2023 NFL regular season thread (no picks)

Zoton

Because even if they didn't score 9ers would then be starting on their own ~2 yd line

Xavi6

We've got ourselves a momentum shift and game now.

eagle eye

Yeah, they were talking about the handoff on the Gibbs fumble but he secured it before the fumble.

Niners take advantage. All tied up, Lions got to get a TD here you'd think or they'll go behind.

eagle eye

I'd have challenged the LaPorta incompletion. He secured the ball to his leg and it only slightly touched the ground but didn't move. For me it was a completion.

Zoton

Reynolds normally so reliable and yet his hands have turned to bricks tonight

Xavi6

That's the game. The city of Detroit may never recover from the heartbreak.

Dick phelan

Detroit absolutely collapsed

Zoton

Sigh.... So close

Hell of a season though

eagle eye

It's all on Dan Campbell. He should have taken the field goal. If you take it in the first half with goal to go then you have to take it there. Going for it on 4 and 3 is nuts no matter what way you look at it.

They'll be back next year and I'd fancy they'll be better. Their drafting has been top class since Campbell came in.

Ohmeha

While you love to see the guts and entertainment of teams going for it on 4th you have to be smarter with those calls when you are in a Conference Championship. The one of the three on 4th Campbell should have actually gone for it was the one before the end of the first half 21-7 up when he surprisingly went for the field goal

From what I see in the end the two streetwise teams are now playing in the Super Bowl in two weeks time. I'm going to love the outrage of so many who have dumped over the thought of Purdy being the MVP now refusing to accept Mr Irrelevant himself is leading the 49ers into a Super Bowl

Carcharodon

Oh my god, had to go to Nevada with my wife’s family for a quick trip

they abandoned me in a old school saloon bar cos I was too embarrassing….lol

I can’t believe we won that, All respect to DETROIT, what a team, what an effort, they should of won, we could go over the 4th down stuff forever but that’s how they play, I don’t think it’s smart in playoffs but that’s who they are. Also let’s respect that the niners are talented and would always make a push, you couldn’t expect Detroit to keep up the same game in the second half

Anyway, booking my flights to Vegas right now, letsssss gooooo ( lMahomes will kill us though and go until the very end, he is a winner, it’s going to be intense)

Also, Purdy made some crazy good plays in the second half, fair play, love him, not saying he is Brady but he is proving he is legit

Xavi6

I've really enjoyed the Lions' resurgence over the past few seasons, it's been great to follow.

Carcharodon

Genuinely feel bad for Detroit, serious effort and if a few plays went their way they would of won, obviously the 4th down stuff is a major factor but Iam sure the niners would of kept of pushing anyway. Just like last week, I think it comes down to experience, niners have the major experience in playoffs, they have been on the opposite side of these games, it does matter in my opinion, that’s why I think Kansas will have a huge advantage with Mahomes, Niners will need to play a perfect game

Carcharodon

Small bit wasted now but I hope people don’t try to go after Campbell too much, so easy to pile on a coach when it doesn’t work, you live by the sword, you die by the sword, I appreciate how Detroit play, it’s impressive

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121687963#Comment_121687963

I've been saying Purdy should be a serious contender for MVP for a long time now but I couldn't stop thinking after the game last night that Christian McCaffrey should be the MVP.

It seems every game he's got 120+ yards from scrimmage. I don't know how many TDs he has but it's well over one per game.

He probably won't get it because he's not a QB but in my opinion he is definitely the best player in the NFL this season.

BrentMused

As a Ravens fan, that's a tough one to take.

I've slept on it and watched the game back again and one question keeps running through my mind - why would one of the best run offenses in the league suddenly completely and totally abandon the run against one of the weaker run defenses in the league? I just don't get it, especially when the Chiefs pass D is so good?

The only thing I can think of in terms of a somewhat logical reason is after going down early they panicked and didn't want the game to get away from them.

Monken has been a breath of fresh air this season but I feel he called a very bad game last night unfortunately.

If you had told me pre-game that the Chiefs would score a total of 17 and that Baltimore would hold them scoreless for the entire second half, I would have expected to see a comfortable Ravens win on the box score. Ugh.

The window to win in the NFL is so short and I'd expect players like Queen, Beckham, Clowney, Van Noy, Stone to be off, alongside Maduibike who will get paid.

