Mike Yam and Eric Edholm discuss the divisional playoff round and preview the NFC and AFC Championship games while also analyzing what's next for eliminated playoff teams.
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We are so close to the Super Bowl.
Yes, it is Championship weekend, looking forward to some great games.
We got our final four squads. Mike am Eric at home.
With you a deep dive and a preview of what transpired in the divisional round and what to expect this upcoming weekend. Eric, I want to take a look at your rankings top four. A little bit of a change here with the Kansas City Chiefs at one, the Bills at two, the Commanders rising to three, and the Eagles at four. But let's do the dive here on Kansas City played with a little bit of fire in some metrics, got out played by the Houston Texans. Is the only thing that matters is we're talking about them surviving and advancing.
Yeah, right, I think you do have to factor in that layoff too. I mean, obviously a long time off great for the body, great for the mind and sold and all that, but also when you get back into action, it takes a little while to get those gears grinding. But still, yeah, I remember somebody saying of a great quarterback. I think it was Tom Brady, correct me if I'm wrong. They're not playing football anymore. They're just figuring out how to win in games, right, And that applies to Andy Reid or Bill Belichick or any of the great coaches too. But I really think Reid Mahomes did that on Saturday. I think you're going to see them try to do that on Sunday against the Bills too. They've gotten so good at their craft. Maybe it doesn't reflect on the scoreboard, but this is a team that oftentimes is in complete control. Even when they're out gained by one hundred and twenty four yards and almost one hundred yards on the ground, your opponent doesn't turn the ball over and you still find a way to win. Look, that to me is still a skill that doesn't always exist in the NFL. And you think about the defense, stepping up early, stepping up late, special teams, three made field goals, and a block to kick as well.
Just enough offensively.
Look, it's a pretty good formula, all things considered, even if it isn't the flashest thing in the world.
Yeah.
I've used this analogy on a couple shows, and I'll throw it your way. I don't know how much of a tennis guy you are.
But there's some players that have.
Like these huge serves, huge fourhands, huge backhands. And then you got another group of players who just don't make mistakes, and they're going to wait for you to go and make your mistake. I think Kansas City has got that vibe in them. But when you get to a championship weekend, when you get to a super Bowl, is that a recipe for success?
Like what like just keep it close and let fifteen do his deal.
Yeah?
On the one hand, like you got to remember your top gun, right, I mean, Maverick ends up being the hero in the end, but Iceman was the guy who typically got it done. He was in that sort of pole position and he wore people down, right. So I guess we're sort of saying that the chiefs everyone sort of views him as the enemy.
Now they've had all this success, they are Iceman.
They're the guys who just kind of wait for you to make that fatal mistake and they pounce on it.
So we'll see.
I don't know if the bills are quite Maverick anymore, then we'll we'll have to address that subject and figure that one out too, They've played a lot of smart, safe, conservative ball to get where they're at.
I love where you just went with that. No one a bigger top Gun fan than me.
And I'm not talking about Maverick the remake in right, I feel like it's bad for me to say this. I think there's an argument Maverick was better than the original. I don't know if I would go on record to say that, but there is at least a compelling argument for it.
You kind of just did, Mike.
It's just wild. It was so good.
I'd been waiting, like, you know, twenty some odd years for that movie to come out here, and we finally got it and it delivered. What's the story, though, what's the story for this Kansas City team? In your mind? Looking ahead?
Is this a super Bowl winning team?
Look? I think they have all the elements.
Again, it's not going to be the fireworks show that we often saw in the past.
But they've evolved.
You know, they understand that they're going to get everybody's best shot, and they know that they can win those quite close, tight games because they've been in so many of them. They've been in these in these playoff settings. That's why they're have such a good record sixteen and three, I think uner mahomes in the divisional rounds. So you know that that obviously lends to their big game preparation. You know they're they're kind of focus and equanimity in those situations. And you know, right now I'd say, I think you'd say the Bills are the team they're trying to prove they have that and that they can match what the Kansas City Chiefs bring seemingly every playoff game they go out there.
