Hosting AFCC game

[PatsFan2]

Do the Chargers have anything to play for next week?? They can't win their Division.

 

[jimnance]

Agreed.
Decent article here on why Chargers will rest starters next week.

Jim Harbaugh has only one right move left after Chargers' loss to Texans

The LA Chargers lost to the Houston Texans in Week 18 and in the process, gave Jim Harbaugh a painfully obvious decision to make.

boltbeat.com

********. Not a decent article at all.
That writer does not understand football.
Even if no seeding is at stake, you need you be playing your best football in every playoff game. Tanking a regular season game before
that does the opposite. You can't just flip a switch and suddenly being great football if you haven't already been doing that, week after week.
Especially since in the playoffs you're facing the best teams in the NFL, most of whom you face will have been playing their best.
Ask the 2007 undefeated Patriots about that.
They slowed down and were not playing well at the end of the regular season.
As for seeding, if the Chargers lose they're guaranteed having to play at New England, which contrary yo what Reed says is the absolute worst fate they can get.
On the flip side, if they play hard vs. Denver, fighting like it's a playoff game, that makes them a much more dangerous opponent for anyone, including us. Momentum is a fact in sports. And it's not some ephemeral, nebulous thing.
Momentum is the result of hard work, tenacity and a commitment to excellence.
Yes, if you have very key players who are dealing with injuries and would be too valuable to lose, you sit them. But not all your starters. Your goal is always to win.
People who don't get that never played sports.

 

[Triumph]

Chargers have nothing to play for next week, I don't see them beating Denver.

They were not beating the Broncos anyway.

People trash the Broncos and Nix, but they are coached by Payton who is a disciple of Parcells. Tuna made his living toughing out close games with efficient teams that played defense and controlled the clock.

As long as NE is the # 2 seed, the Pats would not face the Broncos until the AFCC assuming everything plays out like it looks today. Im fine with Buffalo going to Denver and trying to win first.

 

[Triumph]

Do they re-seed after the WC round?

Kinda crazy.

The 5, 6 and 7 seeds have a better record than the 4th seed Pitt who will host a playoff game.

 

[Triumph]

Do the Chargers have anything to play for next week?? They can't win their Division.

No

Denver has 13 wins and LAC has 11.

 

[4thQComeback]

********. Not a decent article at all.
That writer does not understand football.
Even if no seeding is at stake, you need you be playing your best football in every playoff game. Tanking a regular season game before
that does the opposite. You can't just flip a switch and suddenly being great football if you haven't already been doing that, week after week.
Especially since in the playoffs you're facing the best teams in the NFL, most of whom you face will have been playing their best.
Ask the 2007 undefeated Patriots about that.
They slowed down and were not playing well at the end of the regular season.
As for seeding, if the Chargers lose they're guaranteed having to play at New England, which contrary yo what Reed says is the absolute worst fate they can get.
On the flip side, if they play hard vs. Denver, fighting like it's a playoff game, that makes them a much more dangerous opponent for anyone, including us. Momentum is a fact in sports. And it's not some ephemeral, nebulous thing.
Momentum is the result of hard work, tenacity and a commitment to excellence.
Yes, if you have very key players who are dealing with injuries and would be too valuable to lose, you sit them. But not all your starters. Your goal is always to win.
People who don't get that never played sports.

Opinions vary.
If you’ve nothing to play for and you have a QB with a damaged hand, a makeshift o-line and injuries piling up on defense, you don’t throw that team into a matchup in Denver with a team sitting on 64 sacks. Least not if you are attempting to make a deep playoff run. A 2 week rest-up is nothing in the NFL. A month, sure. Then your argument would make sense about being match-ready.
But hey, just throw Herbert and co in there and risk the entire season on a nothing game.

 

[BobDigital]

Assuming the Pats get the #2 seed. Here is how i rank all potential playoff opponets from 7th to 1st in teams of how difficult they would be

7 - Steelers - I don't buy em at all. The D has been very inconsistent and it's not just TJ Watt being banged up at times.. though that didn't help. I just think they are really average and not at all scared of Rodgers at this point. Overall he has looked worse as the year has gone on. I expect that to continue. If they make it they will be by far the biggest fraud in the AFC

6 - Chargers - I think their floor is higher than some teams, but they are playing about as well as they can right now. Hebert hasn't done much even with a loaded cast point wise. I don't think he is as good as some say. They are without their top 2 tackles and that will continue to be an issue which won't go away. But i think with our healthy line up we can more or less shut down their run game. They have a path to victory (Their D is pretty decent and their WRs dominant) but IMO if the Pats play their A or even B+ game they win with little LAC can do about it.

