2025 NFL Post Season 🏈 Weekly Discussion Thread – Playoffs, Week 2

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

First things first - Caleb Williams. My goodness. That throw on fourth down was something out of Tecmo Bowl or Madden 04. If he wasn't on the Bears, I'd say he is a lock to haunt the NFC for years to come. But given the franchise's lackluster history with quarterbacks, I'm dropping those odds down to 75%.

Seahawks-49ers was the bloodbath we sort of expected. Gave me Super Bowl 48 flashbacks. No thank you. And does anyone know what happened CJ Stroud? I thought he was on track to be a top-10 QB, but he looked like the second coming of Matt Schaub, or (apologies to our resident Carolina fan) late stage Jake Delhomme. On second thought, let's lower those Caleb odds a tiny bit more.

Now for my Broncos. That was undoubtedly the worst win of all time, at least for me. First, they had to go up against my #1 bandwagon team and all-time favorite non-Bronco. That eased the fear of a loss, but added some bitterness to the sweet taste of victory. But then on top of that, we find out Bo Nix is out for the year before the adrenaline can wear off. What the fuck? That's some biblical, mythological shit right there. Kill your brother and lose your first born type shit. The Lord tests your Bolief in mysterious ways.

As a fan, I am a nervous doomer that always hopes for the best and expects the worst, but during that final drive in regulation, I had total confidence in Nix. I knew they were going to score because the kid is clutch. After this game, I have officially upgraded my Boliever status from “ironic” to “ironclad.” Now he's out for the year. I for one do not feel good about Stidham going up against a Pats team that was already a bad matchup. Denver needed 33 to beat the Bills, and I'd expect the same against Maye and the Pats. People make a big deal out of New England’s schedule, but it's not like they're supposed to be 9-8 or something. They beat the hell out of the teams they played, and they have a very good defense, a strong running game, and an excellent QB. We won't know until they play the game, but it's not looking good. Ugh, sports. Why do we do this to ourselves? This is where I should normally feel happy, right?

To add insult to (literal) injury, the game is plagued by the dumbest “controversy” in recent memory. Everywhere I look, there are people saying the refs handed Denver the game. Ludicrous.

On the interception, the rules are very clear: the receiver has to maintain possession through the ground. That didn't happen. The ball clearly came out of Cooks’s hands as he was in the process of falling to the ground. Had McMillian not been there, and the ball came out like that, it would've been incomplete. If you'd like an example of that exact scenario, look no further than the previous play. Mecole Hardman catches the ball, his elbow and knee both touch the ground, and the ball pops out. Actually, let me show you. Here, take a look. He has possession and his elbow and knee are down. Is anyone calling that play a catch and fumble? Of course not, because that's just a single frame out of context.

What's even more annoying is that there was a clear example of the opposite happening in the Bears game, but people refuse to see the difference. Even the PTI guys were saying it was a catch. So not only did we lose our QB, but now everyone is mad about the win. It just goes to show how much people like Josh Allen, which, I totally get it, but c'mon be reasonable. Yeah, reasonable, like me, the guy who just compared the quarterback's injury to the death of his imaginary first born child. Reasonable.

As for the PI calls, I don't know what to say. The no-call against Moss could have gone either way. It would be a ticky-tac way to decide the game, but Moss has been called for less. I can understand the frustration that they called a similar infraction on the pass to Sutton on the final drive, but (a) Sutton was much closer to the ball and the hold prevented him from getting a second hand on it, (b) the hold across Sutton’s arm was longer, and (c) there was a clear roughing the passer penalty on the same play that would've put the Broncos within two yards of the interference spot. The second PI was about as blatant as it gets. I don't think that one warrants further discussion, unless people are ready to defend the no-call in the 2018 NFC Championship.

What's most annoying about these complaints (yes, I'm still going) is that they are sometimes paired with an absurd conspiracy theory that the NFL wanted the Broncos to win. Seriously? You have a handsome MVP with a movie star wife and huge name recognition, and he's been knocking on the door for years while playing for a perennial underdog/lovable loser franchise that always comes up short. That's a great story. Why would the NFL hold them back in favor of a goofy looking sophomore QB with zero name recognition outside of NFL fans and a coach that is widely despised for his role in a scheme to reward injuries against his opponents? It makes no sense. Unless, of course, they want to set up a triumphant win against Mahomes next year a la Manning in 06, in which case, congratulations to the 2026 Bills. Anyway, enough of that. I'm really hoping for a Broncos-Rams Super Bowl, so if I were you, I'd bet the house on the Pats and Seahawks. If anyone needs me, I'll be watching Jarrett Stidham and Nick Foles highlights.

It'd been a while since we have seen such a relatively balanced playoff bracket. With the exception of one game, everything has felt within reach until the 4th quarter for everyone. Tons of lead changes and close games makes me a very happy fan.

Bills v Broncos was a great game that both teams managed to lose. Its really sad that we will get a likely dud game for the AFCCG. I wish Nix the best in his recovery (though I do appreciate their HC not getting to the SB. I think the three non-saints teams can agree on this. As for the Bills, I really feel that McDermott was badly scapegoated. The GM should be gone too but I guess he is an S-tier brown noser. Pour one out for the Bills fans, because their window just snapped shut.

