Another divisional beatdown

So, about when the Texans made it 21-0, Bokolis was thinking about the beating I was taking this week and thinking that the silver lining was that my long-held prediction that the Chiefs and the Jets would not be back to another super bowl until all the rest of the teams made it first would still hold.  To boot, the potential was there for the Texans to come off the list,which also includes the Lions, Browns and Jaguars.

Aside - since the Cleveland Browns were paused/didn't exist when Bokolis first made the statement, and the Jaguars and Texans were, respectively, a recent addition and non-existent, I would claim victory if the Lions somehow made a super bowl.

Bokolis didn't watch the Saturday games and didn't start tracking the Vikings-49ers until some point in the second quarter.  But, I knew the Vikings were sunk when, after intercepting late in the second quarter and already in field goal range, they went 3-and-out.  I also had the sense that only one of the Saturday road teams would cover, so I was resigned to 0-2 right there.  Ultimately, my hasty picks disregarded my acquired perceptions: the Titans had a proper running back and the Vikings couldn't run between the tackles.

As if Bokolis didn't already know, after the Ravens were stuffed on the first 4th and short, it confirmed what the early part of the game had made apparent:  the Ravens and their QB weren't ready for the playoffs.

That's how it goes.  Bokolis didn't feel bad because I was lukewarm on those games.  Of course, back in the old days, I would have been backing up the truck on the Chiefs, as I had the most conviction on that game.

Imagine, then, how Bokolis felt when I turned on the game- I thought it started at 3:30- and saw 14-0.  That truck was hijacked.

When the Texans botched their plan to go for it on 4th and short while leading 21-0, ultimately standing down and taking a field goal, Bokolis didn't disagree.  Piling up points as a bunker seemed the correct thing, because 21 was never going to be enough- and it's not the hindsight talking.  However, and, that's an all-caps and huge font however, taking the field goal there, only to try a fake punt- and botching that planning as well- in their own territory made no sense.  I knew they would not make it to the end right then and there, but I still wasn't sure that KC would cover the 10 (the line nudged back up to 10 by game time).  The Chiefs, who scored their first TD on a short field, were handed another short field for their second TD, which sped up the comeback.

They brought the truck back, with a little extra in it, no questions asked.

Actually, there was a red flag the whole time, as Deshaun Watson spent way too much time after plays (seemingly) schmoozing with officials and players, things that should not be on his radar.  He is not a winner.

Aaron Rodgers is a winner.  This is being keyed in on either side of halftime of the Seahawks-Packers.  Not having to worry about a running game, the Packers seem to be getting pressure the same way the Chiefs did, and Bokolis sees Russell Wilson staring at the defensive end the same way Deshaun Watson was.  So, the Seahawks are suffering much the same way.  Of course, Russell Wilson is about the only QB who can get away with this, but not without a running game.  To boot, Aaron Rodgers isn't making mistakes, making the Seahawks secondary look foolish, and the Packers are cutting through the Seahawks.

As it is, at 28-10 Packers, halfway through the third quarter, Bokolis is waiting for the Seahawks to bog down on their current drive before hitting publish, so I can get to bed.  At 28-17, I'm aggravated that I've got to hang with this, that, even if the Seahawks manage to hold the Packers AND score another touchdown, covering would come down to a 2-point conversion. The perils of results over process.

Actually, the Seahawks scored early enough that there was a little more to it than that.

The lack of a running game might seem glaring, but Russell Wilson is a running game.  What they won't tell you is that the Seahawks were done in by a lacking secondary, especially #21 and #28...and probably some dodgy replay angles.  Jimmy Graham did not get the first down at the end.  Thirty Forty years later, rulings are as dodgy as they ever were.

1-3 for this round, 4-4 for the playoffs, down the vigs.