Pittsburgh and Houston would have next to zero chance in Kansas City. Before this game, I was the most worried about the Chargers, but the first half put me at ease. Still hope the Texans win, though.
Darnold is in the process of making this an easy decision. McVay chose to sit his starters and play Minnesota over winning and playing the lower seed. That was not an accident. I guarantee McVay thinks he’s going to win that game.
So in one conference, the top two teams are fighting to the bitter end. In the other conference, Buffalo lost to the Patriots, and Kansas City (‘s accountants) got rinsed 38-0.
This game reminds me of watching Purdy in the Super Bowl last year. You could just see it in his eyes that he wasn’t winning that game. Darnold’s had that same look all night.
And this is why Detroit is the gold standard of in-game strategy. They’ve been swinging for knockouts, and they finally got one. Meanwhile, they were still winning by decision.
We’ve got a good old fashioned rock fight going on tonight. Didn’t see it coming, but it will be interesting to see how these teams respond. You’ve got to win at least one in the postseason to get a trophy.