# NFL - PLAYOFFS - DIVISIONAL ROUND the World in 80 Days **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 9, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173 "2020-01-09T13:58:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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 13, 2020, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/81 "2020-01-13T07:20:15Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Not that I disagree with the premise (though there are some QBs, like Russell Wilson, who have thrived by playing from Day 1). Peyton Manning as well. Granted, his team didn’t do well his rookie season (they were 3-13) but you can hardly blame him; he set multiple rookie QB records. He went on to have a historic career without having to start as an understudy. So it can definitely work both ways. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/82 "2020-01-13T12:28:55Z")
I had a work emergency so kept track of the Packers game at [packers.com](http://packers.com). I was getting nervous seeing the Seattle score going up while the Packers score was not. Some sacks came when the Pack needed them. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/83 "2020-01-13T12:48:04Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Peyton Manning as well. Granted, his team didn’t do well his rookie season (they were 3-13) but you can hardly blame him; he set multiple rookie QB records. He went on to have a historic career without having to start as an understudy. So it can definitely work both ways. And Patrick Mahomes. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/84 "2020-01-13T12:53:00Z")
I can’t remember the last time a defense was totally humiliated the way Houston’s defense was humiliated yesterday. They gave up a post-season record 7 consecutive TDs in basically 2 1/2 quarters, blowing a 24-0 lead. Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/85 "2020-01-13T13:09:09Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I can’t remember the last time a defense was totally humiliated the way Houston’s defense was humiliated yesterday. They gave up a post-season record 7 consecutive TDs in basically 2 1/2 quarters, blowing a 24-0 lead. Amazing. It’s not really that long ago since Atlanta blew a 3rd quarter 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl. I’d say that’s every bit as humiliating. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/86 "2020-01-13T13:21:17Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > It’s not really that long ago since Atlanta blew a 3rd quarter 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl. I’d say that’s every bit as humiliating. Well, I guess I enjoyed it so darn much that I really didn’t look at it from a negative standpoint. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/87 "2020-01-13T13:38:21Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > I won’t anoint ANYONE after just one season. The rest of the league has an entire offseason to figure out what to do about Jackson. That’s a bit of a lot of goalpost shifting. The standard given above wasn’t “QB of the Future”. The standard mentioned was “consistent starting QB”. Kaepernick was that, at the very least (better than half the current QBs in the league, at any rate). Could he have been better or was he a fluke? That’s the subject of many debates. But the fact that it IS a debate is the point. I’d argue one full season plus a handful of games from last season show that at a minimum Jackson is already at the level of a reasonable starter, even if he never develops into a superstar QB. If your gauge flips only between superstar QB and bust, well, I guess that’s your prerogative and makes you a typical football fan, but it’s also deeply silly. ---
**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 13, 2020, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/88 "2020-01-13T14:11:55Z")
I always had doubts that Cam Newton would have longevity in the NFL. Like Lamar Jackson he was an excellent running QB who had questionable passing abilities. Unlike Jackson, he was reckless as a runner, putting himself at risk many times, most egregiously when he would showboat right before TDs which more than once left himself open to major hits. It seems I was right about that. His time as a starter in the NFL is probably over. He barely played this year and pretty much lost his job in Carolina (though not officially yet as far as I know), and had a long string of defeats before being sidelined for injury. On the other hand, I never thought he didn’t have what it took to be a starting QB. Despite a truncated career, he led his team successfully for years, including one trip to the SB (which was a hilariously disastrous game) and gaining MVP the same year. Anyone who can do that can be a starter, at least for a while. Jackson may be a novelty, he may lack traditional QB skills (though I personally don’t think he is a terrible passer, just not elite in that sense). The league may figure him out and eliminate the advantage he enjoyed this year as an elusive runner and huge, nearly unstoppable threat. But getting your team to a #1 seed, winning the MVP, and beating a lot of great teams in the regular season should leave no question that he’s a capable starter. Many teams struggle to find a QB who is more than mediocre and Baltimore is fortunate to have him. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/89 "2020-01-13T14:55:20Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > And Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes spent his rookie year watching Alex Smith. I think he started one, maybe two games at the end of that season, but he was not the starting QB right off the bat. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/90 "2020-01-13T15:05:04Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Mahomes spent his rookie year watching Alex Smith. I think he started one, maybe two games at the end of that season, but he was not the starting QB right off the bat. Mahomes started the last game of the season, which was in Denver. KC had already clinched a playoff berth and couldn’t change their seeding, so from that standpoint, the game was meaningless. Then a week later, Mahomes watched as KC blew a big halftime lead and lost to the Titans 22-21. Shortly thereafter, Alex Smith was traded and Mahomes became the starter. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/91 "2020-01-13T16:07:32Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I am not actually watching, but I just checked the score online. > > Holy c…ow! 41-24 for the Chiefs. > > They still shouldn’t relax. I wonder what the sports bars are like now? I haven’t seen such an exciting game for a long time. What a comeback ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/92 "2020-01-13T16:38:00Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > 24 unanswered, then 34 unanswered. I really wish announcers would stop using that word “unanswered.” They often say it right after a TD, “…that’s 21 unanswered points by the …” Well how could they have answered those last 7 points–they were JUST scored! Use the word “Consecutive,” they are not truly unanswered until the game ends. End of rant… Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/93 "2020-01-13T16:44:25Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > That’s a bit of a lot of goalpost shifting. > > The standard given above wasn’t “QB of the Future”. > > The standard mentioned was “consistent starting QB”. > > Kaepernick was that, at the very least (better than half the current QBs in the league, at any rate). Could he have been better or was he a fluke? That’s the subject of many debates. But the fact that it IS a debate is the point. > > I’d argue one full season plus a handful of games from last season show that at a minimum Jackson is already at the level of a reasonable starter, even if he never develops into a superstar QB. > > If your gauge flips only between superstar QB and bust, well, I guess that’s your prerogative and makes you a typical football fan, but it’s also deeply silly. I was unclear. The more appropriate statement would be "I won’t anoint anyone as a consistent starter after one season, especially when it’s a run-first quarterback. Kaepernick was embroiled in a QB competition with Blaine Gabbert less than three years after his meteoric rise. “Consistent starting QB” is not how I would define him once the league figured out how to spy the read-option. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/94 "2020-01-13T16:51:49Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Oh, you’re one of those, “If you haven’t done it in the playoffs, you’re hopeless” types of cliches. I get it now. Andy Dalton ---
**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 13, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/95 "2020-01-13T18:01:50Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Andy Dalton I mentioned him earlier. Tony Romo is another one you could mention though he did have 2 playoff wins, he has a 2-4 record. The only other Cowboy QB to have a playoff win for Dallas since 1996 is Dak Prescott. But Romo was definitely not great in the playoffs. ---
**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 13, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/96 "2020-01-13T22:07:13Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Tony Romo is another one you could mention though he did have 2 playoff wins, he has a 2-4 record. The only other Cowboy QB to have a playoff win for Dallas since 1996 is Dak Prescott. But Romo was definitely not great in the playoffs. Romo has a higher completion percentage (61.6% to 60.5%), better TD to Int ratio (4 to 1 to 2 to 1), and a higher passer rating (93.0 to 87.4) than Quarterback A in the playoffs. Quarterback A is Eli Manning. Wins remain one of the dumbest ways to measure QB value. ---
**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 13, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/97 "2020-01-13T22:24:07Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Wins remain one of the dumbest ways to measure QB value. It’s tough. A QB who puts his team on his back and almost single-handedly wins games should be lauded. While a mediocre QB with a great team around him isn’t worth a lot. In the former case, wins are a great measure, in the latter it’s meaningless (or it doesn’t mean much more than the QB didn’t suck enough to tank everything). But then is completion percentage really that significant? What if QBA tosses ducks in the air that his receivers need to make superhuman efforts to catch (and they do), does that make him better than QBB who throws perfect darts that bounce off his receivers’ rubber hands and into the hands of defenders? Judging QBs is