Board 8 > NFL Super Wild Card Weekend Discussion Topic

(+) Yeah! (+)

Leonhart4 posted...

It didn't take long to get the Prime Time to the Cowboys hype train going

It's a terrible idea that will make the Cowboys the focus of sports media so honestly it was overdetermined

MZero posted...

No way the Vikings just roll over and die here.

They're going to make a comeback and lose on like a last second blocked field goal or something for maximum heartbreak

that's asking a lot from darnold tbqh

Think Blade was on the right track with "Defense plays heroically for 3 quarters then dies" but honestly they might just give up before dying the way Darnold and the offense are playing.

Denji posted...

It's a terrible idea that will make the Cowboys the focus of sports media so honestly it was overdetermined

The Cowboys will be the #1 headline for 5 years of not making the playoffs.

Thorn posted...

that's asking a lot from darnold tbqh

Think Blade was on the right track with "Defense plays heroically for 3 quarters then dies" but honestly they might just give up before dying the way Darnold and the offense are playing.

This is virtually identical to the Lions game, except the Vikings offense actually looks a little worse

The defense is already wearing down because the Vikings have put together one actual drive all game. In that game, they could put together drives early on, but Darnold couldn't finish.

Unless Jerry has changed his ways, he prefers coaches who fall in line with what he wants since Parcells left. Deion doesn't really fit that mold, so I'd be a little surprised if that's the hire.

"Throws behind Nailor who is wide open"

ayup.

I wonder if he's seeing ghosts yet.

That was more on Nailor for not throttling down into the open part of the zone.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/8723bc30.png

Looks down to me, but a lot closer than I thought in real time.

I can't even say it's a bad challenge, Vikings are in hell right now.

it's been 2 full games now since the Vikings last scored a touchdown

Leonhart4 posted...

Unless Jerry has changed his ways, he prefers coaches who fall in line with what he wants since Parcells left. Deion doesn't really fit that mold, so I'd be a little surprised if that's the hire.

That's exactly what McCarthy was. He wasn't gonna buck the trend.

What's curious is that Jerry was like "lol no" to the Bears just a week ago. So now McCarthy will probably go to the Bears.

Rams got a little too blitzhappy there but that 2 point try had no chance.

So many avoidable sacks.

That was an absolutely inexcusable sack yikes

Suprak_the_Stud posted...

That was an absolutely inexcusable sack yikes

And it's like the 4th sack that's looked exactly like it

This one had the added effect of negating all hope of a field goal.

Surprised Minnesota is just straight up quitting here.

Suprak_the_Stud posted...

Surprised Minnesota is just straight up quitting here.

The entire crowd calling them frauds has been proven them very very right

I thought the Rams would win easily but maybe not this easily.

Yup. Rams were my third highest points in my pick 'em confidence league. I'm actually surprised I didn't have them higher but there were some real mismatches this week. I was shocked that Vikings were "favored" after last week and I feel like not enough people watched that whole game or something.

Although I did also pick the Chargers so I can't really crow as that was such a stupid pick in retrospect.

I had been saying 10+ but I can't remember if I said it here or not.

I did think they would put up a better fight than this though. They played the 4th quarter like they were just not interested.

Suprak_the_Stud posted...

Yup. Rams were my third highest points in my pick 'em confidence league. I'm actually surprised I didn't have them higher but there were some real mismatches this week. I was shocked that Vikings were "favored" after last week and I feel like not enough people watched that whole game or something.

Although I did also pick the Chargers so I can't really crow as that was such a stupid pick in retrospect.

Rams are my 14.

Buffalo was the lock of the week and my 16, but I thought Denver would score in trash time and lose in the mid-teens. I have no idea where the Denver hype came from.

Denver sucked too much to even do that!

Yeah I had Buffalo at 16 and Ravens at 14. Rams were 12. All three of those games I had zero hesitation with. Eagles were 10 and I was really confident there.

