Willo's 2021/22 stock report: Playoffs roundup
By Thomas Willoughby
Blimey. I mean, what more do you say about that? Blimey. What threatened to be a very straightforward affair with the wildcard round exploded into a rollercoaster of delight. The 2021 (/22) playoffs have been utterly wonderful. I’ve loved it.
You know you’re having a good time when you go into the final weekend of the playoff run without a preference for who makes it in. So, before we turn our heads fully towards the final showdown, let’s take one last look back at the best (yeah I said it) playoffs ever. A post-season stocks for you all!
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Back in week fourteen, I discuss the concept of “time”. Not on a grand or philosophical level, but localised within the walls of sport. As we established, time is the most valuable commodity a manager, or head coach, can be afforded. Too much time, and you get Ben McAdoo calling plays for Sam Darnold. Not enough time, and you’ve the entire league questioning how you let Brian Flores walk. But just enough time? Well, that’s something special.
These playoffs have been typifyed by allowing a coach the space and time to forge their vision. Despite going 5-10 and 8-8 in his first two seasons, Kliff Kingsbury held onto his job lng enoug to lead the Cardinals into the playoffs for the first time since 2015/16. Kyle Shanahan has had 3 losing season in 5 years, and was on the hot seat only a couple of weeks ago. They went to the NFC Championship game. Zac Taylor, a man I tipped to be fired two weeks into the season, shook off 2-14 and 4-12 seasons to take the Bengals to their first playoff win since 1991. They are now in the Super Bowl.
I am absolutely not saying that every coach deserves endless time, of course. I can’t see a scenario where Matt Rhule takes Carolina to the playoffs in 2022/23. What I am saying is that, with the right amount of it, and with the dedication to the process they’re carrying out, good things can, and will, happen. Does that mean we’re going to see the end of coaching carousel the NFL has become of late? Probably not. But we mind see a few more head-scratchers in the future. That’s a good thing, right?
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How many teams can boast finishing in a worse position than the season before, yet come away feeling better about themselves than they did the season before? Not many, that’s for sure. But the Buffalo Bills, having secured their 2nd AFC East crown in a row in 2021/22, are one such team. Despite bowing out of the playoffs at the divisional round, versus the championship game in 2020/21, head into the offseason as legitimate contenders. That’s something, right.
I won’t rehash the game; my esteemed colleague, Callum Squires, has already done that far better than I could. But, in short, the Bills faced the Chiefs, in a replay of the previous seasons championship game. Unlike in the Championship game, however, the Bills showed up. If it weren’t for some questionable end of game defending, and an overtime system that isn’t really that fair (when you think about it), the result may have been different. But they hung in there, and that’s positive.
The AFC is looking stacked going into the 2022 season. The Bengals are a Super Bowl caliber team. The Chiefs won’t take their early (by their standards) exit lightly. Expect more from the Titans, Patriots, Chargers, and that’s just scratching the surface. Based on this evidence, however, the Bills are the team to beat in the AFC in 2022. They’re legit.
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I’ve been a Patrick Mahomes truther for a while. He is legitimately the best quarterback I have ever seen, in terms of what he’s capable of doing. He seems to be able to extend any play well beyond how long how long it should last. He can hit every single through with little more than a flick of the wrist. And, at no point, have I ever felt like he would be on the losing side.
The AFC Championship Game, however, was a bit different.
The first half was classic Mahomes. He just operated on an entire different plane of existence. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the Chiefs were 21-3 up, and cruising to their third straight Super Bowl. Yes, the Bengals bit back, but Kansas City had had the ball, and plenty of time too. They drove, all the way down to the Bengals 1, looking to go into half time 28-10 up. Scoring was just a formality…until they didn’t?
Patrick Mahomes looked utterly lost in the second half of that game. Over-thrown passes, questionable scrambles, and just some strange, strange decisions. The Bengals, to their credit, defended for their lives. They conceded exactly 3 points in the second half, and even beat the unfair (if you think about it) overtime rules to defeat Kansas City. And Mahomes was in the center of the storm. I have no idea what happened, but a different man was wearing 15 for the final 30 minutes of that game.
Mahomes’ rookie deal is at an end, and we’re about to enter the age of the half a billion-dollar man. What happens in 2022? Is the second-half performance about to become the new normal, as teams attempt to match the Bengals blueprint? Or was that a one-off? Dunno. All I know is, the fact that I’m even asking this question isn’t great, is it?
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Speaking of quarterbacks with questionable futures, let’s talk about Jimmy Garoppolo. The former heir to the Brady throne-turned attractive game-manager saw his season, and the 49ers season, end with a blown lead and an interception in the NFC Championship game. He went into the season itself knowing the 49ers gave up a king’s ransom for Trey Lance, putting his position as their starting quarterback at risk. Given this post-season run, you would be hard-pressed to argue that he’s earned the right to keep it.
Across three games, Garoppolo mustered 535 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He completed a paltry 58.1% of his passes. At no point over those three games did you look at Garoppolo and see a man capable of engineering a win for his side. Yes, he was playing injured, and a large portion of the blame has to be levied at the coaching staff in San Francisco. But the 49ers have talent, man. A exception defense, a really good offensive line, recieveing weapons for days, and the ability to make any running back productive. Garoppolo is the sore thumb in red and gold.
What happens next, then, for Garoppolo? It’s hard to justify keeping the player you spent 3 picks on away from the field for a second season. Garoppolo has one season left on his 49ers contract, and, despite a “no trade” clause, it’s difficult to imagine him suiting up as a 9er again. His best shot might be forgoing that clause in favour of a trade to somewhere needing a quarterback (hope for Tampa Bay, expect Houston), and go from there. One thing’s for certain: I would be stunned to see Garoppolo start in a championship game again.
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We discussed the concept of time at the start of this thing. One person it shouldn’t apply to Mike McCarthy. The Dallas Cowboys’ 2021 team was slated to be pretty good. And they were! Dak looked the part, Zeke and Pollard made an exciting two-headed beast at running back, and the receiving corps was as good as any in the league. Oh, and Dan Quinn was on hand to fix the defense. For the most part, they managed just that. The Cowboys swept the NFC East, and secured themselves a playoff berth fairly early on. They were poised to make a serious run.
They did not.
Regardless of whether the Cowboys put themselves in a spot to make a game of it at the end, the comeback was simply too much to overcome. An offense built for a shoot-out inexplicably incapable of scoring points for large stretches of the game, and the defense simply couldn’t get a stop. The Cowboys looked overwhelmed, and underprepared, for their biggest game in years. And that comes from the head coach. Simply put, Mike McCarthy is not it.
You can tell that the feeling around the league reflects that, too. Sean Payton, who has long been linked to the Cowboys’ job, recently retired from the Saints role, but hasn’t committed to leaving coaching full time. The aforementioned Dan Quinn turned down the opportunity to interview for open positions to stay in Dallas for another season. Schmoozing the brass, no doubt. Either way, Mike McCarthy is on the way out sooner rather than later.
Featured image credit: Getty Images
Thomas Willoughby
NFL ANALYST & SOCIAL MEDIA
THOMAS IS A WRITER AND THE SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT PROVIDER FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER