Tag: NFL Playoffs

Patriots Chargers Playoff Preview and Things to Watch For

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The 300s Dream Team already hit you with a Pats/Chargers preview podcast yesterday, but ya boy Mattes is here with a little bit of a deeper dive into what to expect on Sunday.

It seems like Pats Nation is banking on the fact that this game is in Foxborough, a place where the Pats are undefeated in their last nine playoff contests, winning each of those games by an average of over two touchdowns (15.8 points to be exact). In fact, it’s been over half a decade since they’ve lost at Gillette in January, as the team hasn’t been defeated in a playoff matchup at home since 2012 against Baltimore.

There’s also the fact that Philip Rivers has beaten the Patriots just once in his career. The 37-year-old Chargers signal-caller also owns an overall record of 5-5 in postseason play, with an 11-to-9 TD-to-INT ratio. So, he’s pretty much been just as good as he has been bad when playing after the regular season ends.

But anyone who’s taking this matchup lightly is foolish. I’m not saying the Chargers will win, but I am saying they probably have the best chance of doing so of any home playoff opponent that Brady’s ever faced in his career (or at least over the past few postseasons). The Chargers feature the league’s 11th-ranked offense and the ninth-ranked defense, possessing the ability to hurt you in many different ways. I’ve said it a few times already that this might be the most talented roster, pound for pound, in the AFC right now – yes, even more talented than Kansas City.

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Seriously, these guys are GOOD.

On offense, it all starts with Rivers, who truly may be the best quarterback to never win a Super Bowl. While a great argument can be made that such an honor should instead go to Dan Marino, Rivers is top-eight all-time in both passing yards and touchdowns, and he will likely surpass Marino in both categories as long as he plays for at least another 2-3 years. He also chucked it for over 4,300 yards and 32 scores this season. His postseason track record may be pretty average, but his career clock is ticking, and he could come out guns blazing on Sunday.

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His No. 1 receiver, Keenan Allen, finished the year with 97 catches and almost 1,200 yards. He’ll prove to be a tough matchup, even for an All-Pro like Stephon Gilmore. (Although Allen might actually see more coverage from Jason McCourty due to the fact he plays over 50 percent of the time in the slot.) Guys like Mike Williams (10 TDs in 2018) and Tyrell Williams are a nice pairing behind him, and the Chargers are bringing back tight end Hunter Henry this week as well. Though Henry hasn’t played since last December due to an ACL tear, he was a second-round pick in 2016 and did have 12 touchdowns in his first 29 career games; he gives Rivers just one more weapon in the arsenal for Sunday, especially down in the red zone.

The team’s stable of backs may be even more impressive. Melvin Gordon was a top-three running back over the first half of this season, before being slowed by injuries toward the end of the year. As a result, the Chargers were forced to work with backups like Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson much more than expected. But they never skipped a beat, as all three backs have averaged over 4.1 yards per carry this season, with each also flashing as a receiver, posting over nine yards per catch. (Actually, both Gordon and Ekeler averaged over 5.0 yards per carry this year.) All three will be used against the Pats on Sunday, making it impossible for Bill to zero in on eliminating the opponent’s top weapon, like he usually does.

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Everyone wants to focus on Melvin Gordon, and rightfully so. But Ekeler (above) can’t be slept on either.

On defense, L.A. is completely stacked, with two First-Team All-Pros in the secondary and two ferocious pass-rushers up front. While they may be a bit weak at linebacker, the Chargers are absolutely loaded in both the front and back ends of the D, finishing ninth against both the pass AND the run in 2018. They’re also particularly good against tight ends and the short passing game – literally the Patriots offense in a nutshell.

So how do the Pats match up with L.A.? What can our boys do to counteract the Chargers’ fire power? Here’s my rundown of what to watch for on Sunday.

(All About the Secondaries): Both the Chargers and the Pats feature one of the league’s top defensive secondaries, with three combined First-Team All-Pro players across both rosters. (Cornerback Stephon Gilmore for the Patriots; safety Derwin James and cornerback Desmond King for the Chargers. AND let’s not forget about Casey Hayward, who was a Second-Team All-Pro at corner for the Chargers last year. I told you, these guys are loaaadeddd.) Even outside of them, both teams have plenty of other Pro-Bowl-worthy talent at both the safety and cornerback positions as well. In fact, the Chargers are so loaded back there that they used at least seven d-backs on 58-of-59 defensive plays last week against the Ravens. And they did so with tremendous success, holding Lamar Jackson to less than 30 yards passing through the first three quarters. But again, the Pats have also been a stalwart against the pass; since the bye week, the Pats have allowed a paltry 206.6 yards through the air in those six games. They’ve also held guys like Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger to 250 passing yards or less when facing off against them this year, ending any argument that “we just haven’t played good quarterbacks lately.” Both teams will absolutely live and die by their secondaries on Sunday.

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The rookie, James, has been sensational this season.

(Sony Could Be the X-Factor): As I said above, according to the numbers, the Chargers have been equally as good against the run as they have against the pass this year. But there’s no doubt that, much like the Pats, they are severely lacking over the middle of the defense. Especially after their second-leading tackler, Jatavis Brown, was placed on I.R. this week, Sony Michel could do some damage on Sunday if he reaches the second level. Of course, James, the Chargers’ leading tackler, will be back there waiting as well, along with S/CB/LB hybrid Adrian Phillips, who had the third-most takedowns on the team. Michel will also need to get past the Chargers’ fearsome front four, which is no easy task either. But if the Pats can rely on the rookie to help grind out the clock, keeping the ball out of Rivers’s and his talented supporting cast’s hands as much as possible, the team could be OK on Sunday.

(Big Game for Brown and the Boys Up Front): According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Patriots had the third-best pass-block win rate of all of this year’s playoff squads. We’ve mentioned before that the O-line has been a major strength for the team this year, with pretty much everyone playing well at all five spots. The Chargers also totaled just 38 sacks on the year as a team, good for just 19th in the league. But you cannot forget about Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, who have combined for 54 sacks over the past three seasons – and let’s not forget that Bosa missed half of this year due to injury. Ingram also had seven tackles and two sacks just last week, giving him plenty of momentum heading into this weekend. With Trent Brown set to become a free agent at the end of the season, he could literally make or break his next contract depending on well he protects Brady’s backside in this one.

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We’re gonna need you this week, big fella.

Just a few more quick notes:

  • As mentioned above, the Chargers defense has absolutely dominated tight ends this season, finishing No. 1 overall in DVOA against the position. Brady should be able to spread the ball around well enough to combat L.A.’s strength against the short passing game overall, but don’t expect a big game from an already-ailing Rob Gronkowski on Sunday – like maybe at all.
  • After missing the season finale, Cordarrelle Patterson is back. Devin McCourty and Deatrich Wise are also expected to be OK after injury scares two weeks ago. Besides some lingering ailments throughout the roster, the Pats are expected to play with a full squad on Sunday.
  • In the playoffs, experience matters, and Sunday will mark Bill Belichick‘s 40th career playoff game as a coach; Anthony Lynn is heading into his second. It will mark the biggest discrepancy in playoff games (40-2) and playoff wins (28-1) in NFL history, according to Elias (h/t ESPN Boston).

Prediction

This is going to be a battle, and that 15.8-point average margin of victory in recent home playoff games is going to go down a bit. Not only that, but with both defenses being so good, this should be a lower-scoring game. (Don’t take the over!!!) With the Chargers being much more loaded on offense, though, they’ll be up by a score at halftime, before the Pats tighten up in the second half. Then, it’ll be a fight to the finish line, with the Pats punching in a late score, barely giving them the edge. In what will be the Pats’ most difficult divisional round test in years, they’ll scratch and claw their way to a 21-20 victory.

Shawne Merriman Opens His Big Mouth and Gives Patriots Bulletin Board Material for Sunday

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Former Chargers linebacker and walking human chest muscle, Shawne Merriman, is at it again.