But then I got both 8 and 6 wrong oops. I don't regret the Bucs pick but that Chargers pick (only at 6 but still) will haunt me I think.

Suprak_the_Stud posted...

Yeah I had Buffalo at 16 and Ravens at 14. Rams were 12. All three of those games I had zero hesitation with. Eagles were 10 and I was really confident there.

But then I got both 8 and 6 wrong oops. I don't regret the Bucs pick but that Chargers pick (only at 6 but still) will haunt me I think.

I actually thought the Ravens were favored by too much. If the Steelers had put up any fight at all in the first half, maybe I would've been right.

Let's just tack on another holds it far too long sack for Darnold.

I was kind of hoping Darnold took one more sack there so they'd get a solo record because he absolutely deserves it after whatever that was today. Ah well.

Leonhart4 posted...

Also Darnold continues to cost himself millions of dollars for the second straight game

He was this close to tricking a team into giving him 4 years/200 million

Maybe he still gets 2 years/60 million but it's a plummet.

Wildcard weekend was a mistake.

Suprak_the_Stud posted...

Wildcard weekend was a mistake.

Super Wildcard Weekend and the expanded CFP have something in common!

UltimaterializerX posted...

The 7 seed was a mistake. 2 byes 6 teams was a perfect format and now we get this dumb shit.

I mean, the Packers did make some magic happen as the 7-seed last year. Drilled the Cowboys, then played competitively against the 49ers the next week.

This year they shit a brick from the same position, which I expect to be the norm going forward. They can go back to the six-team format for each conference, but they won't do that because more games = more $$$.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

I mean, the Packers did make some magic happen as the 7-seed last year. Drilled the Cowboys, then played competitively against the 49ers the next week.

This year they shit a brick from the same position, which I expect to be the norm going forward. They can go back to the six-team format for each conference, but they won't do that because more games = more $$$.

I mean though.

It's Dallas.

As for next week...
Chiefs > Texans (Texans got crushed by the Chiefs a month ago, nothing's gonna change)
Lions > Commies (Commies could make it competitive for one half, but overall they don't have a chance)
Eagles > Rams (Rams could pull the upset if they're still motivated to play for their city, though)
Bills > Ravens (not confidence, since the Ravens could pull it off or muck it up again)

The games are scheduled in the order of least interesting to most interesting. I won't watch on Saturday. No reason to. May not be able to watch Eagles-Rams either, but will certainly watch Bills-Ravens.

Also Buckeyes > Irish but you knew that already. That's gonna be like Lions-Commies in that it may be competitive for a bit but won't be in the end.

Meow1000 posted...

I mean though.

It's Dallas.

Well yeah, but the Cowboys have had it in them to win a Wild Card game on occasion. They haven't been able to do any more than that in like 20 years, and that will continue so long as Jerry is GM. Again, what he wants is the fans to chant "JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!" as the chaos ensues around him. He wants to be in the middle of it all, for it all to be about himself, and that's why he'll never get another ring.

The seeding isn't the problem. It's not like seeding would have made Vikings/Rams more competitive or Texans/Chargers better to watch, or Ravens/Steelers a better game. The seeding is stupid, but it's not the only problem here.

Parity in the NFL is pretty much gone. There's a big divide between the best teams, and the next to best teams. And the NFL isn't really interested in solving that problem. They want Dynasties. Because Dynasties make them more money. And more parity means dynasties are less likely. Which would ultimately be better for the game, but make less money. And the NFL will choose money every time. They're a business after all.

You guys aren't going to be making fun of the Cowboys next year after they hire the guy that lead a second tier college football team to mediocrity as their coach.

Suprak_the_Stud posted...

You guys aren't going to be making fun of the Cowboys next year after they hire the guy that lead a second tier college football team to mediocrity as their coach.

"lol"

People talked about the Giants getting Deion and Shedeur.

For the love of god no.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

I mean, the Packers did make some magic happen as the 7-seed last year. Drilled the Cowboys, then played competitively against the 49ers the next week.

