finn

When it rains it pours. Reminds me of the Jaguars game last year. They can't get out of their own way.

I'm actually a fan of the occasional trick play, but the timing is crucial, and the timing of this one--and the previous one when Damar Hamlin took the fake punt nowhere--were both abysmal. McDermott (if he's the one calling them) has a tin ear.

Even if it had worked, we would have been shaking our heads. Unnecessary risk. Stupid every way you look at it.

I don't remember Rothlisberger throwing bombs while running full speed, let alone falling out of bounds. They don't compare Mahomes to anyone, why do they need to compare Allen to others? He's a unique package of size, speed, athleticism, and dog.

And falling sideways with two big guys on top of him. Who else can do that?

Respectfully, you're wrong. The difference is that the referee calls pass interference if it's the Chiefs.

Diggs would have dropped it, too. And Gabe Davis.

Not a very impressive route by Shakir. My daughter could have covered him.

That's what I'm saying. Reminds me of the first playoff game against KC when McDermott kept punting even though the defense wasn't stopping the KC offense, virtually guaranteeing a loss. Is he hoping the Ravens will suddenly lose their mojo and go three and out? It's a loser mentality. You have the best player in the league. He can get two yards.

Is it? The offense needs a shot of adrenaline, and the defense is a sieve. 21-3 coming up as a result of that punt.

He made it! Color me surprised.

And why 2 deep safety with Henry on the field--and Lamar, who is just average throwing deep?

"That pass was almost Mahomes-like." "Pat Mahomes is the only other person on the planet who could make that throw." "You know, Lamar reminds me a little of Pat Mahomes." "It was just last year that Lamar dueled Pat Mahomes in a game much like this." "You know, I just want to have Pat Mahomes' baby."

The word that comes to mind to describe the Chargers is "soft." They're like a team of gentle flower children who were given helmets and pretty uniforms and told to go play football with the big boys.

I don't know why the Chargers are considered a good team year after year when year after year they choke.

The refs think it's their job to keep them alive.

I'm happy for Darnold. He's taken so much grief for not panning out until now. Great comeback story.

Poor Josh Rosen. Imagine history remembering you as just not very good.

I don't know about Fred Smoot (who is retired), but Dawuane Smoot is listed at 249. Not sure he'd hold up very well inside. Am I the only one who would be happy to have Linval Joseph still with the team? We have penetrators, but I'd like to see a few more brick walls.

This. To rephrase it, Allen can do everything Mahomes can, but Mahomes can't do everything Allen can. Even Mahomes would have to admit that.

So is Mahomes. Facts say Allen is the better quarterback.

Worst-case scenario: Bills can't establish the run against a stout defensive line, which plays disciplined football and contains Allen in the pocket. That allows a very good pass rush to pressure Allen into less than perfect throws, resulting in at least one interception. Unable to score touchdowns, they rely on Bass, who lets his team down. On the other side, Lamar keeps drives alive with his legs and repeatedly hits Likely, exposing Hamlin and Rapp. Not a blowout, but points slowly accumulate on the Ravens side until time runs out. Best case: Brady doesn't even try running into a brick wall, opting instead for short passes to take advantage of a weak Ravens defensive middle. To compensate, the Ravens roll up a safety and Allen starts hitting MVS and Coleman down the field. Frustrated, the Ravens start blitzing, which works once or twice but also allows Allen to escape and run for big gains or hit short throws for big YAC. Meanwhile, Lamar is kept in the pocket, which exposes his mediocre ability to read defenses and throw accurate balls. He makes his usual "Wow" runs and throws, but he's also sacked four times and, after a few productive drives, the Ravens offense stalls. I think the second scenario is more likely. Allen is playing peak football, and there's no one receiver the Ravens can key on to shut down the Bills offense. Lamar is flashy, but he folds in the clutch. He shouldn't have voted MVP once, let alone twice. The Bills, not the Ravens, have the MVP on their team. He'll be the difference in this game. Bills 27-17.

I've heard this strategy many times, and it seems to represent an excellent opportunity to fool the offense doing it. They send a man in motion, you have someone mirror him, signaling man coverage. The QB responds accordingly, and--Surprise!--you drop into zone. Do teams do this switcheroo? Is it even plausible?

That Orlovsky quote (if it's serious) captures the absurdity of the discourse on Mahomes. It's like, "Who do you believe, me or your lying eyes?" To most NFL commentators, it wouldn't matter if Allen outplayed Mahomes all year and won the Super Bowl, while Mahomes threw 16 interceptions and KC didn't make the playoffs; he STILL would be "better" than Allen in their minds. Motivated reasoning, confirmation bias, backfire effect... pick your bias, they're guilty of it. At the bottom of it all is insecurity. They need Mahomes to be better because they've associated his success with themselves in some twisted, unconscious way, so evidence that contradicts their belief doesn't just not matter, it actually causes them to double down on their beliefs because it's so scary to admit they're wrong and Mahomes (aka, they themselves) are second best. So when Allen is hoiting the Lombardi trophy in February, they'll be even more shrilly insistent that Mahomes is better.

Yes, but the bias goes both ways, right? A lot of gamblers will think, "It just spun 4 blacks in a row, the next one HAS to be black again!"