Tag: Wild Card Round

The Eagles’ Super Bowl pursuit burst into flames because Nick Sirianni lost control of his team

The Eagles’ collapse falls squarely on Nick Sirianni’s arrogant shoulders.

The Philadelphia Eagles had the horses to make another Super Bowl run. Aside from free-agent departures here and there, this was largely the same exact team that fell one pass interference penalty short of a Lombardi Trophy last February. Running it back felt like a surefire guarantee that the Eagles would, at the very least, get a chance to defend their NFC title.

None of it mattered.

Not when Jalen Hurts bizarrely called out his teammates’ commitment after a tough loss in Seattle. Not when the rival San Francisco 49ers came to Philadelphia and took the Eagles behind the woodshed with no mercy. Certainly not when A.J. Brown repeatedly took to the media to try and shield the Eagles from warranted criticism. Definitely not when Philadelphia lost five of its last six regular-season games in humbling fashion, practically handing the NFC’s No. 2 seed and an NFC East title to the Dallas Cowboys on a silver platter.

In concept, the Eagles had another Super Bowl-worthy team. In practice, Nick Sirianni lost control of the reins on a fragile team that never had its head in the right place. They never had their eyes on the prize; they never even considered fixing what ailed. That’s all because of their leader.

Sirianni showed he was unconventional from the jump of his Eagles’ tenure. He delivered an elevator speech that sounded like he was cutting a WWE promo, threatening the rest of the NFL that Philadelphia was coming. It is this very same mentality that ingratiated Sirianni to his players and a football city hungry for another Super Bowl title.

He defended Frank Reich’s honor while standing on an Indianapolis bench. He dropped a classic f-bomb on national television after beating the Cowboys. He once yelled at the refs for daring to question his competence (in his mind) on the sideline. Sometimes, he’d made it seem like he’d throw fists with opposing coaches before a game even started! A no-nonsense hothead, Sirianni was a Philadelphia sports coach through and through. He fit his team and his city like a glove.

This mentality of wearing your heart on your sleeve served the Eagles well when they were steamrolling everyone. When you’re at the top of the world, when you’re the NFL’s de facto bully, not taking anyone’s crap is an empowering feeling. The Eagles of 2022 were perfectly built, a machine that channeled Sirianni’s brashness into a weapon at nearly every turn.

But the Eagles of 2023 had more fatal flaws than they’d ever admit.

A star-studded secondary showed its age as opposing offenses treated Darius Slay and James Bradberry like pinatas. An offensive line with multiple potential Hall of Famers like Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson showed more cracks in the armor than expected. Brian Johnson’s offensive scheme amounted to spamming screens and four verticals, seemingly hoping that opposing cornerbacks would suffer Madden glitches and let receivers run free. (They did not do this.) Sean Desai’s defensive strategy left much to be desired, but he didn’t deserve to be thrown under the bus for professional doofus Matt Patricia.

As talented as they were, the Eagles could never quite figure out how to evenly distribute the ball between A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert. Note: It’s not clear this was an actual problem to anyone but the Eagles’ skill players.

How did the Eagles respond to their rash of problems?

When it wasn’t working, they pointed fingers at each other. When that 10-1 start felt extremely shaky (yes, seriously), they operated as if it was business as usual. Instead of providing concrete answers for his players and subordinates, instead of addressing significant roster drawbacks, Sirianni never veered away from the script. He wanted everyone to get the grit and sandpaper out because nobody believed in them … or something.

At a certain point, this sort of messaging wears thin.

It’s OK to be the rah-rah football coach. It’s OK to show passion and energy. But there’s a statute of limitations on this having a positive impact. If professional athletes are experiencing a collective slide together, they’ll expect more from their coach than diatribes about punching the other team in the mouth and how no one [expletive] respects us. They’ll turn a cold shoulder to the hackneyed cliches without hesitation. They know better.

Everything about the Eagles’ fall from grace this year showed that Sirianni might be too much of a one-trick pony. Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon — two popular punching bags for the organization after falling short in Super Bowl 57 — were missed. Dearly. Steichen took a backup quarterback to the doorstep of the playoffs in his first season as a head coach. Gannon, meanwhile, has the Arizona Cardinals sitting pretty in a promising rebuild around Kyler Murray.

And while his two former top assistants coached their tails off, all Sirianni could offer was rote platitudes about playing with a fire in your belly. Gee, I wonder why the Eagles looked so lost so often.

