I hate injuries, but THIS IS an opportunity for us. The Bengals with Joe Burrow are one of those teams that we may not be able to beat.
Now, do they get penalized for obviously hiding a previous injury? I know if it was Miami, at least a first round pick is gone.
Yeah very fortuitous. The only real threat to a true SB run now is KC. Ravens look great but Jackson is one of the worst playoff QBs out there. So it's really just KC. Need Mahomes to help us out a bit more. He's underperforming, but not enough. We're unlikely to win at KC in the playoffs. But things are coming together for once. Instead of bad luck Dolphins it's looking more like good luck Dolphins!
With Cincy and Clev losing QBs, that dramatically changes the rest of the season. While Cincy my be out, the teams on their schedule get a big boost starting with the Ravens last night. Jax, KC, and Pitt (x2) get much easier games against Cincy. Pitt, Jax, and Hou get easier games against Clev. Pitt is a real threat to make the playoffs now. They play 5 of their remaining 8 games against backup QBs (Cincy (x2), Clev, Indy, and NE. Their other 3 games are Ariz, Sea, and Balt. They could legitimately go 12-5. Before the injuries, I would have guessed 9-8. Jax is now a bigger problem. Their remaining schedule is Tenn (x2), Hou, Cincy, Clev, Balt (at home), TB, and Carolina. They could go 14-3. Our chance of the 2 or 3 seed just got a lot harder. I already thought it would be hard to finish ahead of Balt, now I think it will be hard to finish ahead of Jax. I didn't think Cincy or Clev were big threats to finish ahead of us because I think Balt is winning that Division.
The Bengals were the team I didn't want to see in the playoffs. No doubt their season is over without Burrow.
Sucks for them but a big opportunity for the rest of the AFC. I disagree that the Ravens aren't a real threat - that defense is legit and I do not fancy a nasty cold weather December game in Baltimore. Hosting them would be different, but that's a toss up at this point. KC is the behemoth champ. They do look vulnerable (that WR corps is just bad) but you just cannot count out Mahomes, and between Reid and Spags that is one well coached team on both sides of the ball. Fun note, Mahomes has never played a road playoff game, and he probably won't start this year barring some surprising losses. I do think it's important to get at least the #2 seed so we can play 2 of 3 games in Miami in favorable conditions. I do not fancy our chances having to travel twice to bad weather locations. I'd put us in that KC/Baltimore tier, especially if the defense rounds into form and peaks. Jacksonville ... meh. I'm not scared. Pitt and the Browns both have LEGIT and scary defenses, but with no offense to speak of and them going on the road, those are very very winnable games. Texans are the team that has to be most thrilled, they have a legit shot at the playoffs now. It also gives some new life to Buffalo, but they have to stop their internal bleeding before anything else.
I wouldn't. I don't think too many others would, either. We're the tier below them until we prove we aren't.
This thread, once upon a time, would have been in the “Other NFL News” forum. With that being said, fortunate for us, sucks to be them. I’m thinking about calling Burrow “Glass Joe” now with all of the injuries he’s sustaining.
Someone called him "Joe Glass" today on one of the sports talk shows. It seems like all the young QBs are injured a lot. Except Allen, maybe.
I can understand that take, but we have the potential to have as potent and balanced a team as either of the other two, and moreso than those following. Maybe us and the Jags, but that defense isn't elite and imo Lawrence hasn't been impressive - they are benefitting from a weak division and schedule overall. I think we are a more complete team than any outside of KC or Baltimore. Our biggest issue is we lack big game playoff experience in both HC and players. I like what Mike McDaniel has done for us, but he's not (yet) Reid or Harbaugh. That said, the Bengals are a blueprint for a team hitting the right stride at the right time and experience be damned.
Baltimore with Lamar Jackson is not a threat to go deep in the playoffs. That guy is one of the worst playoff QBs around, and it's important to separate playoffs from regular season, where he plays a lot better. His ratings for his 4 playoffs games are an unbelievably bad 78.8, 63.2, 74.8 and 61.5. That's in years where they had the 2nd best, 3rd best and 2nd best defense. Thus far, no elite defense can overcome how bad Lamar Jackson has been in the playoffs. That's why I think KC is the only real threat to a real SB run (in the AFC). All the rest we're at worst evenly matched.
Baltimore is looking scary this season- not sure how people don't see that. Burrow going down is catastrophic- that's a major injury all three seasons so far. Hopefully he will be okay and return to form next year. It's frustrating because he was just starting to look like Joe Burrow again this year.
I don't put it past professionals to improve and get better, and wouldn't count out a team because of something that happened years ago. That said, I also see Andrews is done for the season which is a big loss. He's a huge part of that offense - more than just Lamar's safety blanket. Regardless of Lamar and his potential struggles though, I just don't like our odds having to play multiple bad weather games. Even taking Lamar out of the equation, Baltimore in December can be cold, windy, snowy, icy ... all things that we struggle with. Dome/Warm teams really need a few home games to feel comfortable. It's why I feel we can't lose more than 2 additional games. Preferably 1. Getting that second seed is a big deal for us.
Tua’s 2nd season was riddled with a few injuries from his ribs to a busted finger on his throwing hand. His 3rd season he had the 2 concussions. Joe Burrow has had 2 season ending injuries as well as his injured calf to start the season. Hopefully all of this nonsense about Tua being injury prone will be out to rest. Burrow’s been injured more than Tua.
This injury does suck for football fans. Burrow is one of my favorite QBs. I cannot stand watching poor QB play and when good QBs get hurt, QB play suffers. Except for the Jets and Pats. I love watching Wilson and Jones struggle.
Its all about the narrative the media goes with and people will buy into it. If ESPN dedicates this week to talking about it all of a sudden Burrow will be declared Mr Glass as well. Burrow deserves the same questions about his health as Tua has for sure.
Not so sure, I’ve watch three full games of them this year where I literally saw the ravens implode to lose all three, in the ugliest of ways, almost bizzarre, two at home
Ravens and Jackson own the NFC. It’s their own conference that they struggle with for whatever reason. Winning their division got a lot easier for them this week, regardless.
I think the injury prone Burrow should retire. He's going to have his life cut short by pain and misery if he doesn't. Am I doing this right? In all seriousness, I hope he comes back strong. The NFL is better with him. He's a great QB. I still hate him though and hope he goes 0 for 100 against the Dolphins. lol
