SirAndrew

There’s still an entire quarter left, but down 19 points in the playoffs is always a cause for more urgency. Extra time is always better in this situation. Ben’s out there strolling around like a guy making a weak attempt at hitting up the all you can eat buffet.

Why are the Steelers showing so little sense of urgency to run plays in a speedy manner ?

Baker is benefiting from all the things that once made a guy like Goff look like a decent QB.

Al Michaels is like a band that becomes “legendary”, but really only has one great album. His “one great album” was the Miracle on Ice call.

Mason Rudolph is the backup, correct ? If that’s the case, they know what they have, which is nothing.

My hated of the Steelers begins and ends with Big Ben, everything else barely registers at this point.

That’s a huge scoring drive. Big momentum shift.

People love criticizing Tomlin. The Steelers wouldn’t even be close to 12-4 without him. He’s doing a lot with very little.

I think they are though, after all this is the Browns.

That’s why I don’t care about this “we want Pittsburgh” talk. If the Steelers were to score 35 unanswered points for a win tonight, do we really want them more than the Ravens ? It’s easy to say “bring on the Steelers” when they’re down 28-0. It’s actually tough to beat a team twice in a season.

What matchup scares you the most against the Ravens. Is it Lamar against our D ? Or Allen vs the Ravens D ? We didn’t do bad neutralizing Jackson last season, so I’m not overly concerned about that. Our D has struggled at various points against everyone this season, so that could happen any game. I think the outcome will be decided by what we get from Allen. That will be the determining factor in a playoff exit vs a championship, no matter who we play.

I could make an argument that the Packers are very good, and the Chiefs remain elite. I realize the Chiefs haven’t been clicking on all cylinders, but Mahomes is still special. I’m not afraid of the Ravens offense, they aren’t better than other playoff teams. Their D is tough, but the Saints have a nice defense too. Every team left in the playoffs has strengths and weaknesses.

I’m a little concerned by the Ravens, but if we can’t beat the Ravens, how are winning the Super Bowl ? There’s still two games after the divisional round.

Yes, I’ve never understood why so many Bills fans seem to hate the Browns. I want to beat them when we play, and don’t actively root for them, but I have a soft spot for the struggle of Cleveland fans.

Big Ben looks about as disinterested in playing football as possible.

You’re right, but all the league cares about are those dollar signs. A lesser product for immediate profit is a very bad long term business strategy. Business across the board have been making this same mistake for years. Greed is a very blinding force that often overrides good long term decision making.

Unfortunately, it’s not going anywhere because it’s all about the money.

Yes, to people who actually understand football, wild card weekend will be something to just ignore, and they’ll just tune in when quality playoff football really begins.

Spongebob probably is a better QB than Trubisky.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been enthusiastic about wild card weekends. I think quality football begins in the division round. Adding an extra game does nothing to add intrigue for me.

I just think they’ve never had enough sustained success to attract bandwagon fans who aren’t raised in the Chicago area. I’m sure in the mid 80’s there were people sporting Bears stuff around the country, but that success never reappeared. Teams like the Cowboys had runs in the 70s and 90s, while the Steelers are always in the mix. That’s how you get fans across the country with no ties to the team.

Never use the Bears in an attempt to introduce football to someone. Literally at no point in their history have they been a team I’d use to showcase the sport.

I think that’s fair. Brees and Rivers have similar arm strength at this point imo. I’ve been impressed with how Rivers has been able to work with his arm, while I think Brees has struggled to make plays downfield with his poor arm. Rivers seemed to connect on some deeper throws that Brees doesn’t have in his repertoire anymore.

I don’t have much interest in this one. I’m not sure if I can stick with the second half. This three game wild card thing is too much. I’m good for two games in a day. The Bears don’t stand a chance, and Brees is so washed up it’s not funny.

Agree. Snow hurts us more than the Steelers or Ravens. Lamar’s running and Big Ben’s five yard passing game can go on in a snow storm. Our passing game suffers more.