DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2022 NFL Season NFL 2022 Post Season Wild Card Weekend

Last year's NFL Playoffs were perhaps the best I have ever seen. It's an exciting time of year for people who enjoy watching football. Wild Card Weekend is typically the worst round of the playoffs, but let's take a quick look at this week's games.

Seattle @ SF: Pete Carroll has once again proven to be an excellent HC and Geno Smith has had a story book year. However, SF has the league's best defense and a ton of weapons surrounding their rookie qb. They should win.

Chargers at Jacksonville: Tough one to call. Jax blew out the Chargers earlier this year. Yet, the Chargers have superior talent. I do think Staley, the Chargers HC is the worst in the league and is wasting prime years of Herbert's career. I'd say this is a toss up.

Miami at Buffalo: The teams split the season series. Tua is out. Buffalo should roll.

Giants at Vikings: Minni won on Christmas Eve when Greg Joseph [remember him?] kicked a 61 yard FG at the end of the game. The Vikings have a lot more talent and should win, but look for the Giants to put up a lot of yards against Minni's defense. It probably doesn't make sense, but I see an upset in the cards.

Ravens at Bengals. The teams split the season series. Lamar is probably out. The Bengals are a well-rounded teams w/a superior qb. It will be a hard-fought game, but Cinci should prevail.

Dallas at Tampa Bay: Dallas should win, but Dak is not playing well and Dallas is not good on grass. Who do you trust----Dak or Brady? The Cowboys should roll, but I would not be shocked to see an upset.

Didn't realize there was a Monday Night game... Did we do that last year?

Yes, the Cardinals and Rams played on Monday night last year.

49ers
LA
Bills
Bengals

I think those are all straight forward. Dallas should win but there are some glaring issues for Dallas at the moment. Minnesota should beat the Giants - but they have played poorly recently.

If I watch one game it will be Lawrence vs Herbert - everyone anointed Herbert as the second coming some time ago, but while sometimes he looks sublime, he's also sometimes underwhelmed on the bigger stage. Be interesting to see this game and how it plays out. Pederson for me is coach of the year and if he somehow wins this game i think it would cement that.

49ers win in a blowout.

Bills in a blowout.

Chargers win a tight one. I think this is the most exciting game of the weekend.

Vikings win.

Bengals cruise to a win.

Cowboys defense does enough to beat Tom Teriffic before he heads to Las Vegas next season.

Seattle @ SF: I don't see any way that Seatlle can pull this off. Geno has certainly had the best season of his career, but Purdy has been on an even better streak and there's no doubt that Shanahan can out coach pretty much any HC in the NFL. San Fran wins easily.

Chargers at Jacksonville: I certainly agree that this is a tough one to call. I really like Jacksonville and will be rooting for them to win. But in the end I think the overall talent level will win out. Chargers in a close one but I hope I'm wrong.

Miami at Buffalo: While Josh Allen has certainly looked more human than usual lately there's no way this game should be close with Tua out. Bills roll easily.

Giants at Vikings: The Vikings have been playing below the threshold of how they played earlier in the season. The Giants have been playing above their threshold from earlier in the season. Momentum has a big influence in the playoffs. But I just think the difference in talent is a little too much. Vikings in a squeaker.

Ravens at Bengals: The Bengals and I don't think it will be that close. With or without Lamar.

Dallas at Tampa Bay: With Dallas and Dak you never know what you're going to see form week to week. Brady has always been a clutch QB but nobody can deny age forever. At some point it gets everyone. If Dallas can light it up early it will be a cake walk for them. If not it will be close and I can't rule out Tom terrific pulling off his usual usual greatness at least for now. Still the Cowboys, other than this past week, have been putting quite a few points on the board. As much as it goes against my feelings on the matter, I'm going to give the Cowboys an edge in this one.

SATURDAY:

NINERS OVER SEAHAWKS
CHARGERS OVER JAGS

SUNDAY:

BILLS OVER DOLPHINS
GIANTS OVER VIKINGS (UPSET SPECIAL)
BUNGALS OVER RATS

MONDAY:

COWBOYS OVER BUCS

j/c

I have no idea if this will impact anyone's picks, but as a matter of full disclosure for those yet to make your picks I thought I would provide this information.

Bills sign WR Cole Beasley to 53-man roster

https://www.buffalobills.com/news/bills-sign-wr-cole-beasley-to-53-man-roster

I’m going to say:

San Francisco over Seattle
Jacksonville over LA Chargers
Buffalo over Miami
Minnesota over NY Giants
Cincinnati over Baltimore
Dallas over Tampa Bay

49ers
Jags
Bills
Vikings
Bengals
Bucs

Smart man

As long as the Giants and Miami Final is still possible, got to go with that.

