Carey

While New England has the bragging rights (with 8 consecutive trips to the AFC Title game following wins in a round that seems to be the ceiling for Buffalo), video games (IDT) are not going to make up for how things would play out if the Patriots during their "second dynasty" faced this version of the Bills. Of the 3 teams in the AFC East that haven't won anything recently, at least New York & Miami found some success. Pretty much stretching the word some there. New York might have a longer playoff drought than Miami, but they have won a playoff game more recently. I'd guess Buffalo would get some wins against New England, but TBH, nothing changes in terms of total dominance. Division football is legitimate

Vinatieri did make a difference back when, and we'll see if the voters agree in a year. Other than that, BS and Vinatieri were a big part of a segment that made a big section of the story of the National Football League a reality. It took place on January 19th, 2002. To be fair, an Adam missed FG achieves a tie in both of those big games (Super Bowl games). We'll never know, but some people (maybe yours truly) would site MJ getting owned by Boston and Detroit early in his career before good news took place. So if the GOAT of one could do it, so could the other. BTW, I might not call TB12 the MJ of the NFL. Might be unfair, but New England lost to the Ravens. Otherwise, I'd change my mind & call the Pats dynasty a 20-year one (instead, it's just at least 2 dynasties within 2 decades of winning). Sometimes, it can be forgotten that Bledsoe was a part of that winning 2001 Patriots team. About as much as Terrell Suggs being a part of the next dynasty pretty early in the years Kansas City started winning

That shouldn't matter. To clarify, none of the other games have disclosed the road opponents for those games either. Two of the opponents slated to travel to Arrowhead host the Eagles in 2024. Dallas would be the only team that fits the category if they actually are waiting for the conclusion of Super Bowl 58. They have road games against both San Francisco & Philadelphia. Though I would not bet on the Cowboys travelling to Brazil on that Friday

If Adam doesn't make those kicks Brady would've had as few as 5 rings

If they edited the history of Sesame Street to where they replaced Oscar the Grouch with Altuve, nobody would notice

While there are arguments on Social Media in terms of who won or should have won certain awards, 3 thoughts: A. Everyone that won their award tonight earned it 2. Julian Edelman getting enshrined in at least a couple year will be legit, and D. It's comical that the biggest complaint is 49 of 50 1st place votes for Lamar I have no issue with the HOF class of 2024. I think Rodney gets in next year. It'll be a deep class, but I'd love to see him and Vinatieri inducted at the same time (if Adam gets there in a year). Still everyone that got in...I think they got it right

Eagles & Steelers feel like a decent scenario, second to Green Bay. As mentioned, I hardly think they're moving that Keystone matchup out of the state. I could be wrong; after all, Pittsburgh was just in Philadelphia last year. I do think, if I had to guess, it'll be Green Bay followed by Atlanta. I'd put Carolina as the third likely team. I do not believe they'll have an AFC team; if they do I'd pick Jacksonville before Cleveland. Following a recent pattern since the 17th game showed up, I imagine the league would stick with NFC teams this year (AFC next year) in terms of international games.

IIRC, that's around the same timeframe they've done it in the past. I remember TAR releasing there's about a month early which was beneficial to me

In the aftermath of Dan Quinn's Dallas exit, I didn't post about it when it became a story (non-official) somewhere last week, but one of the infinite examples of the NFL being a big things sans gameplay is Rex Ryan as the Cowboys DC

At least she didn't say Season 45. Or better/worse yet, at least EW didn't ask what past season would you consider yourself best suited for!

This might be the toughest Super Bowl in terms of a prediction, Black Knight. I'll admit part of that is due to being in the moment. For me, it isn't easy. I picked San Francisco to win it all before the season started. However, I had them winning over Jacksonville. Both those teams played each other so I'd have felt comfortable with my guess if that matchup happened. So while I'd feel like a heel if I switched, it's Patrick Mahomes the Niners are facing, not Trevor Lawrence. The offense is better for the 49ers this time around, but the defense is better for Kansas City. Their offense isn't but it might not have to be. It doesn't help that the NFC Champions are playing in a venue that the AFC Champions are 4-0 in since its debut at the beginning of the decade

