NFL 2022-23 Regular Season Review

    

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Okay, so the NFL's regular season finale weekend just passed. The playoff picture no longer needs to be focused, but is now set. On the AFC side, the Miami Dolphins nabbed the final playoff spots, beating the Jets, 11-6, to clinch that spot after New England lost to Buffalo. On the NFC side, the Seahawks defeated the Rams in overtime, which lifted them to the final playoff spot. 

I will give my playoff predictions later this week, most likely. For now, let me reflect on the regular season that just passed.

First of all, let me say that for some reason, this season reminded me of the 1994-95 season a bit. The 49ers finished the season with a massive 10 game winning streak, and they very nearly snatched the top seed in the NFC playoffs. The Tennessee Titans reminded me of the 1994 Philadelphia Eagles, who started off the season looking almost like world beaters, blowing out the eventual champion Niners in San Francisco en route to an impressive 7-2 start, and then dropped seven straight games to miss out altogether on the playoffs. Tennessee, now long ago, had earned some impressive wins en route to a 7-3 start, and looked like they were going to run away with the AFC South. Then, they had a seven game slide that knocked them out of playoff contention altogether. They may have been the biggest disappointment of the season. Also, the Giants were very streaky, much like they were in 1994. But they did manage to squeak into the playoffs, while the Packers, another streaky team who started off hot, then got ice cold, and then recovered to almost make the postseason, much like the G-Men in 1994. 

So there was that. And yes, the Titans might have been the most disappointing team this season, although that is debatable. After all, the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl. But they suffered through what now ranks as the worst Super Bowl title defense in history, surpassing the 1987 New York Giants, who started that season 0-5 and finished 6-9, and the 1999 Denver Broncos, who started that season 0-4 and finished 6-10. Remember that the Giants had three games with replacement players following week two, so that three of those losses were not the players  defending champions. So that official 6-9 record was deceptive. The regular players actually sported a 6-6 record. Not great, but not horrific, either. As for the Broncs, yes, they got off to an 0-4 start, and finished 6-10. But they had won the prior two Super Bowls, and then had lost starting quarterback John Elway, who retired after the second championship run. Also, they lost star running back Terrell Davis to injury early in the season. So that dismal title defense is a bit more excusable. But these Rams, finishing 5-12 just one season after winning the Super Bowl and then proclaiming that they would repeat? Maybe they might have learned some lessons in humility through all of this. Head Coach Sean McVay is not sure if he will come back. Quarterback Matthew Stafford ended speculation that he might retire after this season, but he is no spring chicken. My guess is that it will be a long, hard road back for the Rams.

Some other disappointing teams? The New York Jets, who started off the season at 7-4, looking like they might cruise into the postseason, only to lose their final six games to get knocked out early. The Colts, who lost their last seven games, including that one game where they held a 33-point lead at one point, also have to be regarded as a huge disappointment. The Packers, despite their late surge, just never quite looked like they were playing as well as they were capable of. Maybe one or two others.

The Eagles clinched the top seed, but they look a little shaky and less than healthy at the moment. On the AFC side the Chiefs gain the number one seed, Both teams will get the playoff bye as a result. I wonder how long it will be before the NFL adds one more team in each conference for the playoffs, and like most of the other "big four" team sports leagues in North America, it will become a standard eight team format, with no playoff byes whatsoever. For now, it offers the best teams a chance to rest up for a week and watch to find out who they will be playing a couple of weekends from now, in the divisional round. 

It's a shame that the Bills did not get the top seed, although I hope that they have better luck in these playoffs than in recent seasons, particularly if they have to go back to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City to play the Chiefs on the road once again. 

Let's see what happens.