Tag: Wild Card Round

Cowboys’ O-line ‘should be back full force’ in wild-card round after backups’ big day

From @ToddBrock24f7: Zack Martin and Tyler Smith are expected back for Sunday’s opening round of the playoffs, though T.J. Bass and Brock Hoffman stepped up big.

The Cowboys found themselves without two-fifths of their preferred offensive line for Week 18’s regular-season finale. And even though the substitutes for Tyler Smith and Zack Martin filled in more than adequately in the team’s 38-10 victory to help claim the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, club management is optimistic that they’ll be getting the band back together for wild-card weekend.

“The line should be back full force and ready to go to start the playoffs,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told K&C Masterpiece Monday on 105.3 The Fan. “I feel really good about that, and I feel really good about Tyler being able to play against the Packers at AT&T Stadium on Sunday afternoon.”

Smith suffered a torn plantar fascia during Dallas’s Week 17 win over Detroit and missed Sunday’s game in Washington as a result. Rookie T.J. Bass filled in for Smith at left guard to close out last week’s win and got the start once again versus the Commanders after practicing in Smith’s spot all week.

“Before every game, when we’re shaking each other’s hands,” Bass explained late Sunday. “Zack says, ‘Stay ready. Make sure you’re ready. Stay ready.’ So that’s just a thing. And then all season, I’ve tried to be ready whenever my number’s called so I can get in there and there’s no dropoff.”

That’s the mentality of every O-lineman in the Cowboys locker room. But second-year man Brock Hoffman had to take over Martin’s position on very short notice, after the right guard fell ill Sunday morning.

Despite the late switch, the Commanders did not register a sack- or even a QB hit on Dak Prescott- the entire afternoon.

“That’s B.T.B.: Big-Time Brock,” Prescott said in his postgame press conference. “So proud of that guy. He’s kind of an enforcer in that group, a guy that has a lot of attitude, huge passion for this game, wears it every day- you can see it- approaches the game the right way, understanding that he’s one sickness away from playing.”

Hoffman, in fact, had filled in for Tyler Biadasz during the week’s practices when seasonal illness hit the center. Biadasz was better by gameday, but instead of returning to benchwarmer duty, Hoffman was tapped to start at right guard for Martin with only about two hours’ notice.

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“I think it was just a great performance: two young guys- college free agents- stepping up,” Jones raved Monday. “[Offensive line] Coach [Mike] Solari’s done an amazing job getting those guys prepared. Jerry and I were talking to him before the game, and he had complete confidence, not only in T.J. Bass but also Hoffman. They just stepped up and did a great job. I felt like Dak had time most of the game. It’s great to know you have those young guys coming in your organization.”

Bass and Hoffman figure to step back into their customary second-stringer roles for this Sunday’s wild-card showdown with the Packers and the rest of what the club hopes will be a long postseason run. But the live-fire experience both have gained heading into the playoffs will certainly serve them and team well, if needed.

No doubt, they’ll “stay ready.”

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The Lions-Rams game is the most expensive playoff ticket

Everyone wants to see Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford facing their old teams

Looking to hit Ford Field for Sunday night’s postseason game between the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams? It’s going to cost you a pretty penny.

A whole lot of them, actually.

Per sports business reporter Darren Rovell, the tickets for the first-ever postseason game in Ford Field history start at $552 on the secondary market. Rovell contrasts that with the Cowboys vs. Packers game in Dallas, where the most expensive seat in the house is $336.

A quick check of a couple of Michigan-based ticket re-sellers on Monday morning shows the average upper-bowl ticket listed at over $700, with prime lower bowl seats going for well over $2,000.

Why Saints should root against 49ers in rainy playoff game vs Seahawks

This is a little convoluted, but stay with us. Why the Saints should root against the 49ers in their playoff game against the Seahawks:

The New Orleans Saints aren’t competing in the NFL playoffs, but they do have some rooting interests in the postseason. And no game might matter more to them than the San Francisco 49ers’ elimination-game matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, during the opening wild-card round. But why?

Well, that’s because the 49ers’ first round pick in the 2023 NFL draft belongs to the Denver Broncos (by way of trades with the Miami Dolphins, who won this pick a few years back to help San Francisco move up for quarterback Trey Lance; Miami later sent it to Denver in exchange for star pass rusher Bradley Chubb). And the Broncos are a leading team in the Sean Payton sweepstakes. The Saints are seeking a first-round draft pick for Payton’s coaching rights, so the 49ers’ selection (again, transferring to Denver) is squarely in their sights.

So it would be nice to see that pick end up slotting early in the first round. Depending on how other wild-card round playoff games shake out, it could end up as high as No. 19 overall or as low as No. 24. Should Payton be traded to the Broncos in exchange for that pick (and, hopefully, a couple of more selections in later rounds), that would be a valuable asset for New Orleans.

And the rainy, windy conditions at Levi’s Stadium are looking like an equalizer between the red-hot 49ers and chaos-prone Seahawks. San Francisco is going into the postseason with a 10-game win streak behind them, buoyed by a fierce defensive effort and impressive play from third-string quarterback Brock Purdy, plus the electrifying midseason pickup of running back Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers are favored by 9.5 points at Tipico Sportsbook, so the oddsmakers aren’t giving Geno Smith’s Seahawks much of a chance. With thunderstorms and heavy winds in the forecast, though, it might be anyone’s game.