It'll also be the first Friday game in at least a minute that early in the NFL. Further ammo toward my "opinion" that the Friday following Turkey Day will not be close to the only Friday featuring NFL games in the future of football played within Planet Earth. I'll probably tune into that game after the San Francisco or Kansas City game the day before. BTW, I skipped the Media Day garbage. It used to be so natural, and then they take a decent thing, turn it into a TV show, add a silly sponsor, and from there, I'll do something else on the way to Super Bowl 58

To be honest, I don't plan on watching next year until Week 10. Not a move that says I hate the modern day NFL. That's not the case. I may be one that enjoyed the past, but skipping it changes nothing. It's a me thing, and nothing else. The league will be around well after I'm gone. That's a great thing. The reason why I might not tune in until Week 10...well, there's more than one. I think I've been burned out since the season seems so damn long. I have other stuff as a fan that's great at doing something else. A third reason is that the second half matters at least a bit more than the first half. Teams like Philly, Cleveland, and Miami were great early on, but then Baltimore, Kansas City, Green Bay, and Tampa were decent in the second half. I think you only had a couple teams that were decent throughout including San Francisco & Detroit, but for the most part, what you see early may not be the case later when it counts the most. By the way, the doing something else is important since I love money too. And time to where I put it to very good use. Otherwise, I'm all in all the time. Finally, I'll probably still catch the London games as well as those 4:25 GOTW

Well, so much for a "dead" week in the National Football League. In brief, record ratings as the outcome for the conference title games, all 8 spots have been addressed, and Kansas City is a mess. Though I still think San Francisco would've maintained their status as the favorites, I wonder if the line moves back to -2.5 without yet another case where one of the 2 faces of KC might be better off emulating Aaron Rodgers in terms of one's inner circle. With Dan Quinn moving onto another NFC East franchise, it's probably the end of the McCarthy era in Dallas by this time next year. TBH, I wouldn't be surprised if the other 3 teams in this division have someone new as the head coach around this time 18 months from now. Apparently MacDonald getting the Seahawks HC job instead of Dan Quinn wasn't a big deal after all. The latter ends up filling the final vacancy as he succeeds Ron Rivera as the Washington Commanders Head Coach (instead of Mike MacDonald). I almost forgot: The Pro Bowl week(end) has come & gone.

Speaking of the division winning streak, the comical thing about it is that the Chiefs lead everyone else. The mark is 16-15-15-15. I imagine they're more likely to be okay than not okay. I think Andy Reid retiring would be a bigger loss than Travis. Coaching matters, and then there's Brady. When people like Brown, Moss, Light, even Welker moved on, he still found ways to win (Julian, Robert, and Danny). When Kelce retires, someone else might rise to the occasion. Maybe more than one. Now Reid is a half dozen years longer than Bill, so maybe they can persevere for the rest of the decade. By that time someone great might replace him. Good enough to win amid a situation where Mahomes' ego could be a problem if it exists at that point. I don't know if I'll put the AFC West above the AFC North in terms of top notch competition, but I would not be surprised at all if that division is competitive throughout the next year or two. First of all, Kansas City doesn't need to win their division in order to win the conference (just as long as they don't have to travel to Paycor). Harbaugh's arrival is definitely a game changer. Doesn't mean it's over for everyone. After all, the other 3 head coaches have Super Bowl rings. So wins are not going to be complimentary. Still I can see Los Angeles wrecking the Chiefs "pursuit" at being better than the Patriots from the first fifth of the century. I guess I could call it one Michigan alum aiding another

I might as well make mention to what I was referring to earlier. Despite sorta ruining things in 2008, I'll always admire Burress during his run in the 2000s. It didn't work out for that other New York team, but the one that matters more is what counts. In other words, I'll never forget how salty Tom Brady was when he thought he was being disrespected when the former NFL WR said that they score would end up being something around 20-17 or whatever. The 7 time super bowl champion didn't think they were getting enough credit for their season & that they could score more than that. Turns out it was a compliment. I don't think Plaxico mentioned who would win or lose, but someone did score 17 points so he was either nice or complimentary. That was one of the highlights during the coverage for the Super Bowl that year. Sometimes it was worth it. Furthermore, given how he fell short earlier in the decade before leaving the team that won the following year, it was well deserving