49ers, Chargers, Bills, Vikings, Ravens, Cowboys.

Niners, Jags, Bills, Giants, Ravens, Bucs.

we’ll see Tuesday morning 😂

Another questionable decision that backfires on Staley.

I don't get it, what backfired?

He played the starters almost the entire game that was meaningless. It's not a guaranteed dumb decision, but it was questionable. The guy has made more blunders than any coach in the league the last two years. I predict that Sean Payton will end up w/the Chargers if they don't make a deep Super Bowl run this year. I've heard that they are his desired location.

I agree with these except Chargers will win.

San Fran
Jax
Buffalo
NY Giants
Cincy
Tampa

49ers
Chargers
Bills
Giants
Bengals
Bucs

Due to a lot of attention after last year's Buffalo/KC epic playoff game because Josh Allen never got the ball in OT, a new rule was created for playoff games. It goes something like this:

--The OT has been extended to 15 minutes instead of the 10 minute OT in the regular season

--Both teams are guaranteed a possession in OT.

--If the teams are tied after each team has possessed the ball, the game would become Sudden Death, which means that the first team to score would win the game.

--The game would end if both teams score TDs and second team goes for two.

I think the new rule changes the strategy in OT. It's always been to take the ball first in OT. With the new rule in place, teams will now defer. Kicking off to the other team would allow the second team to know exactly what they need in order to win or extend the game. That is a huge advantage based on the flip of a coin.

It was much smarter back in the nineteen eighties. I don't give a # if your team never possessed the ball in OT, you didn't win it in regulation, if you didn't want to lose in sudden death one score overtime, then Don't go to overtime.
We end up with the Worst super bowl winning teams ever with this watered down namby pamby league.

San Fran. I don’t think Seattle can stop their run game at all.

Jags. I think the Chargers have superior talent but I think their coach will blow this game on stupid calls.

Bengals. The Ravens don’t have a QB

Bills. Miami doesn’t have a QB

Vikings. I think they get it done because of Jefferson

Dallas. I don’t have a lot of faith in Dallas to win when it matters but they are playing a sub .500 team.

49'ers healthily
Jaguars late and close
Bills big
Giants late and close
Bengals big
Cowboys close

Two NFC teams begin wild card week.
I don't even think the NFL is real football anymore, so the only reason to watch are the matchups.

Yet there are NO, ZERO matchups in the NFC that mean anything to me anymore. None at all, no storyline, it might as well be curling, Curling the Olympic thing.
Welp. I guess it's not worth watching the super bowl anymore.

Remember when that returner attended Columbus area High school football. Remember when that player used to make plays for the Browns at safety.
Not sure the game even started, every time I tuned in it was a commercial so tuned in a different show. looked again, another commercial.

I wish the announcer would not have said " so much more options." you can't use the word much with a word that ends in an s
in that case you need to use the word many. so many more options
the word much can go with a vague concept like patience, but not a plural word like patients.
For people who spent their lives speaking American English, you'd think I could end a sentence with an object.

seattle wide receiver got away with a hold to allow that touchdown. It results in a 3 point differential.
Niners lead.

Seattle ahead at half. Purdy doesn’t look as sharp. Seattle is such a “hanging around” team

Wow what a throw and catch from Lawrence to Jones to finish
The Chargers off. Jvilles offense is light years ahead
Of the Browns yet Browns fans want too see a offense .where
Chubb gets the ball 54 times a game

Did you teleport here from the future because that game hasnt started yet.

Are you a motivational speaker?

Will the Browns score 4I points in any game next season???

Fortyniners today scored 4I.

Look, playoff teams are putting up points greater than 23, so it is a legitimate @uestion
can and will the Browns put up 4I plus points, in a game, in the upcoming year?

Already a turnover 2 plays into the late game.

Turnovers are so paramount in playoff games.

I think I need to revisit my Chargers/Jags pick... wow... 3 INTs for the Jags so far...

Lawerence has as many passes to the Chargers as his own team...

j/c:

Tony Dungy is a horrible announcer.

Lawrence with his 4th INTin the 1st half.

Samuel has caught more passes from Lawrence than anyone on the jags team...

We've had great comebacks in playoff games start with one team going up big, but real early.

aww LA will have to settle for a fg. that could come back to haunt them.

This could be very interesting to see how both teams play the remainder of the game, half and game.
For Jax, all they need is one score, that first TD.

for the chargers it will be how to avoid the expectation to let off the gas because they have a large lead of twentyseven to zero.

