Dallas made NFL history Sunday, becoming the first No. 2 seed to lose in the Wild Card Round since the NFL expanded the playoffs to 14 teams – something that was bound to happen eventually, but wasn't expected in a game where the home team had won 18 straight at home and the road team clinched on the final day of the season.
We also saw one of the best defenses in the league get eaten alive by a rookie QB, a Rams/Lions shootout that almost saw another wild card team pull an upset, and a KC team that was reeling in the last few weeks dominate a Miami team that had a chance to be the No. 2 seed as of the final game of the regular season.
"One of the league's best defenses and they got absolutely smacked by a rookie quarterback, that's a stunner, and one of the best offenses, Miami, they score seven points on Saturday," BT said Monday. "Then Green Bay, 2-5 start, squeeze in, nobody's taking them seriously as seven-point dogs going into Dallas against what we think is a really good Dallas team, and they absolutely kicked the crap out of them."
Parity, thy name is the NFL, and Brandon Tierney is not loving it.
"I do like some surprises, don't get me wrong, but this is becoming too common," BT said. "Where are the dynasties?"
"So it's the results of it, like we talked about with the Final Four, where it sounds nice with the updates until you get down to the Final Four?" Sal asked.
Yes, says BT, and he'd say the same had Dallas won.
"I've I felt like this for a while – I watched the games this week and I feel like it was Week 7," BT said. "Like, what distinguished this weekend from anything else? I can't be alone that this didn't feel big."
"I think that's just the way the league is now, which I guess plays a part in the parity," Sal replied. "I like it being wide open, but I don't like the fact that there's so much inconsistency. It shouldn't be the best defense in the league gets obliterated in a playoff game that looks totally nothing like it, and same thing with Dallas; the offense and defense, they looked like a team that didn't belong."
So are we at the point where the NFL is becoming MLB, where it's 'get in and see what happens?'
"Are we at that point in the NFL with a regular season now means less?" Sal asked. "I do like the idea going into the postseason wondering who is going to knock off the unbeatable team, but I don't love the expansion of the postseason, and I don't like the parity of the regular season where SO many teams are 9-8 or 10-7 – and I don't know what to believe with the NFL anymore when it comes to predicting it."
