NFL - NEWS & NOTES

The Patriots are in the AFC Championship Game. What else is new?

It marks the seventh consecutive year New England is in the conference title game. The last time Tom Brady and the Patriots weren’t Mark Sanchez and the Jets were as they beat New England 28-21 in the divisional round in 2010. The Patriots’ streak is greater than the total title game appearances of 21 other franchises.

Saturday’s game was close for a quarter . . . and then it wasn’t.

After Tennessee took a 7-0 lead, the Patriots outscored the Titans 35-0 before a late Tennessee touchdown. New England easily covered the 13 1/2-point spread with a 35-14 victory and total domination. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Patriots had 30 first downs to the Titans’ 39 plays.

The Patriots ended up outgaining the Titans 438 to 267. New England ran 80 plays and had 31 first downs.

Brady completed 35 of 53 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns as he set an NFL record with his 10th career postseason game with three touchdown passes. Danny Amendola had his first career 100-yard receiving game, catching 11 passes for 112 yards. James White scored two touchdowns, and Chris Hogan and Rob Gronkowski each had one.

The Patriots recorded eight sacks of Marcus Mariota, with Deatrich Wise Jr. and Geneo Grissom getting two each. It was the most sacks of Mariota in his career.

Since 2001, the Patriots are 37-1 when they have at least five sacks in a game.

Mariota completed 22 of 37 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns.

New England now has qualified for the AFC Championship Game in 12 of the 16 years with Brady and Bill Belichick at the helm.

And for the fifth time in seven years, the Patriots will host the AFC title game. The winner of the Pittsburgh-Jacksonville game will travel to New England next week with a trip to the Super Bowl at stake.

 

Zimmer's squad enters Sunday owning the most consistent and dominating defense in the NFL. A group that could rival the Purple People Eaters of old, Minnesota's D can stuff the run (second in rushing YPG allowed), smother the pass (second in passing YPG), stiff arm scoring drives (first in points per game) and quash big plays (fewest rushes of 10-plus yards and receptions of 20-plus yards allowed).

When the Vikings last hosted a playoff game, Minnesota came within a Blair Walsh chip-shot choke from pulling off an upset. Could kicker Kai Forbath succumb to his yips and provide the latest booting nightmare for Vikings fans? Or will the most balanced team in the NFC thwart a Hall of Fame quarterback to continue its run toward a home Super Bowl bid?

Under Pressure

Case Keenum, Minnesota Vikings quarterback: For five seasons, Keenum journeyed from one outfit to another, mostly losing along the way. After grabbing the reins early in 2017 following Sam Bradford's knee injury, Keenum has performed spectacularly. Far from a dink-and-dunk artist, the 29-year-old is fearless maneuvering the pocket and dropping pinpoint bombs. He can find Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs across the formation against zones and man coverage. Playoff inexperience will be Keenum's biggest task to overcome. Brees has 12 career playoff starts. Keenum has zero. The last quarterback without a playoff start to beat a team sporting a QB with 10-plus playoff starts was Tim Tebow over Ben Roethlisberger in the 2011 wild-card round.

Keenum deftly avoided turnovers this season, tossing just seven interceptions to 21 touchdowns. That trend must continue for the playoff neophyte. While Diggs likely will face Lattimore in one-on-one matchups on the outside, Keenum should find Pro Bowl wideout Thielen with regularity out of the slot. The Saints' banged-up defense has given up an average of 434 total yards per game the last two weeks -- to the Buccaneers and Panthers (not exactly two explosive units). Keenum's receivers won't suffer the same case of the drops Carolina wideouts experienced last year. In his first playoff start, Keenum owns the weapons to keep his dream season alive if he can keep the nerves under wraps.

