Absence of Power

Absence of Power

The Cast

By The Fillerbuster

January 6th, 2025

It has been a while.  It has been a couple of generations.  It has been a minute since there was an absence of power in the NFL playoffs.

Over the last few decades, there has always been a playoff presence.  Sometimes multiple presences.  It was always some combination of Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning (oddly, but we learned), Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Brett Favre, John Elway, Kurt Warner, etc.

Some made it through the gauntlet of proven winners.  Nick Foles, Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson. Jalen Hurts, Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, etc.  I will stop my references in the early 90’s so I don’t lose the younger readers.  The point is that there has always been a QB presence in the playoffs casting a shadow over the yet-to-be ordained.  This year is different.  This year, in the 2025-2026 season, most likely, someone new will BECOME the new shadow for future years.

Think about it. It is more than Mahomes, although him being out of the playoffs is like Tiger Woods not making the cut back in the early 2000’s.

Winners:

• No Patrick Mahomes.
• Tom Brady is gone.
• Jalen Hurt’s Eagles have some internal strife.
• Matthew Stafford is the only one with metal to show for it.
• Aaron Rodgers looks older by the minute.

Allegedly next in Line:

• No Lamar Jackson.
• No Joe Burrow.
• No Jared Goff, OR the Lions.
• No Jayden Daniels.
• No Dak Prescott.
• Josh Allen, and the only one still alive this year for a run.
• The Colts started out the season with a scary lineup and record to match.  Then, they folded like a tent.

What we really have is a bunch of flawed teams:

• Seattle reminds us of the Legion of Boom from a decade ago, but Darnold has never been in the spotlight.
• Denver definitely has the championship defense, but their wins this season have been far from dominant.  Bo is unproven. although he has played in a playoff game. I just can’t get past their lack of offensive consistency.
• Chicago has been a roller coaster.  Caleb shows flashes of brilliance, but this pressure will be new for him too.
• New England is recognized as being ahead of schedule for progress, and that is great.  Drake is another QB we haven’t seen in the playoffs.
• Philly is literally a soap opera.  If they hadn’t just won it last year, we would already not trust them.  But, Jalen has.  He is a title threat still.
• Jacksonville has skilled players, an underrated defense, and Trevor is starting to look like a first pick in the draft in his sixth year.  Will that translate to the playoffs?  We don’t know.
• Carolina won the worst division in football with a losing record.  Enough said, and I can’t imagine Bryce scaring anyone.  The Steelers are glad they are in the playoffs because they don’t put them at the bottom of the heap.
• Pittsburgh HAS a guy who has won one, but he looks 52, not 42 when scrambling for a first down.  The gods smiled on them with a last second FG miss, and they get his target back, but what happens when he is pressured?
• The Rams lost their division, putting them in the 5 seed.  They might have to go on the road, but they have Stafford, who HAS a ring.  Threat.
• Houston ended the year winning nine straight games.  Their defense is scary.  CJ Stroud hasn’t looked like last year, but he DOES have playoff experience.  But, they will have to win on the road most likely throughout. Not a threat, but dangerous.
• San Francisco surprised us all early season by overcoming massive injuries and still winning.  They lost a few down the stretch that were puzzling though.  Brock is paid.  Brock has played in the playoffs.  But, I think this team really needs home field advantage to make a run.
• Buffalo has the best QB in the league, and who can be Superman if needed.  They will have to make a road playoff push, and that is not easy.  Can he do it on his own?  Well, he is the HAPPIEST guy about the absence of power, so he better be able to.  Threat.
• Green Bay was a legit Super Bowl contender preseason, and has been either injured or puzzling most of the season.  When they are good, they look untouchable.  When they are bad, we scratch our head.  I really liked this year as the one where Jordan Love made a playoff run.  I don’t like the seed in the more top-heavy NFC.
• The Chargers have another one of the happy QB’s because Mahomes is not around.  They have a coach who can outthink others, and probably the highest ceiling QB if he ever puts it all together.  That being said, the O-line injuries derailed them this year.  I can’t imagine one of the playoff team’s QB D-lines not throwing him off his game.

