NFL – 2024 POSTSEASON DIVISIONAL RD – STATS THAT STICK OUT
PASSING – (MATTHEW STAFFORD QB, RAMS) LA 22 at PHI 28
In about 2 weeks, Matt Stafford will turn 37-years old. The Rams QB is a 16-year league veteran and has multiple historic records plus a Super Bowl win on his resume. On Sunday, after LA was defeated by the Eagles in the NFC Divisional Playoff Round, Stafford said he was not yet decided about his playing future, but he left the door open for a possible return. “As far as my future goes, it’s 30 minutes after the last game so I’ll take some time to think about it,” he told reporters. “But I feel like I was playing some pretty good ball [today].” He also responded positively to The Athletic when he was asked if he still had “good football remaining”. Stafford’s answer: “Sure feels like it.” Indeed, the No. 1 overall pick by the Lions in the 2009 Draft became the week’s passing leader when he threw 26 completions in 44 attempts for 324 yards and had 2 TDs. He also came up just short of helping the Rams pull off another classic comeback win when a dominant Eagles defensive front sacked him (for the fifth time) in the final minutes of the Divisional Playoff game and which essentially closed out the game for Philadelphia… According to the Ramswire.com, Stafford and the Rams will have to hammer out a new contract by March 15 if he wants to come back for another year or two. Of course, that’s IF Los Angeles wants him back. Without other obvious viable options at the QB position right now for the Rams, it does seem that Stafford gives the team their best opportunity to make another playoff run. The two-time Pro Bowl selected QB remained sharp this past season especially in the latter half when LA won 9 of their last 12 games to finish with a 10-7 record and win the NFC West. He also ranks in the NFL’s top 10 of all-time in pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards and passing TDs and sixth all-time in passing yards per game.
RUSHING – (SAQUON BARKLEY RB, EAGLES) LA 22 at PHI 28
In the snowy NFC Divisional Round when the Eagles hosted the Rams, Philly RB Saquon Barkley became the weekly rushing leader with 205 yards on 26 attempts and 2 rushing TDs (including one for 62 yards in Q1 and a 78-yarder in Q4, the longest in Eagles postseason history). His 205 rush yards in the game was the fifth most in NFL playoff history and his 7.9 rushing average was the third highest among 200-yard rushers and highest in 37 years. Barkley also broke the Eagles’ single-game rushing record of 196 yards set in 1949. The 27-year-old now has 324 rush yards in 2 postseason games which is the most in Eagles history in a single post season. More importantly, Barkley is now only 287 yards away from breaking the all-time rushing yards record in the postseason of 610 held by John Riggins since 1982. (If the Eagles go to the Super Bowl, this record is obviously in reach.) Additionally, Barkley now has (13) 100-yard rushing games this season- he became the first NFL player to do this since 2014… These are just some of the stats I could dig up on Barkley this week. Whew. What an historic year he’s having not just for running backs, but all time for any player position. I stand firmly believing in Barkley as the league’s MVP especially if the Eagles can secure a Lombardi Trophy this year. “Given the conditions or not the conditions, it doesn’t matter,” Eagles HC Nick Sirianni said about Barkley after the game. “It’s a luxury to have him, that’s for darn sure. Love him. I can’t say enough good things about him and the leadership he brings to this football team. He’s special.”
RECEIVING – (AMON-RA ST. BROWN WR, LIONS) WSH 45 at DET 31
It was difficult to watch Lions HC Dan Campbell in tears following his team’s loss to the Commanders last week in the Div Round playoffs. Detroit experienced a Cinderella story over the past couple seasons, beginning in 2023 when the team embarked on its first run to the NFC Championship game since 1991. In 2024, the team continued to excel, finishing the regular season with 14 wins, clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC Conference and seemed to destined for the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance ever… In the end, it wasn’t meant to be for the Lions in 2024 but the future is still bright with the many great young players they have including 25-year old WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. The four-year wideout has blossomed into one of the best receivers in the league as he completed his third consecutive 1,000+ yard season, ranked second league-wide in receptions (115), fifth in total receiving yards (1,263) and third in receiving TDs (12). He also turned in a great performance in last week’s Divisional playoff game with 8 receptions for 137 yards. But the banged-up Lions’ defense just couldn’t stop the Commanders offense led by the dynamic rookie QB Jayden Daniels who completed 71% of his passes in the game, had 242 passing yards and 2 passing TDs plus ran with the football for 51 yards. Lions QB Jared Goff also coughed up the football 4 times (3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble) which the team just could not overcome… At the season-ending media session, Campbell told reporters that Amon-Ra St. Brown texted him at 4am the morning following their loss to the Commanders. “I know the guys it eats away at, and they’re the right guys, they’re our guys for a reason. And that’s what will always give me hope and let me know we’re only going to be better. We’re going to come back stronger, we’re going to learn from this, and it’s just more fuel on the fire is what it is.” Coach also said, “I just go back to this, when you have the right guys and you’re made the right way, failure only makes you stronger. You only come back better..”
DEFENSE – (JALEN CARTER DT, EAGLES) LA 22 at PHI 28
As dominant on offense as Saquon Barkley was for the Eagles in the NFC Divisional Playoff game between Philadelphia and LA, so too was Eagles Defensive Lineman Jalen Carter. The 23-year-old former Georgia Bulldog had a commanding performance against the Rams in the game when he sacked QB Matt Stafford twice (including in the final minutes of the game), played 69 of 71 defensive snaps, had 6 pressures, 4 defensive stops, 3 QB hits, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass breakup and 1 forced fumble. Carter was also responsible for making back-to-back stops at the end of the game to help the Eagles secure the victory and move on to the Conference Championship game. Pro Football Focus called his performance, “one of the finest” of his young career. After the game, Eagles All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun gushed about Carter: “Oh my gosh. That dude is just a monster… The best in the league. Even when the stat sheet doesn’t say it, I know he had a great game today, but even when the stat sheet doesn’t say, he’s making a big impact in the game… The forced fumble, the TFLs, the sack, he always has a bunch of batted passes. He does it all and it’s fantastic.” Considered “already one of the best interior linemen in the NFL”, it’s scary to think that Carter is only in his second year and not yet at the peak of his prowess. This year alone, he’s ranked first in forced fumbles, second in batted passes, fifth in total snaps, fourth in pass rush snaps, eighth in hits, ninth in hurries and ninth in total pressures. And PFF ranks him seventh overall in Pass Rush grading for the year. For the Divisional Playoff game, Carter earned an “impressive” 90.4 PFF grade and a “strong” 78.5 PFF run-defense grade. Eagles HC Nick Sirianni understands how much promise the young player has and how much he’s already contributing, “Jalen Carter, I can’t say enough good things about his development as a player,” Sirianni said after the game. “That just doesn’t happen because of talent. He’s talented as — you guys see it. He’s so talented. But, in this league there are a lot of guys that are talented. It takes more than talent to reach your potential, and he’s continuing to rise. That speaks a lot to Jalen Carter.”
SPECIAL TEAMS – (TYLER BASS, BILLS) BAL 25 at BUF 27
Bills kicker Tyler Bass has seen his fair share of ups and downs the past couple seasons. In a previous post on this blog, I pointed out the many lows the five-year player has experienced, but I also discussed how clutch he’s been. Luckily for the Bills in the AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Ravens and Bills, Bass performed well under pressure and made both his FGs (including a 51-yarder in Q4) and all 3 of his PATs to help Buffalo win by just 2 points and advance to the AFC Conference Championship game for the first time since 2021. The 51-yard FG Bass made in the game was just the second in NFL history to be kicked from more than 50 yards in Buffalo during the postseason. As BuffaloRumblings.com pointed out, the first time someone achieved this feat was again Tyler Bass who kicked a 54-yarder against the Colts during the 2020 Wild Card weekend… This performance by Bass in the Div Rd must have been a sigh of relief for the Bills who have witnessed Bass hit the second lowest FG percentage of his career in the 2024 regular season (82.8%, or twenty-sixth ranked in the NFL) and also have his worst extra point conversion rate of his career (92.2%, or thirty-second in the league). Buffalo fans also likely had flashbacks to last year’s Divisional Round when Bass missed a potential game-tying 44-yard field goal late in Q4 against the Chiefs. The Bills lost by 3 points in that game and KC went on to win the Super Bowl… And now that the Bills are heading to KC on Sunday to compete for the right to play in the 2024-5 Super Bowl, it’s safe to say that Buffalo will be holding their collective breaths when it’s Bass’ turn to step up and possibly determine the team’s fate. So, will Bass keep his composure and get redemption for himself and the Bills? Or will he be responsible for Buffalo going 0-4 versus KC in the playoffs this decade? It will be interesting to see if his performance is the difference in the game, or if Buffalo can be the only team to defeat the Chiefs this season like they did in Week 11.
HOMAGE TO LONG-SUFFERING WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (REDSKINS) FANS
I recently read a fun article by Susan Miller for USA TODAY called, “Decades of despair to sheer delight: The saga of a Washington Commanders fan”.
In it, Miller describes her experience as a “long-angsting” fan of the Washington DC team and goes into detail about some of the “torturous” disappointments she’s endured.
But she also talked about her pride in remaining determined to “stick with [her] home team through thick and thin” over the last 30 years including through the Gibbs II and RG3 eras that gave her playoff hopes but ultimately left her in tears.
Miller also chronicled her attempt to find “anyone” including family, friends and even “total strangers” to accompany her to Washington games for free. When she couldn’t find a soul, she decided to buy a single season ticket and went to games alone. By doing so, she made new friends in other long suffering but devoted fans like herself.
She said that jubilation finally came after the team was sold in 2023 and was remade from top bottom including new coaches, GM, new players and of course, a fresh-faced franchise rookie QB (Jayden Daniels).
Not only did the team bring hope, but in 2024, Washington finished with its best record since 1991 and made it to the NFC Conference Championship for the first time since 1991.
For Miller, the joy is back, and the roses smell even sweeter than they might otherwise because as she said: “When you ride out the misery, you sometimes find magic: That is what being a fan is all about.”
My first thoughts about this are that Ms. Miller is so right about what it means to be a sports fan. Even for those of us that have lived through amazing dynasties that gave us great memories (Yankees, Chiefs, Patriots), we must remember there will also be low times.
And when I say low times, it could be bottom of the barrel, painful, soul-searching, should I even continue to care about this team times…
But while we fans could just keep jumping on alternative bandwagons to escape the painful years, there is immense joy in sticking it out and staying loyal.
As Miller had experienced, even the lowliest teams will bring us joy eventually and it will feel that much more amazing when it happens (I see you Jets fans…)
This article also had me thinking about just how profound an effect new ownership can have on a team and just how quickly it can affect a team’s outcome.
Again, look at Washington: One year removed from new ownership and the team is one game away from a Super Bowl appearance.
Just think of all the bad decisions made my NFL owners and all the stubbornness they had over the years that has cost their teams (and fans).
Maybe someday soon those teams and their fans will find a new lease on life with a change in ownership. Or perhaps they will get smart like the Raiders principal owner and bring in a superstar former player to help bring about change.
To those long-suffering fans of bad franchises, I salute you…
To read Susan Miller’s article in full, click here.
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