Saints RBs: Was last week's struggle for Ingram and Kamara a blip on the radar or a symptom of a larger issue behind an injured O-line facing ramped-up defensive completion? After becoming the first duo in NFL history to each earn 1,500-plus scrimmage yards, Kamara and Ingram mustered 68 total yards on 21 touches (3.2 yards per touch) in the wild-card win. Against arguably the best defense in the NFL, the Saints running backs must be better Sunday. The Vikings allowed the fewest scrimmage yards to running backs in 2017 and just 4.1 yards per touch to RBs (second fewest in the NFL). It's not a coincidence the Saints' defense struggled the past two games as New Orleans' running game failed to gain traction in each contest. Without the ground game churning the clock and grinding down opponents, a banged-up defense was left exposed.

Kamara will be the key Sunday indoors in Minnesota. The slippery rookie saw just 11 touches for 38 yards in the opener versus the Vikings before he morphed into an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate. The two dual-threat running backs Minnesota faced this season that most closely resemble what Kamara brings to the table were Le'Veon Bell and Todd Gurley. Zimmer's defense slowed both dynamic backs to the tune of 2.9 and 3.1 yards per touch, respectively. Behind a banged-up offensive line, Kamara must find holes to slither through and bust out a few of his jaw-dropping runs. When Kamara pops off, it will help chip away at a concrete defense.

Matchup to Watch

Drew Brees vs. Vikings stud D: Seven previous times since 1990 a team with a top-two total defense faced off against a team with a top-two total offense in the playoffs. Six of those seven instances the defensive team came out victorious. Facts aside, bet against Brees at your own peril. The savvy veteran has pillaged top defenses this year. In seven games versus top-10 total defenses, Brees has thrown 10 TDs to three INTs for a 110.1 passer rating and 8.8 yards per attempt. When the competition rises, Brees finds another gear.

The matchup within the matchup is between Saints No. 1 wideout Michael Thomas versus Vikings shutdown corner Xavier Rhodes. Rhodes tailed opposing No. 1 receivers in 10 of 16 games this season, and allowed just one 100-yard receiver when shadowing (Marvin Jones), per Pro Football Focus. If Rhodes slows Thomas, look for Brees to take shots downfield to Ted Ginn Jr. and Kamara out of the backfield. Brees' ability to spread the ball around and get it out quickly will be key for the Saints' aerial attack versus Zimmer's plethora of pressure packages. One key to Brees' passing game will be run after the catch. Behind pinpoint passes that hit WRs in stride, Brees ranks second in the NFL in YAC per reception, per PFF. However, the Vikings give up the fewest YAC per reception allowed. If Thomas, Ginn, and Kamara can shed tacklers, it could bend the game in Brees' advantage

 

Too much has been made about Ben Roethlisberger's five-pick meltdown in Week 5, when Jacksonville rode into Pittsburgh and dropped a 30-9 death-hammer. That game is ancient history -- "We've evolved since then," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said -- and he's right. Still, this Jaguars defense has the personnel to give Pittsburgh's offense fits behind a star-studded cast headlined by havoc-wreaking MVP candidate Calais Campbell and a pair of star cornerbacks in Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye.

We can't take another step without mentioning Blake Bortles, the Jaguars passer who looked downright hideous throwing the ball in a white-knuckle 10-3 playoff win over the Bills last weekend -- an ugly/beautiful game shipped to us from 1937.

In that grind-it-out tilt, Bortles became just the third starting signal-caller to win a playoff contest with more rushing (88) than passing yards (87), joining Michael Vick and Bob Griese along the way.

Bortles made plays with his feet against Buffalo, but killed the team through the air. He must clean up his act and hope for a monster performance from rookie running back Leonard Fournette, who thrashed the Steelers for 181 yards and two scores back in October.

Fournette, though, has been held to under 70 yards in five of his last six appearances, leading to losses in three of those outings. The ground game must buzz to life for any shot to upset a talented, driven Steelers team playing to honor their injured teammate, Ryan Shazier.
Pittsburgh was caught by surprise in Week 5. That won't happen again on Sunday.

 

Pittsburgh Steelers...

Le'Veon Bell said last week he would consider sitting out the 2018 season if the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise tagged him again. The running back later walked back those comments, but this is certainly a situation that will come to a head in the future months.

Bell told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler before last Thursday's practice he "would definitely consider" sitting out if tagged again.