On Monday’s episode of FS1’s “The Herd,” the 34-year-old – who is out of football and now apparently involved in clothing design, bare-knuckle fighting (which Red blogged about), and NASCAR – guaranteed that the Los Angeles Chargers, who haven’t beaten Brady ONCE in his career, would come in and beat the Pats in Foxborough on Sunday (h/t Patriots Wire):

“They’re a lock for me this week,” Merriman said. “The Patriots, yeah, you have Bill Belichick, you have Tom Brady there, but they’re not the same team they were in the past. They’re just not. They don’t bring that kind of stamp to the field anymore. I know they’ve been in the playoffs, they have the experience. But this Chargers team right now, they’re the most resilient team in football.

“They’ve been through so much. Injuries and the move and people not really paying attention to them and they just use all of it as fuel. Going out there is going to be no different. Them winning on the road, it hasn’t been a problem this year. They’ll go right into Foxboro, it will be competitive, it will be a good game. In the past, the Patriots have always found ways to win. Not this time, I don’t think that’s the case.”

I’ll start by saying that I believe the Chargers do actually have a shot of winning on Sunday, perhaps more than any previous Patriots home playoff opponent in the past two decades. They might be the most talented squad, up and down the roster, in the entire AFC, and their pass-rushers could give Brady fits this weekend. (Much more to come on all of that, and more, in this week’s preview.)

But for Merriman to be that certain is laughable. A lock? He’s banking on a quarterback with .500 career playoff record and a young defense that still has yet to prove themselves on the biggest stage. Also, the game is in New England, and the Pats will have had had two weeks to rest up. Oh, and “yeah,” Shawne, we do still have “Belichick and Brady there.”

Nothing would be sweeter than beating the Chargers on Sunday and seeing a shot of a sour-pussed Merriman somewhere in the stands. And hopefully, all 53 guys run out to mid-field after its over to do the “Lights Out” dance – just like the “classless” Patriots teams of the past (*he said with heavy sarcasm*). Right, L.T.??!!

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Regardless, it’s safe to assume that Merriman’s words this week only further fueled and fanned the flames of a hungry, elder Thomas Patrick Edward Brady, Jr. In fact, I actually now feel better after hearing what he said.

Post this one up on the bulletin board, Bill!

Just When I Thought the Patriots Were Out, They Pull Me Back In

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To paraphrase the great Vin Scully the Patriots are not only alive, they are well. As Dan Fouts said on the broadcast of yesterday’s game, reports of Brady’s (and the Patriots’) demise have been greatly exaggerated. While the 2018 Patriots team is not the steamroller that past teams have been, they still have a chip and chair. Looking around the table, there’s no one here they can’t beat.

That’s not to say the Patriots are the favorites. They’re not:

They’ll find out their divisional round opponent next week, and will host them on Sunday, January 13 at 1:05 PM. The Sunday game is a bit troubling, as the Patriots typically make better playoff runs when they open on a Saturday. Since 2001, the Patriots have always opened the playoffs at home and are 10-0 when opening the playoffs on a Saturday. They are 3-2 when opening the playoffs on a Sunday.

Prior to this season, the Patriots received first-round byes in 12 of their 15 playoff appearances since 2001. They have opened the playoffs at home after a bye week on a Saturday in nine out those 12 playoff runs. The Patriots won all nine of those Saturday night games. With an extra day of rest, they also went on to win the AFC Championship in seven of those nine seasons. The Patriots are just 1-2 in Brady Era AFC Championship games that come after a Sunday victory in the divisional round.

Still, it wouldn’t be shocking to see this team make a run. Would a Chiefs, Chargers or Texans slip up surprise anyone? The Ravens are 6-1 with Lamar Jackson at QB, but does anyone expect the Ravens to make a run with a rookie QB? Are the Colts with Andrew Luck the team to look out for? It’s the Anything Can Happen AFC!

I’d be just as hard pressed to predict who will come out of the NFC, but if forced to make a pick I would pick the Saints. Who ever comes out of the NFC, though, I’d have a hard time picking the Patriots to beat them in the Super Bowl. While it’s technically a neutral-site game and not a road game, I have a hard time seeing the Patriots going into a hostile environment and keeping up with the Saints (or Rams).

Of course I’d rather the Patriots be a 14-2 juggernaut heading into January, but this could still be a fun run to watch. While they’re not underdogs, they’re not the favorite either. With Brady 41 years old and Gronk possibly playing in his last few games as a Patriot, this could be last call for the Patriots Dynasty. If they could cap it off with another championship this year it might be the most impressive one, and most fun to watch.

Yet.

Patriots Jets Postgame Reaction and Quick Hits

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Well, that one was a breeze. Just like I called it. The Pats took care of business against the Jets, 38-3, and are now heading into the postseason as the AFC’s No. 2 seed!

Before we get too giddy, you all know I’m here – per usual – to rain on the parade and bring us back down to earth a little bit. That’s not to say that I wasn’t happy with what I saw today; I do think there was a lot to like, especially on defense. BUT the running game didn’t have the greatest showing after their dominant performance last week. Also, the overall offense isn’t as good as a 38-point score might indicate. And I think it’s safe to say Gronk is nothing more than a chain-mover right now, at least for the rest of this season.

However, like I said, there was a lot to like from Sunday’s performance, too. Here are my takeaways from the Pats’ season finale:

(The G.O.A.T. Looks OK): I’ll just start by saying I liked how Tom Brady looked today. I’m not going to let his four touchdowns against a bad team lead me to believe he’s back to being vintage TB12, but he did complete over 70 percent of his passes. He also looked surprisingly nimble and mobile in the pocket all day. One play in particular stood out for me: After a pretty bad miss on what would have been an easy score to Chris Hogan in the first half, Brady made up for it on the very next play; not only did he elude a sack in the pocket, but he then rolled out to his right about five yards and fired an on-the-move, nine-yard strike to Phillip Dorsett for the score:

Again, there were some missed throws – AND let’s not forget the Jets were without their top-three cornerbacks once Buster Skrine was injured – but overall Brady looked pretty solid. Most importantly, though, he looked as healthy as he has in weeks.

(Still Shaky on Offense): This offense is not in a great spot. Much like in the early days of Brady’s career, this is a now a complete dink-and-dunk offense that is desperately lacking explosiveness. With Gronk being a shell of his former self and Josh Gordon no longer in the fold, it seems as though the team will again heavily employ the tried and true short-passing, timing-based scheme. I’m not saying it’s entirely ineffective; after all, the team did move the ball pretty well today, converting 45 percent of its third-down opportunities and winning the time of possession battle. But, when you’re down big in the playoffs and need some huge plays, who’s going to provide them?

(Welcome Back, Big Fella!): Why in the world was Danny Shelton a healthy scratch for three games in a row??!! Since he returned last week – after being sat for reasons we still haven’t been told – the team’s run defense has improved exponentially. In the three games Shelton was out, the Pats gave up 7.3, 9.0, and 6.3 yards per carry, respectively; in the two games he’s been back, he’s made three tackles and the team is allowing just 4.2 yards per tote. To be fair, Elijah McGuire, who carried the ball 18 times for the Jets on Sunday, is a backup and certainly no star. But, I don’t know, maybe we should keep big No. 71 in the rotation and give him another shot, huh, Bill?

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Don’t call it a comeback!

(All-Around A+ Effort from the D): The Pats defense was excellent in this one, at every level. Not only were they able to get pressure on Sam Darnold all game, sacking the rookie four times and forcing some pretty bad throws, but the secondary kept the Jets’ other playmakers at bay, too. Robby Anderson and Chris Herndon, who have both been on fire lately, were held to a total of four catches and 31 yards. OH, and the Jets as a team were also held to just a field goal. Trey Flowers was a beast for the Pats yet again, with a sack and a forced fumble, one of three strips for the Pats on the day. Again, I know it was the Jets, but the D came to play in this one.

A couple more quick ones:

  • Congrats to Derek Rivers on his first career sack! Expected to be a big part of the team’s D this year, the 2017 third-round pick has had trouble healing from last year’s injury and staying on the field this year. Hopefully this is the start of something good!
  • Keep your fingers crossed, Pats Nation. After being without Cordarrelle Patterson on Sunday already, the Pats also saw guys like Devin McCourty, Deatrich Wise, and Dont’a Hightower get banged up against the Jets. We don’t know much about what actually happened to them at this point – besides the fact that it was apparently a head injury for McCourty. Fortunately, the team has two weeks to heal up, but let’s hope none of these are too serious.
  • The team was able to keep the total amount of penalties to a tolerable four for 30 yards.

