This Post is Brought to you by our friends at Havokk Coffee. For those that run towards the chaos – not from it
We alluded to it here several times in recent weeks that it could be a strong possibility in both cases, so, then, it is absolutely no surprise at all that John Harbaugh got fired in Baltimore a couple weeks ago and Sean McDermott got fired in Buffalo on Monday.
Owners pay coaches to win championships, and both men had their franchises stuck in neutral. Neither the Ravens nor the Bills, despite having two of the best quarterbacks in football in Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, respectively, could as much as get to the Super Bowl, let alone win it. That is totally unacceptable. Regular-season wins mean little, for it’s what you do in the postseason that really matters.
In the same way, it is what also befell Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh. The Steelers were also running in place, which is, in essence, going in reverse.
Way back when, a little over 40 years ago, it is the same situation — though not as extensive — that caused Marty Schottenheimer and the Browns to become extremely frustrated and part ways with one another after the team made it to the playoffs four straight seasons, winning three Central Division titles and advancing to the AFC Championship Game twice, but did not earn a birth to the Super Bowl. The Browns lost by three points in the 1985 playoffs after leading by 18 midway through the third quarter, they fell by three points in overtime in 1986, they were defeated by five points in 1987 and they were beaten by one point in 1988.
Those were great regular seasons with much hope that all ended in such disappointing fashion.
And speaking of the postseason — the current one — I botched up my divisional-round predictions horribly so by overthinking things. In the AFC, the New England Patriots don’t lose at home in the playoffs, so why did I pick the Houston Texans, who struggle offensively? And the Broncos don’t lose in Denver, so why did I pick the bills, who don’t win big games in the playoffs? Then in the NFC, the Seahawks have been beating everyone like a drum and are nearly invincible in Seattle, so why did I pick the San Francisco 49ers, who have been decimated by injuries? The only game I got right was picking the Los Angeles Rams over the Bears. That made sense, because the Rams have the better team and they know how to win on the road in the playoffs.
I will try to do better this weekend in the conference championship games, but I can’t make any guarantees, especially if I overthink things again.
Steve King
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