After a stunning collapse, the Eagles will look in the mirror this offseason. They’ll have to address an aging roster that is veering past its expiration date. They’ll have to ask themselves whether Sirianni has anything to offer in their retool beyond chest pumps and cockiness.

The answer is as subtle as an impassioned Sirianni press conference.

Film room: What I learned from the Lions win over the Rams

Film room: What I learned from the Lions playoff win over the Rams

For the first time in 32 years, the Detroit Lions won a playoff game. Sunday night’s nail-biting win over the visiting Los Angeles Rams ended the longest postseason victory drought in the NFL and set up a second playoff home date in the same postseason for the Lions for the first time in franchise history.

The emotions of the real-time watch on Sunday night made concrete analysis somewhat difficult. The re-watch of the All-22 and broadcast feed on Tuesday morning was a more measured, analytical take. Here’s what I took away from the film review of the Lions wild card win over the Rams.

Lions beat the Rams for the franchise’s first playoff win since 1991

Lions beat the Rams for the franchise’s first playoff win since 1991

The first three games of wild card weekend were uncompetitive blowouts. The Lions and Rams changed that with a very competitive Sunday night affair that left few fingernails for fans of either team.

In the end, the Lions prevailed in Ford Field, 24-23, with Jared Goff kneeling in victory formation. The former Rams quarterback outdueled the former Lions quarterback for the first postseason victory in Ford Field and Detroit’s first playoff win since the 1993 season.

Both offenses came out on fire. There were points scored on the first six drives of the game, with three touchdowns by Detroit and two TDs and a field goal from the Rams. Jared Goff completed his first 10 passes, while counterpart Matthew Stafford threw for 137 yards and two TDs in the second quarter,

Detroit took the 21-17 lead into the half, though their final drive ended in some officiating controversy, because no Lions game is complete without one.

In the second half, the defenses put their better feet forward. Detroit managed just one field goal, a 54-yarder from Michael Badgley, in their next four drives. The Lions defense held tough in the red zone, holding the Rams to two short field goals in their next three drives.

That set up crunch time over the final half of the fourth quarter. Detroit’s defense got a critical stop with a little over four minutes left, thanks in part to a couple of officiating decisions from referee Craig Wrolstad’s crew that went their way.

Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a massive first down inside the two-minute warning to seal the cathartic win for Detroit. He finished 22-of-27 for 277 yards and a touchdown. Stafford threw for 367 and two touchdowns, but the stalled drives in the red zone prevented the narrative of No. 9 returning to Detroit and ruining the party from happening.

The Lions now advance to the divisional round, where they will face the winner of the Buccaneers/Eagles game. Detroit will host that game no matter the opponent.

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Lions inactive players vs. Rams: Sam LaPorta is active

Lions inactive players vs. Rams: Sam LaPorta is active for the wild card game

All eyes were on No. 87 in blue as the Detroit Lions warmed up in Ford Field for Sunday night’s wild card matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. The status of All-Pro rookie tight end Sam LaPorta and his wounded knee was the biggest pre-game question mark on the Lions’ health front.

After going through warmups in the stadium, LaPorta showed enough to make sure he was active for the game.

The Lions inactive players:

OLB Charles Harris

CB Steven Gilmore

WR Kalif Raymond (injured)

S Tracy Walker

OLB Julian Okwara

DT Brodric Martin

QB Hendon Hooker (emergency QB)

Lions vs. Rams: Last-minute thoughts and final score prediction

Lions vs. Rams: Last-minute thoughts and final score prediction for the wild card playoff game in Ford Field

It’s been a long time since the morning coffee went down on a day with a Detroit Lions playoff game. Too long.

The question for this snowy Sunday is, will there be another Lions playoff game next weekend?

It’s not going to be easy, but these Lions have a strong chance to keep the postseason run rolling.

