NFL Playoffs: Final Four Teams

Thus, after 17 games of the season and after two playoff rounds, there are only four left: the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos in the American Conference, the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks in the National Conference.

Which means good business.

First, we notice that things don’t change that much: again and again, it’s defense that leads to championships. Giambattista Vico had also noted this reality in Written life from himself, writing that “no one is ever going to win a Super Bowl by allowing 50 points per game, least of all the New York Jets.” All these years later, this truth remains.

Moreover, I note with my usual wisdom that the four teams that are still standing all excel in defense, and they all find themselves in the top 10 teams that allow the fewest points per game.

In this regard, the Seahawks come first, having allowed only 17.2 points per game. The Broncos are third (18.3 points per game), the Patriots are fourth (18.8), and the Rams are tenth (20.4 points per game).

So we can give a guy 50 million a year to throw the ball, but it’s still defense that wins games in this league.

Then, we notice another matter: the management of a quarterback remains important.

The Houston Texans have the second-ranked defense in American football, but they’re at home right now because they asked CJ Stroud to throw the ball 47 times last week in Foxboro. Stroud finished the game with four interceptions, a statistic that largely explains why the Texans are eliminated.

That’s the opposite of the Seattle Seahawks, who asked Sam Darnold to keep it simple last week because the defense would take care of the rest. Result: the Seahawks quarterback attempted 17 passes during the entire game, and he collected only 124 yards. But the Seahawks ended up giving the 49ers a solid steal because the defense took over.

We also hope that the Broncos have taken notes, because on Sunday, they will have to rely on Jarrett Stidham, a 29-year-old reserve quarterback who has not thrown a single pass in two years.

But in a league where Trent Dilfer has already won a Super Bowl, anything is possible.

For the Rams, receiver Davante Adams must be eager to win something, because it will make his fifth appearance in a conference final, and he has never won one of those games. Not unlike poor Brian Propp, who made it to the Stanley Cup finals five times, but lost all five times.

Meanwhile, there is still consternation among the Buffalo Bills, where there is more frogging than on the set ofOccupation double. This time, it’s owner Terry Pegula who adds, saying that the coaching staff is responsible for the flop that Keon Coleman became, on 33^e 2024 draft pick, a young man who went from top prospect to sixth receiver pretty quickly.

The worst part is that Brandin Cooks’ catching continues to be bad, unlike Brett Hull’s skating.

On this subject, precisely, there is Luc Girouard from Sept-Îles who writes to us this: “Regarding Josh Allen’s pass to Cooks, well, the answer lies in the following question: Was Alain Coté’s goal good or not? »

That’s a great question, Luc, but the problem is that after all this time, there’s still only one possible answer: it depends.

Also, Frédéric Deschenaux would like to provide a clarification: “With your obvious erudition, I wonder why you call “the series” the elimination matches which are precisely not series. I know people are used to this term because we love hockey, but it seems more accurate to me to say “playoffs” or “playoff games”. »

This is very true, and in the future, I propose that we call it detail, as in the days of the six clubs.

So here we are. Four clubs for the two places in the next Super Bowl, which will take place on Sunday February 8, not in San Francisco as the NFL claims, but in a distant suburb an hour from the Golden Gate. So we will have the Pats in Denver, Sunday at 3 p.m., and then, at 6:30 p.m., the Rams will be in Seattle.

It’s time to pretend a bowl of nachos is a normal dinner.