Now that Wild Card Weekend is over and six more teams have seen their seasons end, I’ll assess those teams and where they go from here.
ARIZONA CARDINALS- The Cardinals are Kyler Murray. When he’s one hundred percent healthy and he has his full complement of weapons, the Arizona offense is virtually unstoppable. The problem is, Murray doesn’t seem to be able to stay completely healthy.
It’s a combination of factors, including his style of play and his smaller stature, but we’ve seen over the last 2 seasons, when Kyler isn’t fully healthy he just doesn’t have the magic.
The Cardinals do need to upgrade the offensive line, maybe that would help keep Murray from taking so many dangerous risks with his body? Another go to WR wouldn’t hurt either.
Upgrades at every level of the defense are also in order.
DALLAS COWBOYS- A promising season goes down in flames, once again.
The biggest problem in Dallas, besides Jerry Jones’ ego, is head coach Mike McCarthy. I’ve been critical of McCarthy for years, I feel he’s been the most overrated coach in the NFL for years. He made, and won, one Super Bowl in all his years in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers.
Yes, he was at the helm of a good turnaround this year, but that was mainly due to the healthy return of Dak Prescott and Dan Quinn improving the defense.
Almost all of Dallas’ losses this season had a head scratching coaching decision and the loss to SF was no different. Calling a QB draw with 14 seconds on the clock and no timeouts is baffling. Kicking a 51 yard field goal, which is no guarantee, instead of going for it on a manageable fourth down while down 16 in the fourth quarter, was also questionable.
The Cowboys were in a position to possibly take a Hail Mary shot not because of McCarthy’s coaching but because of Kyle Shanahan’s penchant for getting overly conservative with a sizable lead.
Bottom line, Jones should strongly consider moving on from McCarthy but he probably won’t. It could cost him one or both of his coordinators, who have more to do with Dallas’ success than the HC.
The Cowboys actually have a pretty sound team that should be a contender next season. Ezekiel Elliot is probably washed up and they should focus their running game more on Tony Pollard. The offensive line is aging and could stand an injection of youth. The defense was much improved but could always use some more pieces.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS- The Raiders have already relieved their GM of his duties and all signs point to a coaching change. That would be a shame. Rich Bisaccia did a magnificent job navigating a sea of adversity to get the Raiders to the playoffs, he deserves a full season at the helm.
I think we can finally put to bed the whispers of whether Vegas will move on from QB Derek Carr. The guy is a winner and just needs more help.
I expect LV to be players for high profile WRs, O-Lineman and defense in free agency.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- I’ve never witnessed a Bill Belichick defense get as thoroughly dominated as it was by Buffalo. You can believe that will be addressed in the off-season.
It was a pretty remarkable run for the Patriots this season. Mac Jones had his growing pains down the stretch, but NE has found their next franchise QB.
The Patriots were uncharacteristically major spenders in free agency last year, I expect them to revert to form this year and merely nibble at the edges, shopping for hidden gems.
A true number one WR wouldn’t be out of the question. Nor would a tinkering of the defense to counteract Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES- Philly had to be feeling pretty good about their season heading into their Wildcard game, then they played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now, they have to question whether Jalen Hurts is the future at QB. They can seriously consider moving on because they’re equipped with THREE first round draft picks. They can leverage those picks to upgrade at QB, either by moving up in the draft, though the QB class is rather underwhelming, or perhaps by prying a disgruntled veteran away from his current team.
Obviously, it would be ideal if Hurts could be the Eagles franchise QB and they could use those picks to add talent to other areas of the team. Hurts’ performance against Tampa, however, opens the door for questions.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS- While not yet official, it sure seems like Ben Roethlisberger has taken his last NFL snap. That leaves Pittsburgh with a huge void to fill.
The Steelers have Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins under contract, but neither inspires much confidence. This QB draft class is quite underwhelming, and it’s doubtful that any clear upgrades on Rudolph/Haskins will be available on the free agent market.
Elsewhere, Pittsburgh could still use upgrades along the offensive line and on defense. They’re also likely to lose WR Juju Smith-Schuster in free agency.
The Pittsburgh Steelers seem poised for a rebuilding year, for the first time in two decades.
I went 6-0 with my Wild Card weekend picks, which leaves me in a bit of a quandary for the Divisional Round. Buffalo-Kansas City is an absolute toss up for me, and even though it’s in KC, I was incredibly impressed with Josh Allen and the Bills offense.
In the NFC, SF is one of those teams capable of going into Lambeau and winning, but I don’t wholly trust Kyle Shanahan to win a big game. I seriously reconsidered my Super Bowl pick because of how impressive the Rams looked, but I absolutely do not trust Matthew Stafford in a big game.
Thus, my picks for the Divisional Round Playoffs:
TITANS 24 Bengals 17
49ERS 27 Packers 24
BUCCANEERS 24 Rams 17
BILLS 38 Chiefs 31