This is crazy; why can't the Browns ever catch a break like this? This is an article about the starting QB for the Niners today, Brock Purdy. The kid is on fire and looking like a top-10 starter. Selected last in the draft.

Brock Purdy Was Mr. Irrelevant. Now He’s Mr. Impossible.

Joe Montana. Steve Young. Yelberton Abraham Tittle. Some of the best quarterbacks to ever set foot on an NFL field played for the San Francisco 49ers, but none did what Brock Purdy has done this season.

You want wins? Purdy is one of only three rookie quarterbacks since the merger to start five or more games and go undefeated as a starter. The two others played for the Steelers: Mike Kruczek in 1976 (6-0) and Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 (13-0). Both rookie quarterbacks’ teams went on to play in the conference championship.

Are touchdowns more your thing? Only Deshaun Watson had a better TD rate in his rookie season (9.3 percent vs. 7.6 percent for Purdy), and Hall of Famer Dan Marino checks in at a distant third (6.8 percent).

Perhaps you prefer a measure of overall efficiency? Purdy’s passer rating of 107.3 is the best ever for a rookie with 50 or more pass attempts. Or maybe you don’t like raw passer rating (I can’t really fault you). Purdy is also tops all time in rookie Passer Rating Index,1 which adjusts for player era, beating out Marino by 3 points (128 vs. 125). He’s also first in adjusted yards per attempt index, besting Roethlisberger by 1 point (127 to 126).

And Purdy did all of this after being picked dead last in the 2022 draft? Somebody make it make sense.

---stats graphic on site---

Starting the year as the backup quarterback to Jimmy Garoppolo, who was himself the backup to Trey Lance, Purdy’s eventual opportunity was part of a trend that shaped the league in 2022. Sixty-eight quarterbacks started at least one game in 2022 — the second-most starters used in a season in NFL history, according to ESPN’s Stats & Information Group.

Due in part to all the injuries, teams attempted passes at the lowest per-game rate in 13 years, and that lack of passing led to teams posting the fewest passing yards per team game (218.5) over that period. But it wasn’t just passing volume; quarterback efficiency also suffered. Leaguewide adjusted net yards per pass attempt dipped below 6.0 for the first time since 2017, another season notorious for the number of injuries to top QBs.

Yet despite being a third-string, seventh-round talent — just the sort of player you’d expect to contribute to the leaguewide QB slump — Purdy transcended the league’s environment and strung together five games of production that is unprecedented in league history. It’s difficult to overstate just how surprising this is.

As a point of comparison, consider the case of Watson, a quarterback who missed most of the past two years due to a suspension stemming from accusations of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women. It shouldn’t be surprising for even a formerly elite player to have trouble playing at a high level physically and mentally after a layoff of that length. That makes Watson’s return late in the season a reasonable comp for the hurdles Purdy had to overcome when his number was called.

And while it’s not a perfect comparison — the 49ers defense is superior to that of the Browns, and Kyle Shanahan is a better coach than Kevin Stefanski — it’s pretty clear that coming into the year, most would have bet on the former All-Pro first-rounder putting up better stats than whomever Mr. Irrelevant wound up being.

Instead, over the last five games of the regular season, Purdy bested Watson in every meaningful statistical category.


---stats graphic on site---

Remarkably, Purdy’s YPA, passing touchdowns, TD-to-INT ratio and off-target throw percentage either tied for or led the league over that period. Meanwhile Watson’s 19 sacks — and never forget that sacks are a QB stat — was the highest total in the league over the final five weeks.

All of which is to say that being a quarterback in the NFL is hard, even if Purdy somehow made it look sort of easy. And maybe that’s because, well, it kind of was. There’s evidence on tape that Shanahan did everything he could to make the game as simple as possible for his rookie starter. Purdy’s best plays by EPA came on calls like rollouts, which gave Purdy defined, half-field reads, or on passes to running back Christian McCaffery and tight end George Kittle that featured more yardage after the catch than through the air. There were even wild orbit motion, double-fake passes with a “Y-leak” thrown in that went for scores.

---video on site---

Still, Shanahan’s genius for scheme only explains so much. Eventually Purdy had to stand in the pocket, process the defense past his first read, and deliver the ball downfield on time and on target.

---video on site---

Those are the throws we expect NFL starters to make — throws that teams draft QBs in the first round to execute. The fact that Purdy made them with regularity when the league took 261 players before him is revealing. Not even the 49ers — the team that ultimately took a chance on Purdy (with its ninth selection of the draft) — can escape embarrassment completely. After all, if any QB can run Shanahan’s system, why spend three firsts and a third-round pick to trade up for Lance just a few years ago?

