Cash

I voted yes, but I think it’ll be tight. There are realistic scenarios where he doesn’t play week 18, and 13 TDs in just 4 games is a very tall order. Even if he plays the full remaining slate, McD is still going to be happy to pull Allen out of any more blowouts. With that said, I feel like the passing game ticks up down the stretch as pass-catchers get healthy, and that gets Allen close enough to seal the deal in week 18. If he’s at 38 or 39 and we need that game, bank on us throwing at the goal line.

Agree with this, but keep in mind that neither Hamlin nor Rapp can touch Hyde’s knowledge of how to play safety in this defense. So if it gets to a point where Hyde is back in game shape, and at that point he’s tied physically with Hamlin? Then Hyde would look like a clear upgrade, or at least a gamble worth taking. With the info available to us outsiders, I’ll be ready for either “Hyde never sees the field”, or “Hyde starts every playoff game and plays 100% of defensive snaps.” I think I’d be more surprised by something in between those two (barring injury of course).

I agree, partially because I have faith in the people involved. Hypothetically, let’s say Hyde has lost enough speed that he’s simply not as good as Hamlin right now. In that scenario - even as respected/beloved as Hyde is - someone would be mad if Hamlin went to the bench so Hyde could start. (Maybe not Hamlin, to be fair.) I don’t think there’s a realistic chance of that scenario happening though, because I don’t think that Hyde would see the field if he’s too slow to play now. Worst case, this adds a ton of football IQ to the safeties room to help prep for playoff opponents.

IMO, barring injury, Hyde only starts if he’s consistently showing in practice that he’s one of the 2 best safeties on the team. Which I think is possible if his legs are fresh, but I’m also not banking on. Under McD, it’s been pretty consistent - once a guy earns a starting job in camp or preseason, it’s pretty much his to lose. This is a little different, because the job was Hyde’s to lose last time he played. But I think McD & Babich won’t be willing to rock the boat unless they either need to, or they’re really confident it’ll pay off.

I just voted yes, but I only kinda mean it. I moreso think there’s still a realistic path to him coming back. Right now, my best guess is that he only comes back if someone gets hurt, and even then maybe not if they think Cole Bishop is ready.

Virgil recovered Deebo’s fumble on the kickoff!

Right. The case for Lamar only works if they win out, get the 2 or at worst 3 seed, and Lamar looks incredible doing it. Even then I think Lamar would be an underdog.

I agree with all of this, in order. Vegas odds have Allen as a pretty major favorite right now, which reflects where the voters collectively are at. Doesn't guarantee anything with 5 games left, of course, but it's pretty good evidence that Allen is on pace to win the MVP as things currently stand. I said after the Chiefs game that if we get the 1 seed, Allen will definitely win MVP this year. At this point, I'd probably extend that to 1 or 2 seed. Here's my quick thoughts on the likely competition: Saquon or any other non-QB: I'm normally very down with arguments for non-QBs - I think I would've voted for CMC last year if I had a vote. But c'mon, please just not this year. And like @Logic, I worry about it but ultimately don't think it'll happen. MAYBE if Saquon or Henry breaks Dickerson's record or the yards from scrimmage record. Lamar: It's hard for me to see voters giving a third MVP to a guy with so little playoff success. I know it's a regular season award, but these are human beings voting on it, and on some level they want their votes to be at least a little predictive of the playoffs. But if he's transcendent in leading the Ravens to a comeback division title, he can't be counted out. I think Allen would have to slip at least a little on top of that, though. Mahomes: Seems unlikely now, but let's say they win out and do it because Mahomes catches fire down the stretch. In that scenario, very good chance he wins another MVP. You'd need to see a big jump in his stats from where he is now though - just winning won't be enough IMO. Goff: It's a little weird that he's gotten so little buzz, because he's the QB on the (seemingly) best team in football, and some of his completion % stats this year have been historically good. Like, absolutely nuts, but no one seems to care. I'd put him as the biggest threat to Allen most likely, especially if the Lions beat us and he has a great game. If they finish something like 15-2 with the 1 seed, and Goff doesn't throw another INT this year, he would be a very deserving MVP. With that said, I think Allen has a distinct advantage with the voters, and it's that almost every voter would agree that Allen is a much better player than Goff in a vacuum. So I think if it's close, or "both guys deserve the award", most of those tiebreakers will break towards Allen.

1) Agreed 2) Agreed, but I don't think CMC would've made much difference ultimately. He looked a little better than Mason on the night but not a lot. Sucks for him that he's apparently out for the year though. Dude has had a rough go of it this season. 3) Yes, big yes! DB didn't turn around and also directly impacted Shakir's ability to make the catch. Textbook DPI in my opinion. I got over it after the illegal contact on 3rd down, but I still think it was an incorrect no-call. 4) Several of our d-lineman have at least one hustle play like that this year. It's a really good sign! 5) Yeah, I thought it was a good call, but it wasn't super far from being legal or at least "they can throw a flag for holding on every play but don't" level. Luckily the sting of a return TD not counting is a lot less when you're blowing out the other team. 6) Yes! Absolutely loved it. Watched the ESPN clip this morning (that's who McD was interviewing with), and it's phenomenal. One low-key thing I liked: Allen came over unprompted to say "coach of the year" into the mic. McDermott haters are in shambles right now.

Brock Bowers is who Kyle Pitts was hyped to be.

Ameer Abdullah is having a game!

Why not run it?!? That was bonkers.

58 yards

That TO would help a lot right now.

Four down territory here.

I don’t know why, but the Chiefs D looks much worse today than they did against us.

I continue to love how much Mahomes is getting hit. He looked rushed on that 3rd down.

Raiders run game has looked pretty good today.

Terrible play by the CB there. I like that Mahomes is taking a lot of hits though. Maxxxxx came to play today!

He always wants to retreat from the LOS, even when he’s moving left or right. Cost them atom of yards on that sack. Even when he doesn’t get sacked, it makes it that much harder to complete a pass.

With KC getting the ball to start the 3rd, the Raiders really need a score here to stay in the game. I don’t have a ton of confidence in them.

They haven’t looked very good on O. Raiders are doing a solid job vs the run and Mahomes has missed on a few passes.

Yeah I thought it was a terrible play at first, but then end zone view showed his guy was beautifully open; just a terrible throw. Combined with the FG miss, this game is close to feeling over.

What first killed it for me was moving it from after to before the Super Bowl. It used to be a nice digestif after a long season - you get all the Hawaii shots, the announcers are wearing the aloha shirts, etc. But even I couldn’t pretend to care the week before the Super Bowl, in the same city. No SB participants, none of the players want to be there (as opposed to Hawaii, which made having to play in the game more palatable)… it’s just depressing. Then the players stopped trying whatsoever and that was that.

McDermott said in preseason that safety and MLB are the two hardest positions to learn in his scheme. Between that, the missed training camp, and the current starters holding down the fort, I don’t have any worries about Bishop - at least not yet. If he’s not able to win a starting job next year, that’s probably when I start worrying. I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Bishop look significantly better if he has to start again at this point in the year.