49ers v Seahawks was the only lopsided game and anyone who didn't see this coming wasn't paying attention. This Seahawks team is at peak form at the best time. When they played the Panthers towards the end of the season I noticed that they were an absolute wall on defense and you have to work for every yard. They offense is consistent and doesn't make mistakes. They are my favorites to win the SB at this time.

Texans v Pats was a torturous to watch strictly because that Texans defense was clearly championship caliber. There is no way the game should have been as close as it was with 4 INTs from Stroud. He looked lost out there. As a Panthers fan, im happy that we finally settled the "debate" on if we should have taken Stroud over Young, but honestly I wish it wasn't like this. The debate has ended by Young not looking like complete ass despite the loss. I hope he bounces back and figures it out, but I'm honestly not sure.

Rams v Bears was a great finisher to a strong weekend of football. Both teams were clearly well matched and it really could have gone either way. That 4th down throw by Caleb was unreal. I watched it live and I'm still in disbelief it happened. They are going to be a force for the foreseeable future for sure.

What a great weekend of football with only 3 games left to go.

Next week: Rams v Seahawks is the match up to watch. I like the Hawks in this one, but I expect it to be entertaining.

That's more than we can say about Pats v Broncos. Without Nix, there is little hope for the Broncos. I'll watch, but I expect this to be not very competitive. Its a shame and a sour note on an otherwise great playoff season.

Sheesh. Lot of great comments here with a LOT to say. I watched all the games this weekend. I was stressed watching the Pats. I can say that for sure. Boutte's beaut of a catch saved our bacon when there was a risk of a turn / momentum thing in the air. Settled it down. Ugly W against a strong D.

Not happy that Nix is out for the AFCCG. You never know though, backups can surprise you.

Boy the Bills huh. They really played like shit and lost that game on their own, womp womp who would have guessed. McDermott leaving I'm fine with, I don't think he's the cause but after so many years you kinda have to make a change. Beane staying and being promoted makes me feel like the situation is not going to remedy itself and they'll continue running a shitty team around Allen and losing in the playoffs similarly until he moves or retires. Ah well that's the Bills I suppose, already had a feeling they were going to lose going in.

The narrative of "this was the best chance they had for a superbowl" is funny to me. No more Mahomes/Chiefs to ruin the playoffs this year, but even then, what was the expectation? It's the shittiest Bills team in a few years, and they still had to go against the top 3 teams in the league. Feels like an odd sentiment to me that the Patriots, Seahawks (how the hell did they and Darnold get so good suddenly), and Broncos were seen as an easier road than getting through the Chiefs (who uh, I mean, they're not going to return to being the superteam next year are they? do they have the roster construction and flexibility for that? is Mahomes going to return as good as he's been in the past?).

And now of course the part where I complain about the refs -- but not about them winning the game for the Broncos, because that's not true, the Bills lost it on their own fair and square. No what I'm complaining about is that I don't think I understand the rules and I don't think anyone else does either, I think the rules are very vague and give a lot of leeway to the refs to just kind of make it up as they go along. I don't think that's unique to the NFL either, it happens a ton in the NBA as the refs just kind of make up what they consider a foul or not as they go along, and then in the NBA playoffs they just make up an entirely different consideration of what counts as a foul or not. There's no consistency to be had there, just up to whatever refs are in the game and how they decide to call it, and I guess how much the NBA execs want to give guidelines to the refs.

Anyway, back to complaining about the NFL, I finally looked up the definition of a "football move" after hearing about it so many times, well the rulebook doesn't use the term "football move", but the sentiment is found here (under "Article 7 Player Possession"):

To gain possession of a loose ball that has been caught, intercepted, or recovered, a player (a) must have complete control of the ball with his hands or arms and (b) have both feet or any other part of his body, other than his hands, completely on the ground inbounds, and, after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, clearly perform any act common to the game (e.g., extend the ball forward, take an additional step, tuck the ball away and turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent). It is not necessary that he commit such an act, provided that he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so. This rule applies in the field of play, at the sideline, and in the end zone.

It's just "clearly perform any act common to the game", with a non-exhaustive list of examples. A lot of discussion online pro-interception keeps dropping the term "survive the ground", which hasn't been a rule in years. A lot of discussion pro-catch says stuff about the knee being grounded and the player hitting the ground making it a catch, that also hasn't been a criteria in the rules for years. At this point I'll say it's an interception, and I'll say that because the refs and the NFL have decided it's an interception and will back them, and that seems pretty final, but honestly I don't think it's an ironclad case from the rules, I think there's enough flex room that just about supports any argument they could make. Same thing with pass interference and other such fouls, you watch a game and see tons of stuff that looks like pass interference that doesn't get called, and then calls for pass interference that don't match it. I've been watching this league for like 10 years and I feel like I'm no closer to having any intuition on what a ruling will be for any play.

That being said, not really interested in debating whether any specific play is or isn't valid, what's the point? Already a done deal and I doubt they're going to change to make the rules to make them more clear, and they're not going to overturn any of these, c'est la vie, I'm still going to watch this garbage and have it ruin my day, what else are any of us going to do?

Anyway, also grateful for CJ Stroud for making Josh Allen's performance look a little less bad. What the fuck happened there? Disastrous. I have no strong feelings about him either way, hope this isn't bad news for his future, but I also have to feel like that kinda fucked up a big payday for him in his next contract.