All right, I'm glad you bring up Buffalo. You're number two squad. I will be honest with you. I have won on a bunch of our shows that I've done, and I had Baltimore, and I said Baltimore would be my pick to win the Super Bowl. Heading into last week. I thought they were the most complete team. They didn't get it done. And speaking of waiting for your opponent to make mistakes, I mean Baltimore made plenty of mistakes in that game. And that's the reason why we're talking about this Bills team surviving and advancing.
How impressed were you though.
With the win that Buffalo had And I know it's a home game, but I don't know. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I felt like you were viving with me a little bit, and you liked the Ravens in this matchup heading into the weekend.
Yeah, I definitely thought the Ravens had a great chance to win, and they obviously did the way it played out, even even with the turnovers, even with the miss two point conversion. So you know, I don't know that this Buffalo win you put it up in the all time annals for its beauty and its level of dominance or anything like that. But again, you know, we kind of go back to what we said with the Chiefs, which is when your opponents make mistakes, you have to capitalize. They didn't on the interception. Interestingly, they didn't on the first possession of the second half, and they settle for the field goal kind of on the doorstep of the end zone. There was a really interesting call from Sean McDermott.
I rode after the game.
I thought, maybe this was a mistake, even though it worked out right, process over results and all that.
So I don't know. I think they did what they had to do.
I think there is some concern about that Buffalo defense, But they can play heavy and play tough in the run game.
They can control the clock. You know, they'll go big personnel.
They obviously saw what the Texans did running the football, and I think we'll try to mirror.
Some of that in the game Sunday.
But it really does boil down to what Josh Allen could do in those key moments. Will they loosen the belt a little bit and get more aggressive and let him kind of create and throw more vertically too. We didn't really see much of it after that first drive.
Yeah, do you think a lot of that had to do with what their conditions, Because I'm with you, I thought we'd see some more explosive in this.
Game weather conditions. You know, obviously the way Baltimore's cover him. You never want to sort of put the ball in near Kyle Hamilton anytime, you know he's sort of roaming a little bit. But yeah, also as the fact the Bills don't have quite the explosive weapons we're used to, some of the stuff is schemed up.
Some of it is a response to what the Bills can do in the run game.
So yeah, a lot of factors that I'll be just to see if the game playing changes at all, or if the game's script is any different against the Chiefs.
Yeah, you've had a close eye on this Bills team the last couple of years. I look at this roster and I look at where they are right now.
Do you see this team?
Is maybe this the best chance to beat this Kansas City squad? And I will say maybe less about what Buffalo is because I think some of these rosters in previous years might have been better than this one. But from a team perspective, like they're winning games and this team might be better, but in conjunction with Kansas City maybe looking like there's like this much room for them to lose a game.
Yeah, I mean, I think it's an interesting point.
You might argue that the thirteen seconds team at a better shock given the odds of trying to win that one a couple of years ago. Didn't work out, as we know. But to your point, they're so balanced and they can win in different ways. Even the defense can kind of take on different forms. But you know, we saw Sunday that, look, it doesn't have to be about Josh Allen airing it out and making all those crazy plays. And we talked about a minute ago that goal line possession where you know, the play before the decision to kick the field goal, Josh kind of turned around and almost looked like, Hey, I'm.
Going to toss it back to Cook and maybe make a crazy play.
Everyone in their mind saying, don't do it right, and I think the old Josh might have. But they don't kill themselves with turnovers, they don't kill themselves with sacks, and they have a defense that can take the football away from you. So from that perspective, that formula, and we've seen how much time of possession and turnover battle means in the playoffs so far. Yeah, that could say a lot on Sunday.
As you see the trajectory of the Commanders. Back in week number two, you had them as the twenty ninth ranked team. There was a steady rise though they were seven and two. In week number nine they had won three straight games. You had them up to five, then it was eleven in week thirteen. In week eighteen, they'd fallen back a little bit into that eighth position, and then here we are, they are the third ranked team in the land. It is time for power Moves and it is presented by Energizer. Let's do a deeper dive on this Commander squad.