4-0 in that Stadium. I might site that as a reason they could win one week from Sunday before something else. But possibly not for long. Dallas & San Francisco have both won playoff games more recently than New York, with the latter winning its conference twice since the Giants did over a decade ago. Even though the 4-time former Super Bowl champions have won one playoff game (out of 2 appearances since 2012), I mean no disrespect to Big Blue. For the record, I have been complimentary more often than not. If I get to it, I'll post something from the past that I didn't get around to this past weekend. I should have clarified in terms of the content of my post above. Those 5 teams were the dynasties since 1960. I think it's reasonable to Put Green Bay, Chicago, and the New York Football Giants as the tops of the National Football League. In the aftermath of the end of time, the story of the NFL will be complete, and it's incomplete without the success of the Packers, Bears, and Giants. Sure there are more teams now, and for some reason, the league is content with the structure. They'd rather relocate teams than expand, something that's approaching a quarter century since it last took place. The fact is, dominance took place within a decade or a decade period of time with the Packers of the 1960s, the Steelers of the 1970s, the 49ers of the 1980s, the Cowboys of the 1990s, the Patriots of the 2000s, and I'd put New England in the 2010s too since Denver & Seattle had success but couldn't capitalize more often than not. Also, all 5 of those teams had successful title defenses. In addition, they were in the championship mix in other decades at the very least (Green Bay & Pittsburgh in the 1990s, Dallas in the 1970s, San Francisco in the 1990s, Pats in the 2010s) New York never went back-to-back in the Super Bowl Era. It's probably petty, but it's worth a toast to do so. Miami & Denver got it done; not many talk about the Dolphins & Broncos as teams of the 70s and 90s. As mentioned, no disrespect, but I'd probably put New York in a category with Denver, Washington, and Miami. The thing is the Giants did win the Super Bowl every decade since the 1980s. And one on all 4 of the TV networks too! Plus, they're the only team in the league that's never lost a conference title game (thanks Kansas City). To add to the statistic of the number of Lombardi's, they do have the best Super Bowl winning percentage with Green Bay (minimum 5 games), and finally, they still are part of the best game ever played & the best Super Bowl ever played

Couldn't agree more. The correct team won, but apart from the love, the way it went was tough. If it was a blowout from start to finish that would have been worse, but if it was something similar to the 2021 title game, that would have been okay. Baltimore/San Francisco would have sucked for sure. There's nothing the latter would've had that's different than was took place last month. If they were down by 17 points, they would need an Allegiant Power Failure to have a chance. To be fair, Kansas City was missing their tackles, I think their Center was just not there, and Mahomes was ailing himself. Didn't help that Tampa had the last open date. Basically an instant Game 7. I'll subscribe to 2 Patriots dynasties as the thing. I don't think I'll totally agree about a 20 year dynasty when, like you said, they went a decade without winning the title. Furthermore, they got their asses kicked several times by Baltimore. Plus a one-and-done off of a bye against Rex Ryan. That's a reason as to why I brought up the Mahomes comparison. And no, he's no MJ, but he has won a playoff game every year as a starter. Been in the leagues final 4 every year. Just proved that he didn't need to be at Arrowhead to win in the postseason. M&T Bank Stadium is a nightmare if you're a team on the road

I don't think I'll be rooting for San Francisco either. While the same mood from 5 years ago holds here (another team to SIX and the first NFC team), I probably would be okay if another team up North had something less to brag about as it relates to another team around the Midwest. Kansas City does have to win in order to join that great group featuring Green Bay, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Dallas, and New England. JMO; this will be the 4th attempt at a successful title defense since 2005

We'll see. It doesn't seem like Mahomes lets other people win. On a related note, I think Nick Wright's comparison earlier in the week was the first time I've heard it. To clarify, he asked if Tom Brady was the sport & this era's Bill Russell (to Patrick's Michael Jordan). Worth thinking about, but even more, something to laugh at

We'll see if Detroit returns to who they are when Ben Johnson departs for Washington. Especially with Green Bay possibly getting back to winning again. If it hadn't been for TS, SB 58 may have been the worst game in quite awhile

Sure did. That's the correct argument as to why this would've been worse than Ravens/Niners. Maybe San Francisco will get payback this time, but nobody is going to care

Imagine if they'd played the Rams instead