The truth is, no one really knows anything about projecting quarterbacks to the NFL. If they did, Brock Purdy would be impossible. Instead, the Niners are 9.5-point favorites over the Seahawks this weekend with a starting QB who was drafted after four punters and a placekicker. And instead of impossible, Purdy and the Niners somehow appear inevitable.

Check out our latest NFL predictions.


https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/brock-purdy-was-mr-irrelevant-now-hes-mr-impossible/


Ranking top five Mr. Irrelevant players in NFL history as 49ers' Brock Purdy makes playoff debut vs. Seahawks

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...k-purdy-makes-playoff-debut-vs-seahawks/


49ers' Brock Purdy to remain starting QB rest of playoffs even if Jimmy Garoppolo cleared to play, per report

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...my-garoppolo-cleared-to-play-per-report/

Our QB, 230 Mil Guaranteed, theirs on a Mr. Irrelevent, selected dead last in the draft, rookie deal! I get so sick of being a Browns fan when I see things like this. Nothing like that happens here. NOPE. That's why part of me thinks it's likely that DW never does squat on the Browns just because of our failure history. They got a kid that should never have seen the field this year playing like Tom Brady.

The Cardinals at Cincy in nineteen ninety seven, was 2I to 0 until the final minute of the 3rd @uarter, and a comeback to tie at 2I and win in overtime.

How can they get delay of game in a playoff game, in this situation.
the jaguars cut the lead in half, a I3 point lead remains.

OH no, are the Chargers going to fire there DC like the Browns did Woods.

Going for 2 with over ten minutes to play in the game when you just got momentum?
BIG mistake by Doug Pederson.
bad coach stupidity. Just lifted the Chargers spirits, dumb.
a I6 point lead
now ten could have been nine. Way DUMB.

Could the jags come all the way back?

Not if the refs have something to say. They have been terrible.

If any other team got more help from the refs with false calls than Justin Herberts overrated team the last 4 years, it'd have to be the steelers or nobody. Absolutely disgusting.

I agree... don't typically get on the refs, but every call has gone the Chargers way....

Nobody gets propped up more than Justin =loser =everything for free Herbert.

They don't deserve to b/c they went for two on their last TD.
a. it's dumb
b. it's analytics and bad analytics and
c. analytics loses on gamedays, so they don't deserve to.

The Chargers are Brownsing this one up.

Come on jags!!!!!!

Going for 2 again and making it, Really a BAD call. Again.
he doesn't realize, that even making it, he lifted the chargers spirits again, and gave momentum back to LA.
B/c only desperate teams need to go for 2, in
BOTH of those situations. Hope they win, but they doubly don't deserve to.

Chargers are better than this.

Bosa is right about the tackle moving early. We see that almost every week with Myles. He has to keep his composure.

The Jags were earlier?

Love seeing the Jags D step up. That's what good DTs and blitzing can do for you. Browns, take note.

the Jaguars rushed the snap at 2:0I, didn't need to.

WOW!!!!!!

Chargers fail.

Staley's last call as a Charger's HC is a timeout to ice the kicker after blowing a 27 point lead.

Seriously!?!?!?! UP 27-0... AND LOSE!@

Trevor Lawrence is panning out for Jax.

one point win with a negative 4 or ? turnover ratio. jaguars won.

j/c...

What a hilarious choke job. Brandon Staley will be fired. Blowing a 27-0 lead!

Hat tip to the Jags for not quitting and what a wild game to be at for the fans.

Wow! Just an amazing 2nd half for the Jags.

They make me 2-0 on my picks so far.

HA, I bet that failure on the pass attempt in the end zone from the red zone, up 24 to 0 in the first half, and settleing for a FG might have come back to haunt them. told em.

Credit to Doug Pederson to not hitting the
Panic button at half time and sticking to the gameplan.
The Chargers prove it takes more than elite
Talent to get advance In the playoffs
Talent is a over used word at times.
The Browns have Talent. But where as it got them
In the last 2 years ?

Oh no, don't bunjee jump mascot.

lady died bunjee jumping at super bowl in nineteen ninety seven.

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1997/01/26/Human-error-cited-in-bungee-death/8887854254800/

OH my gosh... bottom right , current,
Robbie Kinevel died. ...

Chargers with a typical Chargers loss (we know that feeling)

Jags move on.

At this point, I am approaching this like the "Other Games" regular season threads.

