2026 NFL Playoffs Thread

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Be interesting to see you much weather will be a factor in Chicago. Looks like it's going to be cold and windy, windchills -15 or colder. I expect the line already reflects this, but that should aid Bears.

If the Bears subreddit is to be believed, Stafford is something like 1-9 in cold weather out doors.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

Herbert needs to get out of that organization

Really? He seems like a classic Charger. Puts up great regular season stats and absolutely terrible in the playoffs. Sure they can improve their offensive line but that's not going to matter until Herbert can start making throws when it counts.

[trackercowe]

Herbert, Lamar, and Burrow should just swap teams. It ain't working where they are, shuffle the chairs like Stafford for Goff and see who goes all the way first.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Divisional schedule is half out. I would guess Seahawks host the late game Saturday and the Bears late game Sunday.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

Herbert, Lamar, and Burrow should just swap teams. It ain't working where they are, shuffle the chairs like Stafford for Goff and see who goes all the way first.

I know the Bengals are a complete poverty franchise, but Burrow has actually been to a Super Bowl and was close to going to another. If he tries to force his way out that's one thing, but he's not the same as the other two in the playoffs and moving him using that rationale would be a touch insane. Burrow needs somewhere he can be in the playoffs more consistently than anything.

[transplant99]

The Packers are expected to try to work out a deal in the coming days to keep head coach Matt LaFleur in Green Bay, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Be interesting to see you much weather will be a factor in Chicago. Looks like it's going to be cold and windy, windchills -15 or colder. I expect the line already reflects this, but that should aid Bears.

Is that in Farenheit or Celsius (Temperature is the one unit of measurement that I think in metric)? I think there would be some under money if that's the case. Depends on how strong the winds are. Both teams can run the ball, but strong winds in the cold will damper the down field passing.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Really? He seems like a classic Charger. Puts up great regular season stats and absolutely terrible in the playoffs. Sure they can improve their offensive line but that's not going to matter until Herbert can start making throws when it counts.

Well they did lose both starting tackles to injury so that's a hole that any team will have a hard time plugging. Especially since Slater is a high paid guy, and Alt was a recent high pick. That said their interior 3 of Bozeman, Becton, and Johnson featured two guys who rated last or second last at their position by PFF grade and the top rated guy they have is Johnson at 23. I would think a team with Harbaugh at HC and Greg Roman as the OC will want the GM to fix this in the offseason. I expect they'll have a new center and left guard by next year.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Well they did lose both starting tackles to injury so that's a hole that any team will have a hard time plugging. Especially since Slater is a high paid guy, and Alt was a recent high pick. That said their interior 3 of Bozeman, Becton, and Johnson featured two guys who rated last or second last at their position by PFF grade and the top rated guy they have is Johnson at 23. I would think a team with Harbaugh at HC and Greg Roman as the OC will want the GM to fix this in the offseason. I expect they'll have a new center and left guard by next year.

All teams deal with depleted rosters in the playoffs. It's not like he took any worse of a beating than Allen yesterday. Allen however is a winner. It's not an aberration with him as he's been poor in all his playoff starts. Picking the Chargers to lose was the easiest pick this weekend for a reason.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Patriots D isn't very good, so if you can't even put up a replacement level effort against a mediocre D that suggests mental block more than anything. I wouldn't be out there looking to replace him at this point, good luck finding a better option. But I'd definitely be sending him to a sports psychologist.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Patriots D isn't very good, so if you can't even put up a replacement level effort against a mediocre D that suggests mental block more than anything. I wouldn't be out there looking to replace him at this point, good luck finding a better option. But I'd definitely be sending him to a sports psychologist.

Replacing Roman as OC is probably their best bet in addition to working with a shrink. I know the Harbaugh's love him but his offenses eventually hit the wall.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

All teams deal with depleted rosters in the playoffs. It's not like he took any worse of a beating than Allen yesterday. Allen however is a winner. It's not an aberration with him as he's been poor in all his playoff starts. Picking the Chargers to lose was the easiest pick this weekend for a reason.

Well I think you're underestimating the extent of the injuries at one position. The Raiders and Chiefs also had their offensive lines decimated with injuries and it caused their QB play to be poor as well. Did Trent Williams being back change the 49'ers yesterday? I would argue him leading them out of the dressing room yesterday changed the psyche of that entire team.

I'm sure you think Mahomes sucks and will make up any excuse as to why because you always think I'm wrong. I don't think Mahomes sucks but he played badly when he knew his line was down 3 starters until he eventually got injured. So if he gets rattled when he knows his line is bad it will happen to anyone. Allen took some hits...but much of that was when he was running the ball in short yardage and another time hitting his hand on his own players helmet. But he got sacked once against a pretty decent defence and wasn't under the same duress Herbert was.

Now I do think Allen is miles better than Herbert. Allen is top 3 QB in the league and the top dog in the eyes of many. I still think Herbert is a bit over rated as he's got tools, but can't seem to make it all work in critical situations like a playoff game. He was skittish in that game and eventually it seemed to affect the rest of the offence who followed the leader. So sure try a psychologist....but hope for better health with the tackles and fix the interior of that line.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Blaster86

If the Bears subreddit is to be believed, Stafford is something like 1-9 in cold weather out doors.

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Is that in Farenheit or Celsius (Temperature is the one unit of measurement that I think in metric)? I think there would be some under money if that's the case. Depends on how strong the winds are. Both teams can run the ball, but strong winds in the cold will damper the down field passing.