The running back can prep his sittin' pants.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday on NFL GameDay Morning that the Steelers are expected to franchise tag Bell for the second consecutive season.

After playing on a $12.1 million tag in 2017, Bell's franchise number would be about $14.5 in 2018.

If Bell plays on the tag in back-to-back seasons he'll make $26 million. Rapoport reported that if Bell had signed the long-term offer Pittsburgh pushed in front of him last year, he would have made $30 million over those two years.

It won't come as a shock for the Steelers to utilize the tag for leverage on Bell. If they were willing to pay him $30 million for two years, they shouldn't sneeze at $26 million for the NFL's best dual-threat back.

Likewise, it won't be a surprise if Bell sits out most of the offseason again when tagged. Last offseason, Bell wanted to get paid like the Steelers No. 1 back and No. 2 receiver. Nothing has changed since then. Bell remains the premier dual-threat in the NFL and a vital piece of the Steelers' Killer Bs.

As we've seen with Kirk Cousins, players have found leverage in the willingness to play out the string on year-by-year franchise tags, not leaping at a team's first decent offer.

Throughout the Steelers' history they've worried about setting a precedent. Rapoport noted two situations when players attempted to sit out to force the Steelers' hand. In both circumstances the team got rid of that player: running back Franco Harris was released; linebacker Mike Merriweather was traded. (NFL.com)

The Steelers are focused on the playoffs right now. Whenever that journey comes to an end, all eyes in Pittsburgh will turn to Bell's contract situation, which could play out as a remake of last offseason's drama.

 

The Jaguars are headed to New England after 45-42 win

Blake Bortles has been the butt of a lot of jokes over the last few weeks, but he may yet wind up with the last laugh.

Bortles and the Jaguars are headed to New England for next weekend’s AFC Championship Game after a 45-42 win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh. (PFT)

 

Jags vs Pats was the one AFC matchup I wanted to see all year (once the Jags showed they were good).

 

I heard the Eagles had some Falcon wings for dinner last night ? lol.

 

Wow... that's a trip.

 

Stefon Diggs' last-second TD catch caps Vikings' wild win

Stefon Diggs reeled in a 61-yard touchdown catch-and-run with no time remaining to cap a wild Vikings 29-24 win over the New Orleans Saints and send Minnesota to the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia.

 

One of the wildest endings I've ever seen. Also crazy from a gambling perspective, many people had the line at 5 and Vikes didn't kick the extra point.

 

what the hell was the Saints defender doing ? he ducked under Diggs and missed him completely. he didnt even go for the ball. he avoided him. wow.

 

Man him up and keep him in bounds. clock would'a run out, Saints would'a won.

 

Mike Mularkey out as Titans’ head coach

So much for Mike Mularkey being the Titans’ coach going forward.

The Titans and Mularkey are parting ways, the Titans have announced.

That news comes just 36 hours after the Titans took a serious beatdown at the hands of the Patriots in New England. Usually, when a coach is in the divisional round of the playoffs, that means his job is safe. And Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk had previously given Mularkey a vote of confidence. But as we noted yesterday, the Titans could move on from Mularkey anyway, especially if they have a coach they’re interested in hiring and know that that coach is interested in them as well.

The report says the decision between Mularkey and the Titans is “mutual,” although it’s hard to see Mularkey walking away unless he knew he didn’t have the confidence of team ownership. The Titans’ brass wasn’t sold on Mularkey, and now they’ll look for a new head coach, while Mularkey will hope some other team is interested in a coach coming off a playoff win. (PFT)
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Interesting. The NFL does stand for 'Not For Long'... here today gone tomorrow. I blame the Patriots.

 

Obviously 9-7 isn't enough for Titans management. Fully agree - Mularkey probably did not have full support of ownership.

The mutual agreement is easy enough to understand. Mularkey is far better off getting out now while his stock has value rather than riding out a tumultuous 2018 season without support from above. And from the Titans standpoint, they probably see themselves as better off getting a head coach who will take off the training wheels and make the most of the offense.

 

Josh McDaniels, come on down!