Things That Made Me Giddy
The Drives: Do not argue the point: That Chiefs-Bills game was the greatest NFL game every played. Twenty-five points in the final two minutes to force overtime. But before that, it was as tense a postseason game as you’ll find, starring two of the most uniquely talented players the sport has ever seen, as two defenses hung in with good game plans until the unbelievable crescendo.
Patrick Mahomes With 13 Seconds: There aren’t two quarterbacks in the NFL who could’ve done what these quarterbacks did in this game. But of all the unlikely scenarios, Mahomes taking his team into field goal range in 13 seconds—regardless of the Bills’ game-management and schematic mistakes—was exceptional.
Josh Allen’s Great Escape: This was the game’s most incredible play:
It’s Patrick Mahomes and Three Newbies Left: Though it feels Bills-Chiefs was to this NFL season what “Ozymandias” was to the final season of . It’s all just a little anti-climactic from here on in.
This Was Always Matthew Stafford: We went through a decade of dopey Matthew Stafford takes: , despite the fact that he has the fifth-most fourth-quarter comebacks of all time; , despite the Lions’ unmatched, organization-wide incompetence during his time in Detroit quite obviously being the reason he had so few opportunities to even play in big games. Many missed out on Stafford because the Lions were always playing in a 1:00 regional game. Now you’re seeing what he can do, surrounded by competence.
This Is the Play Aaron Rodgers Didn’t Make This Weekend: Game on the line, against the blitz, making the throw that to be made.
Cooper Kupp Is Invincible: The play before the one above, the 20-yard pickup on second-and-long, was as good a route as you’ll get from a receiver, putting Sean Murphy-Bunting on his backside getting to the sideline to stop the clock.
Why You Throw Deep on Third-and-20: Or, “Why You Get Matthew Stafford to Be Your Quarterback.” This is in part the result of good protection, and it is a coverage bust. But that coverage bust is in reaction to Stafford moving defensive backs with his eyes, and in general the incredible stress Stafford puts on a defense.
Deebo Samuel’s Winning Run: All season, this guy has been like something out of those old SNL Bill Brasky sketches. This run, in which he had to create the final five yards to convert the first down and set up the game-winning field goal, is absolutely the stuff of legend:
Robbie Gould, Through the Snow: The game-winner in Lambeau made it 20-for-20 on field goals and 32-for-32 on PATs for his postseason career. He's a regular Evan McPherson Jr. But older.
Richard Hightower Presses the Right Buttons: Along with overseeing a unit that was directly responsible for saving three points and scoring seven more, the 49ers' special teams coordinator had Deebo Samuel back to return the second-half kickoff. It set the the struggling offense up with a short field after Samuel returned it to the 50, resulting in San Francisco's first points of the game. (And yes, DeMeco Ryans and Kyle Shanahan are very good as well.)
D.J. Reader, Man: On an afternoon when the Bengals were incredibly shorthanded on the defensive line, Reader was consistently the best player on the field on Saturday. His first season after signing a big free-agent deal in Cincinnati was a wash because of injury, but he was often a difference-maker in 2021, and no more so than in Saturday’s win.
Ja’Marr Chase After the Catch: Along with the catch that set up the game-winning field goal, and a superhuman catch-and-run to set up a first-half field goal, Chase had another catch on a second-and-11 that should have been stopped for a yard but instead he turned into an eight-yard gain to put the Bengals in field-goal range (Burrow was sacked out of field-goal range on the next play). Two plays before that, he had made a catch in the flat with two defenders in pursuit, and somehow wrecked their angles and turned it into a 21-yard gain. The key to the Bengals’ win was, on a night when they were outschemed, their superstar playmaker conjuring a handful of plays.
What Gabriel Davis Did to Mike Hughes:
Mike Vrabel’s Defense Was In Full Control: Yes, the Titans defensive line is much better than the Bengals offensive line, but not eight sacks better. That was a product of Vrabel’s game plan against empty, sending a blitzer and then keeping a defender in a shallow zone to clog any passing lane. Some of it was his guys winning, some of it was Joe Burrow not throwing hot when he should have, but most of it was Vrabel and his staff, who maximized what he got from a defense full of holes all season, just having the better game plan.
Also, the Titans’ Pass Rushers : We’ve seen teams get free runners at Joe Burrow this year, and many times we’ve see Burrow escape and then get the ball downfield. Finishing is a skill we often overlook, and the Titans’ pass rushers finished consistently on Saturday.
Hey, It’s Matt Haack!: And he’s punting again! And even tackling! His first punt since the regular season pinned the Chiefs at their 1-yard line. In the fourth quarter, he blasted a field-flipping kick that got called back due to a penalty. On the subsequent kick, Tyreek Hill got loose and it was Haack with what turned out to be a four-point tackle (saving the touchdown, with the Chiefs settling for a field goal soon after).
Nice One, Mitch:
Aaron Donald Vs. Josh Wells: Among other matchups. It didn’t matter of Raheem Morris was bringing four or, in order to ensure single-blocking for everyone, five. The Bucs offensive line, minus Tristan Wirfs, had no answers for L.A.’s pass rush, and with the secondary guarding against the quick-game, no answer for the defense as a whole besides "let's hope for another Cam Akers fumble."
Tyreek Hill Obliterating Angles: He and Ja’Marr Chase were game-changers in their respective games.
Mike Hilton: The art of the slot blitz should be taught in public schools, and Hilton should teach every one of those classes.
Evan McPhersonatieri: Adam McVinapherson? I’ll work on it. The rookie is now 8-for-8 in the postseason, including a 54-yarder and a game-winning 52-yarder on the road on Saturday.
Trent Williams In Motion: Hitting Rashan Gary so hard that I, as a Gary, also felt it.
