2023 NFL regular season thread (no picks)

AbusesToilets

Just a devastating loss. Allen had Diggs wide open in the flat for an easy completion.

Those classic NFL memes coming back again. Wide right!

Jack Daw

Josh Allen blew it,why the hell did he throw that pass to the end zone on 2nd and 9 in the final possession.Diggs was wide open,would have been an easy pass, they'd have burned more of the clock.Even if the catch is made it would have given KC too much time to get down the field and get a winning touchdown.

Xavi6

The critics can keep writing off the Chiefs. What a performance and win on the road, pretty much flawless on offense and the defense showed up when needed in the second half.

A fifth straight AFC Championship and Mahomes has played in it every year as a starter, unreal.

SlickRic

betting against Mahomes and Reid is just idiotic at this point.

every fibre of my being believes that the Ravens should beat the Chiefs by two scores.

Not a hope in hell I'd put a cent on it though.

Mysterypunter

Analytics say a veteran coach can't beat a whizzkid. 2 brilliantly coached and talented teams meeting next week for the AFC title. If people look beyond the hype, could this be the end of the go for it on 4th & whatever, outscore the opposition ignore defence whizzkid era. Sick of hearing about analytics from PlayStation coaches

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121653542#Comment_121653542

Who keeps writing off the Chiefs? They were less than a field goal underdogs while on the road, when playing at home is usually seen as worth 3 points.

I get players trying to search for reasons to put a chip on their shoulder but it is just silly for fans to buy into it and repeat it.

Media picking your team to lose in a close game isn't being written off. Media pointing out performance issues isnt being written off.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121656240#Comment_121656240

The Chiefs were being written off because they went 3-3 over their final six games in the regular season and then beat a Dolphins team who'd lost their last two games of the regular including getting pummeled by the Ravens.

I can understand it but writing off Mahomes is foolish.

Xavi6

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121656240#Comment_121656240

Answered above pretty much. Kelce was finished a few weeks ago and tbf, his numbers weren't great by his standards in the second half of the season. Mahomes still has no WRs worth talking about and McKinnon is a massive loss as a receiving RB.

I didn't think they'd make it to another AFC Championship Game but here we are. Mahomes against Lamar next weekend is juicy.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121657806#Comment_121657806

They were division champs and 2.5 point underdogs on the road - that isn't being written off. Texans and Packers were written off last weekend, the Chiefs were not.

There is a trend that the fanbases of the most successful teams want to feel like the plucky underdogs when they have to face the mildest bit of adversity and not unquestioned praise.

Xavi6

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121659757#Comment_121659757

I’m well able to separate the siege mentality from genuine criticism. People want the Chiefs to lose because they’ve been successful for relatively long and it comes with the territory. Throw in a weird hatred for Mahomes’ wife and now Taylor Swift and the football takes a backseat, particularly on social media.

But on the field, they were absolutely terrible as recently as Christmas against the Raiders and I had effectively written them off as Super Bowl contenders because the WR group is terrible, they couldn’t score touchdowns in the red zone, and they were giving away far too many penalties in key moments. Criticism and doubt was quite widespread in the media. They’ve cleaned up a few things and Mahomes is still the best player in the league so maybe I went early on that call. I’m delighted to be wrong obviously.

Re: being division champions, it doesn’t take much to win the AFC West when the other three teams are basket cases.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121659987#Comment_121659987

From your posts I'm not sure you are able to separate it. Seems like you're bundling a bunch of things into 'written off' that have absolutely nothing to do with it, like the Taylor Swift stuff.

From your own comments, you accept they were rightly criticized for their performances during the year. Again, criticism is not the same as being written off.

Chiefs were 4.5 favourites against the Dolphins, opened as Super Bowl favourites, and were one of the top 3 with the bookmakers for the whole season, only dropping behind the Bills at the very end when it became clear they had to play them on the road. All of that points to the absolute opposite of them them being written off.

What it seems like is that you've lived the high life of nearly universal praise for several seasons and the normal questioning teams get when they lose 6 games in a season now feels like being 'written off'. In contrast, if you want to talk about a team who was actually written off, the Bills were down to 35-1 in Week 13 or the Texans dropped to 750-1 odds in Week 3.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121660729#Comment_121660729

Who are you picking this weekend? Let's see you put your picks up before the game instead of trying to use hindsight to make your claims.

Xavi6

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121660729#Comment_121660729

I actually did the opposite by separating out the Swift stuff because it has become a distraction for many. I love it, personally. That’s the little trick with different paragraphs though, helps to differentiate.

There are different levels of writing a team off, and of course standards vary. The Chiefs version is going to be different to that of young upstarts like the Texans, you know that. You’ve said yourself the reigning Super Bowl Champions slipped to fourth in the betting (only one indicator btw) and weren’t favoured to beat the Bills. Do you watch any US tv coverage for game previews for analysis and opinion out of curiosity? Or is it just the Vegas odds?