difficult to do objectively. A QB is supposed to be a leader. What about a guy with poor physical skills who rallies his team and inspires them to be better, and makes all the right decisions, but has no accuracy or arm strength? Is he a field general to be respected or someone that should be on the sideline with a clipboard? This is why GOAT discussions are hard. That’s even without getting into the discussion about rules and culture changes in the NFL that dramatically change what a QB needs to do in different eras or how hard it is for him to do it. ---
**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 13, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/98 "2020-01-13T23:04:14Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Not that I disagree with the premise (though there are some QBs, like Russell Wilson, who have thrived by playing from Day 1). Well, when Russell Wilson began playing, he had [ul][li] Kam Chancellor[/li][li] Earl Thomas[/li][li] Byron Maxwell[/li][li] Richard Sherman[/li][li] K. J. Wright[/li][li] Michael Bennett[/li][li] Bobby Wagner[/li][li] Cliff Avril [/ul][/li]on D, and [ul][li] Doug Baldwin[/li][li] Golden Tate[/li][li] Marshawn Lynch[/li][/ul] in the backfield. It was a team that was overloaded with talent, so starting him was not that much an issue. Well, and he was pretty good, too. ---
**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 13, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/99 "2020-01-13T23:06:40Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > It’s tough. A QB who puts his team on his back and almost single-handedly wins games should be lauded. While a mediocre QB with a great team around him isn’t worth a lot. In the former case, wins are a great measure, in the latter it’s meaningless (or it doesn’t mean much more than the QB didn’t suck enough to tank everything). But you’re not saying wins matter, you’re saying wins, in certain circumstances, matter. You didn’t seem to care that Romo had an almost 80% completion percentage and a 143.6 passer rating, but lost when the Cowboys ran into Aaron Rodgers and Demarco Murray fumbled. Sure, he’s had bad games, but he’s also had good games. Just like almost every QB in the world. > [@Atamasama](#): > > But then is completion percentage really that significant? What if QBA tosses ducks in the air that his receivers need to make superhuman efforts to catch (and they do), does that make him better than QBB who throws perfect darts that bounce off his receivers’ rubber hands and into the hands of defenders? It is one of many stats to consider. But I’d certainly put completiom percentage higher on the “what makes a good QB” list than wins, especially in the playoffs. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Judging QBs is difficult to do objectively. A QB is supposed to be a leader. What about a guy with poor physical skills who rallies his team and inspires them to be better, and makes all the right decisions, but has no accuracy or arm strength? Is he a field general to be respected or someone that should be on the sideline with a clipboard? > > This is why GOAT discussions are hard. That’s even without getting into the discussion about rules and culture changes in the NFL that dramatically change what a QB needs to do in different eras or how hard it is for him to do it. Absolutely it can be difficult to judge QB play, especially comparing across generations. But teams have to, and do, do it. And so did you when you used Romo’s playoff record as the only indicator that he wasn’t great in the playoffs. ---
**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 13, 2020, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173/100 "2020-01-13T23:23:46Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Absolutely it can be difficult to judge QB play, especially comparing across generations. But teams have to, and do, do it. And so did you when you used Romo’s playoff record as the only indicator that he wasn’t great in the playoffs. His teams did well in the regular season and yet in the playoffs seemed to hit a brick wall. He has a reputation for not doing well in big games (like Kirk Cousins). It’s a prevalent opinion, just Google “Tony Romo choke” (which fortunately doesn’t come up with as many NSFW results as you’d expect). He also has his defenders, like Rob Tornoe at Forbes, who cites his numerous 4th quarter comeback as evidence of his ability to be clutch. > **[Tony Romo's Career As A Choking Hazard Is Greatly Exaggerated](https://www.forbes.com/sites/cartoonoftheday/2017/03/09/tony-romos-dallas-cowboys-career-as-a-choking-hazard-is-greatly-exaggerated/#1de4fd6d1828)** > > To a lot of fans,Tony Romo will always be the player who botched a snap in the 2007 playoffs against the Seahawks. But Romo isn’t the choke artist he’s widely perceived as by sports media figures who reduce success down to the number of Super Bowl... When I mentioned Romo I was sure to add the caveat that he’s still relatively very successful for the Dallas franchise over the last 2 1/2 decades, so I admitted it might not be fair or accurate to include him as “bad” in the playoffs. Still, that seems to be his reputation. I do think he’s a great broadcaster, probably my favorite football announcer on TV right now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-playoffs-divisional-round-the-world-in-80-days/846173.md?page=6)