No Protection Means No Victory

The Houston Texans had some serious problems on their offensive line as they allowed QB C.J. Stroud to be sacked eight times during the game. They were beginning to take the momentum at the start of the second half, but those sacks were given up at crucial parts of drives and all that momentum was eventually lost. It was a valiant effort for a team that had many issues this season, but was fortunate enough to play in an awful division. The Kansas City Chiefs have now advanced to their seventh consecutive conference championship game in their quest for a third consecutive Super Bowl title. Everyone outside of Kansas City is hoping they will falter at some point soon, but history hasn’t shown that to be the case lately.

Prime Example Of Turnovers Killing A Team

The last time the Detroit Lions had turned the ball over five times in a game was against the Houston Texans during the regular season. Detroit in their good fortune ended up winning that game. That luck ran out for them in their playoff opener against the Washington Commanders. QB Jared Goff committed four of them and another was an interception on a trick play by WR Jameson Williams. A throw that should have never been attempted. Detroit’s defense has been decimated by countless injuries throughout the year and it came back to bite them in this game as they could not contain Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels. There is no reason to believe that this will be it for the Lions fortunes going forward, but this was a golden opportunity they missed out on having home field advantage. In a very competitive NFC going forward it won’t get any easier for them.

Snow Problem

There were plenty of chance for the Los Angeles Rams to take control of the game against the Philadelphia Eagles. However, once the snow arrived the Rams offense stalled and couldn’t make any progress. It didn’t help that RB Kyren Williams fumbled and gave away any momentum they had in the second half. It also was time for RB Saquon Barkley to prove once again why the Eagles have been so successful this season as he ran for 205 yards and two touchdowns, including a 78-yard scamper that sealed the game for the Eagles in the end. It was a solid year for the Rams, but their team couldn’t handle the snow or Barkley for that matter when it counted.

A Great Game That Was Nearly Sullied

A playoff game between two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL who are both considered to be the MVP of the 2024 season was nearly sullied by nonsense. What I’m referring to is the argument and frankly opinion of some television pundits that Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson’s success should be tied to his skin color. Pretty damn insulting if you ask me and considering that those same pundits have had issue with Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen by trying to make it about his skin color as well. Both players and honestly every player is defined by their play on the field. Period, end of story from point of view. Measuring someone’s success or lack thereof by including their skin color is in and of itself racist no matter who says it. This game we saw between the Ravens and Bills was a fantastic showing by both teams and their respective quarterbacks. In this day and age it is down right criminal to reduce a player’s individual performance to ‘white and black’ color lines. Baltimore in the end didn’t lose the game on just one single play. Lamar Jackson threw an interception and fumbled on separate drives in the first half. Those could have easily been scoring drives for the Ravens. His performance in the second half was phenomenal and it should be the story going forward. The Bills played somewhat tepid in the second half on offense. Almost as if they were playing not to lose with a sizable lead at hand. Josh Allen was a complete shell of himself in the second half compared to the first. Buffalo’s defense came to play though and they disproved a lot of the criticisms that were called upon them before the playoffs began. Make no mistake though, they must play their best game of the season in the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs if they want to advance to a Super Bowl.