FMQB: Extra Week, Extra Kermitty
Oi vey, yours truly missed last week’s post, in the middle of the playoffs! Sorry. I’ll do a quick reminder and update on the Divisional round, and then discuss both lackluster Championship games. On the plus side, loads of memes this week!
Divisional Round:
- Kirk Cousins was sacked 6 times. Despite not being a flashy game, they were in it deep into the 3rd.
- The Ravens legitimately knew the Titans gameplan, and couldn’t stop it
- Kansas City had 3 TD’s in 3:24 of game time!
- KC tied the 4th biggest playoff comeback, and they accomplished that in 1 quarter! Only 10:10 in game time
- The Davonte Adams TD was one of the simplist but most genius play calls I’ve seen. The Packers faked a pick play, so right when the Seahawks defenders switched, Adams ran back out to the corner and was wide open.
- For the record, the Fox line was way off, and Jimmy Graham had the 1st down.
Stat of the Week:
The Titans beat the Patriots with 72 yards passing, and the Ravens with 88 yards.
Stat of the Week #2:
The Titans scored 28 points on 53 plays, the Ravens scored 12 points on 92 plays
Stat of the Week #3:
Lamar Jackson had 365 yards passing, and 143 yards rushing, and still lost AND only scored 12 points.
Stat of the Week #4:
Derrick Henry is the first RB with 180 rushing yards in 3 straight games in NFL history
Stat of the Week #5:
Kansas City is the first team to win a game by 20 points, after trailing a team by 20 points.
Of Note:
- It was really cool watching Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson get surprised on-set with their Hall of Fame announcements. Not that I 100% agree with both, but still very cool to watch both live
- Luke Kuechly retiring at age 28 was shocking! I mentioned when Andrew luck did it that we may see more of this, but it’s still shocking
- It’s boggling to me that Phillip Rivers, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady are all free agents this year. We could have a huge round robin of QB’s with Winston, Tannehill, Dalton, Bridgewater, Prescott, and Mariotta also likely changing.
Importance of seeding:
Both Super Bowl teams can really thank the playoff scheduling Gods for getting there. The Chiefs can moreso thank the Dolphins haha, but their road to the big game would have been drastically different. It would have been Titans in game 1 (they proved they could beat, but Titans may have surprised them), then Patriots on the road for game 2, and likely against the Ravens in the AFC Championship game, on the road again. Instead the Chiefs got 2 cushy home games, against the Texans and Titans, a 3 and 6 seed. I’d heavily argue that if it wasn’t for the Dolphins winning in Week 17, the Chiefs wouldn’t be in the Super Bowl!
The 49ers had a similar path, barely nailing the #1 seed instead of the 5. San Fran had 2 home games against a 6 seed and a Packers team they already obliterated at home. Their road likely would have been at Eagles (likely win), at Green Bay (at Lambeau, that could have been different), then at New Orleans (they barely won in the reg season).
If seeding were slightly different, I easily take Ravens vs. Saints in the Super Bowl. Instead both couldn’t win a playoff game.
Championship Round:
So the Titans Chiefs game had some drama, and at least the 1st half was competitive. But otherwise the it truly felt like neither the Packers or Titans belonged in the game. The Packers were beaten on all sides of the ball. At one point with a minute left in the 1st half, I said “at least it isn’t QUITE as bad as the last time they played” (since they went into halftime last time down 23-0). But alas, Mostert scored and actually made it worse.
Fact of the Week:
This is the 1st Super Bowl in the last 7 years not to have LaGarrett Blount or CJ Anderson in it. Don’t worry, I have my Manning/Brady stat for next week, but that’s super obscure to me!
Tough Road:
The Titans played all 4 division winners, on the road, in back-back-back-back games to end the season, and went 3-1. Texans in Week 17, then Patriots, Ravens, and ended with the Chiefs.
Stat of the Week:
Jimmy Garropolo went 6 for 8, and they scored 37 points!
Stat of the Week #2:
Tannehill hadn’t thrown for 100 yards in either win, but was over 100 within the first 16 minutes of the KC game
Stat of the Week #3:
Raheem Mostert had the 2nd most rushing yards in a playoff game ever. He started the season #4 on SF’s depth chart, is on his 7th team, and had been released from 6 teams in the last 4 years.
For the Record:
Mahomes sounded extra kermitty during the trophy presentation
Quote of the Week:
What did you do to celebrate your victory?
I got a cheeseburger and went to bed- Andy Reid
Quote of the Week #2:
“Colonel Mostert, in the kitchen, with the Candlestick!” Chris Berman. Can we bring these guys back full time, please?!?!
Memes of the Week:
FMQB 