Each week of the NFL season brings a slew of new questions, but we also answer some old ones. Here’s a look at what we learned from the divisional playoffs and questions we have for the conference championship and beyond.
Answer: We’re all pretty fed up with Patrick Mahomes at this point
Come on, let’s all get this out of the way. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have ascended to the territory of the New England Patriots of the 2000s and the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. Yes, they are historically great. Yes, we would love to have them as part of our team. Yes, we are really tired of them and wish they were gone. That’s what happens in dynasties too. You get tired of seeing the same team win all the time…unless it’s your team, in which case you want the train to keep running forever.
By all accounts, Mahomes has struggled to come close to his previous best numbers this season. Still, the Chiefs won 15 games during the regular season and didn’t struggle much against Houston on Saturday. That leads to cries of bigotry and favoritism, and the tough calls on a gentle passer that Mahomes can summon seemingly out of thin air don’t really alleviate that perception.
“Oh, come on! I mean, he’s a runner. I don’t agree with that. He hardly ever gets hit.” – Troy Aikman
“Two Houston players hit each other. That shouldn’t have been a foul.” – Russell Yuk
“They need to deal with it in the offseason…” – Aichman 🏈🎙️🦓 #NFL https://t.co/vXj2v7VTKg pic.twitter.com/QioQ5IQwhg
— Awful Announcement (@awfulpayment) January 18, 2025
Kansas City is now on a seven-game streak of appearances in the AFC Championship Game, meaning the other 15 teams in the conference will have to share the remaining seven spots with each other. It’s a source of boredom and frustration.
You can’t blame the Chiefs for playing well and winning. And you can’t blame the rest of us for being fed up with it all.
Question: Why is it always so cruel to the same teams in the playoffs?
When you’re in the middle of a magical run like Baltimore, Minnesota, and especially Detroit this season, you feel invincible. It feels like the stars are aligned, the soccer gods are smiling down on you, and luck and destiny are leading you to the land of champions. Then reality hits and you’re going to get the complete crap kicked out of you in January. It’s a hard, fast fall, made all the more brutal because, as mentioned above, certain teams never seem to suffer this kind of fall.
Baltimore has been here before and will come again. And Minnesota already knew it was in trouble with the way the team fell apart at the end of the regular season. But Detroit…hey, you gotta love Detroit. They went 15-2 in the regular season, revamped the entire franchise’s image in just one year, and prepared for a long playoff run, but they were plagued by mercurial injuries, the misfire of their own quarterback, and the loss of a generation. On the other side of the ball, only to see everything ruined by an overachieving rookie. The Lions should be back next season, but the field is narrow and always seems to be rounded out with the same team.
Answer: Lamar Jackson deserves better.
Let’s set this up. Mark Andrews is a Baltimore stalwart and Pro Bowler who has contributed immeasurably to this team throughout his career. The weather in Buffalo on Sunday night was harsh, cold, windy and difficult for everyone involved. There’s no guarantee that Baltimore would have won the overtime game against Buffalo in Buffalo. And of course, no one can survive eight seconds on an NFL field.
I mean, damn, why couldn’t Baltimore score on that two-point conversion?
Lamar Jackson battled the specter and reputation of playoff Lamar throughout his career, with great regular season performances that inevitably led to postseason disappointment. And on Sunday night, there were moments like a cringe-worthy interception and an over-the-top fumble that led to Buffalo’s seven points.
But Jackson also produced the best drive of his career. It was an eight-play, 88-yard desperation effort that brought the Ravens within two points of tying the game with 93 seconds left. Again, even if Andrews had the ball, there’s no guarantee that Josh Allen wouldn’t have marched the Bills into field goal range. But this game should have ended with a point, not a kneel. Jackson and John Harbaugh naturally defended Andrews. But oh, what could have happened?
Unfortunately, Lamar lives on in the playoffs.
Question: Can a commander really do this?
There is some karmic justice for Commanders fans this season. After a quarter-century of suffering under the worst owner in the NFL, the team is reborn with a thrilling new quarterback and a new mindset. This isn’t the dirty Hogs of the Joe Gibbs era, but the team’s sleek burgundy and gold Lamborghini running in front of you, or clinging to your bumper, waiting to pass you.
The coaches have a tough test ahead of them as they face one of the NFL’s best defenses in Philadelphia and an offense that will surprise them with its capabilities. But Washington is a team with special magic this postseason, a team that upends narratives and upends assumptions. Jaden Daniels could win a Super Bowl for this team, and while that would be surprising, it wouldn’t be all that shocking. Washington had hope and star power, and it had been a long time since it had either, let alone both.
Answer: There are no more bad games left.
Somehow, the NFL always manages to win, even when the best teams are losing. Let’s take this year as an example. After a lackluster Wild Card round, this year featured three truly thrilling divisional games, including KC vs. Houston. There’s a school of thought that divisional weekends are the best weekends of football, pound-for-pound, all killer, no filler, and this weekend pretty much confirmed that.
There are now four legitimately attractive teams left, and no matter how they fit together, it would be a great Super Bowl. Granted, we’ve already lost eight of the 10 most likely Super Bowl opponents, but that’s simply because our managers didn’t expect us to get this far.
Jaden Daniels led his team to the Super Bowl in his rookie year…the Buffalo Bills finally redeemed themselves…Saquon Barkley and the Eagles’ chaotic magic…and oh yeah, the Kansas City Swifties are unprecedented… Achieved 3 consecutive victories. It’s a great quartet. There are only three games left in the season, but at least we know all three will be gems.
Question: Which NFC team hasn’t won a conference championship this century?
Let’s finish with some trivia. Every NFC team in the 21st century has been a conference championship team except for one. Do you know which one it is? I’m sure you can do it. Good luck with your next coaching hire, Jerry.
