The NFL Playoffs are often a chaotic time in sports. But before we dive into Super Bowl LIX, I think it’s a perfect time to reflect on the teams that participated in the playoffs and got eliminated. I will dive into each team that didn’t make it and give my opinion.
Please, somebody beat the Kansas City Chiefs, pretty please.
Out of all the teams that got eliminated in the wildcard round of the playoffs, I was most surprised with the Chargers. Especially with how weak the Texans were on paper, this should have been an “easy” win for them. Then Rex Ryan called it a bye week for the Chargers and the Texans took that personally.
We also forgot the Chargers overachieved this season. They didn’t have the strong talent to have a deep run. At least they got an upgrade at head coach with Jim Harbaugh. However, there is concern with him as he is going to have offseason surgery on both his hip and heart. Who knows how long of a coaching tenure he will ever have in the NFL, but at least getting to the playoffs is a step in the right direction.
This team may keep getting an above .500 record, but they are a pathetic team. Did you know this franchise hasn’t made it past the wildcard round of the playoffs since 2017? Not only that, but in the last five playoff games the Steelers have trailed by double-digit points. Guess what happened, another double-digit points loss and not making it past the wildcard round of the playoffs. It didn’t even help that the majority of the players didn’t care either and were checked out. They even lost the last five games of the season.
Normally this would get head coaches fired in the NFL, but this is the Steelers we’re talking about here. The coaches either retire or conveniently have their contracts expire unless you’re Matt Canada. It’s time for a change of scenery and games like this are why Pittsburgh won’t win another Super Bowl until Tomlin is gone. Good head coach and can get above a .500 record but not getting past the wildcard round in many years is a big problem.
What else has been a big problem? George Pickens. Dude is turning into a cancer in the locker room by the day at this point. What else is new? I’ve lost track of how many wide receivers turn into a cancer for this franchise. Arriving late to games, his behavioral issues that were showcased against the Bengals in Week 18, and his latest press conferences. At this point, he’s going to be traded for a third-round pick in the future. This franchise and team are an absolute mess. No change is going to happen and they will be in the same place next year.
I am going to keep this brief, nobody expected Denver to do anything in the playoffs. Well, at least they made it competitive, on the first drive. Besides that Buffalo just dominated Denver all game. Just getting here was an immediate success as nobody expected Denver to be even close to this spot. Keep up the great work Denver and if Bo Nix continues to develop like he is now, the offense will get more weapons, and the defense will play like they have, they should be back next year. Keep it up Denver.
So many fans wanted the lightning to strike twice, and the Packers embarrassed another NFC East team in the NFL. The problem is people forget that the Packers didn’t ensure health in Week 18 and played a majority of their starters in a meaningless game.
A chunk of their players entered the game with an injury including QB Jordan Love. The worst part is Christian Watson suffered a torn ACL and Love lost his top receiver for the playoffs and maybe even a portion of the 2026 season too. Well done Packers, no wonder why the Eagles took care of business against this team.
Is anyone surprised that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got eliminated in round one? They’re only here because the NFC South is terrible, and somebody had to win the division. Just thank the Atlanta Falcons for being too little too late with benching Kirk Cousins and the Saints thinking it was a good idea to keep Dennis Allen as the head coach. Although it’s unsurprising they had a hard-fought loss against the Washington Commanders in the only good wildcard playoff game this year. Trust me, I watch the rest of the games, this one was the only good one.
I do have to ask though, why is Todd Bowles still here as the head coach? Have you seen the terrible coaching Bowles has done this year? Remember when he played visibly injured Mike Evans, which ultimately led to him re-aggravating his injury? The awful coaching decisions as well, it surprises me that he is still here. Tampa will give Bowles another chance, but I don’t see Tampa winning a Super Bowl with Bowles as the head coach. He is a good defensive coordinator, but not a good head coach.
Another year, another chapter to add to the Minnesota Vikings Legacy of Failure. Honestly, with how the Vikings played, one word I have to use is pathetic. They got dominated by the Los Angeles Rams 27-9 and it was shocking with how strong of a season the Vikings had. The defense was sloppy, but the offense just looked flat all game. Such a shame because the Vikings had the pieces to have a deep playoff run, but it just didn’t happen.
Now the question is, what are they going to do with Sam Darnold? He had a great season, but when looking at the last two games, it was not great. Darnold looked like he was seeing ghosts and was terrified. Luckily for the Vikings, they have options with rookie first-rounder J.J. McCarthy and even bringing in Daniel Jones when he got released by the Giants. If they make the right decision in the offseason they should be back. By the way, Vikings, don’t even think about listening to those rumors of trading Kevin O’Connell. Just extend him instead and move on.
I have to say, I am impressed with the Houston Texans for even getting to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. With how terrible they have been in the regular season, I thought they were going to be one-and-done. Well, it’s too bad that the Texans had to face the Kansas City Chiefs and the refs.
So many calls going the Chief’s way its insane and a lot of the calls were terrible. Both DeMeco Ryans, Will Anderson, and C.J. Stroud called out the NFL for it. I expect the three of them to get fined for calling out the truth with the heinous refill that occurred in that game. Speaking of fines, I wonder how much Kris Boyd will be fined for pushing the special teams coordinator.
The refs are a big reason why the Texans didn’t make the playoffs, but another reason is due to the injuries. Especially on offense as the Texans didn’t have both Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell at wide receiver. Something obvious as well was C.J. Stroud playing with a knee injury. If I am the Texans they have to improve the line as Stroud got no help from them against the Chiefs. I do have one question, why does Bobby Slowik keep getting interviewed for head coaching roles? Did teams see how sloppy the playcalling has been all season?
