2025 NFL Playoffs Thread

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

IMO his body language looked a bit nervous on that drive, and even when they showed him in the huddle he didn't look as confident as he did all game before that.

Allen looked nervous most of the game, tbh. On the first drive he had Darnold eyes and almost threw two picks. He was trying to force plays that weren’t there all game.

[Paulie Walnuts]

That is the issue with Allen, he was good all year with not having to play hero ball he just needed to stay the course for a few more games. He didn't turn it over, but he left plays out there.

His body language did look off, maybe dealing with an injury?

[Erick Estrada]

It sure looked at least on the opening drive that Allen felt the Bills would need some hero ball out of him to win the game. The way Cook was running the ball they may have been able to manage the game without him going off script but losing Benford was also a critical part of the game as Mahomes picked on his replacement all game. I don't think Bills fans should be overly upset. At the end of the day the Chiefs are just better coached and I don't see how that can be overcome.

[OutOfTheCube]

I'm not gonna harp on about refs or calls or anything, every fan thinks the refs are against them. Ultimately, regardless of what happened the rest of the game, Buffalo and Allen had the ball in their hands with 3 minutes left to win the game, and they couldn't pull it off. Championship caliber QBs and teams win that game there -- this game firmly cements Allen as a terrific regular season QB who just can't get it done in the playoffs to me. Both games against the Chiefs this year and last year were winnable, we had late possessions in both we could've won the game with and it didn't happen.

Am I sad, yes, but this is exactly what I was expecting. I don't think there was any way they were stopping that Eagles offense in the Super Bowl anyways.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Allen looked nervous most of the game, tbh. On the first drive he had Darnold eyes and almost threw two picks. He was trying to force plays that weren’t there all game.

This sums it up for me really. He looked like he was in absolute control against the Ravens. Laser focused and ready, despite the pressure of Allen vs Lamar storylines.

Yesterday he was throwing wildly and making weird decisions IMO. Mahomes was good, but he looked human.

Too bad, I really wanted the Bills to win the SB.

Not even sure I'll watch it now.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

The big thing for this game is it might be impossible to stop Saquon.

Chiefs had a pretty hard time with Cook today, and Saquon is a level above that.

Saw a tweet yesterday that made me chuckle. Something like "if you are reading this message, it's too late. Saquon has already scored another TD"

He was good.

[SuperMatt18]

I still think the ghosts of the 13 seconds game haunted them on that last drive.

You could almost see it on Allen's face and the play calling.

They had so much time, all 3 timeouts and the 2 minute warning.

Instead of playing patient there it was almost like their mindset was "we need to score quick here and then maybe we will get the ball back again after KC scores"...instead of just playing to make that drive the last drive of the game.

[transplant99]

Not sure how Allen can be to blame here.

Bottom line is that 29 points should be enough to win every football game your team plays.

Bills defense can wear this one for giving up 32....which is KC's high for the entire season.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Not sure how Allen can be to blame here.

Bottom line is that 29 points should be enough to win every football game your team plays.

Bills defense can wear this one for giving up 32....which is KC's high for the entire season.

Two elite and very motivated QBs were always going to put up points. I don't think the Bills defense was particularly bad.

To me, Allen just didn't look as comfortable and his decision making was questionable. To be clear, I'm not blaming Allen but the Ravens game was maximum pressure on him, and he handled it cooly. Yesterday was a different story.

[Sainters7]

That's the thing; even though Buffalo has looked dynamic this year, and the Chiefs offence has sputtered mightily at times, it's still a very tall order to go into Arrowhead in January and get a win.

I think there was (understandably) too much focus by pundits on the Chiefs' struggles to move the ball during the year, causing people to overlook them pulling out basically every tight game they played in all year; a sign of a clutch, veteran team that just knows how to win.

I get we're all sick of the Chiefs at this point (especially now with the Swift/Kelce angle too), but they're not done. Not even close. And I think they'll be lifting more hardware in 2 weeks.

[KelVarnsen]

At what point do the Bills move on from McDermott?