5 - Ravens - This could easily flip to 6... but right now they have a bit more of a dangerous ceiling. Even a 75% Lamar can be dangerous. And while the Pats scored some on that D it certainly wasn't easy. During the 2nd half of the year they have been borderline elite. I don't think that will change if they get in. Their best shot is more dangerous than LAC if everything goes right. Both are a threat. But Baltimore on their best day is a better team right now IMO.

4 - Jags - They showed us all something vs Denver AT Denver. A tough place to win. But they are inconsistent. Lawrence can go from slightly below average to very good depending on the day. His ability to run is underestimated, particularly in the red zone. 9 running TDs on the year speaks for itself. Their D while not elite is better than some others and their run D is currently #1 in the NFL. They added Myers to help their WR issues and he seems to have made a big difference and now their other weapons line up nice. In the last 8 games since he has been there they have had one of the best offenses in the NFL They'd rank 4th instead of 9th right now if you started there. Just food for thought.

3/2 - Texans - The best D in the NFL and the hottest team in the NFL with 8 straight Ws. Nothing needs to be said about their D except it is fantastic. A slight cut above every other unit in the NFL IMO. They only have a few weaknesses. First on offense their run game is pretty ****. So they won't get much help there. If you can shut it down and put it all on Stroud all the better. Stroud is mid and can be tricked with disguised looks. LAC did this a lot but failed to take advantage. However with Collins and a good cast behind him of pass catchers they can score if you make things easy on Stroud and ruin your day. A tough team to deal with.

2/3 - Bills - Facing 'Good Josh Allen' can be an absolute nightmare. Anything else and i think they are a lot easier to deal with... but who knows which Allen you face? I think Texans/Bills flip flop a bit. It is about equal if both are at home. I could see either team beating the Pats straight up even if they play a good game. Something I don't think any team below them is capable of.

1 - Denver (at Denver) - The biggest HFA in sports. if not @ Denver they drop in the mix with the Texans/Bills in basically a 3 way tie. We've start to seen some cracks in this Denver D. It is elite... but not truly special IMO. Denver has had a bit of a horse shoe up their ass there year. There is a line between horse shoe and being clutch. They have been clutch... but IMO we are true well in horse shoe territory. I don't think their pass catchers are all that scary. They are fine but not scary. Dobbins isn't that good an RB.. it is just the Denver line is SO good and well coached. Williams, Barmore and Tonga actually mitigate some of their best strengths a good deal. I think their CB group as a whole isn't special. It's Surtain, Jones and I don't think anyone else back there has played all that good. The safeties are solid though.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

********. Not a decent article at all.
That writer does not understand football.
Even if no seeding is at stake, you need you be playing your best football in every playoff game. Tanking a regular season game before
that does the opposite. You can't just flip a switch and suddenly being great football if you haven't already been doing that, week after week.
Especially since in the playoffs you're facing the best teams in the NFL, most of whom you face will have been playing their best.
Ask the 2007 undefeated Patriots about that.
They slowed down and were not playing well at the end of the regular season.
As for seeding, if the Chargers lose they're guaranteed having to play at New England, which contrary yo what Reed says is the absolute worst fate they can get.
On the flip side, if they play hard vs. Denver, fighting like it's a playoff game, that makes them a much more dangerous opponent for anyone, including us. Momentum is a fact in sports. And it's not some ephemeral, nebulous thing.
Momentum is the result of hard work, tenacity and a commitment to excellence.
Yes, if you have very key players who are dealing with injuries and would be too valuable to lose, you sit them. But not all your starters. Your goal is always to win.
People who don't get that never played sports.

Remember when the Colts clinched with 3 weeks left in the season a few times and rested their starters in the last two games? They almost always got to be "one and done" once playoffs arrived.

 

[4thQComeback]

Remember when the Colts clinched with 3 weeks left in the season a few times and rested their starters in the last two games? They almost always got to be "one and done" once playoffs arrived.

And there’s a whole list of other teams that have rested starters in the final game and gone all the way to the SB.
2004 Eagles
2009 Colts
2019 Chiefs
2025 Chiefs
To name a few.