You know, I had a feeling Detroit wouldn’t have a deep run. It’s not because the team isn’t talented, because they are. However, look at the number of injuries that this franchise has had, especially on defense. While the Lions had an extra week to prepare for this game, the injuries were too much. Especially against a young and speedy Washington offense.
It made no sense that Detroit was an 8.5-point favorite. You know who looked bad in this game, Jared Goff. Some of the throws he made reminded me of his rookie season with the Rams. The guy was throwing the football like a goofball. If I’m Detroit this should be a wake-up call to get a QB as well as extra depth at pass rusher.
You know the worst part about this loss, is that it’s the last one with Ben Johnson as the offensive coordinator and Aaron Glenn as the defensive coordinator. Both have received head coaching jobs next year and the Lions are going to have to scramble to find new coordinators. One last thing those blaming Dan Campbell for this loss, don’t know what the heck they are talking about as this isn’t on him. It was heartbreaking seeing him that emotional in the press conference at the end of the game.
Remember at one point the Los Angeles Rams started the season with a 1-4 record. Good times, just like watching the Los Angeles Rams winning the NFC West division and dominating the Vikings. Well unfortunately for the Rams, they had to face a Philadelphia Eagles team that had a tremendous upgrade at quarterback.
Although the Rams fought back and played it close with the Eagles. Unfortunately, it was clear that most of the Rams team was playing injured. Including Matthew Stafford who according to his wife admits he played with multiple broken ribs. Is his wife ever going to learn to shut her mouth after the whole dating backup QB to make him jealous fiasco? I will give credit to the Rams because they fought back, but it feels like another missed opportunity for the team.
The perennial award for most consistent disappointment in the NFL goes to as always, the Baltimore Ravens. Almost every single year during the Lamar Jackson era they are labeled as Superbowl champions, then they choke it away. It happens almost every single year with this team. There are so many fingers to point to here and there were three strikes with this team.
Strike number one starts with Lamar Jackson, what the heck was that performance in the first half? Some of the throws he was making were bad. Go rewatch that interception he threw, that ball was overthrown by eight yards. Yes, Lamar played much better in the second half, but with how bad his first half was it contributed to that loss. With this loss, playoff Lamar’s reputation continues to trend downward.
Strike number two is an obvious one in TE Mark Andrews. I hate to beat down on the guy, but he might have played his last game as a Baltimore Raven. Not only with the key fumble that ultimately ended the game but with dropping that two-point conversion at the end of the game. Andrews was wide open and that drop was the killing blow to the Raven’s chances of winning the game. Honestly, I don’t understand why they didn’t give the ball to Henry on the two-point conversion. Dude was unstoppable in this game, yet you’d rather throw it on those plays? Again this team has a coaching problem.
Let’s get to strike number three, the coaching. I’ve called this out since Week 1 of the NFL season, but Baltimore has a serious coaching problem. I got so much heat for saying that, but it’s the truth. I will throw out another truth bomb here, John Harbaugh is now in the Mike Tomlin category. Good coach, but should have been fired years ago. Both franchises care more about stability than reality. Harbaugh has only won four playoff wins in 11 years, that’s a problem.
Baltimore will never win a Superbowl with Harbaugh as the coach and they need a change and now. Some of the coaching decisions baffled me including avoiding the run in the fourth quarter. Henry and Hill were running all over Buffalo’s defense, yet they distanced from the run. Maybe it would have helped if Baltimore had ensured health for the playoffs, as Zay Flowers got hurt in Week 18 and didn’t play in the playoffs.
This all feels like yet another wasted season. Honestly, I don’t even know where Baltimore goes from here. This felt like the most complete Ravens team. What a completely predictable ending too.
Let me just say one thing: the refs did not cost the Commanders this game. Yes, there were many brutal calls made against the Eagles, but there were also plenty of missed calls that helped Washington too. Do you know what killed the Commanders? The multiple turnovers, including the fumbles. You can’t do that with how stacked of a team the Philadelphia Eagles currently are.
You can’t fully be angry with Washington at all in the aftermath. No matter who you are we must applaud the Commanders as nobody saw them getting to this point. It’s impressive how the Commanders went from Tank Bowl contenders to Super Bowl contenders.
The Commanders have something in this team and it starts with Jaylen Daniels. That dude is a special breed of special. If Daniels continues to develop and play well, then he could legit be a Top 5 quarterback in the league. Washington has something great here and along with the 87.5 million in cap space, they should be back.
Want more positive news, Commanders fans? Former Commanders owner Dan Snyder is actively upset that the team is good. Aww, boo hoo, I feel so bad for him. Too bad he’s done more destruction to others’ lives. Snyder is lucky he isn’t sitting behind a cage for the stuff he did during his ownership.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. This franchise is cursed. No matter what they do or how they do it, bad luck is just attracted to the Buffalo Bills. They’re a great team on paper, but they just can’t get the job done and I knew they were going to have their hands full facing the Chiefs.
After all, the Bills are to the Chiefs as the Steelers were to the Patriots. They just can’t beat them and it doesn’t help that the refs are more favorable to the Chiefs. Seriously how the hell did they rule Josh Allen short on that fourth-and-one? It was clear that he got the first down there.
At this point, I have no idea what the Bills do from here. They tried everything from making trade deadline moves, to big contracts, to free agents, to Von Miller, and good drafting. They’re in a really tough spot and I don’t know how they get out of it.
Now those were the teams that did not make Superbowl LIX. The two teams that made the Super Bowl are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, what a shocker. I will go into further details in my preview of this game in the next few days. Keep an eye out for that piece.
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