 

Why I think the Lions will win

  • The Jared Goff revenge factor is real. His divorce from Rams coach Sean McVay and Los Angeles is well-documented, but one facet that doesn’t get enough oxygen: how badly Goff’s teammates want to help the Lions QB prove himself and get his vengeance. Think “Jim Schwartz being carried off in victory in his first trip back to Ford Field” type of desire by the Lions to deliver their leader some validation.
  • The Rams don’t defend the middle of the field in the passing game all that well. Guess where the Lions passing game thrives. With top Rams safety Jordan Fuller banged up and questionable, it creates an even bigger advantage for All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown and TE Sam LaPorta, who I do think plays in this one.
  • Special teams are a massive advantage for Detroit, including kicker Michael Badgley. Yes, folks, the Rams special teams are indeed that kind of bad. I even pegged the Lions defense and special teams to get the first score of the game as this week’s best bet. Dave Fipp’s creativity with fakes factors in here, too.
  • The Lions run defense against opposing RBs is fantastic. Even in Week 18, where the Detroit defense’s tackling was awful, they still did a decent job in limiting the ground game. Rams RB Kyren Williams is a good one, a worthy Pro Bowler. The Lions LBs and safeties have been very good all season in run defense, too. This is one area where the Lions’ EDGEs have a nice advantage against the Rams’ OTs and TEs, where only RT Rob Havenstein is even league-average at run blocking. Hutchinson has a big advantage in the pass rush against Havenstein, who doesn’t move well laterally, too.
  • For all the hullabaloo about Matthew Stafford returning to Detroit for a playoff game, Stafford’s own history in playoff games is a mixed bag. His career INT rate and sack rate are higher in the playoffs than the regular season. That’s true for most QBs; playoff games mean facing better opponents. But we’ve all seen Stafford have some bonehead plays and inexplicable misses in big games. There’s more than a little pressure on him to perform big in his return to Detroit, too.
  • The Rams won just one game against another team in the playoffs until last week, when they beat a 49ers team resting key offensive players. The first win over a playoff team came in Week 13 against a Cleveland Browns team starting its 4th-string QB, their No. 4 and No. 5 OTs, and no Myles Garrett. The Rams are good, but they’re far from battle-tested in 2023.

What worries me about the Rams

  • The DT duo of Aaron Donald and Kobie Turner is the best in the league in 2023. Donald didn’t have his best year but is still the preeminent interior pass rusher in the NFL. Turner quietly but emphatically outplayed the more celebrated Jalen Carter amongst rookie DTs, especially after the first month of the season. Even with the Lions strong OL, they’re a problem.
  • The Rams have a dangerous duo at WR in Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. The Lions would struggle to cover either one of those on their own, but together they create a huge advantage for the Rams offense. If the Lions safeties aren’t sharp in coverage rotations and assignments, it’s not going to be pretty. The Detroit outside CBs simply cannot handle the combination on their own, and the Rams do a good job with formations and motion to set up favorable matchups, too.
  • This is more about the Lions, but I have some concern that OC Ben Johnson will do what he did in Dallas — trying to show how smart and creative he is instead of actually attacking the defense. Like Dallas, the Rams defense is predicated on speed, penetration and flow. They’re vulnerable to offenses that can punch them in the mouth. Johnson only threw a few jabs in Dallas and it wasn’t nearly enough. Has he learned his lesson?

Final score prediction

The Lions have more paths to victory than the visiting Rams, and I think they find just enough trails to win. Lions 30, Rams 27.

4 soon-to-be free agents to watch in Chiefs vs. Dolphins

4 soon-to-be free agents for New Orleans Saints fans to watch in Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins, including former Ragin’ Cajuns OL Robert Hunt:

The Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs boast two of the strongest rosters you’ll find around the NFL, and both teams have some pending free agents who could be of interest to the New Orleans Saints. With the Saints looking to get faster and more athletic defensively while improving their run game on offense, here are some players we’re watching closely during Saturday night’s wild-card round playoff game:

5 free agents for Saints fans to scout in Browns-Texans playoff game

Here are five free agents for Saints fans to scout in Saturday afternoon’s Texans-Browns playoff game:

We’re closing in on kickoff of the NFL’s wild-card round, which is a great opportunity for New Orleans Saints fans to scout upcoming free agents while they compete on the biggest stage. And there are plenty of prospects worth watching when the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns match up.

Whether the Saints are looking to get more explosive in the running game or deeper on the defensive side of the ball, here are five players we’re watching closely:

NFL reschedules Bills-Steelers playoff game due to dangerous weather in Buffalo

The NFL reschedules its playoff game between the Bills and Steelers due to dangerous weather. Here’s the updated wild-card round schedule:

You don’t see this too often: the NFL rescheduled its wild-card round playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills due to a dangerous weather event closing in on western New York — the area around already-snowbound Highmark Stadium is expected to receive another foot or two of snow over the next 24 hours.