Seattle at SF: Seahawks fought hard in first half. I was surprised they were able to run on SF. Metcalf was ballin. Dumb penalty by Ward at the end of the half and Seattle took the lead. Pete Carroll has done more w/less than probably anyone in the league. SF got hot in the 2nd half. They have so many weapons on offense. It' amazing. Getting Mccaffrey during the season was huge for them. Purdy looked purdy bad in first half, but played well in the second. After the game, Shanny said he gets nervous w/some of his decisions while praising him. SF should win the NFC, but the qb thing could become an issue.

Chargers at Jags: Both coaches had terrible offensive game plans. Why Peterson was passing so much in the first half is a mystery to me. The Chargers run defense stinks. Your asking your qb who is making his first playoff start to win in a pass happy offense? The Chargers did not run Ekeler enough. In the second half, Lawrence got hot and the comeback was remarkable. Of course, Staley was Staley-esque. Totally mismanaged the clock again. Issues a challenge on a play that he clearly had no way of winning, but the timing of it was even worse. It ended up costing his team oa much-needed TO. Furthermore, Lawrence had cut his thumb on the previous play. The Jags medical staff was able to bandage and protect the thumb during the Review delay. I will also add that after the game, Staley was talking about players dropping the ball, not putting the ball where it needed to be, players not being disciplined, running to the wrong holes, etc. He did not mention his and/or his coaching staffs' performance one single time. He's the worst coach in the league. Don't be shocked to see Sean Payton leading the Chargers next year. That team probably has more talent than any team in the league. On the other side, it's a real feel good story for the Jags. Peterson did an excellent job this year, Lawrence developed, and they play the game hard---especially on defense. Very team oriented.

A lot of the coaches and players probably don't have to "imagine."


https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id...r-tying-postseason-mark-set-1969-raiders

However, this thread is about the games going on this weekend. You have plenty of other threads to voice your displeasure w/the Browns. How about you stick to the topic of the thread?

Oh, the irony.

mac, I started the thread. It is about games being played this weekend and not the Browns. Please stop. There are plenty of threads for you to express your disdain for the Browns.

One thing I forgot to mention in the SF game was when Tyler Kroft, the former Bengal TE, was supposed to block a guy on a running play. Kroft was running horizontally across the formation and had a chance to block a defender. He ducked his head and totally whiffed on the block. The RB got throttled for a loss and the announcers were confused as to what happened. Did anyone see that? I was thinking that no way Shanny puts that guy back in the game.

Goodness. Wonder if his wife is going to file for a divorce?

The Chargers vs Jags game was the tale of two halves. Lawrence went into this game with a 3 to 1 TD to Int. ratio and looked lost and confused right up until the final drive of the first half. From watching him throughout this season he didn't appear to be a totally polished QB but certainly a competent one. Not in that first half. And while the Chargers had some short fields, that Jaguars D didn't look like themselves during that first half either. I have no idea what Pederson said to them at half time but he certainly motivated that offense at half time and prevented a team who could have certainly given up to turn things around on a dime. The D obviously dialed up the pressure and it clearly threw Herbert out of his comfort zone. The Jaguars D looked as advertised in that second half. What a great game that turned out to be!

And San Fran San Franned. An extremely well coached team lived up to their billing and just did what they do. That's no small feat with a rookie/ Mr. Irrelevant QB under center. I agree with what Vers posted that Shanahan should be considered for coach of the year. I just haven't seen the NFL give a lot of consideration for that when a team did so well the prior year and with having such a complete overall team. But the QB situation he has overcome is amazing. Purdy didn't look so great in the first half but had a strong second half performance. He did look Perdy in the second half.

I think Herbert is an elite qb who has been hurt by some coaching decisions in LA and also the team's constant battles w/injuries. What is crazy is how many tipped passes he has despite being 6'6". During the game, it was very evident that a lot of his passes are thrown w/a 3/4 motion. That is a significant drop and it negates his superior height. I think it's a gift that so many of these young qbs can throw accurately from different arm angles, but if I was their qb coach, getting Herbert to throw over the top would be a priority. At this point, it looks like a muscle memory thing.

I think the giants/Vikes game should be good. The other two today? Maybe not

Somebody posted on another board that Purdy reminds them of a young Stetson Bennett.

Well I guess I have to give you 10 out of 10 for consistency.

The Jags game was so much fun to watch - and honestly as soon as they got the one TD, I felt it was going to become a tight game. There's so many facets and angles to a game that it's always unfair to pick out one play and over emphasize it .... but damn if *JOEY Bosa isn't a clown who probably handed the Jags the opportunity to win the game in normal time. And I agree with the commentator said that the movement we seemed to see in ultra slow motion was essentially 'instantaneous with the snap in real time' ... I think Garrett sees people moving like that constantly and I have seen much worse not called across the line from MG.

*Edit - corrected from Nick to Joey.