unemployed at this point in the season for a long time"

[Tenshot13]

THE DYNASTY OF CHEATERS IS OVER!

[Spider-Dan]

Now imagine if BUF had drafted Lamar Jackson instead of Josh Allen, and what that would mean for the future of the AFC East.

I'm just going to leave this here:

I'm worried about the Bills staying put and getting Lamar Jackson.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

It almost happened.

Why didn't the Tennessee player just go down with the ball instead of scoring?

The short answer: lack of situational awareness.

The longer answer: 99.9% of the time the preferred thing to do on a turnover is score a TD not go down.  At that juncture in the game the titans focus was on preventing the patriots from getting into FG range, they were coaching the players on preventing long yardage plays and/or letting players getting our of bounds.  They weren’t coaching the player to take a knee on a turnover.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Bill Belichick's quote in the locker room to his players,

"We haven't been unemployed at this point in the season for a long time"

It has been a decade.

[dolphins4life]

I also thought some of the decision making was funny on both sides.

Mike Vrabel tried Belichick's clock ploy, but it was clearly not the situation to do it.  Time wasn't a factor at that point.

The Patriots tried the Miami Miracle play, instead of having Brady throw it deep down the sidelines.

The Patriots tried to execute a kickoff play, instead of having Edelman fall down, and then attempt a Hail Mary.

[dolphins4life]

Some records had to have fallen

Is Mike Vrabel the first head coach in the NFL to beat a quarterback in the playoffs from whom he caught a touchdown pass?

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Some records had to have fallen

Is Mike Vrabel the first head coach in the NFL to beat a quarterback in the playoffs from whom he caught a touchdown pass?

Don’t know.  Almost certainly the first linebacker turned coach to do so.  But it s possible that a wide receiver turned coach has done so as well.

Would need two things for this to be accomplished.  QB with a decent length career and a someone who quickly went to head coach after ending his playing career.   

[BuccaneerBrad]

Looks like the Saints offense, which had been AWOL the entire game suddenly came back in the 4th quarter.   Saints just kicked the tying FG and the game is headed to OT.   What a wild wildcard weekend thus far.

[Tenshot13]

Vikings win

[BuccaneerBrad]

Vikings win

The Superdome went from loud to a morgue in a matter of seconds

[dolphins4life]

Wild Card Weekend certainly lived up to its name.

One thing I didn't understand was the Eagles' clock management.

Why didn't they run the play on fourth down BEFORE the two minute warning?  That way you effectively get an extra timeout if it does not work out.

[EDGECRUSHER]

THE DYNASTY OF CHEATERS IS OVER!

I heard that the first time in 2011. Truth is, their defense is elite and now they have to fix their offensive side to get Brady back. They gave him nothing to work with this season and he is using his free agency as leverage to get them to give him weapons. He will sign for pennies, he is super rich, he just wants to go out a winner. He clearly doesn't want to retire or leave New England but he will go elsewhere if the Pats make him.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I heard that the first time in 2011.

I recall a Steelers fan emailing me a joke in Feb 2002 about a blizzard in hell.    They insisted that the AFCCG was pure luck and that was Brady’s first and last trip to the SB.  The teams mediocre performance in 2002 affirmed that view until it didn’t in 03 & 04.  Of course many were also certain Pollard ended the era. 

Brady may or may not return, the driving factor won’t be money but if NE offers him a long enough contract and signs a few WR in FA first.  However #1 defense in the league will along with the all time greatest coach will be returning.

I am not saying the 2020s is going to yield 3 SB wins like the prior decades, but NE is more than capable of adding to its consecutive division winning record again next year even without Brady.