Reacting and exaggerating everything that happened in the playoffs of the Divisional Round …
Things that made me dizzy
Taron Johnson runs 101 yards in the End Zone. . . and in our hearts: “The 101-yard interception-return touchdown was a great move” is the type of analysis you came here for. But honestly, for Johnson, in a game where points were scarce, pulling himself together and taking off, instead of just catching the touchback, was the biggest move of the postseason so far.
This packer offense: Aaron Rodgers left some moves on the field (including a red zone failure that cost them four points in the first move) and Allen Lazard had a rather nasty drop in the third quarter. However, when all was said and done, they had 32 points, almost 500 yards of attack in one of the league’s top three saves.
Leslie Frazier does his part to ruin the QB duel: Last week, the Colts really did have an influence on the coverage of the Buffalo area and, in the end, the Bills were lucky to escape. Facing a much more difficult attack in Baltimore on Saturday night, there was no need for luck. while Frazier stunned the Ravens early with a big dose of athletic blitzers, and mixed cover calls at the right time – like showing blitz and dropping seven on Taron Johnson’s 101-yard pick-six.
Tremaine Edmunds appears: He had a year off, but Saturday night may have been his best game of the year, and his athleticism was absolutely crucial in defending the Ravens.
Hook and side for two: However, one may ask, if we only assign two points for this, will we at least be worthy of something so beautiful?
* * *
Regrets
Ends too soon for Lamar Jackson: On a difficult night due to strong winds, popping problems and a defense by Leslie Frazier with a very good game plan, Jackson had to be excellent in this game; choice six of the red zone was devastating, and one in which he has to use his eyes to move defenders facing him in the narrow red zone. But having a concussion – suffered from having to chase another bad snap and save a security guard – keeping him in the locker room for the Ravens’ comeback attempt in the fourth quarter seemed especially cruel.
Tyler Huntley’s Ravens: No offense to Tyler Huntley, who did what he could and scared the Bills back to coverage with that near miss in the Hollywood Brown up-and-out. But it was a pain to see him try to orchestrate a recovery in the fourth period.
A Mortal Aaron Donald: Credit to the top five of the Packers, specifically Elgton Jenkins, but Donald looked terribly uncomfortable, probably because it is difficult to breathe with bruised ribs. He was invisible, except for the personal 15-yard shortage he committed in the first quarter.
And a Mortal Jalen Ramsey: “Torched” would be overkill, but he lost some battles and the general war to Davante Adams, and Adams also feasted on other DBs with Matt LaFleur dictating fights. But Rams is not going to win a playoff game with Donald and Ramsey taking days off.
Josh Allen wins a Tony award: He was also singing during that fall. It was like something out of Pippin. (Does Pippin is there a drop in it? I never saw Pippin.)
Justin Tucker continues to make a noise: In the middle of the second quarter, he was on his way to becoming the first kicker to hit each of the four columns of the field in a single game.
Shotgun snaps in western New York: That’s it really something of the wind as Michele Tafoya reported at halftime?
A broken PAT: What would you do in an emergency? You could run toward the danger, or run away from it? Or would you throw the ball to your 36-year-old kicker with the expectation that he would try to reach the final zone?
* * *
Moments that we will tell our grandchildren about
Davante Adams on the move: Adams coming at full speed on the move is a nightmare – and certainly Jalen Ramsey should not chase him. But it does cause quite a bit of chaos in the defensive field of the Rams.
Josh Allen overcomes uncontrollable fall syndrome: Remember of Feel Bad Rainbow by Brad Goodman?
* * *
What we’ll talk about this week
So, help me God if we have to relive Lamar’s debates in the Big Game: He entered a circular saw against a very good defense of Bills in some very difficult conditions. He made a brutal mistake in the red zone – with seven defenders looking at the backfield in the narrow red zone, he has to be able to manipulate them with his eyes. But he is 25, an unexpected victory in the playoffs on the road, and he did so surrounded by many substitutes. He will lose some great games in the future and also win many.
Brandon Staley has some interviews coming up: I suspect the 38-year-old will take one of the remaining open jobs and grow Sean McVay’s coaching tree even further. Then, someone taught him how to tie a Windsor knot. Because they don’t like it when you wear one of those T-shirts with a painted tie.
And Jared Goff ?: He played very well at Lambeau, considering all things (“things” like the pins in his thumb), but despite all the simple ways they attacked horizontally, the lack of explosive moves in the Rams pass game this year was notable. Goff is arguably their guy next year, and perhaps incredibly fast Van Jefferson emerges as a monkey man, but it will be interesting to see what Sean McVay is going to prepare to get those game pieces back.
Is State Farm’s new Jake also in a Hyundai commercial ?: Is that allowed? I feel like we should all have approved of that.
Matt LaFleur was successful: 26-6 in the regular season and now consecutive trips to the conference title game is very good.
• Question or comment? Send us an email.