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by KelVarnsen

At what point do the Bills move on from McDermott?

Nowhere to go but down by moving on from McDermott. The Bills problem isn't McDermott. The Bills problem is the same as the Ravens, and any other AFC contender. The Chiefs are just better and until Reid retires it's simply not going to change as they have a young defense and don't need stars on offense to win as long as Reid is calling the plays and Mahomes is under center. This is basically the Patriots dynasty over again.

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Nowhere to go but down by moving on from McDermott. The Bills problem isn't McDermott. The Bills problem is the same as the Ravens, and any other AFC contender. The Chiefs are just better and until Reid retires it's simply not going to change as they have a young defense and don't need stars on offense to win as long as Reid is calling the plays and Mahomes is under center. This is basically the Patriots dynasty over again.

Yep this exactly. You remove the Chiefs from the equation and the Bills and Ravens both have Super Bowls, maybe even multiples. What can you do except keep trying with what you've got?

[KelVarnsen]

It was his defense that led to the loss yesterday though

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

That's the thing; even though Buffalo has looked dynamic this year, and the Chiefs offence has sputtered mightily at times, it's still a very tall order to go into Arrowhead in January and get a win.

I think there was (understandably) too much focus by pundits on the Chiefs' struggles to move the ball during the year, causing people to overlook them pulling out basically every tight game they played in all year; a sign of a clutch, veteran team that just knows how to win.

I get we're all sick of the Chiefs at this point (especially now with the Swift/Kelce angle too), but they're not done. Not even close. And I think they'll be lifting more hardware in 2 weeks.

The Chiefs also have had the advantage the past two seasons of not really needing to show anything special to make it to the Super Bowl.

Last year it was Rice that really gave them a different look in the playoffs, this year it appears to be Watson.

And really I think so far in the playoffs Brown and Hopkins have been a bit underutilized too.

Kind of scary to think they are now 17-1 on the season and I don't think they've shown anything close to their A game on offense.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

The Chiefs also have had the advantage the past two seasons of not really needing to show anything special to make it to the Super Bowl.

Last year it was Rice that really gave them a different look in the playoffs, this year it appears to be Watson.

And really I think so far in the playoffs Brown and Hopkins have been a bit underutilized too.

Kind of scary to think they are now 17-1 on the season and I don't think they've shown anything close to their A game on offense.

Think you have to give the Chiefs D more credit. The Chiefs never scored more than 30 points in any game all year and went 15-1 (last game doesn't count) + beating Houston.

[Erick Estrada]

Spagnuolo was the missing ingredient for the Chiefs. They went from having to outscore what their defense was giving up to having to just score enough points to win lower scoring games. This leaves Reid to save a lot of tricks in his bag for the playoffs when they really need them.

[Paulie Walnuts]

It's also interesting the 2 guys and teams just trying to pump their QB for MVP weekly got ousted, and the team that probably has the best QB and could have him sling it for MVP numbers just went about their business all season long winning close games finishing 15-2 and heading back to the Super Bowl.

You could say the same about Philly, Barkley could have rushed for a MVP and records but they sat him.

[Galakanokis]

What worries me as an Eagles fan is that Hurts is terrible at reading defences and will struggle with the blitz.

What gives me hope is that the Eagles D is much better than Buffalo's and the Chiefs have to stop Saquan which nobody has done all year.

Turnovers will be key as otherwise I see this going down to the last possession.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by Galakanokis

What worries me as an Eagles fan is that Hurts is terrible at reading defences and will struggle with the blitz.

What gives me hope is that the Eagles D is much better than Buffalo's and the Chiefs have to stop Saquan which nobody has done all year.

Turnovers will be key as otherwise I see this going down to the last possession.

I agree on turnovers. For the Eagles to win, Jalen needs to continue to play turnover free football. The last time they met in the Superbowl, he was nearly perfect, with the one critical fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

I like the Eagles a lot more this go around because of Barkley, the defense, and how they've asked Jalen to do a lot less.