Where do we begin here?
Is it as simple as just going dude, they got Jaden Daniels moment doesn't seem too big for him. I can't get over that they beat the Lions, and by the way, not just win, win the way that they did.
I mean it was essentially in all phases of the game.
Absolutely, from that first stop on defense right the three and out to start the game, and then obviously coming down and starting what became an offensive flourish. I think you saw a team with no panic, a team that by that point had expected to be there and thought, let's outline the Lions right, let's take their game to them, you know, play action pass, Daniels evading pressure and also defensively, boy, getting after Jared Goff the way they did and obviously forcing him into some bad decisions too, was great. But it really obviously does start with what they do offensively. You know, multiple receivers who can help you out valued tight end and zach Ertz. You know, the offensive line, even without Samuel Cosmy that he gets to suffer to torn acl in that game, that's gonna be a big loss. But they're very multiple on offense. Cliff Kingsbury's designed this thing beautifully to parlay to the strengths of Daniels and you know, the defense, while shorthanded at times and with holes that we can obviously point to, I say they're doing a darn good job for what they have right now.
Yeah, I'm not going to insult a Washington commander's fan base by saying can they win?
They absolutely can win.
There's gonna be another meeting, a third meeting against the Philadelphia squad that can happen. I should have started with this, especially coming off that trajectory of this team. But at what point did you say this was actually possible? Maybe you didn't, but was there a point this season where you said, yeah, playing in an NFC championship game, Washington, I buy it.
Yeah.
I don't know that I thought it then, but I remember watching the you know, the comebacks early in the season and watching them seemingly in control in these games, whether it was the Bengals game or the Bears game, or several others along the way. I thought, dan Quinn has these guys believing. You know, Adam Peters went out and got a ton of hungry veterans and young players who had yet to kind of be able to prove themselves, and I think they've all fit in really nicely. And again, there are some positions and spots on the roster where you say, okay, it's kind of tape together a little bit, some stuff to work on in the offseason. But at the same time, when you have a quarterback playing with this kind of confidence, and you have an offensive coordinator you know, fully locked in with his guy as well, and a coach who is just s aggressive as the Lions and anybody else out there, and the success rate is incredibly high, you know, I mean, you just saw it grow as the season went on. Again, the NFC was shaky enough for me to think, you know, even with fifteen win teams like the Lions and the Vikings having great regular seasons, you know, they had enough shakiness too, and to make me think that a wildcard team like the Bucks or the Commanders could come along and kind of spoil the party.
A little bit.
Yeah, I'm a fool, because I actually thought the Bucks were going to win.
Between those teams most did what do what exactly?
What do I know they will match up the Commanders that is against the Philadelphia Eagles, who do move up a spot they set fourth in the rankings. Right now, I know concerns about Jalen Hurts injury. This is a tough game. Rams had an opportunity late. I thought the Rams. Actually I had them picked on Sunday in on game day preview, I have picked the Rams. So once again, clearly don't know what I'm talking about here, but make the case from a Philadelphia perspective that they will handle business and get back to a Super Bowl.
Yeah.
I think the Hurts concern is real, but at the same time, it sounds like they're preparing for him to start on Sunday, and you know, I think it would take a lot or another injury in the game to knock him out, So I do expect him out there. Quinyon Mitchell obviously, you know his shoulder, We got to see what shape he's in. But sounds like he might be on the track towards playing too. So that's a you know, two elements of good news. They beat the Commanders in Philadelphia. Granted, I think this Commander's team has come a long way since then and kind of learned a lot about themselves and You know, they obviously beat the Eagles in Washington, so they at the two games. This one's in Philly. You'd like to think that the home team has a little edge there. Maybe the snow comes back, the cold weather stays and they gained some kind of advantage from that. But I think it really has to do with It's got to start with Jalen Carter in that front up. You know, Nolan Smith too has kind of come on, Zach Bond's had a great season. All these guys creating pressure from different angles, and I think avoiding sacks. On the other side, Jalen Hurts has been guilty of taking sacks, not always the offensive lines fault. So we've got to see that number come down and the pressure for the Eagles come up. Yes, Saquon Barkley can can rescue you from some bad situations, as he did Sunday, but you'd like to not have to rely on him to, you know, sort of sit around and wait, win, is Saquon gonna save us here? So finding other sources of offense, including aj Brown.
