The 2018 National Football League regular season came to a close yesterday. The final Sunday had been hyped as a smorgasbord of climactic, playoff-meaningful action; but outside of the Cleveland-Baltimore game, everything unfolded pretty much as expected.
First, a statement about what I got wrong. I thought the NFL would continue to lose viewers. It did not. It actually saw a ratings increase as the season unfolded. Why? I think it is pretty obvious. Newness. The old -- Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, to name two limelight hogs -- are being moved from center stage. Young, exciting players like Pat Mahomes and Lamar Jackson emerged, proving that the NFL can still captivate a mass audience if the corporate executives would just get out of the way.
Another thing I got wrong was the hometown Seattle Seahawks. I pegged them for the a losing season of anywhere from four to six wins, and they ended up winning ten games and qualifying for the playoffs as a wild card. Head coach Pete Carroll, after brutally dismantling the core of the Super Bowl Seahawks, Jiffy-Popped a playoff team into existence. He did it by crafting an old-fashioned power running game built around Chris Carson. Russell Wilson is an effective quarterback as long as he is not the sole focus of an offense. He needed Marshawn Lynch during Seattle's Super Bowl heyday. Now he's got Chris Carson.
We'll see what happens Saturday in Dallas. The Seahawks have proven this season that they can beat the Cowboys, and late last year they went into Dallas and knocked the Cowboys out of playoff contention. But the Cowboys defense is the best defense in the NFC after the Chicago Bears, while Seattle's defense has some real weaknesses, like its two young corner backs. It's a tossup.
I was impressed by the Colts last night. I hadn't seen them play this season. They're for real. Though I like the Texans, particularly quarterback Deshaun Watson, you have to figure the Colts are going to be favored going into Houston.
The other AFC team I fancy is the Baltimore Ravens. I believe them to be the most interesting story going into the playoffs. Joe Flacco went down with a injury, rookie Lamar Jackson stepped in, and the Ravens turned into a pure college-type read-option offense. CBS put up a stat during the Browns-Ravens telecast yesterday. The last team to rush for as many yards in December was the 1977 Chicago Bears with Walter Payton.
The remaining playoff game this weekend is the match-up between the Eagles and the Bears. The Eagles reanimated once Carson Wentz went to the sidelines with a back injury and Nick Foles stepped in. If any team were to go into Soldier Field and upset the Bears, it would be Philadelphia. But Foles is not entirely healthy and the Bears defense I think is the best in the league not just the NFC.
I'm sort of rooting for Chicago as a dark horse. Assuming that the Bears win, they will travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams. The winner of the Seattle-Dallas game goes to New Orleans.
In the AFC it would be nice if Kansas City were finally able to win a playoff game (something that hasn't been done since Joe Montana ended his career there). But that's not a lock since the only team that the Chiefs could safely dispatch, the Texans, they won't see. K.C. will play either the Ravens, the Chargers or the Colts. Any of those three can beat the Chiefs.
Once again I am left with an all-too real fear at this time of year that the Patriots are bound for another Super Bowl. New England looked good against the hapless Jets yesterday. If the Chiefs lose next weekend, which I figure is as an even-money proposition, the road to Atlanta (the site of Super Bowl LIII) will go through Foxborough.
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