2023 NFL Thread v Super Bowl matchup: Chiefs vs. 49ers

[bosk1]

ING STEELERS!!!!!!!!

IMO, just getting outplayed doesn't warrant that kind of response. 

[Samsara]

Aside from the Rodgers injury, the Jets showed a lot.

Hall is healthy. Almost 130 yards. Going to be a dynamic backfield.

The defense absolutely shut the Bills down the second half. Major balls. Took one on the chin the first half and came back and made a statement.

Wilson, after the INT, stayed calm and collected. That's a good sign for moving forward.

With Rodgers, I had the Jets at 12-5. Now with Wilson, I'd say they are closer to 10-7/9-8.

All us Jets fans have suffered for so long. I was almost numb to it. Almost like waiting for the shoe to drop, ya know?

[ProgMasterMind92]

ING STEELERS!!!!!!!!

IMO, just getting outplayed doesn't warrant that kind of response.

sorry boss i'm sensitive... last season took a few years off my life

[Skeever]

Aside from the Rodgers injury, the Jets showed a lot.

Hall is healthy. Almost 130 yards. Going to be a dynamic backfield.

The defense absolutely shut the Bills down the second half. Major balls. Took one on the chin the first half and came back and made a statement.

Wilson, after the INT, stayed calm and collected. That's a good sign for moving forward.

With Rodgers, I had the Jets at 12-5. Now with Wilson, I'd say they are closer to 10-7/9-8.

All us Jets fans have suffered for so long. I was almost numb to it. Almost like waiting for the shoe to drop, ya know?

Last night I was sitting on the couch getting really worked up during the first half. At some point when it was like 10-3 and seemed hopeless, I just looked around me. My son peacefully asleep, my wife sitting next to me on the couch fiddling on her tablet, a cold guiness in my hand. Life is truly precious. It's OK to get upset but there is really no reason to let a football game drag you down. Life in general is so seldom consistently pleasurable, you just have to learn to accept being on the ride and find some peace with that.

[TAC]

I just looked around me. My son peacefully asleep, my wife sitting next to me on the couch fiddling on her tablet, a cold guiness in my hand. Life is truly precious.

Amen, brother!

[Stadler]

Aside from the Rodgers injury, the Jets showed a lot.

Hall is healthy. Almost 130 yards. Going to be a dynamic backfield.

The defense absolutely shut the Bills down the second half. Major balls. Took one on the chin the first half and came back and made a statement.

Wilson, after the INT, stayed calm and collected. That's a good sign for moving forward.

With Rodgers, I had the Jets at 12-5. Now with Wilson, I'd say they are closer to 10-7/9-8.

All us Jets fans have suffered for so long. I was almost numb to it. Almost like waiting for the shoe to drop, ya know?

Last night I was sitting on the couch getting really worked up during the first half. At some point when it was like 10-3 and seemed hopeless, I just looked around me. My son peacefully asleep, my wife sitting next to me on the couch fiddling on her tablet, a cold guiness in my hand. Life is truly precious. It's OK to get upset but there is really no reason to let a football game drag you down. Life in general is so seldom consistently pleasurable, you just have to learn to accept being on the ride and find some peace with that.

It was my birthday Sunday, and we started by Martin Truex, Jr. (my driver in NASCAR) blowing a tire on the fourth lap and potentially being cut from the playoffs next week; the Patriots continued the mojo with a horrific start (though I missed the "comeback" such that it was), then coming home and watching the Giants be humiliated on their home field in extraordinary fashion, then finding out that Uconn's transfer QB is out for the season with a blown shoulder...  I am thankful that I got to spend a couple hours at Alice Cooper with my friend Jim, and came home to wonderful text from my boss wishing me a happy day, and a loving wife and two dogs that are as dumb as they are cute (the dogs, not the wife).. and it was a wonderful lesson in priorities.

[Jamesman42]

Lots of power rankings have Miami in the top 5. I am riding this high.

[Skeever]

Aside from the Rodgers injury, the Jets showed a lot.

Hall is healthy. Almost 130 yards. Going to be a dynamic backfield.

The defense absolutely shut the Bills down the second half. Major balls. Took one on the chin the first half and came back and made a statement.