You know, he made a.
Big catch Sunday on fourth down, but he's got to be more involved in the game plan.
The chemistry with Hurts has got to be better.
Yeah, there is a plethora of options there. It's been a steady dose of Saquon. Here's what concerns me from a Washington defensive perspective. The Rams looked like a better defense coming off of the loss that they had.
In Week twelve against Philadelphia.
They knew the game plan right, Like they let Saquan go for three hundred scrimmage yards in that first meeting.
He ran for two to fifty five. You got to stop him. He ran for two five in this game.
I mean, if that doesn't tell you how talented Saquan is, knowing that he was going to be the defensive game plan and he still.
Balled out, I don't know.
I mean that's the reason why I'm like, you know, if Jalen's still hurt, like all right, good luck, still try to stop this dude.
He is going to be the X factor, no doubt about it. I mean, obviously there's no way to ignore it.
He's been an amazing upgrade for them in the backfield, a perfect fit for what they want to do offensively, can run inside, outside with power, with finesse, make people miss. You know, when you get him in space. That's really where the magic happens. And you know, he can hit a ton of singles or foul the ball off, or you know, not have many greater at bats, and then all of a sudden, that home run is just sitting there.
Again.
Like you said, I never would have imagined he'd have two long bombs in this game against the Rams after what he did to him the first time. But sometimes the great players can just sort of will their way into the end zone in those situations.
God, and he certainly one of the premier players in the NFL. Eric, too, your top four teams they went down over the weekend. Still to come here on NFL Power Rankings. The fallout of the weekend and where those organizations go. That's next, back here on power rankings, teams five through eight. Oh, the season that was supposed to be for the Detroit Lions, who dropped three spots into that fifth position. I once again thought the Ravens were the best team in the NFL. Best roster.
They lose. They dropped two spots to six.
You got the Rams at seven and the Houston Texans at eight. All right, Eric, when it comes to the Lions, this was a team that I think candidly a lot of people thought were going to be pretty good this year. They've been sort of like the darlings of the NFL. Now all of a sudden, they're going to have the same situation happened to them that the Eagles did a few years The only difference was that Philly team got to the Super Bowl. They're likely going to lose their coordinators here, right, I mean Ben Johnson already talking about him a lot of reports accepting that job with the Chicago Bears.
How difficult will it be for them to.
Get back to this point and then get over the hump, play for a championship, then play for a super Bowl.
Yeah, you make an excellent point drawing the comparison to the Eagles a couple of years ago when they had a monster of a team and then they nearly took down the Chiefs and the Super Bowl and then had to replace both their their talented coordinators getting head coaching jobs.
So that very well could be the case.
Obviously, Ben Johnson going in the division, having all the house secrets and having Caleb Williams, We'll see what can happen there. But you know, the core of this Lions team is expected to be back, including a lot of those defensive players, Aiden Hutchinson, the guys in the secondary, other members of the defensive front. They're all coming back. You know, players like Jamison Williams still should be very much in the peak of their career, you know, Jamiir Gibbs, Sam Laporta, etc.
So the parts are still there.
But as we know, the wrong coordinator hire, you know, you know, hiring somebody or elevating that position prematurely or not have a big vision for what they want to do, not having their own identity, trying to be too much like the last guy. There are so many trapdoors for these coaches who get elevated to these positions that you know, it could obviously erase an entire season. So, like you said, there's no guarantee that this Lions team healthy in the off season. Maybe Avin Addings the pieces is going to be back at the same place. So Dan Campbell has said it the last couple of years when they've lost in the playoffs, you know, we're probably never going.