So, while this team is certainly not without its issues heading into the playoffs, their performance in the season finale at least inspires some hope. The team and its group of ailing players now get some extra time to rest before they kick off postseason play on Sunday, January 13 at 1 p.m in Foxborough. Against who, you ask? We won’t know until next Sunday afternoon.

Be sure to stay tuned to The 300s throughout the playoffs for all your Pats coverage. Let the “Blitz for Six” commence!

After the Recent Hit Piece on the Patriots I Have Never Been More Confident Than I am in Them This Weekend

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ESPN – The Patriots are in uncharted territory. They haven’t just won games and titles. They’ve won at an unprecedented rate and over an unprecedented span, which makes the feelings of entitlement creeping inside Gillette Stadium unprecedented as well. The Patriots, in the only statement anyone associated with the team would make on the record for this story, responded to specific questions by saying that there are “several inaccuracies and multiple examples given that absolutely did not occur,” though they declined to go into detail. But according to interviews with more than a dozen New England staffers, executives, players and league sources with knowledge of the team’s inner workings, the three most powerful people in the franchise — Belichick, Brady and owner Robert Kraft — have had serious disagreements. They differ on Brady’s trainer, body coach and business partner Alex Guerrero; over the team’s long-term plans at quarterback; over Belichick’s bracing coaching style; and most of all, over who will be the last man standing. Those interviewed describe a palpable sense in the building that this might be the last year together for this group.

They Hate Us Cuz They Ain’t Us, indeed. I know we as Patriots fans say this a lot, but the media is routinely trying to drive a wedge where it doesn’t exist. Lets just state the facts. The Patriots won their division yet again, finished the year 13-3 with the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and are the favorites to win the Super Bowl with a 40 year old QB who will likely win the MVP. All after losing their top receiver in Julian Edelman and their best defensive player in Dont’a Hightower. Yet the entire organization is crumbling from within? All because Belichick had to trade a backup QB playing behind the goddamn MVP and Brady said some mean words to McDaniels on the sidelines? Fuck outta here. Its not paranoia if its true right?

So now the entire world is claiming the Patriots are imploding and that hack Seth Wickersham (author of the infamous hit piece on Tom Brady and TB12, which we addressed here) is reporting the holy trinity of Brady, Belichick, and Kraft will break up after this year. All because of some tension and some arguments? You know who has no tension, no arguments, and an easy job? Losers.

To top it all off, the New York Daily News recently reported that Belichick “wants to be the Giants coach.” So Belichick is going to jump ship and leave the organization where he became the Greatest Coach of All Time to go coach the 3-13 NY Giants? Who also have an ancient QB? He’s already the highest paid coach in the NFL with all the power in the world and the longest leash imaginable. The guy survived two alleged cheating scandals amidst 5 Super Bowl titles and 7 SB appearances, not to mention 6 (soon to be 7) consecutive appearances in the AFC Championship game to go along with 14 out of the last 15 AFC East titles. He’s gonna leave that just because he got into an argument with his boss?

With all that being said we still have a playoff game to handle this Saturday night as the Titans come to town and I could not be more confident that the Pats will blow doors. The Titans had an awesome comeback against the Chiefs, who blew yet another playoff game:

But in doing so have locked themselves into a matchup with the Patriots. Marcus Mariota looked like the guy who the Titans originally drafted out of Oregon before a broken leg late last year. The guy was laying game clinching blocks on defensive lineman, scrambling making plays with his feet and he was even throwing Touchdown passes to HIMSELF.

But if you think a second year QB who leads a self described “exotic, smashmouth offense” that relies on the running game is going to come into Gillette Stadium and beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick then you are outside of your mind.

And Las Vegas seems to agree as the spread is set at -13.5. Two touchdowns is a HUGE spread, especially in a playoff game. The only other game this weekend with a spread larger than -4 is Jacksonville at (-7.5) Steelers, even though the Jags beat Pittsburgh earlier this year.

This game reminds me of the 45-10 dismantling of the Broncos and Tim Tebow in the 2011 playoffs where Brady threw 6 touchdown passes. Any other team that was surrounded by controversy in a bye week would have you worried, but with the Patriots its just fuel for the fire. Plus after this whole shit storm, Tom Brady Instagrammed this:

Pats by 17. Lock. It. In.

 

The Raiders Just Gave Jon Gruden a 10 Year $100 Million Contract to Become Their New Head Coach

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ESPN.com – The Oakland Raiders will sign Jon Gruden to the longest coaching deal in NFL history — a 10-year contract likely approaching $100 million — when it is made official Tuesday, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday.

10 years and $100 MILLION DOLLARS for Jon Gruden to become the new coach of the Oakland Raiders!

I love Gruden, he is awesome in the booth and I look forward to seeing him back on the sidelines, but $100 Million for a guy that hasn’t coached since 2008? That is insane. I forget who tweeted it so I can’t give the proper credit, but I saw someone on Twitter mention that by the end of this deal Raiders team owner Mark Davis will have paid Gruden 1/5th of Mark Davis’ net worth. Because as far as NFL team owners go, Mark Davis is a broke bitch. He’s worth only $500 Million.

So unless there is some sneaky ownership stake in the team included (which Gruden has denied), then Davis is betting BIG on the move to Las Vegas being a rousing success. He has every reason to believe it will be too, especially since he snaked a deal that had him put up almost none of his own money.

Is anyone better suited to bring this team to Las Vegas than Jon Gruden? Well, maybe The Rock.

But this guy is going to be electric as the Raiders move to Sin City, both on the sidelines and in his press conferences. Now is being out of coaching for 10 years going to hurt? I would say probably, but all the ESPN (lackeys) are saying its actually good for him as he’s had a chance to study the evolution of offense in the NFL. Not to mention he’s been in practices and production meetings with just about every other team in the league over the past few years so that can’t hurt.

But it is always surprising to see a guy come back after being away from the game for so long. Just look at Bill Cowher.

He was another guy everyone thought would take a couple of years off and return to coaching, but after a few years of making beaucoup bucks to work 1/100th of the hours in a cushy TV job, its easy to understand why so many don’t go back to the grind of being an NFL head coach.

Good for Gruden, but goddamnit am I gonna miss his crazy ass in the booth. The guy was legit must watch TV in a spot where the league and the networks typically lean towards the mundane. Remember Jaws and Tony Kornheiser? Woof. For a guy that made football jargon like Spider 2 Y Banana a national catchphrase and starred in Hooters and Corona commercials in his off time, it will be hard to replace him.

No matter how much fame or money a person acquires though, we’re all the same at the end of the day and Jon Gruden reminded me of that on Saturday’s playoff broadcast. The guy has absolutely. checked. out.

You earned it my man.

Patriots Preparing to Stomp the Steelers Out Zoolander Style

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This is just too good not to post. Just picturing TB12 and the Pats players driving to the stadium every day as the Steelers are busy talking shit and Facebook Live streaming their coach’s postgame speech.

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Thank God Tom Brady just came out with his new science altering PJs last week. Just in time. The whole team is probably sleeping like lambs. Just catching all the z’s before they stomp the Steelers out on Sunday.

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Chiefs Talking Extension with Andy “Time is a Flat Circle” Reid

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ESPN – The Kansas City Chiefs will try to extend coach Andy Reid’s contract this offseason, league sources told ESPN on Sunday. Reid, 58, will be entering the final year of his contract next season; teams usually prefer not to have their head coaches, particularly successful ones, head into the last year of their deal.

I know I know, I’m a spoiled Patriots fan. But just because you don’t have the best coach in the league doesn’t mean you have to keep your car in park at 10 wins every year. I mean I guess its hard to argue with Andy Reid’s record with the Chiefs of 43-21, but that doesn’t take into account them routinely getting bounced in the playoffs. With the Chiefs Reid, who is 11-11 for his career in the playoffs, has lost in the 1st round in 2013, missed the playoffs in 2014, losing in the second round in 2015 and then securing the 2 seed for the Chiefs in 2016.

Again not terrible numbers, but numbers don’t tell the whole story. Have the owners ever actually watched a game? The guy seemingly doesn’t realize there is a clock involved in the game of football. Whenever his teams are down they take their time, run down the play clock, usually score but then don’t have enough time to get the ball back so they’ll onside kick it.

