We’ve learned in these NFL playoffs that defenses are outpacing offenses for the first time in a long time.
However, we just saw arguably the best defense in recent memory bow out of the postseason because the team’s quarterback couldn’t protect the football. It wasn’t just C.J. Stroud’s four interceptions that doomed the Texans in the 28–16 playoff loss to the Patriots; it was his inability to brush off the mistakes and make timely throws.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye also struggled to protect the ball, with one interception and two lost fumbles, but he made enough plays to preserve an excellent performance from his defense. It’s time that New England’s defense is viewed in the light as the units from Houston, Seattle and Denver, with the latter two competing on championship Sunday this week.
Defenses are finally getting recognition, but offenses still matter en route to winning a Super Bowl. So do special teams, and the Seahawks have a dangerous playmaker in that often overlooked area, as we saw on a night that Seattle’s defense shut down the 49ers in Saturday’s 41–6 victory.
Here’s what else we learned from the eventful four divisional round games, starting with the drama-filled matchup between the Bills and Broncos that eventually led to the firing of coach Sean McDermott.
Bills lost patience with McDermott, but they’ll need plenty of it for their next coach
In a way, the controversial ending to the Bills-Broncos divisional round matchup took the spotlight off McDermott, who endured another disappointing playoff exit with Buffalo’s 33–30 overtime loss in Denver.
The excuses were there to help McDermott keep his job, including all the injuries on the defensive side, and, of course, the controversial officiating on a night that might be remembered as the Denver screwjob for long-tortured Bills fans.
But behind the scenes after the latest January heartbreaker, the Bills asked themselves whether McDermott had hit his ceiling with this team. The answer was, obviously, yes. And it didn’t help that Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson weren’t a part of this year’s AFC playoffs, and the result was still the same for the Bills despite having the best football player on the planet.
But just because the Bills lost patience with McDermott for failing to get his team to the Super Bowl in nine seasons, and with Allen turning 30 in May, don’t expect Buffalo to have a hurried hiring process. Yes, they missed out on John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski after the Giants and Falcons hired them, but even if those guys were available, this team has to search under every rock. They can’t afford to get this decision wrong just because they have a one-track mind about getting Allen to the Super Bowl as soon as possible.
Plenty of patience will be required if the Bills go with a first-time head coach. However, there are a handful of intriguing, inexperienced candidates who can take Allen and his offense to the next level. Perhaps someone who can get ahead of the trend of defenses finding advantages in the past two seasons.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr mentioned Broncos offensive passing-game coordinator Davis Webb as an option for the Buffalo job along with a few other notable young candidates. Also, the Bills can take a serious look at defensive-minded coaches, such as Jesse Minter and Chris Shula. Even former head coaches make sense, such as Vance Joseph and Brian Daboll, Allen’s former offensive play-caller in Buffalo.
And maybe the Bills can attempt to change Mike Tomlin’s mind about taking a year off to do media. Tomlin struggled to get the Steelers deep into the postseason over the past decade, but his teams didn’t have a quarterback nearly as good as Allen, the reigning MVP.
Still, it would make more sense for Buffalo to go with an up-and-coming candidate to provide innovative ideas that may have been lacking over the past few seasons. Even if it means having a feel-out season, similar to what coach Ben Johnson just had in Chicago, the payoff could be big in a year or two.
Officials were too quick to make controversial interception call in Denver
It’s become difficult to ignore conspiracy theories about NFL games being fixed when too many are decided by controversial decisions from officials.
And, no, I don’t actually think the league is rigged. But I do believe the NFL has a bad officiating problem, which is creating a handful of concerning issues, such as the public losing trust in what’s actually happening on the field and being forced to watch a poor product because officials constantly get in the way.
As SI’s Albert Breer pointed out, it was a bad look for the NFL to have the officials from the Broncos-Bills divisional game rush to make an interception call when it wasn’t obvious that wide receiver Brandin Cooks didn’t have possession of the ball before having it wrestled away by cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian during a pivotal play in overtime.