Wilson, after the INT, stayed calm and collected. That's a good sign for moving forward.

With Rodgers, I had the Jets at 12-5. Now with Wilson, I'd say they are closer to 10-7/9-8.

All us Jets fans have suffered for so long. I was almost numb to it. Almost like waiting for the shoe to drop, ya know?

Last night I was sitting on the couch getting really worked up during the first half. At some point when it was like 10-3 and seemed hopeless, I just looked around me. My son peacefully asleep, my wife sitting next to me on the couch fiddling on her tablet, a cold guiness in my hand. Life is truly precious. It's OK to get upset but there is really no reason to let a football game drag you down. Life in general is so seldom consistently pleasurable, you just have to learn to accept being on the ride and find some peace with that.

It was my birthday Sunday, and we started by Martin Truex, Jr. (my driver in NASCAR) blowing a tire on the fourth lap and potentially being cut from the playoffs next week; the Patriots continued the mojo with a horrific start (though I missed the "comeback" such that it was), then coming home and watching the Giants be humiliated on their home field in extraordinary fashion, then finding out that Uconn's transfer QB is out for the season with a blown shoulder...  I am thankful that I got to spend a couple hours at Alice Cooper with my friend Jim, and came home to wonderful text from my boss wishing me a happy day, and a loving wife and two dogs that are as dumb as they are cute (the dogs, not the wife).. and it was a wonderful lesson in priorities.

Yeah... sometimes you have to just take a step back and remind yourself "hey, I'm getting to experience all this" and that can be pretty great. I totally get why telling someone who's going through a tough time might not appreciate that perspective too, though.

Watching "Quarterback" on Netflix (as well as Jets Hard Knocks) recently really opened my eyes to the humanity of these players, too. Sure, some of these players may have hundreds of millions of dollars, but they go through the same shit - trying to balance their "jobs" with being fathers, husbands, public figures, etc... The money doesn't make these guys immune to disappointment. In fact, I'd say that the money probably levels off after awhile and, at the end of the day, it probably doesn't matter that Rodgers made $75,000,000 to do training camp and 4 snaps.

No one is more disappointed than Aaron Rodgers right now. I used to think that athletes, especially well paid ones, were laughing their way to the bank when they disappointed fans. Now, I'm not so sure. I can't imagine how crushing last night is for Rodgers, and all the players around him. It probably feels like walking into work and realizing that they're handing out surprise severances today. Could be worse, sure, but can also be extremely crushing, even if you get to process it all inside of a mansion with servers waiting on your every need.

[DragonAttack]

Lamar Jackson is only 5,831 yards away from his goal of 6,000 yards passing this season.

[Stadler]

Lamar Jackson is only 5,831 yards away from his goal of 6,000 yards passing this season.

HAHA

[Jamesman42]

Lamar Jackson is only 5,831 yards away from his goal of 6,000 yards passing this season.

Is this a reference to something, or did he set that goal himself??

[pg1067]

Lamar Jackson is only 5,831 yards away from his goal of 6,000 yards passing this season.

Is this a reference to something, or did he set that goal himself??

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/lamar-jackson-wants-to-throw-for-6000-yards

[Jamesman42]

Tua is more on pace to get that, especially with WaddleHill

[Dream Team]

With great deference to Kev, rankings after week 1:

1. Niners - juggernaut on both sides of the ball
2. Cowboys - juggernaut on D, need to see how O does against the Jets
3. Eagles - sluggish start
4. Chiefs - need to see young receivers play better before I can rank them higher
5. Jaguars - looks like a complete team
6. Dolphins - knew the O would be good, we'll see about the D
7. Lions - should be a fun ride
8. Chargers - will they ever reach their potential?
9. Jets - could stay in the thick of it if Wilson does just enough
10. Ravens - have to put them here I guess but it was an unimpressive win (Packers could be here at 10)

Ascending: Packers, Browns
Descending: Steelers, Seahawks
Pleasant Surprise: Rams
Biggest Disappointment: Bengals

MVP: Tua or Tyreek

[faizoff]

At this rate Kirk Cousins is not going to survive the season with that offensive line.  It's a miracle he's survived so far this game.