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Hell I remember my first experience with Andy “Time is a Flat Circle” Reid back in the 2004 Super Bowl. The Pats were leading the Eagles and time was running down so they should be ya know, going no-huddle, or at the very least speed walking to the line. Nah, they take their time, slowly go through their reads and drain the clock. History has destroyed Donovan McNabb for allegedly puking in the huddle and slowing down the team. But to be honest, based on his coaching history since, Reid probably slipped McNabb a mickey because he was going too fast. You can’t rush this man. This is a man who takes his time.

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I Miss Peyton Manning (and his Playoff Woes)

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It’s Wild Card Weekend and, as usual, the Patriots have the weekend off. The Patriots have reached the playoffs 14 times in the Brady Era, and have received a first-round bye 11 times in the Brady Era. Peyton Manning wasn’t able to take this weekend off nearly as often, though.

Peyton Manning reached the playoffs 15 times in the 17 seasons he played, including each of his last 13 seasons. His teams received a first-round byes in eight of those seasons, meaning he made semi-regular appearances on Wild Car Weekend, unlike Brady.

Manning’s teams were 3-4 on Wild Card Weekend, and 3-5 after a first round bye. That adds up to nine one-and-dones, by far the most of any NFL quarterback. That means Manning’s teams only won a game in the playoffs 6 out of the 15 times he took them to the playoffs. His career playoff record stood at 11-13 before last year’s magical run gave him his second Super Bowl ring and a just-barely-over-.500 career postseason record of 14-13.

I must give Manning his due. He did knock down the Patriots more times than I care to remember in the playoffs. The Colts win in the 2006 AFC title game is still in my top five worst Boston sports moments. But I can give Manning his due, and still look back at some of his more memorable playoff losses.

[I’ve omitted the Foxborough Follies from this list for the sake of brevity, and because those are obviously well-remembered by Patriots fans.]

2002 Jets 41 – Colts 0. Not much else needs to be said about this playoff disaster. Manning had a dreadful night in Giants Stadium as the Colts lost to Chad Effing Penington. This loss put Peyton at 0-3 in the playoffs, and really started the “Peyton sucks in the playoffs” conversations in earnest.

2005 Down 3 to the Steelers with 1:20 to go, Peyton Manning took a sack on fourth down at his own 2-yard line. Looking to put the Colts away,  Jerome Bettis coughed it up and gave Peyton and the Colts one last shot. Peyton got the Colts into field-goal range, but Mike Vanderjagt couldn’t connect on a 46-yard attempt, and Pittsburgh held on to win this wild one. [As a side note, this was Vanderjagt’s last game as a Colt. That offseason, the Colts went out and got Adam Vinatieri. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.]

2007 Looking to defend their Super Bowl title, the Colts received a first-round bye and hosted the San Diego Chargers in the divisional round. The Colts led 24-21 in the fourth, but the Chargers took the lead late and Peyton Manning had to orchestrate another last-minute comeback. He led the Colts inside the 10, but couldn’t put it in the end zone thanks to pressure from Shawne Merriman (remember him?). The Colts would actually get the ball back one more time, but that drive also stalled out. This was also the last game to be played at the RCA Dome.

2012 New team, same result. Peyton’s first trip to the playoffs with the Broncos ended the same way so many of his previous trips did. Much of this loss can be pinned on the Broncos defense, but this Peyton Manning Playoff Meltdown receives special mention because of how excruciating this loss was. The Ravens trailed the Broncos 35-28 in the final minute. That’s when Joe Flacco connected with Jacoby Jones for a 70-yard touchdown with 31 seconds remaining. The Ravens would go on to win the game in overtime, and defeat the Patriots the next week en route to winning Super Bowl XLVII.

 

With Andy Dalton and the Bengals sitting the playoffs out this year, no other quarterback playing in the playoffs this year immediately comes to mind when thinking of another quarterback to carry on the legacy of Peyton Manning Playoff Meltdowns. With backup quarterbacks all over the place in the AFC, though, this should still be a fun (and sloppy) Wild Card Weekend to watch.