So root against San Francisco, Saints fans. That shouldn’t be hard given the teams’ long-running history, and it sure would be sweet to see the 49ers knocked off on the eleventh anniversary of the historic divisional-round playoff loss New Orleans suffered at old Candlestick Park. Maybe they can get some help here, even if it’s only indirectly. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT on FOX.

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Tyler Lockett: Seahawks ‘really don’t have anything to lose’ in playoffs

Exactly nobody was projecting these Seahawks to win even seven games this season, let alone nine and making the playoffs.

Exactly nobody was projecting these Seahawks to win even seven games this season, let alone nine and making the playoffs. Now that Seattle has clinched the NFC’s last seed and head into a matchup with the heavily-favored 49ers they’re feeling loose and having fun by all accounts.

Speaking with reporters at the VMAC yesterday, wide receiver Tyler Lockett said the team feels they really don’t have anything to lose, per NFL.com.

“I honestly think everybody is just more free. You don’t have to be uptight. You don’t have to be tense. Obviously, we’re going into a playoff game, and you can really make it like, ‘Oh, my gosh, it’s the playoffs,’ but it’s different when everybody is telling you that you have to win or it’s a bust type of season, when people thought we were going to win four games… We really don’t have anything to lose. We’re just going to go out there and have fun, go out there and play, and I feel like we’re getting better each and every week.”

To pull off an unlikely upset, the Seahawks will need Lockett and a number of other key players to be on their A-game. Lockett is probably one they don’t have to worry about. He’s been their most-consistent producer on offense for several years now and he’s performed well against the 49ers historically.

In 15 career games against San Francisco, he’s caught 70 of 87 targets (80.5%), totaling 755 yards and eight touchdowns. The Seahawks have a record of 11-4 in those games.

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4 areas where Chargers must improve going into Wild Card Round vs. Jaguars

We identified four areas where the Chargers need to improve as the playoffs get underway on Saturday.

The Chargers are hot, winning their last four of five games. However, they have to improve in certain areas to avoid being one-and-done. Which areas may be most vital in making necessary adjustments?

We identified four areas Los Angeles could improve as its postseason play kicks off on Saturday night against the Jaguars.

 

Safe Returns: Jones says McCarthy job as Cowboys HC not in jeopardy as playoffs begin

The owner says there is no outcome Monday versus the 8-9 Buccaneers that would put McCarthy’s status as Cowboys head coach at risk. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Mike McCarthy wasn’t hired to rack up 12-win seasons.

He was brought in as head coach to turn the Cowboys into a team that is, to borrow the phrase owner Jerry Jones used back in July, “viable in the playoffs.”

Now, with a second straight postseason berth, questions have once again surfaced about McCarthy’s future with the organization if the Cowboys don’t make- at the very least- a deep run through the NFC bracket.

Jones, though, isn’t ready to make Monday night’s wild-card showdown with Tampa Bay any sort of make-or-break moment for his third-year head coach.

“No. I don’t even want to- no. That’s it,” Jones told Shan & RJ on 105.3 The Fan during a Tuesday morning call-in when he was asked if McCarthy’s job could be at risk with a playoff loss to the 8-9 Buccaneers. “I don’t need to go into all the pluses or minuses, but I’ve got a lot more to evaluate Mike McCarthy on than this playoff game.”

Despite a 12-5 regular-season campaign, the confidence of Cowboys Nation has wavered in recent weeks. There was the blowout of a poor Indianapolis squad that actually wasn’t a blowout at all over the first three quarters. That was followed by a four-point squeaker over a one-win Houston crew. A mistake-filled overtime loss to Jacksonville. Two consecutive slugfest wins over teams starting backup quarterbacks. And, of course, the top-to-bottom terrible showing in Sunday’s finale against a depleted Washington roster that had zero left to play for.

Dallas’s recent body of work is concerning enough that the Cowboys opened as favorites by only three points to a sub-.500 team.

But Jones expressed belief that the team will rally around each other as well as their coaching staff.

“I have real confidence, all the confidence in the world in Mike and our offensive line coaches and our offensive personnel, our coordinator. I have all the faith in the world that we can make the kind of adjustments we need to make this week,” Jones explained. “I can see us playing better. Got to play better at Tampa, but I have a lot of confidence in our coaches to get that straightened out.”

The constant hot-seat whispers seem to always surround this team, even after an overall successful season. But until the Cowboys can get over this 27-year speed bump and finally make it back to the NFC title game, the questions will linger.

And despite this latest dismissal of the topic from Jerry Jones, nothing will definitively answer those questions- at least for another week- quite like actually being viable in the playoffs and notching a win in Tampa.

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Advanced stats say surging 49ers present formidable foe for Cowboys

Cowboys scored over 100 more points and allowed less points than SF, but the 49ers hold a slight edge in key win indicators. @ProfessorO_NFL dives into DVOA, EPA, ANY/A and Toxicity.

