|
It’s Wildcard Weekend for the NFL, and time to light up the grills and smoke a dead animal in honor of your favorite underdog. With the glow of LED screens pulsing in our futures, here are 5 storylines to pay attention to this weekend.
1) Mike Tomlin is the coach of the year/decade.
Now, I know Belichick has more rings, but I don’t think there is any coach that gets more out of his players than Tomlin does. Honestly, if you had to play a game of Madden with either the L.A. Chargers or Pittsburgh Steelers, who wouldn’t take the Chargers if there was money on the line. Yeah, Brandon Staley is bright, young and aggressive, but sometimes analytics should be put on a shelf. Going for it on 4th down from your own 18 yard line might look great to PFF, but the momentum push the Raiders got was huge. Not to mention that calling a timeout in late in OT, when a tie gets you into the playoffs, is baffling. Meanwhile, Tomlin takes a good, not great defense and a passable, not good, offense to the playoffs and gives Big Ben one last shot at glory. Yeah, I think Pittsburgh is the closest thing to a bye that KC could have hoped for, and the chances are better for Roethlisberger to leave the game on a stretcher than for Pittsburgh to advance, but if by some miracle it’s tight in the 4th quarter, I wouldn’t bet against Tomlin to pull off an upset.
2) Time for Dak to step up.
Dak is statistically a great quarterback…just like Tony Romo was. But both guys seem to suffer from Matt Hasselback Syndrome; too good to cut, but not good enough to get you to the Promised Land, especially given the resources they demand (we’re expecting Kirk Cousins to bring the beer at the next meeting). The 49ers are hardly a pushover, and their comeback win against the Rams indicates that Garrapolo isn’t just coming along for the ride this time. Dallas’s offensive line will need to buckle up against a challenging D-line or else Dak’s contract will come under further scrutiny, especially with the possible loss of Michael Gallup during the off-season.
3) The Raiders need to hire Rich Bisaccia permanently as their head coach.
Bisaccia was the Bucs special teams coach for quite a few years, and whenever a coaching vacancy would come up, the biggest radio show host in Tampa at the time would go on and on how Bisaccia should be considered for a head coaching job. Coaching special teams means you get to connect with both offensive and defensive players, and I’m not sure Gruden could have done as much with this team as Bisaccia has done; the man oozes integrity and motivation, guys believe in him and Bisaccia is finally getting his due. I know Mark Davis wants a flash after all that has gone on this season, and the Raiders will have a tough time getting past the Bengals this weekend, but Bisaccia is as Raider as they come and deserves the long-term shot to take Las Vegas back to glory.
4) Joe Burrough is quietly becoming "the man".
The Bengals are probably still a year away from striking fear in the souls of their opponents during the month of February, but they are nonetheless for real and should be taken seriously, regardless of who they play. Cincinnati has all the offensive weapons at their disposal (including a rookie WR who passed Justin Jefferson in the rookie record books), an improving O-line and a QB who knows how to win, especially when not thought to be worthy at the beginning of the season. Yeah, the Titans and the Chiefs have more overall talent, but I don’t think you can wave Mahomes as a real advantage over Burrough.
5) Home field advantage still matters.
Empty stadiums due to COVID last year might have left fans with the impression that winning on the road is no big thing, but see how that plays out in Buffalo this week against New England. Yeah, New England won a low scoring affair with gale force winds earlier this season, but I don’t know if Mac Jones gets that luxury of only having to throw 3 times this go around, so the kid from Alabama is going to have to make some plays in some of the most brutally cold weather this off-season (not a lot of wind anticipated, which means that Allen gets to air it out). Also, the Bucs got lucky in Lambeau last year; I’m sure Brady would prefer throwing 40 times in Tampa over that of the frozen tundra. Loud stadiums in January will tilt all games towards the home teams this weekend.
|