I’m not saying Cooks caught it and had a knee down, but it’s strange that the officials were so certain that it was an interception without using more time to review the play. McDermott had every right to be livid about the rushed call because he called a timeout, and the officials didn’t even bother to make the most of the extra time to review the bang-bang play. I’ve watched it several times, and I think I’m barely coming around to the idea that McMillan had the interception.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the officials had more controversial calls on the Broncos’ game-winning drive before setting up Wil Lutz’s 23-yard walk-off field goal.
Instead of talking about the Broncos’ thrilling victory, the focus has been on how the officials screwed over the Bills.
Rashid Shaheed’s presence gives Seattle the most complete team
What wide receiver Rashid Shaheed has given Seattle on special teams after arriving via a midseason trade from New Orleans resembles what Percy Harvin provided for Seattle’s 2013 Super Bowl team.
Nearly 13 years ago, the Seahawks landed Harvin in a trade with the Vikings, but Harvin only played in one regular-season game before delivering a memorable Super Bowl XLVIII performance. While Shaheed has had quiet outings as a receiver for Sam Darnold (only 15 catches for 188 yards and no touchdowns), he has provided a spark on special teams and his elite speed has given Darnold beneficial starting positions.
Shaheed returned the opening kickoff against the 49ers 95 yards for a touchdown, which turned out to be the only points the Seahawks needed in the 41–6 victory. That electric play brought back memories of Harvin’s 87-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff of the second half against the Broncos in the Super Bowl. In Week 16, Shaheed had a 58-yard punt return touchdown to spark the rally against the Rams.
Heading into championship Sunday, the Seahawks could be the most complete among the four remaining teams because of what Shaheed has provided on special teams, which also has a standout kicker in Jason Myers.
Texans waste what could have been a legendary defense
As it turned out, the Texans’ elite defense couldn’t single-handedly win a Super Bowl.
DeMeco Ryans’s defense needed some offense, which Stroud couldn’t provide during a dreadful four-interception performance against the Patriots. In the wild-card victory over the Steelers, Stroud had three turnovers and needed a couple of defensive scores to advance to the next round. The third-year quarterback became the first player in NFL history to have five interceptions and five fumbles in a postseason.
But even though Houston held Maye & Co. to 248 total yards, after only allowing 175 total yards to Pittsburgh, there will be no next week for one of the best defenses in recent memory, perhaps one capable of making history if it had a different quarterback.
The Texans now need to consider adding quarterback competition for Stroud in the offseason to avoid wasting another prime season for this rugged defense. But there’s a real possibility that Houston wasted its one shot of winning a Super Bowl with this unit. It was all set up for the Texans in a postseason that was without the AFC’s best quarterbacks, and Allen was eliminated a day earlier in the loss against the Broncos.
If only Stroud had secured the football and made some timely plays, we would be talking about this special defense being one game away from the Super Bowl. It’s going to be difficult for Stroud and Ryans not to wonder whether they fumbled their best chance of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
Rams’ secondary no longer a weak link after grabbing three INTs
The Rams’ defensive backs have been picked on for most of the season, but Los Angeles would not be in the NFC title game without the three interceptions the secondary recorded against Caleb Williams and the Bears in the 20–17 overtime victory.
Safety Kamren Curl bailed out his high-scoring offense that struggled to generate points in Chicago by hustling to the ball on a curl route that wide receiver DJ Moore failed to complete. The Bears were near midfield, only needing a field goal to win, but coach Ben Johnson made the head-scratching decision to call for a shot play downfield, leading to Curl’s clutch takeaway.
Earlier in the game, cornerback Cobie Durant had two interceptions on Williams. The sensational second-year quarterback did torch the Rams’ secondary in the final quarter, including on the jaw-dropping fourth-down throw from midfield to Cole Kmet to tie the game in the final 18 seconds. But the defensive backs quickly regrouped and didn’t allow Williams to establish a rhythm for long stretches.
The secondary’s ball-hawking skills were desperately needed for an L.A. pass rush that didn’t sack Williams once. Chris Shula’s secondary has been up and down most of the season, but if they continue to force takeaways, it’s going to be tough to knock out the Rams.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Five Lessons From NFL Divisional Round: Bills Need to Exercise Patience With Next Head Coach.