 

[everlong]

Chargers and Bills might both tank. They're both beat up and looking at it from there perspective is there a huge difference between playing the Patrtiots and Jags? Could Houston stub their toe and lose to the Colts? Yes but it's highly unlikely. So the odds of getting the Steelers/Ravens who anyone would prefer if you're one of the 3 WC teams is unlikely for the Chargers or Bills. Plus if you're Houston you still have a (really) slim chance of the Jags slipping up vs the Titans and you could host a game. Maybe you can make the case the Chargers would prefer the Jags simply from a warm weather perspective.

 

[PatsFan2]

Qqqaq

Kinda crazy.

The 5, 6 and 7 seeds have a better record than the 4th seed Pitt who will host a playoff game.

It's been that way since the change: the weak Fourth seed shouldn't make it over a Team with in a more competitive division. Detroit is better than Tampa and the Panthers: I would take Dallas 24/7 over both. It's crazy the Bucs or Panthers would get a Home playoffs game Ewwwwww.

 

[jdlboot14]

We could beat any team in this AFC field, but the teams that pose the biggest challenge are these:
DEN - if they play without mistakes, they might have the best overall well-rounded roster, and coach
TEX - they have a championship D, and the O is quite balanced now, and on an impressive win streak
BAL & BUF - could capture lightning if the QB/RB go off - could win 1 or 2 games, but not 4 straight
JAX & LAC - not ready, not trustworthy QB's, falter in playoffs, especially in the cold

 

[ScottishPatriots]

I think you just want to make sure you beat the Dolphins and grab the 2 seed at worst and just play whoever it is.

Fans might view the Chargers as the easiest matchup the Patriots can get but it's still only going to be about a -2.5 point spread, all of these games are gonna be under a field goal spread in the wildcard round except for the 5 seed in the NFC is gonna be a big fav going to the NFC South winner especially if it's Rams at Panthers that will be about 8 points.

There's not really the typical scenario, usually you have some massive double digit home favs in the wildcard round against the classic tomato can.

 

[jimnance]

And there’s a whole list of other teams that have rested starters in the final game and gone all the way to the SB.
2004 Eagles
2009 Colts
2019 Chiefs
2025 Chiefs
To name a few.

Your reading comprehension work. I posted if you have key starters dealing with injuries you sit them.
But you still compete

 

[jimnance]

And there’s a whole list of other teams that have rested starters in the final game and gone all the way to the SB.
2004 Eagles
2009 Colts
2019 Chiefs
2025 Chiefs
To name a few.

And there's a lot more than that were successful by playing hard every game.
I guarantee if someone did a detailed analysis covering every playoff game in Super Bowl era, those teams that competed every game had more success.
You can't just flip a switch. There ain't a single team in the nfl who can do that.
Hell possibly the greatest team in nfl history, the 2007 Pats couldn't do it.

 

[Halifax_Pats_Fan]

I feel like this year is truly a toss up. Denver, Jacksonville, Texans, Bills, us…AFC is up for grabs this year. Conditioning is at a premium, just ask the Falcons, and it’s too late in the season to build. Very exciting time to be watching the NFL and to have us back in the mix!

 

[sb1]

Two Bills drive has the equivalent thread to this one lol

https://www.twobillsdrive.com/community/topic/263437-on-to-new-england/page/1/

 

[jimnance]

I feel like this year is truly a toss up. Denver, Jacksonville, Texans, Bills, us…AFC is up for grabs this year. Conditioning is at a premium, just ask the Falcons, and it’s too late in the season to build. Very exciting time to be watching the NFL and to have us back in the mix!

Yep. I'm enjoying the ride and will continue to do so.
Of course, I never want the Pats to lose but we're playing with house $.
My hopes all season were not about results but more about the process.
Just mesh all the new faces over time. Continue to improve every game.
Compete hard every single game.
They've done that and more.
I'm very proud of this team.
I always thought Maye would be a great nfl qb, even before he was drafted.
I was genuinely shocked when both Bears and Redskins passed him over.
But what I didnt expect was how quickly he learned from his mistakes and learned how to manipulate opposing defenses.
Just amazing. We are obviously in great hands with the best chance of long-term success of any nfl team.
How bout  them apples

 

[A Defiant Goose]

Good to be here, thanks! Nice to see both our teams having a stellar season. Reminds me of the Brady/Manning years.

I'm sorry but Denver doesn't get to claim Brady/Manning rivalry that belongs strictly to the Colts

 

[Uptown]