[Cool Chris]

I am a big fan of the YouTube channel Secret Base. It is a masterful blend of sports and storytelling. They just concluded a 7 part, 9 hour history of the Minnesota Vikings. A few stats I found fascinating:

In the Super Bowl era, the Vikings have a 55.7 winning percentage, good for 6th out of all NFL teams. That is the highest winning percentage of any team that has not won a Super Bowl. You have to go down to number 17 to find the next team with no Lombardi trophy.

They are also the only team with no stretch of 3 consecutive seasons with a losing record.

[ReaperKK]

That sounds like a cool youtube channel Chris, I'll have to check it out.

[El Barto]

If that's the channel I'm thinking of they'll do some pretty deep dives into some pretty weird statistics. It's sucked me in once or twice, but 9 hours on the Vikings ain't gonna happen for me. 

[Stadler]

At this rate Kirk Cousins is not going to survive the season with that offensive line.  It's a miracle he's survived so far this game.

He took two shots that I couldn't believe he stood up from (and one was a touchdown!).  You're right, though, that's not going to last for 17 games.

The Eagles confound me.  2-0, but they're not playing well at all.  They seemed to score at will against the Vikes, and goddamnit, when are people going to learn you can't win by turning the ball over, but seemingly, so did the Vikings seem to score when they wanted/needed to.  I'm glad I'm not an Eagles fan, for the game when they play a good team that shows up for all 60 minutes. 

[Cool Chris]

If that's the channel I'm thinking of they'll do some pretty deep dives into some pretty weird statistics. It's sucked me in once or twice, but 9 hours on the Vikings ain't gonna happen for me. 

Some of their videos can really get in to the statistic weeds. They even have a section of videos called 'Dorktown" so at least they are self-aware. As I said earlier, the best, or at least my favorite, blend stats and stories, and the stories aren't the basic "...he grew up in a small town with a single mom and 8 siblings..." type.

I enjoy the long form videos because they are good for viewing in segments where I can stop and start any time. I don't have hours to binge on a TV series so these work great for me for the small pockets of time I have to myself to watch videos.

[ReaperKK]

Now I'm just getting more excited to watch .

Downloaded and ready for viewing on my flight home in a few days.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Okay. I've had a few days to process the insanity that was Monday night. I was at MetLife, and I can say I've never heard the stadium as quiet as when Rodgers went down, but I also have never heard it as loud as when Gibson returned that punt for a TD. And that brings me to how I feel about the whole thing.

First and foremost, Rodgers tearing his Achilles four plays into his Jets career is absolutely heartbreaking. So many what if's, but at the end of the day, it's a human being who potentially had their career end in devastating fashion. I know he said he plans on coming back, but until he plays another snap, that's not guaranteed, and I feel for him. He seemed genuinely happy and like he had a new lease on life with the Jets. The coaches, players, and fans alike all adored him and what he represented for this franchise: hope. And that's exactly how to describe the scene at MetLife for the first half after Rodgers went down: hopeless. The air was sucked out of the stadium, and it just felt surreal...

...and in the past, that would basically be the story for the rest of the game. The Jets would lay down and accept their fate. But no, not this team. This team, they're different. The defense stood firm against one of the top offenses in the league. The team rallied around Zach Wilson, and Wilson stepped up big time. After an ugly interception in the first half, he regrouped, and focused on playing smart football, playing with a newfound confidence from him that we haven't seen in a long time. Breece Hall started his Comeback Player of the Year bid in style. Garrett Wilson made a borderline inhuman TD catch. Jordan Whitehead made Josh Allen's life a living hell. And somehow, with less than two minutes left, the Jets, without their lord and savior, had a lead...

...but then Josh Allen remembered who he is. He authored a quick drive down the field, and it was looking like they were gonna punch it in for the game winning touchdown. But the crowd, now suddenly awake, were also putting pressure on the Bills. The whole stadium was daring them to make a mistake, and they did. Offensive pass interference. Third and long. The Bills could only get back into field goal range. Their kicker lines up for the game tying field goal, and it doinks...in!!! We're going to overtime. More adversity for a Jets team that already faced a whole season's worth of it on their first drive. And the Bills won the coin toss. How? The Bills don't win coin tosses in overtime. All they have to do now in march  down the field and win a game that shouldn't have even been this close to begin with. But the Jets defense remembered who THEY are, and forced a three and out. Now all the Jets have to do is get into field goal range and it's over. Still, how much faith can we have in Zach Wilson to drive down the field. He looked much better in the second half, but that ugly interception in the first half still looms large. The only way to find out if he has a game winning drive in him is for the offense to get the ball back after a routine punt return...

