What We Learned: NFL Divisional Playoffs
You don’t have to be balanced on offense to win in January
Five running backs rushed for 70 yards or more last weekend in the divisional round of the playoffs and exactly one of them was on a winning team. Green Bay running back Eddie Lacy carried the ball 19 times for 101 yards and no touchdowns in the Packers’ 26-21 win over the Dallas Cowboys. That Cowboys’ team got 123 yards and a TD from DeMarco Murray in a losing effort.
Justin Forsett’s 129 yards, James Stewart’s 70 yards and C.J. Anderson’s 80 yards were all just as futile in defeat.
Meanwhile every team that won got at least 265 yards and two touchdowns from its quarterback, with New England’s Tom Brady leading the way with 367 yards and three touchdowns in a game where the Patriots erased two 14-point leads while rushing for a total of 14 yards. Four of those 14 belonged to Brady on a touchdown scramble.
The point is, the days of needing balance or the threat of a running game are over. Yes, it’s nice and can help you win, but to be able to win consistently and stay in any game, even when you trail by multiple scores, you have to throw it and throw it well. It’s often said that the NFL is a quarterback-driven league but, after last weekend, the QBs are in the driver’s seat, the passenger seat and complaining about the radio station on the backseat hump.
What a catch looks like
This right here isn’t a catch.
I’m not being sarcastic and there’s nothing controversial about it. The ball jarred loose when it hit the ground, immediately making it an incompletion as has been the established rule of the National Football League. It’s not the first time it’s happened. Hell, it’s not even the first time its happened in the playoffs. Look at this NFL Films video from the 1999 NFC Championship.
And the Bucs had a better argument because the ball barely moved and they actually refined the rule for the next season.
In fact, it was a non-call where the ball might have touched the ground in the playoffs that directly led to the replay system we have today.
It was a tremendous throw from Dallas QB Tony Romo and a tremendous effort from Dez Bryant to come down with it. But the simple fact is, the ball came loose when it touched the ground. We see countless interceptions called back that look exactly like that. If his hand was under the ball and it moves, it’s a catch. If the ball touches the ground and it moves, it’s not a catch. And in this case, the ball undeniably moved.
The Cowboys will be in the NFC Championship next season
With only a few grass clippings making the difference in a loss last Sunday against the Green Back Packers and a 30-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field in Seattle back in October, the Cowboys have proved they can play with the big boys in the NFC this season. Next season, Dallas will take that extra step.
Jerry Jones has made it clear that unrestricted free agent Dez Bryant isn’t going anywhere and the team is already in negotiations with free agent running back DeMarco Murray to remain with the team. If Murray goes, the Cowboys have made no real secret that they’ll look to replace him with Adrian Peterson, who has likely played his last down in Minnesota. After consecutive good drafts and some much-needed defensive stability, the Cowboys aren’t going away. The difference between an NFC title game appearance and NFC Championship next season may end up with who has home field advantage. The Cowboys play just six games against teams that had winning records next season (the Eagles twice, the Patriots, the Seahawks, Bills and the Packers), Dallas could be looking at a 13-3 season and home field heading into the 2015-16 postseason.
Peyton Manning should retire
I’m not the first person to write that sentence this week and I won’t be the last. Manning played like a shell of himself over the final half of the season and set new lows in his playoff stats, a category he had already set some pretty spectacular lows in. Manning is unquestionably one of the best quarterbacks to ever play football, regardless of the much-deserved knocks against him.
Playing out the final stretch with a torn quad shows the toughness is still there, but Manning’s body has betrayed him too many times. There’s no reason to believe next season, when Manning will be 39, will be any easier on him physically than this season. With a loaded schedule full of AFC and NFC playoff teams and top defenses, there’s no reason for Manning to subject himself to the punishment he’ll endure, not with a new head coach and maybe two, if not three, of his favorite passing targets on other teams.
Next year would be a struggle with a fully healthy Manning. Peyton has his ring, his statistical titles and his legacy. It’s time to move on and make as much money as Fox, NBC or CBS is willing to pay him to sit behind a desk and talk about football.
