# N.F.L. playoffs - weekly picks **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 4, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943 "2020-01-04T20:44:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/41 "2020-01-05T23:06:45Z")
This Seahawks/Eagles game is ugly. Offense only works if defense fucks up. God I hope McCown plays well. That would be fun. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/42 "2020-01-05T23:30:57Z")
Vikes win!! ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/43 "2020-01-06T00:01:18Z")
Seahawks top rusher is … Russell Wilson. That is new. For this season, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/44 "2020-01-06T00:53:56Z")
Earlier this season Seattle went to Philadelphia and beat them 17-9. Today they went to Philadelphia for the Wild Card game and best them 17-9. Now that’s consistency! If the Bills had pulled it off in OT, we’d have a year where every WC team won. That would have been something. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/45 "2020-01-06T01:15:48Z")
I’d love to see comments from Packers fans who are amazed that their team won 13 games this year and grabbed the #2 seed in the N.F.C. playoffs to find out what they think about the matchup with the Seahawks next Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/46 "2020-01-06T01:24:13Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Earlier this season Seattle went to Philadelphia and beat them 17-9. > > Today they went to Philadelphia for the Wild Card game and best them 17-9. Now that’s consistency! I remember that the Seahawks beat the Giants in consecutive meetings (one in Seattle, one in Giants Stadium) back in the '80s by the exact same score of 17 - 12. But those meetings weren’t in the same season. I don’t know what the odds are of playing a team in the same stadium twice in the same season and beating it by the exact same score each time, but they _can’t_ be very high, can they? > [@Atamasama](#): > > If the Bills had pulled it off in OT, we’d have a year where every WC team won. That would have been something. Stupid Bills. In defense of my (missed) picks Buffalo simply blew it (in my opinion) and I guess asahi had a point about Tennessee vs. N.E. (although I believed all along that the Patriots would find a way to get out of the W.C. round and I wasn’t alone it that belief. But their offense pretty much disappeared down the stretch this season, didn’t it?). In other words: I don’t regret picking the two A.F.C. East teams to win. The only one that I got wrong that truly shocked me was the Minnesota Grapes going to “The Big Easy” and winning. In my defense I’m hardly the only person around who thought the Saints would win that game. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/47 "2020-01-06T01:58:44Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > I don’t know what the actual rules say regarding giving oneself up. He did not signal fair catch but he did signal to his own players that he wasn’t returning the ball (by holding his hands out to the side) so there were no blockers in the way of the half dozen opposing players barreling towards him. > > Probably the right call from a safety standpoint. I don’t know if the NFL changed the rule after that [college play](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MiD6no269s) where the punt receiver acted like he called for a fair catch (but he didn’t) so no one went for him and he ran it back for a touchdown. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/48 "2020-01-06T02:01:07Z")
I used to have time to do real analysis on the match-ups. I just don’t have that time anymore (moved thrice in three years), but I used to be pretty good at ignoring full-season records and judging the last 4-6 weeks of the season and match-ups against quality opponents. I didn’t realize the Vikes front four was as good as they are. Had I known that, I might have been more cautious in my picks. Front four pressure is huge in the playoffs, especially if the defensive scheme is good and LBs can be effective in pass coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/49 "2020-01-06T02:35:37Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > The only one that I got wrong that truly shocked me was the Minnesota Grapes going to “The Big Easy” and winning. In my defense I’m hardly the only person around who thought the Saints would win that game. That was a major upset for sure. The Vikings were just better in almost every category. More yards/attempt, 2/1 turnover ratio, more rushing yards, more time of possession, fewer penalties, etc. Brees was good enough to keep it close but i think the NO defense was out of juice by the time OT started. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/50 "2020-01-06T03:06:25Z")
I just read an interesting fact… The upcoming Packers/Seahawks game will be a contest between the only QBs left in the postseason who have won Super Bowls. (Technically Garoppolo has 2 rings but that was for sitting on a bench.) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/51 "2020-01-06T07:32:06Z")
I want to understand how the rules work for PI, because the saints were complaining about OPI [on the winning TD](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9o8KTUrVNE&t=6m42s). You can see the defender is all over the receiver, in what looks to me like DPI (not at all looking for the ball), and the receiver gives him a tiny bit of a shove to get free. What, exactly, are receivers allowed to do to get a man off of them? What should they be allowed to do? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/52 "2020-01-06T13:11:27Z")
So fuck Clowney for a cheap shot on Wentz to take him out of the game. I hope the league gives him a huge fine. And if a Packer lineman lights him up next week and splits his core injury wide open from stem to stern, I won’t shed a tear. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/53 "2020-01-06T13:17:04Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I want to understand how the rules work for PI, You and everybody else in the world. Here’s the text: [from here](https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2019-nfl-rulebook/) “It is pass interference by either team when any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders an eligible player’s opportunity to catch the ball.” More specifically, there is this quote from the “prohibited acts” section which says: “Initiating contact with an opponent by shoving or pushing off, thus creating separation. Note: If there is any question whether player contact is incidental, the ruling should be no interference.” It has been, is, and will always be, a judgment call. There is, of course, a sliding scale of obviousness, like the Saints one that led to PI being reviewable. But last nights’ call was an easy no-call, especially with the note included in the rules. > [@escheral](#): > > because the saints were complaining about OPI I feel bad the Saints got screwed by one call last year, but whining about this call is silly. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/54 "2020-01-06T13:33:49Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > So fuck Clowney for a cheap shot on Wentz to take him out of the game. “He was a runner and he did not give himself up. We saw incidental helmet contact, and in our judgement, we didn’t rule that to be a foul.” [From the ref](https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/referee-explains-why-jadeveon-clowney-wasnt-flagged-hit-carson-wentz-eagles-seahawks-nfl-playoffs). If the victim was any other player other than a QB or if it didn’t result in an injury, a fast play like that wouldn’t even be a debate. But since it’s Carson Wentz and he got knocked out, it becomes a whole thing. Personally, I think Clowney led too much with his head, but I’m having trouble with the whole “he intended to hurt Wentz” that would lead to a tar and feathering. It’s a tough call though. That’s why QB’s should slide. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/55 "2020-01-06T13:47:40Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > “He was a runner and he did not give himself up. We saw incidental helmet contact, and in our judgement, we didn’t rule that to be a foul.” [From the ref](https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/referee-explains-why-jadeveon-clowney-wasnt-flagged-hit-carson-wentz-eagles-seahawks-nfl-playoffs). If the victim was any other player other than a QB or if it didn’t result in an injury, a fast play like that wouldn’t even be a debate. But since it’s Carson Wentz and he got knocked out, it becomes a whole thing. > > Personally, I think Clowney led too much with his head, but I’m having trouble with the whole “he intended to hurt Wentz” that would lead to a tar and feathering. It’s a tough call though. That’s why QB’s should slide. I get that, and I understand why they didn’t throw the flag at the time. But the league has fined players in the past for helmet to helmet even if there wasn’t a penalty on the play. And I don’t get what you’re saying about “if it wasn’t a QB, or it didn’t result in an injury”. It did, and it did. So yeah, he should be fined. And I now have a reason to root for the Packers next week. Besides, I’m an Eagles fan and therefore according to Clowney I’m [one of the worst fans in the world.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/seahawks/2020/01/05/jadeveon-clowney-carson-wentz-hit-philadelphia-eagles-fans/2821721001/) ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/56 "2020-01-06T14:03:38Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I get that, and I understand why they didn’t throw the flag at the time. But the league has fined players in the past for helmet to helmet even if there wasn’t a penalty on the play. He should be fined, (say about $80,000 or so). It’s on him to make sure he doesn’t initiate helmet to helmet contact and he failed to do so. > [@muldoonthef](#): > > And I don’t get what you’re saying about “if it wasn’t a QB, or it didn’t result in an injury”. It did, and it did. My point was that the actions Clowney took are vilified because it was your QB and he got knocked out of the game. Had Clowney done the exact same thing to Boston Scott or to Wentz, but Wentz popped up, this wouldn’t even be on anyone’s radar as a horrible cheap shot. > [@muldoonthief](#): > > So yeah, he should be fined. And I now have a reason to root for the Packers next week. There’s always reasons to root for the Packers. 😃 > [@muldoonthief](#): > > Besides, I’m an Eagles fan and therefore according to Clowney I’m [one of the worst fans in the world.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/seahawks/2020/01/05/jadeveon-clowney-carson-wentz-hit-philadelphia-eagles-fans/2821721001/) That viewpoint isn’t just a Clowney thing. Philly fans have a … distinct … reputation, and are consistently [one of the most hated fanbases in the league](https://www.si.com/nfl/2015/07/22/nfl-most-hated-dan-snyder-bill-belichick-percy-harvin). ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/57 "2020-01-06T14:51:21Z")
I was watching the end of the Vikings-Saints game and it went into OT. I heard the announcers talking about how “the game could go on forever until someone scores” and then the Vikings scored and it was over. I thought in the playoffs, the other team gets a chance to score as well, so I was a little surprised to see the game end. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/58 "2020-01-06T15:01:51Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I was watching the end of the Vikings-Saints game and it went into OT. I heard the announcers talking about how “the game could go on forever until someone scores” and then the Vikings scored and it was over. I thought in the playoffs, the other team gets a chance to score as well, so I was a little surprised to see the game end. That only applies if the first team gets a field goal. If the first team scores a field goal, they have to kick off to the second team. From there, if the second team scores a touchdown, they win. If the second team gives up the ball without scoring, they lose. If the second team scores a field goal, they kick off to the first team again, and the next team to score in any fashion wins. But if the first team gets a touchdown, they win instantly. There’s been some pushback on that, however, so the rules may get modified again in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/59 "2020-01-06T15:18:24Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > But if the first team gets a touchdown, they win instantly. There’s been some pushback on that, however, so the rules may get modified again in the future. I’ve heard criticism of the current overtime format, that it’s unfair to give a scoring opportunity to only one team, and puts too much importance on the coin toss. My question is, what would be better? Would the teams play a full quarter of overtime, and after that it becomes sudden death? I don’t think any solution is perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943/60 "2020-01-06T15:22:18Z")
What would be better might be this: Both teams are given possession at midfield, one opportunity each to score. Very often, this will result in either one team having only a field goal but the other getting a touchdown = game over. Or, one team gets a field goal but the other gets nothing = game over. If \*\*\*after \*\*\*that first set of opportunities, the two teams are tied, say, 23-23 or 27-27, then we go to sudden-death. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-f-l-playoffs-weekly-picks/845943.md?page=4)