We have a bunch of younger teams.  We have a bunch of unproven teams.  There are literally THREE guys with rings in the playoffs at QB, and one of them is 42 (and not the Tom Brady sort of 42).

Everyone talks about making sure you are ready when opportunity knocks.  The point of this piece is that opportunity is knocking for EVERYONE in the NFL playoffs.  Historically, you probably will not get a more unproven path of teams than this year.  No matter who visits whose crib, they will consider that team beatable.  Even the usually boring wildcard matchups are hard to call.  Two of the scariest, most proven teams are 5 and 6 seeds (Rams, Bills).  The first round of games alone would not cause any alarms, no matter who wins, aside from the ROAD team Rams losing.  In fact, Stafford AND Allen have to travel to win now.  Heck although readers know my Steelers bias, but even the flawed Steelers making an odd run to the Super Bowl doesn’t even sound as crazy as it sounded midseason.

Mahomes will be back.  Know that.  Champions don’t let an injury stop their overall vision.  This is a speedbump for the Lions, and they will retool.  Joe Burrow is too good to not make his presence felt, whether that be with the Bengals or another team.  Lamar Jackson is too special to not be on the radar again.  Dak Prescott will get more weapons, and perhaps finally a defense.  Jayden Daniels will get rest and health, and more weapons.  Matthew Stafford will be back if he doesn’t win it this year (everyone wants two rings to be at the big boy table, and I think we all know he might pull an Elway walk-off if he wins it all).  The Eagles might win it again, but will resolve their internal weird problems, one way or the other.  And, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, CJ Stroud, Drake Maye, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love, and Justin Herbert haven’t even hit their prime yet.  No one knows what Brock Purdy, and Daniel Jones will end up being.  Maybe Sam Darnold is showing us what he actually is the last two years.  Aaron Rodgers will be gone, most likely.  Josh Allen will still be special, but the clock is ticking on his running specialness. 

The point is this.  NOW is the time to “steal” a Super Bowl.  Everything is cyclical, and this year is an anomaly in the NFL, in my opinion.  Dominant teams will return soon (if QB’s ever stop breaking the bank a little), and suddenly beating a QB-Coach combo in the playoffs, at their crib, will once again sound impossible.  The years will again return where going to Foxboro or Arrowhead was something you were trying to avoid the entire regular season.  So, now is the time to snag one, playoff QB’s.  Now is when opportunity is knocking.  Now is the loophole in the overall matrix, the break in the cycle, the glitch in the computer program.  You must win the 2026 Super Bowl.  Remember, folks.  Dan Marino went to the Super Bowl in his second year, and everyone just assumed it was going to be a regular thing.  He never got there again (I guess I am talking to Bo, Caleb, and Drake for that point).  Josh Allen is a 6 seed, and HE would be a failure if he doesn’t make a run.  That is nuts.  It is all nuts this year, folks. 

Another thing.  It seemed pretty obvious about midseason that the NFC was a little more loaded.  Aside from Carolina, that really hasn’t changed.  Winning the NFC WILL be tougher, especially with two of the rings on that side (Stafford and Hurts).  Keep that in mind when picking your winners.

I am still processing my own personal picks, but here is my Tuesday evening spitball before my Friday final decisions:

What I think:  Rams over Bills (I know, this sort of ruins the whole storybook ending for Allen that I was subconsciously alluding to). I think Stafford announces his retirement in in the postgame interview.

What I want:  Steelers over Green Bay

The boring things we will probably end up with:  Seattle over Jacksonville

I think the Eagles end up beating themselves in some way.  Sorry to totally diss you, other high seeds Chicago, Denver, and New England.  But, with the entire season being this crazy, am I really going to buy into home field advantage logic NOW???  Plus, I don’t think Drake, Bo, or Caleb are ready for the next step (with Bo the only one with a playoff game under his belt). That being said, the Denver home field advantage IS back, so that would be the most logical one to believe. I believe someone who hasn’t won it before CAN win it, but I believe that QB will at least have playoff experience. But, who knows? Let’s end the crazy season the way it has been…nuts.

One way of the other, opportunity is knocking, and I am very curious as to answers the door this year…in this absence of power.