To live this down.
And you don't know how big these opportunities are until they're gone. So you know, I know I'm paraphrasing there, but I think Campbell kind of touched on something the Lions fans feel, which is, I'd like to think we're going to be here for a while, but you never actually know how it's going to play out.
I heard some of his comments after the game at the podium. Dude was devastating.
You could hear it in his voice, you see it in his face. Coordinators are side.
I'll say this.
Aiden Hutchinson, before the injury, could have made an argument was on pace to be the defensive player of the Year. I don't know what he is coming off the injury next season, but if there's one one focal point roster wise this offseason, Eric, what do you think helps this team.
I think adding obviously, you know, as a reaction to what happened this year where they just had waves of injuries on defense, and having just another layer of depth. Plus you know, all those other guys who didn't play a lot this year, like Nnis Rakestraw going to have another year of experience. So I think just sort of adding and bolstering each layer of the defense. Guys like Alexanzeloni are terrific players, but they've been injured a lot of their careers, so you know, those are the kind of guys.
Even with Derek.
Barnes and whatnot coming back, you still have to buttress that with some depth and then offensively too, you know, o line depth, adding more receiving threats, and you know, deciding whether you have Henon.
Hooker as your quarterback of the future.
Obviously, we saw Teddy Bridgewater come into the game when the when goff left the playoff game against the Commanders, So you know, does Hooker still tracked towards being Golf's successor one day or at least his backup. You know, those are questions to Brad Holmes and his staff have to answer.
Okay, I guess we'll start with that same question then of the Baltimore Ravens, because I feel like I'm beating a dead horse.
I really did think they had the.
Best roster in the NFL, so dominant, thought they would get back to a championship game. We were going to be looking at them in Kansas City, and I thought because of Derek Henry, they'd get over the top here.
This roster was terrific.
They were dominant, They figured out their defensive issues, turnovers obviously a huge issue in this loss. But with plan A now in this offseason for this team.
Yeah, it's a good question, right, especially after sort of going away from Derrick Henry in the fourth quarter only those two back to back carries. You know, they came up short on the first down there. I mean, I thought they might go to him a little bit more. Is he's still going to have the same sort of workload next year that he did this year or did they want to help him out? Obviously Justice Hill's still there. You know, they like some of their other young backs. They're developing too. But I would have to imagine offensive line. Ronnie Stanley's a free agent, Patrick McCarry, you know, other guys that you know could have options. You know, build around Lindarbaum and that center and try to go outward, find some tackle solutions on defense, get more edge pressure, you know, obviously keep adding to the secondary as well. So yeah, I would say more depth on both trenches has to be an issue. And you know, Justin Tucker was not a problem down the stretch, but during the year there were stretches when he was not the Justin Tucker we've come to know. So may there be a kicking competition too. I wouldn't be shocked if they brought another leg, a young guy, and you know, see if that's going to be a problem next year or not.
Meanwhile, the Rams at seven, damn man, they were right there, had an opportunity. I thought, coming off that Lea Saque touchdown, it's a wrap game over and they still have a chance in the snow and now with a sudden I look to next season.
There's questions about Matthew Stafford.
I remember being around this team in August and Stafford's contract was an issue.
They worked it out. He was in camp and was all, well and good.
This team is too good in terms of a young roster not to bring him back and figure that out.
Right.
Yeah, I mean a couple years ago, Hey, we were talking about maybe Sean McVay retiring, Aaron Donald, you retiring a year before he ended up hanging.
Up the cleats.