Cherry picked a bit, but not completely wrong. At least AI says:
Stafford record in snow/rain is 1-9
In cold, which AI uses below like 3°C, is 6-6
Stafford has played less than 4% of his starts in 'bad' weather. Dome and SoCal QB. Coldest start ever last year in NFC final in Philly, where temps were below 0°C and snow.
But this is going to be cold cold. Late game Sunday current forecast shows wind chills probably dipping below -20°C and possibly snow. Lake effect can do that.
I expect the line will drop. I expect the Rams will still win.
#BearDown

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Well I think you're underestimating the extent of the injuries at one position. The Raiders and Chiefs also had their offensive lines decimated with injuries and it caused their QB play to be poor as well. Did Trent Williams being back change the 49'ers yesterday? I would argue him leading them out of the dressing room yesterday changed the psyche of that entire team.

I'm sure you think Mahomes sucks and will make up any excuse as to why because you always think I'm wrong. I don't think Mahomes sucks but he played badly when he knew his line was down 3 starters until he eventually got injured. So if he gets rattled when he knows his line is bad it will happen to anyone. Allen took some hits...but much of that was when he was running the ball in short yardage and another time hitting his hand on his own players helmet. But he got sacked once against a pretty decent defence and wasn't under the same duress Herbert was.

Now I do think Allen is miles better than Herbert. Allen is top 3 QB in the league and the top dog in the eyes of many. I still think Herbert is a bit over rated as he's got tools, but can't seem to make it all work in critical situations like a playoff game. He was skittish in that game and eventually it seemed to affect the rest of the offence who followed the leader. So sure try a psychologist....but hope for better health with the tackles and fix the interior of that line.

Not sure where this is coming from. Why would I say Mahomes sucks? He's been the best QB of this generation. He had a down year because the roster around him is in decline but he and Geno Smith should never, ever be in the same sentence. Everyone that watched Raiders games thinks their OL is the worst in the league but it was graded out as the 22nd. It's Geno Smith holding on to the ball forever and taking unnecessary sacks that made the OL look worse than it actually was to casual viewers. If I had to choose between Garoppolo, Minshew, or Smith, there's little doubt in my mind that Smith is by far the worst of the three. Simply a terrible QB but he delivered Raiders fans a 1st overall pick so I am forever grateful for his horrible play.

As for Herbert I don't hate him because he's a charger, and more because hew was anointed elite despite not really ever accomplishing anything other than putting up good stats. Sure his OL wasn't good yesterday but it's hard to give him the benefit of the doubt when he always plays poor in playoff games.

[habernac]

Herbert’s O-Line looked like matadors yelling ole as they let Pats defenders swarm him. I’ve watched every New England game this year, the Chargers made them look like the 86 Bears. They aren’t that good, the Chargers stunk.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by habernac

Herbert’s O-Line looked like matadors yelling ole as they let Pats defenders swarm him. I’ve watched every New England game this year, the Chargers made them look like the 86 Bears. They aren’t that good, the Chargers stunk.

The thing is I don't know if it was that bad to start the game. The Chargers do have a talent issue there, but as others note early on Herbert seemed to bail early or make wild throws when the pressure wasn't that bad. By the end of the third quarter, I thought the line started playing as poorly as Herbert thought they were to start the game. Like they took the cue from the leader.

[Beninho]

I’ll chime in here as a Chargers fan who has unfortunately become very experienced at watching this team implode in big moments.

Justin Herbert is a very good quarterback, but he absolutely deserves some criticism for last night. He looked off from the opening drive, and frankly the entire offense did as well. When the offensive line is as much of a disaster as it was, something that’s already been well covered, you have to capitalize on the few snaps where protection actually holds up. Herbert missed a few throws in those moments and bailed from the pocket early a couple of times, seemingly expecting pressure that wasn’t there.

To me, he looked like a quarterback who’s been beaten down by yet another season of constant hits and poor protection. There was a video circulating a few weeks ago of him walking to the team bus after a game, and he looked like he should’ve been on crutches. That stuff adds up.

The issues went well beyond Herbert tho. The offensive line was a mess, and the Chargers were essentially down to one running back with Vidal who started the season on the practice squad. Then there’s the game plan. Greg Roman, whose offenses have averaged under 13 points per game in the playoffs over his career delivered another dud. There were many plays called that were odd but running play action on 4th and 9 with the season on the line was certainly a choice! There was even a quote from a Patriots defensive player after the game saying Chargers players told him they had no idea what defense New England was running all night. If that’s true, it’s an indictment of the entire coaching staff.

As for Herbert, I do agree that maybe a handful of other quarterbacks could have performed better in the same situation last night. But he still deserves credit for dragging a team with bottom-tier pass protection to the playoffs imo. He will have to continue to take the playoff criticisms on the chin , it is what is and while we can nit pick the teams he's had or the injuries its a big black mark on his resume regardless

And as bad as last night was, somehow it still doesn’t crack my top 10 most brutal Chargers playoff losses. That probably says everything you need to know about being a Chargers fan.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Beninho

And as bad as last night was, somehow it still doesn’t crack my top 10 most brutal Chargers playoff losses. That probably says everything you need to know about being a Chargers fan.

Pretty fair assessment. Have to think that every NFL fan base has at least three post season losses that they find to be heart breakers. Part of being a fan. I can definitely think of two really crushing ones from when Marty Schottenheimer was coaching the team. I'll refrain from naming the kicker and DB who directly should be scapegoats in those games. Although I'm sure Dirk Diggler will be happy to curse them out by name.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Rodgers throwing a mini-tantrum after he throws a comically bad pass to a receiver he must have assumed was Yao Ming with how high he threw, lets get more of that.

[calgarygeologist]

Pitt's got this tonight.