It’s a serious situation. Gusting winds and bands of snow rolling in from Lake Erie are dropping visibility to near-zero, per the National Weather Service.

Hopefully everyone can stay safe and weather the storm. So instead of kicking off in the middle of all that, the Bills and Steelers will square off after the worst has blown over on Monday. The end result? Three days of doubleheaders. Here’s what the NFL wild-card round schedule looks like now:

How to buy Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans NFL Playoff tickets

Tickets for the Cleveland Browns vs. Houston Texans Wild Card matchup are still available for as low as $100.

Not only did the Cleveland Browns earn a playoff berth during a season in which they started five different quarterbacks, the team is actually favored in their upcoming Wild Card game.

The No. 5 Browns travel to take on the AFC South champion No. 4 Houston Texans on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 4:30 p.m. EST, as the opening game of Wild Card Weekend.

Want to watch the Browns continue their magical season in person this weekend? Check out StubHub to find the perfect Cleveland Browns tickets for you and anybody else you want sitting beside you as Cleveland looks to win a playoff game on the road.

As of publication, the cheapest available Texans vs. Browns tickets were priced at $100, a bargain for an NFL playoff game.

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LaCanfora: ‘I’d be shocked’ if Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy survives wild-card loss

From @ToddBrock24f7: One NFL GM says Sunday’s playoff opener is a must-win game for McCarthy, since the Cowboys’ “next man up is already there.”

The Cowboys’ postseason opener is obviously a must-win game if Dallas is to make a run at a sixth Lombardi Trophy to put in the lobby of The Star. But this Sunday’s wild-card showdown could also be a make-or-break moment for the Cowboys coaching staff.

Head coach Mike McCarthy has led the team to a third straight 12-win finish, something no one else in franchise history has done. But that still may not be enough to guarantee his return for the 2024 season, according to one NFL insider and the league execs he’s spoken to.

On Thursday, the Washington Post‘s Jason LaCanfora framed the McCarthy situation in the simplest possible terms:

“I’d be shocked if he kept his job should the Cowboys … lose on Sunday at home.”

Firing a coach who has a Super Bowl title on his résumé, a .627 record since coming to town, and a year remaining on his current contract might seem a wee bit drastic to those who feel just reaching the playoffs is enough. For the Cowboys faithful who have been clamoring for a return to championship glory for longer than most of the team’s current players have been alive, though, the wait has been long enough.

Same goes for 81-year-old owner Jerry Jones, writes LaCanfora:

“Jones believes he has a Super Bowl roster, again, while McCarthy’s past foibles winning big games and managing high-tension situations remain front of mind. He won the NFC East despite going just 2-2 down the stretch, due largely to [the Eagles’] epic collapse, and good luck finding a personnel executive or coach around the league who doesn’t believe that if Jones needed a head coach, he would do whatever it takes to hire defensive coordinator Dan Quinn after Quinn pulled out of head coaching consideration elsewhere a year ago to stay in Dallas.”

Quinn, of course, is a popular name once again for the 2024 hiring cycle, with the Panthers, Commanders, Chargers, and Titans all having formally requested an interview with him for their open head coach positions.

And that list doesn’t even include the Seahawks job. Quinn was immediately seen by most as the obvious front-runner to take over for Pete Carroll, given Quinn’s rise to prominence in creating Seattle’ famed Legion of Boom defense over a decade ago.

But Jones was able to retain Quinn on-staff in Dallas the past two offeseasons, with plenty of observers interpreting it as a way to keep Quinn in-house… in the event of a housecleaning.

One NFL exec LaCanfora spoke with under the condition of anonymity agreed.

“Mike needs to win this game, and everybody on that staff knows it,” said the unnamed GM. “The next man up is already there.”

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Per league rules, Quinn would not be allowed to meet in-person with another club before the conclusion of the divisional round of the playoffs. But if LaCanfora and his sources are to be believed, things in Cowboys Nation may have already blown up by then.

Even if the Cowboys handle their business as favorites over Green Bay in the wild-card round, McCarthy’s job status will be a rinse-and-repeat hypothetical question a week later. And then again if they advance to the conference championship; don’t think getting mopped by San Francisco in the NFC title game would be seen as any sort of improvement by the decision-makers in the organization.

It’s win or go home for the Cowboys from here on out. And just maybe for their head coach, too.

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