So you know, I'm not saying that Stafford's sort of milking the moment or you know, anything like that. I think he probably needs a little reflection, But his comments after the game seemed to suggest he had some football left in him, and I think the Rams, you know, certainly would accommodate him being back, and the trigger man in this offense at times looked very very good. Turn on the Buffalo tape, you can see them at their very best, I think, But you know, those two fourth quarter turnovers were obviously killers. And you know Kyron Williams so reliable this season as both a runner, you know, receiver pass protector for that matter. Putting along on the turf, you could see his look on his face. Same thing with Stafford after his So you know, those were big plays. I mean, the safety helped kind of change momentum a little bit and get him back in the game. And that pass rush was ferocious in both playoff games.
But so there's a lot to like about him.
I think adding to that secondary is going to be a key offseason priority and finding run stuffers. You can't let guys like Saquon Barkley continue to gash you over because the best teams, I think are starting to realize the run game is cycling back into the NFL for a reason against these these lighter fronts and.
These nickel packages.
So that's got to be something that Kris Shule and the Rams have to figure out this offseason. But the Stafford question obviously the one that hangs over everything.
Yeah, and that team, by the way, has done a tremendous job the last two years in the draft. You look at their first and second er players and the massive contributions that they're making. So I think if you're a Rams fan, you get Stafford back, you feel good about the draft. You'll find some gems because there's now a track record of doing so, and you got to feel cautiously optimistic that this team could be right back in the mix this upcoming season. The Houston Texans, speaking of the draft two years ago, you're going really like, this is this is this is a squad that now, heading into this current season that we're in, you felt like could make a run to a Super Bowl. I mean that's what the hype was around CJ. Stroud And they didn't play great football during the course of the year. I thought they played well late, especially from what we've seen in this postseason, Like, what is this team? Are they a team that next year, bringing back most of their roster you feel good about can get back to this point and maybe learn some of these learn something from some of these tough losses, or there's got to be some changes in terms of personnel, and maybe it's a depth question that will potentially carry them and put them over the top.
Yeah, I think it's a fair question.
I mean, they were, like you said, they were levy with such big expectations after you know, their playoff run and their season last year, and I think we may have kind of overgraduated them early in the year.
I was a little hesitant.
I did bump them up into my top five earlier this season, mostly because there wasn't really much a clarity up top, So I think I also kind of pushed them ahead of where they deserve to be this year. But you're right too, they did seem to kind of turn the corner there when I don't know if all hope was lost, but externally, a lot of people had their doubts about.
This team, but Dimico Ryans has done a great job.
C J.
Stroud went through his share of struggles. I was tough on them.
Other people were too, Bobby Sloweck, you know, heard plenty from the radio guys and whatnot. But I think by the end of the season you at least saw the arrow pointing back upward, and they played as well as they probably could have, you know, miskicks and a few other penalties aside. But yeah, I'd like to obviously see them find some solutions at receiver and Ego Collins is great, John Metchi might be a nice complimentary part. But one more guy and I'm not sure it's Stefan Diggs with him heading to free agency. But for years we've been talking about the offensive line. That unit has to come together a little bit better defensively. Still, I think a few pieces short of being that top ten unit, or at least the borderline top ten unit, that you probably need to take that extra step.
So there's still a lot of promising developments.
I'm not giving up on Stroud, and I think the future is mostly bright for them, you know, even while admitting that they still have room to improve.
No doubt about it.
This is a Houston squad once again that figured out a way to flip the switch.
I thought late that concerns me. I like the teams that are just killers no matter what the situation.
And maybe I just pointed maybe the answer is as simple as hey, they were banged up, had some significant injuries during the year, and maybe it solves itself. But can't wait to see what this offense looks like next season as well, because I do think a lot of us and it's probably too early to get your top ten for next year, but I got to imagine, you know, as the off season shakes out, you're still probably going to have them sitting pretty close to the eighth position, which is where they are right now.
Eric, you're the best man. Always good to work with you.
Next week a special edition of NFL Power Rankings. It's a road show kind of both of us will both be on the roads East West s ran.
Bold Senior Bowl for you.
We will do the show, take it through championship. We can get complete reaction and preview the Super Bowl. Looking forward to it. Eric Safe Travels will do it again next week.
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