Next week will feature the first year of expanded NFL playoff teams coming on top of the 17-game schedule. After watching what was a less than compelling final regular season week for the NFL yesterday, one wonders if more is better in the NFL.

We will have Miami and Seattle in the playoffs this year, and both limped into the post-season. Now, they may pull off major upsets next weekend, but hard to see that. You also have some other teams with barely .500 records like Jacksonville and then Tampa Bay was actually 8 – 9. SU believes that the change was made to enable those teams that had 10-win seasons and which would have previously been shut out the chance to get into the post-season. Perhaps this season is an anomaly and we will see a better competitive picture next year. On the other hand, the field is wide open this year which is better for the fans, and you can see some team with a mediocre record making a run. Parity is good and fun for sure.

A few thoughts from yesterday:

1. Houston played hard to win which cost them the 1st pick in the NFL draft as now Chicago gets that. The reward for Lovy Smith was getting fired although I am sure that was predetermined. On the one hand, you love the competitive fire (“You play to win the game” as Herm Edwards once said) but a little tanking there gets you the overall #1 pick. The Texans need a quarterback and this is a good draft for that. The Bears don’t but could trade the pick and thus cost the Texans in getting their guy.
2. It’s not fun watching games where teams rest their starters. We see this all season long in the NBA with load management on the back-to-back games. And you can understand it in the NFL where so many players are injured each week, and if you are playoff eligible, you don’t want to risk injury in a meaningless game. But for the fan, just hard to watch. The League already lacks good quarterbacks in about half the teams, and watching 3rd stringers is painful.
3. Why did the LA Chargers play most of their starters 3 quarters yesterday? They are playoff bound. SU has to guess that the head coach firmly believes in momentum and wanted the team firing on all cylinders and not take a week off. Mike Williams came up with a back injury and if he is out next week, that is a big loss for them at wide receiver.
4. The Lions’ win over the Packers last night was entertaining unless you were rooting for Green Bay. Coach Dan Campbell ran some plays in the last couple of minutes that were great (high risk, high reward) as they tried to avoid giving the Packers the ball back late. Now, if they were still in the hunt for the playoffs, would they have done that? SU says yes as Campbell has been doing that all year. Detroit should be good next year although in the NFL, you really never know with free agency and injuries. But they are entertaining and missed out on the playoffs this year due to some blown late leads earlier in the season.
5. The Cowboys looked terrible but SU says no carryover heading into next week.

Super Bowl predictions? SU’s track record is less than stellar but SU will go with Kansas City over San Francisco. The Eagles should be right there but I have a feeling that Hurts’s shoulder injury is worse and more painful than he is letting on, and he is one hard hit away from being back on the IL. The Niners have the best defense and of course, a rookie quarterback. I also think Dallas will be a very tough out.

In the AFC, the Bills will be the sentimental choice but Allen has had so many red zone interceptions this year. The Bengals have a great offense and Burrow was there last season but as we know, hard to repeat in the NFL. KC has Mahomes and he is a difference maker – even without Tyreek Hill.

Feel free to offer up your thoughts on this year’s post-season. Do you like the expanded playoff format? Is this Buffalo’s year?