Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
The only thing that concerns me there is the long-term outlook of the divisions and the fact that only 1 team gets a bye now.
The Patriots dominated because their division was dog-shit for 15-20 years and they just cleaned up. They got that bye, they got HFA and they sailed because of it. When they didn't have a bye and/or HFA, they struggled significantly more.
Well the AFC North with an aging Ben, a rudderless Browns team and the Bengals (need I say more?) is clearly on track to be the new AFC East. And if Herbert and an even credible Fields/Lance kind of QB show up in Denver, you have 2 teams w/ quarterbacks who can catch fire in any given week and hang the one L on you that costs you a bye.
When Carr, mediocre as he is, is the worst QB in your division, that's a tough division. It's not tough for a team with Mahomes to win it, but it's tough for that team to dominate it in the fashion the Ravens will be able to do in the North after Ben retires/is washed.
I don't think it fundamentally alters the regular season greatly, but it changes how clean the Chiefs can get into the playoffs and how easy they can make their route to another SB for the next decade or so. It could mean 2-3-4 more seasons over the next 10 without a bye and without HFA in the AFCCG.
I'm not concerned w/ winning 8 more AFC West titles - I wanna figure out how to win 5 more Lombardi's and shut the ****ing Patriot honks up.
Dynamic young QBs all over the division will interfere with that.
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Nice post. Getting the number one seed year after year is going to be tough for any one team regardless of division strength, just too many variables with injuries, refs and bounces. Even the Patriots did not have that luxury. But I trust Mahomes and Reid to be able to win one game on the road in the playoffs. This team has an outstanding road record plus we are always within one score with Mahomes. All it takes is one play to win.