2024 NFL Playoff Predictions

[Brian wolf]

At least to a certain extent, Darnold lived up to his draft status for one season and the pressure of these last two games had to overwhelm him. Losing hurts, but he has to feel keyed up for what might have been, and I feel he will try to come back to the team.
If the Vikes bring him back and he can harness his emotions more, the team can possibly, be successful next year.

[JWL]

At least to a certain extent, Darnold lived up to his draft status for one season and the pressure of these last two games had to overwhelm him. Losing hurts, but he has to feel keyed up for what might have been, and I feel he will try to come back to the team.
If the Vikes bring him back and he can harness his emotions more, the team can possibly, be successful next year.

Darnold usually plays frazzled in big spots dating back to his Jets days when they faced the Patriots. He was sloppy in the regular season finale and it continued last night. Inaccurate passing, jittery actions, slow decision-making, too many sacks.

I did not expect much from him against the Rams defense. I had felt strongly about the Ravens, Bills, and Rams winning in the Wild Card Round. I picked the Eagles to win but was not ultra confident about that one as I was with the other three. I was wrong about the Chargers and Buccaneers winning. One guy in my office pool went 5-1 (had the Rams game wrong). I was tied for second at 4-2.

It sure was a nice win for Houston but their season should end on Saturday in Kansas City.

Justin Herbert is going to get a lot of rips from fans and the media till he gets back to the postseason and performs better. "John Elway can't win the big one", "Peyton Manning is a regular season quarterback; he can't win in the playoffs", "Kirk Cousins puts up stats but can't win in the playoffs." Herbert is going to have that type of stuff said about him now till he makes people have to stop saying it.

The Commanders beat the Buccaneers by playing aggressively against a team with a passive head coach. Sometimes aggressiveness doesn't work but here it did. Going for it multiple times on 4th down and instilling an aggressive mindset in the team was key from Dan Quinn. Or at least that is how I saw it. I thought, in the moment, that the Buccaneers should have gone for it on 4th down instead of kicking the field goal to tie the game at 20. The field goal decision by the Buccaneers had "ensuing long drive by Washington with the game ending with a Washington score in the waning moments" written all over it.