'This team is definitely going to the playoffs. Oh, that team will find a way to lose the big game in the playoffs.' Every year we hear statements like these from football fans all across the nation. We know that during the regular season, there are going to be some teams that look amazing and look really good on either the offensive side of the ball, the defensive side of the ball, or both sides of the ball. But then when post-season starts, those teams that were looking really good in the regular season, they get to find out that post-season has a different atmosphere than the regular season.
We have seen teams go 11-5 or 12-4 out of nowhere in the regular season. Then they go to the playoffs and lose in the first round of the playoffs. One time in 2011, the Green Bay Packers went 15-1 in the regular season. They came into that season as the defending champs and looked unstoppable for most of the season. They hosted the New York Giants at home in the divisional round. They ended up losing that game 20-37. Their intensity which wasn't matched in the regular season, was no match to the intensity that the Giants bring in that playoff game.
So are we going to have a team like the Green Bay Packers this year in the playoffs? Are there couple teams that have looked pretty decent or really good so far going one-done in the playoffs? There are five good teams that I could see losing in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Let's take a look.
Pittsburgh Steelers:- I won't say great yet, but they have looked really good so far in the season. The Steelers will be playing their toughest part of the schedule starting from next week. For the second half of the season, the Steelers will have to deal with the Baltimore Ravens, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos on the road, and they will have to deal with the Carolina Panthers, LA Chargers, and the New England Patriots at home. I see the Steelers going 3-3 or 4-2 at best in those six games. If the Steelers lose more than three of those six games, they will definitely miss the playoffs. However, even if they do make it to the playoffs, they are going no further than the second round. They can go one done in the playoffs like they did last year, and two other times in this decade (2011 & 2014). Why do I not believe in the Pittsburgh Steelers? Since their last Super Bowl appearance in 2010, the Steelers have been pretty undisciplined. There is always some drama going on with this team. Sometimes it has something to do with Antonio Brown not getting enough targets, sometimes it has to do with Le'Veon Bell's contract, and sometimes they just talk too much about the Patriots, rather than focusing on their opponent of the week. Until they show me that they have figured out how to discipline themselves, I can't pick them to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Philadephia Eagles:- They won today in London. The Eagles beat the vaunted 3-5 Jacksonville Jaguars in a neutral side. Philadelphia Eagles have a better overall team this year than they did last year during their Super Bowl run. However, they are not playing like a Super Bowl team! What is wrong with them? Super Bowl hangover? I see three problems with this team. First, the lack of depth at the running back position. They lost LeGarrette Blount in the offseason to the Detriot Lions, and then they lost Jay Ajayi for the season due to an injury in week five. Secondly, the Eagles' offensive line isn't playing to the same level as they did last year. They were supposed to be really good at run and pass blocking. It's just strange to see this o-line unit to struggle to protect their quarterback. Finally, their quarterback play has seen a drop off from last year. Don't look at the stats, as they are bit skewed, but Carson Wentz has been pretty careless with running the offense. He is running all over the field aggressively, and he has been throwing all kinds of risky passes with different passing motions. Maybe Wentz isn't fully recovered from the injury that ended his season last year. Due to the way the Eagles are playing so far, I can see the Eagles lose to a wild-card team in the first round of the playoffs.
Dallas Cowboys:- Let's say if the Eagles don't win the NFC East, I think the Dallas Cowboys will then take the division. They have a really good defense, a great running game, more than a decent offensive line, and a pretty solid player at the quarterback position. That sounds like a team that has all the tools to make a deep playoff run. True, but they are coached by coach clap, Jason Garrett. He is one coach who claps after every single play of the game. Doesn't matter if it was a good play or a bad play for his team, he is going to clap. All he does is clap! Also, when it's time to go on fourth down, he will punt. When the team needs to punt, he goes for it and doesn't get the result. Cowboys will never go deep in the playoffs with Jason Garrett as a head coach.
Kansas City Chiefs:- This is the most exciting team to watch. They have playmakers everywhere on offense. Patrick Mahomes is special, Kareem Hunt is amazing, Tyreek Hill is fast and amazing, and Travis Kelce is a beast and a top-two tight-end in this league. Their defense is suspect, but it should get better as time goes by. So why can't the Chiefs win games in the playoffs? Well, they can win a playoff game, but that's about it. Andy Reid has been coaching in this league for twenty years. He's been to only one Super Bowl, which he didn't win. Andy Reid has lost couple playoff games that he should have won. Last year, he had his Chiefs lose to the Titans at home, in a wild-card game, in which they had a 21-3 lead at halftime. In 2013, Reid and the Chiefs lost to the Indianapolis Colts on the road after they had taken a 28 point lead early in the third quarter. How do you lose playoff games like these? It's okay to lose once in a blue moon, but anything more than that in the playoffs is just not acceptable. Reid has struggled in the playoffs for twenty years. Do you expect anything different this year? I don't!
To win in the playoffs and make a deep run for the Super Bowl, you need to have two things going for you. You need almost all of your key players healthy for the entirety of the playoffs, and you have to show consistency throughout the regular season. A team can win eleven to twelve games in a season, but how does the team win those games, when does the team win games (early or late in the season), and against whom do they win? All that can determine how far the team could go into the playoffs.
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