They're one of very few though. All the 7 seeds since they expanded the playoffs...

2020
Colts - Rivers nearly beat the Bills in his final season
Bears - Got in at 8-8 and blown out by the Saints. At least Trubisky won the NVP though!

2021
Eagles - Blown out by Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh - Kansas City puts down Roethlisberger

2022
Miami - Nearly beat Buffalo
Seattle - Easily lost to San Francisco

2023
Green Bay - Beat Dallas, nearly beat San Francisco
Pittsburgh - Lost to Buffalo

2024
Green Bay - Lost to Philly
Denver - Destroyed by Buffalo

That's a 1-10 record, and 7 of those 10 losses were convincing. The NFL's #7 seed is barely a step above the NBA's #10 seed

I love how the Bills are the 2 seed in 4 of those 5 years.

2021 is the odd man out. Tennessee had the #1 seed that year and immediately folded to Cincinnati.

Baltimore had the #1 seed in 2023, but at least that made sense

ZeroSignal posted...

Tennessee had the #1 seed that year and immediately folded

All is normal with the world tbqh.

ZeroSignal posted...

That's a 1-10 record, and 7 of those 10 losses were convincing. The NFL's #7 seed is barely a step above the NBA's #10 seed

I mean, that's kind of the point, isn't it? The #7 should be losing most of the time. Now show me the first game records for all the other seeds.

I'm normally not a fan of playoff expansion because it dilutes the reason for the regular season. But I like the 1 bye though in the NFL because it makes the top teams continue to play, and rewards only the very best.

Suprak_the_Stud posted...

You guys aren't going to be making fun of the Cowboys next year after they hire the guy that lead a second tier college football team to mediocrity as their coach.

uh, hell yes I will lmao

Darnold cant make pre-snap reads and Minnesota inexplicably didnt account for that. Detroit and LA didnt have to disguise anything. Two weeks of man coverage + pressure with no adjustments is awful coaching as well.

His best case is the Vikings franchising him, though I think hes probably no longer wanted in Minnesota.

As much as I dislike Denver, they did have a chance to go into the half tied. On the road with a rookie QB. They didnt really have a chance, but they do have a good defense and a good coach.

as far as parity, you can only really achieve that if you make teams re-draft QBs every year.

Denver did that classic "bad team scores on opening drive then never again" thing

neonreaper posted...

Darnold cant make pre-snap reads and Minnesota inexplicably didnt account for that. Detroit and LA didnt have to disguise anything. Two weeks of man coverage + pressure with no adjustments is awful coaching as well.

His best case is the Vikings franchising him, though I think hes probably no longer wanted in Minnesota.

The two games were a perfect storm of mediocrity being thoroughly exposed. The Vikings had one good drive down 27-3 because the Rams got sloppy on defense, but otherwise it was a lot of predictable playcalling with predictable results.

Though I will say some of those killer sacks were completely on Darnold, and it's hard to account for your QB panicking in circles with the ball a few times in the game. That had no business at all being a 9 sack game because he gave up some of those sacks practically for free by holding the ball much too long. The Vikings clearly didn't have the answers, and he clearly regressed even further from the Lions game.

Any hope of a big contract for him is gone because the mirage is lifted, but I would agree this offense was not well coached to end the season.

Meow1000 posted...

it's hard to account for your QB panicking in circles with the ball a few times in the game.

but that's lamar's superpower

FFDragon posted...

but that's lamar's superpower

This is what happens when Darnold does it

https://youtu.be/jOypj5XFGrU?si=ACx1Smx2KlUjSYML

too many ghosts

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/cc3aab7d.jpg

Rams/Eagles opened at 6 and is already down to 5.5, meanwhile talking heads are giving the Rams essentially no chance against the Eagles after giving them almost no chance against the Vikings.

Good job talking heads.

Lions and Bears are both 1-0 in 2025 while the Packers and Vikings are 0-2. 2025 off to a great start!