and the crowd goes mild
Jan. 14th, 2025 06:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mayhapAnother batch of six wild card games are in the books and five of them were blowouts won by the home team. Sure, that sounds boring and perfunctory, but when you bear in mind that the Chargers were two-and-a-half point favorites as the away team because everyone involved in setting that line apparently forgot that they were dealing with the Chargers, one third of the games were upsets!
Chargers @ Texans — it's a testament to how fundamentally cursed the Chargers are as a franchise that I'm incapable of taking them seriously as a division rival even when they find themselves in the playoffs. Watching them get absolutely buried by a Texans team that had been largely left for dead engendered more secondhand embarrassment than glee, honestly. Justin Herbert threw more interceptions in this single playoff game (four) than he did in an entire seventeen-game regular season (three). That fun fact will be the entire legacy of the 2024 Chargers.
This game caused much weeping and gnashing of teeth on tumblr, a bizarre pocket mirrorverse where the Chargers are one of the most popular teams in the NFL, second only to the Joe Burrow Bengals. This lies in sharp contrast to the real world, where a woman became a viral superstar for attending a Chargers game and being discernibly invested in the outcome and people suggested she could be a plant.
Steelers @ Ravens — I had hoped that something interesting, maybe even an upset, might happen here, purely because this was a divisional matchup and sometimes those can get weird, but nah. Just another blowout.
Broncos @ Bills — The seven seed is an abomination. The Broncos did not belong here at all and it showed. I did enjoy seeing them get demolished, though. That is a true division rivalry, where hatred springs eternal.
Packers @ Eagles — You know this was not an entertaining game when it causes concern that the Eagles offense didn't do more in a game that they won 22-10. Again, seven seeds simply should not be here. I do also hate the Packers so I didn't totally object to seeing them lose.
Commanders @ Buccaneers — This is it! The game that was exciting for a neutral fan! The Commanders upset the Bucs by a field goal that doinked through the uprights as time expired. It could hardly have been any closer, and since I was quite neutral, I was entertained.
Vikings @ Rams — I don't know why I ever bother to get even a little bit invested in a Vikings team. All they ever do when they do well is find new ways to disappoint. I have to say, going 14-2 with a chance to seize the one seed and the bye in their final game only to get blown out, stuck in the five seed, and get blown out again in the wild card round was certainly new. I have to say, it was very considerate of Sam Darnold to turn back into a pumpkin in plenty of time to avoid creating a quarterback controversy. The most fun Vikings team to make an improbable run behind an unexpectedly-elevated backup quarterback before ending their season in a playoff blowout is still the 2017 Case Keenum Vikings, anyway.
It's been twenty long days since I saw a meaningful snap of Chiefs football. I can't wait for Saturday afternoon.
Chargers @ Texans — it's a testament to how fundamentally cursed the Chargers are as a franchise that I'm incapable of taking them seriously as a division rival even when they find themselves in the playoffs. Watching them get absolutely buried by a Texans team that had been largely left for dead engendered more secondhand embarrassment than glee, honestly. Justin Herbert threw more interceptions in this single playoff game (four) than he did in an entire seventeen-game regular season (three). That fun fact will be the entire legacy of the 2024 Chargers.
This game caused much weeping and gnashing of teeth on tumblr, a bizarre pocket mirrorverse where the Chargers are one of the most popular teams in the NFL, second only to the Joe Burrow Bengals. This lies in sharp contrast to the real world, where a woman became a viral superstar for attending a Chargers game and being discernibly invested in the outcome and people suggested she could be a plant.
Steelers @ Ravens — I had hoped that something interesting, maybe even an upset, might happen here, purely because this was a divisional matchup and sometimes those can get weird, but nah. Just another blowout.
Broncos @ Bills — The seven seed is an abomination. The Broncos did not belong here at all and it showed. I did enjoy seeing them get demolished, though. That is a true division rivalry, where hatred springs eternal.
Packers @ Eagles — You know this was not an entertaining game when it causes concern that the Eagles offense didn't do more in a game that they won 22-10. Again, seven seeds simply should not be here. I do also hate the Packers so I didn't totally object to seeing them lose.
Commanders @ Buccaneers — This is it! The game that was exciting for a neutral fan! The Commanders upset the Bucs by a field goal that doinked through the uprights as time expired. It could hardly have been any closer, and since I was quite neutral, I was entertained.
Vikings @ Rams — I don't know why I ever bother to get even a little bit invested in a Vikings team. All they ever do when they do well is find new ways to disappoint. I have to say, going 14-2 with a chance to seize the one seed and the bye in their final game only to get blown out, stuck in the five seed, and get blown out again in the wild card round was certainly new. I have to say, it was very considerate of Sam Darnold to turn back into a pumpkin in plenty of time to avoid creating a quarterback controversy. The most fun Vikings team to make an improbable run behind an unexpectedly-elevated backup quarterback before ending their season in a playoff blowout is still the 2017 Case Keenum Vikings, anyway.
It's been twenty long days since I saw a meaningful snap of Chiefs football. I can't wait for Saturday afternoon.