I'm gutted. That one was there for the taking and will hurt for a while. The Chiefs were banged up coming off a tough game last week and missing several key starters, whilst the Ravens were as healthy as one could hope. If we couldn't get over the line in that one, when will we?

Fair play to the Chiefs. Reid and Spags called a great game and there's few, if anyone, better than Mahomes and Kelce on the big stage.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121688719#Comment_121688719

For me I think Lamar has to take a lot of the blame, he really should have been picked off at least three times. He had huge running lanes that he never took and instead stayed in the pocket to try and find a receiver. I doubt the game plan was severely altered last night.

Lamar is a fantastic player but he has some bad games every season. Unfortunately for him and everybody involved with the Ravens he had one at the wrong time.

cosatron

Lamar seemed to have accuracy issues all night especially on the long throws. They made no effort to get OBJ into the game early and went away from the run too fast but there oline play was very poor. Chris Jones and the greek fellow played well.

Lions defence was very poor in the second half.

SlickRic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121688705#Comment_121688705

Purdy proved me a little wrong last night, but you're correct, McCaffrey is the answer to who is the MVP. And it's not actually close.

just ask yourself one question ... if you're the head coach or defensive coordinator going up against the 49ers' offence, who are you trying to stop first? Is it Purdy? Or is it McCaffrey?

There's your answer.

Liamalone

Boom? More like Bust pmsl

Ohmeha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121688705#Comment_121688705

I wouldn't disagree with that. For me MVP very tight call between Purdy, CMC and Lamar I have been leaning to Brock on his QB numbers with results to back up but CMC of the three really stands out in the NFL that he has been so far ahead of everybody else in his respective position with nobody could comes close to his performance level to anywhere near make a similar difference to one of the top teams

I expect Lamar has it in the bag but I worry that will be because of the thumping the Ravens gave the 49ers at Levi's stadium near the end of the season and because people can't buy into Brock being a legitimate top QB and people can't buy into CMC as an MVP because he is a running back

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121687574#Comment_121687574

The extra round of games has really messed things up... otherwise our new bank holiday would have lined up with the Superbowl nicely :(

Foxtrol

Looks like the two 'written off' teams make it to the Super Bowl... 😉

Incredible game last night. 49ers beat every NFC team that made the playoffs this season so more than deserve to make the big game. Being back on top of the most playoff wins in NFL history is a nice cherry on top.

Felt the 9ers were out of it after the first half being unable to stop the run but some coaching tweaks at halftime and luck swinging from being against us to being with us was enough. For a team that cant win from behind and the game script doesnt go their way these last two weeks should have been invaluable for belief. Completely different challenge in two weeks but those two games should stand to the team if they end up playing from behind.

MVP voting is just for regular season so Lamar deserves it. I wouldnt give Purdy MVP or rank him in the top tier of QBs but he is a damn good QB - such a big step up from Jimmy. Purdy is coming off a career threatening injury, will be the first ever 7th round QB to start a Super Bowl, and the 3rd youngest QB to start in one ever. Many speak about him as some finished article, when he only turned 24 a month ago and has never had an offseason getting reps as the starter. There is no reason why he cant continue to develop. What he has done is remarkable, including yesterday his historic 2nd half

https://twitter.com/OptaSTATS/status/1751857009283014940

AbusesToilets

Lamar's stats are so poor for an MVP historically, and worse than Purdy's this season. He was a poor choice for MVP before the playoffs, and only looks worse now.

threeball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121688771#Comment_121688771

Lamar always chokes in the crunch games. He turned over the ball last year (I think) in the oppositions end zone and suffered a narrow loss. I couldn't believe they gave him the contract they did with the evidence they had to hand. To me he's a better version of Dak Prescott with similar failings.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121690723#Comment_121690723

Fair point on his numbers but Purdy and CMC were never getting it after the Ravens demolished them late in the season, even if a lot of that was based on fluky issues.

For the most part the end of year awards are narrative based nonsense anyway that should be ignored

threeball

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121688886#Comment_121688886

Totally agree, CMC is out on his own by a country mile. Only the leagues bias towards QBs means there's even a question over it.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121691290#Comment_121691290

The Ravens best them easily but it had nothing to do with McCaffrey. He had over 100 rushing yards and a TD in that game.