1. The Bills are the real deal
20 years of pain and resentment were unleashed on full display Saturday night against the Patriots. Josh Allen and co. made easy work of New England, scoring a touchdown on each of their first seven drives as Allen finished the day with more touchdowns (5) than incompletions (4). When the Bills are on their game, they’re quite possibly the best team in the AFC. A big showdown awaits versus the Chiefs. The Chiefs defeated the Bills in last season’s AFC title game, but the Bills got the better of the Chiefs during the regular season.
2. The Cowboys and playoff disappointment are inevitable
Another year, another Cowboys playoff disappointment. The Cowboys haven’t sniffed success for over a quarter-century, and it makes you wonder where Dallas goes from here. This ‘high-powered’ offence could only muster seven points going into the fourth quarter, and the game ended off of a QB draw play with 13 seconds left while having no timeouts and not being able to spike the ball on time. When you invest $75 million into your quarterback, running back and top receiver, you expect to see positive results on the field, but that just didn’t happen. Dallas will be Dallas, I guess.
3. The Chiefs are back
The Chiefs have looked vulnerable for much of the year. Patrick Mahomes and his offense haven’t been in sync for a lot of the year, but that looks like a thing of the past after a thrashing of a respectable Steelers defense. While the first quarter started off slow, Mahomes and co. caught fire in the second quarter and never took their foot off the gas pedal, scoring 42 points in three quarters. This team looks scary and poised for their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
4. Joe Burrow is legit
Joe Shiesty. Joe Brrr. This guy is a stud. He overcame the Bengals playoff curse to bring them their first playoff win in 31 years. The dynamic duo of Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase took over against the Raiders as they continue to look like the future of the franchise. Chase totaled 116 yards on nine catches while Burrow tossed for two scores in the win. After overcoming that curse, anything is possible in Cincy.
5. Steelers QB search begins
The big question facing the Steelers this offseason is who will replace Ben Roethlisberger? Big Ben has been the cornerstone of this franchise for 18 years and is expected to retire. Mason Rudolph is under contract until 2022, but surely he can’t be the long-term solution the Steelers are looking for after seeing what he’s capable of during his tenure with Pittsburgh. While the Steelers could look to draft a QB this upcoming draft, they could also look into trades or free agent acquisitions. There’s a lot of options for Pittsburgh, and it’ll be interesting to see which direction they go.