Losing six games in a season, three of which came at the back end, brings both deserved criticism and doubts about Super Bowl credentials compared to other remaining teams. That to me, in any situation, is being written off.

Btw, the Chiefs dropped outside the top three to fifth at the turn of the year. So not the whole season.

SlickRic

if you don't think the Chiefs were being written off, you've not even taken a cursory look at US sports media.

nobody wrote off Mahomes, because that is idiotic. but most 'experts' were writing off the team. even now, the only chance most are giving is Mahomes.

if they pull 0ff a Superbowl win, it would unequivocally be Mahomes' greatest achievement to date.

ArmaniJeanss

I guess it depends on how one defines 'being written off'. Like if a match-up is 4/6, 11/10 then the victorious 'outsider' can claim they were being written off, complete underdog, no-one believed in us but we showed them etc. The actual reality is different, but I guess sportspeople have a long history of using whatever motivation they can find, even if it's largely nonsense.

Evidence (as per Xavi6) that for some short period of time they dropped to 5th in Super Bowl odds really doesn't strike me as being written off - hell, even at that low ebb there were 27 teams considered less likely winners.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121668448#Comment_121668448

They were fifth before the wildcard round, fourth before the divisional round. They are now third favourites with four teams left.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121661468#Comment_121661468

It is going to be a tight game, I wouldn't write off either team from winning it - which is my exact point and what the bookies and practically every analyst is saying.

Foxtrol

https://twitter.com/heykayadams/status/1750981833708470317

So 49ers are officially in the 'written off' camp because people have the audacity of picking against them...

I look forward to supporting these plucky underdogs 😉

myate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121678495#Comment_121678495

Yep, that Niners team essentially played a C to C- game & beat the Packers. If they turn up with their A game (Dallas/Philly games etc), it might be a boring night for non-Niners folk. The problem is that A game hasn't been around since mid-December.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121678431#Comment_121678431

Make your prediction on both games so we don't have this after timing from you and you've something to fall back on.

Ravens Vs Chiefs, who will win and under or over 7 points.

Same for the Lions @ 49ers.

No use coming up with your contributions after the game that a team wasn't written off by anybody if you are not going to tell us what you think in advance.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121680535#Comment_121680535

Well the niners are good against the run but weak against quick passes. They are not good at tackling downhill runners. The Lions need to get it out of Goff's hands fast. They have the players to do that with St. Brown, Gibbs, LaPorta and the fast improving Williams.

If they have success with that then it'll open up the run game.

On the other side if the ball I'd have predicted a month ago that Purdy would have all day to find his receiver but this Lions pass rush has improved a lot.

I think it's a very interesting battle.

I hope the Lions do it. No result would be surprising though, either team winning easily or a game that goes to overtime. It's just impossible to predict.

eagle eye

As for the Chiefs @ Ravens. Patrick Mahomes will do his thing.

They just have to stop Lamar getting on the run. If they do that I think they win, if they don't I think they'll not score enough to hang with Baltimore.

I'm calling a Chiefs win though.

adrian522

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121680783#Comment_121680783

Not sure where you are getting the 49ers are good against the run and weak against short passes, its pretty much the other way around. The 49ers run defense is their biggest weakness, particularly the 2nd half of the season.

The 49ers have been exposed against a strong running attack, particularly outside zone runs, similar to what Aaron Jones did against them last week. If the lions are to win they need a big game from Gibbs, and work play action off that.

Against the pass the 49ers have been very good, particularly short/intermediate passes which play to the strengths of their linebackers, Greenlaw and Warner.

I feel the lions also need a big game from their banged up offensive line as we have seen Goff struggle time and again when pressured.

For SF Purdy will need to play a damn sight better than he has in his biggest games recently against Green Bay and Baltimore. The 49ers won't win this game on the ground, they will need to attack the weak Lions secondary. I feel Aiyuk has a big game here and the 49ers win by 7, something like 31-24

Brief_Lives

Go Chiefs..!

SlickRic

That is why I wouldn't bet a single cent against Mahomes, Kelce and Reid.

They may still lose, but Christ, what a throw and catch.

PixelPlayer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121686582#Comment_121686582

I was tempted to post another image 😆

standardg60

4th down plays are becoming more and more a natural part of the game, brave in your own half though.

Can't call this but should be some game.

Some TD there!

PixelPlayer

Boom! Damn Lamar Jackson is good. The two best QB's on show today.

SlickRic

And there's Lamar. Clutch response.

Shaping up to be a shootout?

SlickRic

Chiefs O-Line doing far better so far than I expected.