The 2021 NFL regular season officially ended with the 12-5 Dallas Cowboys dominating the Philadelphia Eagles in a record-breaking night for quarterback Dak Prescott. The Cowboys were short-handed due to injuries and COVID-19 cases but able to win on Saturday then watch to see if they could move up in NFC seeding. With the Seattle Seahawks beating the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers upsetting the Los Angeles Rams, the Cowboys were able to move from the four seed to the three and will have their sights on the 49ers this Sunday in the opening round of the playoffs.

The 49ers ended their season on a high with a come-from-behind victory. They finished the season third in their division with a 10-7 record but with the sixth seed. They will fly into Dallas with similar momentum as both teams have won four of their last five games.

This matchup features several intriguing storylines, however the one that is sure to garner a lot of attention will be the matchup of Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn facing off with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for Quinn’s Atlanta Falcons during their best days that included a trip to the Super Bowl. Their knowledge of each other’s schemes and thought processes presents an interesting meeting.

Each week we open up the Advanced Stat Notebook to analyze how each team ranks in EPA, DVOA, ANY/A and Toxic Differential. These four key metrics have a high correlation to win probability.

2021 NFL wild-card round schedule: Times, dates for Cowboys-49ers, 5 other matchups

A look at the wild-card round schedule and how things sit for the Dallas Cowboys’ first trip to the playoffs since 2018. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have earned the No. 3 seed in the NFC and will face off against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC wild card. That game will take place on Sunday at 3:20 p.m. Central. The contest will be televised on CBS.

The game is of course part of the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend, which for the first time ever will feature games across three different days of action. With seven teams making the dance in each conference, only the No. 1 seed gets a bye week now and the other 12 teams will all square off next weekend.

There will be two games on Saturday, a Sunday triple header and for the first time ever, a planned Monday Night Football matchup.

Here’s a look at the seeding in both the NFC and the AFC.

Browns OL didn’t allow a pressure vs. the Steelers despite high blitz rate

It’s truly remarkable how well the shuffled offensive line performed in Pittsburgh. 

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One of the perceived advantages the Pittsburgh Steelers held over the Cleveland Browns entering the wild-card round meeting on Sunday was a rested and relatively healthy Steelers defensive front going up against a Browns offensive line minus Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio. It got even dicier-looking for the Browns when All-Pro right tackle Jack Conklin and Bitonio’s replacement, Michael Dunn, each left the game and did not return with injuries of their own.

It didn’t matter. The Browns offensive line still dominated Pittsburgh. Aside from the impressive ground attack (127 yards on 31 carries), the pass protection pitched a complete shutout. All-Pro T.J. Watt, Pro Bowler Cam Heyward and the rest of the Steelers pass rush never got close enough to Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield to register a single pressure on No. 6 in white and orange.

From Zebra Technologies, which is behind the NFL Next Gen stats, in its wild-card round press release,

Baker Mayfield was cool under pressure on Sunday night as he went 13/18 for 192 yards and 3 TD vs. the blitz. Despite the Steelers’ 53% blitz rate, Pittsburgh didn’t force any pressures on Mayfield’s 34 dropbacks, marking the 2nd most dropbacks without a pressure in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016).

A sped-up Browns offense helped out, too. Also from Zebra Technologies, Mayfield got the ball out of his hands quicker on Sunday night in an average of 2.34 seconds. That’s a quarter of a second faster than any other game he played this year.

Mayfield’s passing chart for the night from Next Gen stats:

That doesn’t happen without phenomenal pass protection from the Browns line. Remember, OL coach Bill Callahan and his assistant, Scott Peters, were both not on the sidelines due to COVID-19 issues. With no head coach Kevin Stefanski either, it’s truly remarkable how well the shuffled offensive line performed in Pittsburgh.

Kevin Stefanski: ‘I have a newfound respect for our fans’ after watching the wild-card win

Watching his team play while at home was a very enlightening experience for Stefanski

“One of us! One of us!”

It’s a common refrain from Cleveland fans when finding someone who gets what it’s like to be a sports fan from the city, or embracing the uniqueness that being from Northeast Ohio imprints upon us. It’s high praise that is not easily earned. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has safely proven he’s worthy.

He’s “one of us.” Witness his statement about watching Sunday night’s incredible win from the anxious setting of his basement instead of being on the sidelines.

The detachment, the lack of control over the events unfolding, the unbelievable swing in momentum from the 28-0 first quarter lead through the Steelers closing the gap to 35-23 and looking like they could pull off the miracle comeback, Stefanski felt it all through a fan’s eye on Sunday night.

“I have a newfound respect for our fans,” Stefanski said in a Monday Zoom session with reporters.

He related another “one of us” moment in talking about a moment of television naivete.

“My feed for whatever reason, I must have hit pause or something, was about 45 seconds behind,” Stefanski said with a smile. “So I heard my kids going crazy upstairs. I had an inkling something good was going to happen on that first play.”

Perhaps the Progressive “Dr. Rick” commercials he probably saw for the first time made an impact. Stefanski admitted, “It’s not something I plan on doing again,” when asked about the experience of being away from his time while they’re playing.