...Xavier Gibson. A name that will be remembered by Jets fans forever. An undrafted free agent. The last player to make the Jets 53 man roster, barely surviving the last round of roster cuts. The ball touches his hands, he starts to move his legs, and out of nowhere, magic happens. He gets a block. He's at the 40. 30. 20! 10! Gets another block! TOUCHDOWN!!! MetLife Stadium became unglued. The Jets did the unthinkable. They beat the juggernaut Bills without Aaron Rodgers...but the reality is, this would be unthinkable for Jets teams of the past. This team though, it's built different. That's my biggest takeaway from this game. Aaron Rodgers won't play another snap for this team this year, but the impact he made is already undeniable. He helped bring on a culture change. Gave this young team a glimpse into what it takes to be successful in this league. Helped reignite the confidence in a young QB who had all but lost the team that drafted him. He gave the fans and players hope, and they responded with the number one trait in a winner: resilience. Is this a playoff team without Aaron Rodgers? Only time will tell. But this team is not gonna lay down and let their opponent stomp all over them. They're gonna fight, and if their opponents aren't ready for that fight, the Jets might just have a chance. If anything though, Monday night inspired something I had abandoned long ago as a Jets fan: hope.

[King Postwhore]

Definitely a terrible moment for Jets fans. Zach played well.  I hope he can show maturity in this big moment. Your D looks frightening.

[El Barto]

Biggest surprise this year so far is how inept the NYG are. Last week they were just overwhelmed by a powerful team, which we all saw coming. That doesn't make them a bad team, though. Now they're just getting demolished by a pretty mediocre AZ team. These guys don't look like they've ever played together before. They're looking like one of the worst ever at this point.

[El Barto]

Man, what a turnaround. NY really was playing the worst football I've seen out of professionals before they got their act together. Goes to show what confidence can do. As soon as Daniel Jones completed two good throws he and Barkley took the game over on offense, and eventually the D got their confidence, too. Excellent second half of football.

[King Postwhore]

I should have watched it, El Barto but I'm enjoying a bonded Jack Daniel ms and a cigar on my porch before the Pats game.

[axeman90210]

Micah Parsons is a goddamn cheat code. Glad I only have to see him once every four years.

[King Postwhore]

Denver got screwed. Thar was pass interference on the 2 point conversation. 

[El Barto]

I should have watched it, El Barto but I'm enjoying a bonded Jack Daniel ms and a cigar on my porch before the Pats game.

The Patriots will keep it competitive, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they win; they're a very different team than SD. I can't pick them with the injuries to their O-line, though.

Man, Washington sure tried to give that game away. DEN's hail Mary was 4 yards short and they tipped it into the endzone for them. Were it not for a questionable non-call on DPI Denver ties that game.

[TAC]

Denver got screwed. Thar was pass interference on the 2 point conversation.

eh, fuck 'em.

[Jamesman42]

Miami just needs to prove that they are the best in the AFC tonight. Very winnable game but divisional games can be weird.

[El Barto]

Miami just needs to prove that they are the best in the AFC tonight. Very winnable game but divisional games can be weird.

Miami can't prove that tonight. Beating the Patriots right now won't mean much since most people think NE is a joke this year.

[King Postwhore]

It's how you finish going into the playoffs. Miami was hot until the Tua injury and fell off at the end of the season.

[Jamesman42]

Baltimore is the only team 2-0 right now in the AFC, and if Miami wins they'll also be 2-0, beating a good Chargers team and a NE team that almost took down Philly. Baltimore beat a bad Texans team last week.

[Jamesman42]

It's how you finish going into the playoffs. Miami was hot until the Tua injury and fell off at the end of the season.

True, I am riding the Tua hype train, admittedly.