The STRANGEST Playoff Scenario in Dallas Cowboys HISTORY

[@jasonfire3434]

In 2009 the Bengals had a meaningless Sunday Night Football finale against the Jets, but for the Jets they were in with a win, and would get to play the Bengals again. If the Bengals had beaten the Jets they would’ve played Houston instead. Cincinnati laid down and lost in a blowout, then the Jets eliminated them the next week. Maybe they should’ve tried to win.

[@LaiSteve66]

As a Texans fan, I remember that as it would have been the Texans first playoff appearance. Had to wait another couple years to watch the Texans beat the Bengals in their first playoff game.

[@skylerward1671]

​@@LaiSteve66 I'm not a Texans fan, but I vividly remember that season for Houston. Arian Foster was in his prime, AJ was still a top guy, and that defense was headed by DeMeco Ryans, a rookie JJ Watt, and unsung heroes in Antonio Smith, Connor Barwin, and Jonathan Joseph. I bet it felt like sweet revenge for you guys beating the Bengals that year.

[@TheRealfan1]

That's why NFL has all division games now; so teams are less encouraged to rest their starters like Bengals (and Colts) did against Jets. JaguarGator9 made a video about that.

[@marcus813]

I remember watching that SNF game. That seemed bizarre to me at the time. The Bengals were scared to death of the Texans after losing to them at the house by 11 points, but the Jets weren't any easier to beat as it turned out.

[@snowman9642]

And the Colts could’ve knocked the Jets out for perfection the week before. Caldwell took for granted how hard it is to win in the NFL.

[@hobsdigree2]

The thumbnail is a little misleading. At first glance you'd think the Cowboys need to lose to get into the playoffs, when that isn't the case, it's losing to pick an easier opponent and still remain the wildcard regardless of outcome.

[@stephenhood2948]

That is what I was thinking, which I suppose isnt possible, I cant think of any scenario. You either win your division or get a Wildcard, I cant imagine how losing could get either of them.

[@Ty91681]

Click bait

[@ninetales1234]

I woulda wrote, "Dallas' Disgrace of Gijon"

[@Brain-washed2]

@@Ty91681 maybe if you have legit

[@jeffcat6981]

No team should get to pick who they play in the playoffs, regular season or pre season. It's not Pee Wee Football

[@clydemiller4776]

This kind of reminds me of Week 17 in 2018, with the Bears playing the Vikings. The Bears were locked into the 3 seed, and the Vikings needed a win or a Philadelphia loss to get in as the 6. With the Eagles taking an early lead over a Washington team with nothing to play for, the Bears essentially could pick their WC round opponent. If the Bears lost to the Vikings, it would set up a rematch in the WC round. But the Bears went on to win, sending Philly into the playoffs and setting the stage for the “Double Doink”.

[@bonecanoe86]

Yep I'm an Eagles fan and remember all this well. The Bears let us in and then we beat them lol.

[@gumpyflyale2542]

If Agalor dodnt drop that pass the eagles would have beat New Orleans and gone tto the NFC championships and while Dallas lost in the divsional round​@bonecanoe86

[@robertholston4708]

The Eagles also beat I think it was The Houston Texans in week 16. This loss by The Texans gave The New England Patriots the tiebreaker over the Texans for the #2 seed and first round bye at the time. I remember The Patriots Twitter page saying "We never thought we would say this in 2018 but Thank You to the Philadelphia Eagles and Nick Foles."

[@someperson3883]

No, they were going for the #2 seed and a bye hoping for the Rams to lose since they had the head to head

[@wendellblackett8317]

Pick your opponent is terrible You give someone incentive to smackj your butt.

[@JohnRiches]

In the PWHL (Women's Hockey) they have an interesting aspect where the #1 seed in the playoffs gets to choose their opponent. Additionally, once a team gets mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, they begin accumulating points for the draft by winning games

[@MADMAN401]

Letting any team pick their playoff opponent is a terrible idea. They're always going to pick the easier opponent.

[@TheSpicyLeg]

Obviously, but the choice is subjective. Take Dallas last year. They had the choice to play a Rams team that ultimately ended up winning their game, an Eagles team that was 11-1 at one point and beat them at home as well as a divisional rival, and a young Green Bay team that limped unexpectedly in and had Jordan Love being questioned as their future QB. Which should they have taken? Who can say, but I’d bet they would have taken on Green Bay if they had the choice. The Rams were just better, and no one wants to play a divisional opponent in the playoffs if they can help it. Green Bay put belt to ass on Dallas, as you will recall. So while I agree that teams would choose the weakest, I doubt they will be right very often. Furthermore, jockeying for seeding adds to the drama. If two teams from the same division are both wild card contenders - like the NFC north is this year - then the difference between 5, 6, or 7 could be critical. If you were Green Bay or whoever loses tomorrow, would rather go play Philadelphia at home or the Rams at home? Seems like it would be better to be 5 or 6 than 7, but there could be situations where it would be better to be 6 or 7 than 5 and going to play a divisional opponent you lost to twice, at home. Even if the 2 or 3 seed seems a better team.

[@shadyparadox]

That's the point. Conventional seeding assumes the #1 seed picks first and chooses the bottom seed, then the #2 seed picks the worst team among the ones remaining, etc. The argument for actually allowing for top seeds to pick their opponents is that it better fulfills the spirit of the original rule, because it avoid scenarios with bad matchups. The argument against doing this is that lower seeded teams can feel they can get a better shot at an upset with a lucky draw.

[@CTubeMan]

Interestingly if the Cowboys had beaten the Rams they would’ve had to play San Francisco in the divisional round.

[@muskyoxes]

Wow, doesn't that ruin the entire point of this video? They traded 49ers at home with 49ers on the road

[@anthony0358]

I remember the end of this season. I thought the cowboys would go on a redemption playoff run and instead they flamed out. The NFL avoided playing on Christmas during wild card weekend too

[@nymike06]

The loss to Washington the week before was or less the beginning of the end of the Landry era.

[@maxwell8727]

The cowboys are the definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results

[@mjwatts1983]

Winning your division back then sent you to the divisional round so SF had something to play for Also SF was no punching bag at this time. Montana, Walsh, & that defense This was 8 days after DAL got trounced at home by defending champion WSH, the infamous “No, Danny! No!” game. The Cowboys thought they got an easier opponent in the Rams They thought wrong. Eric Dickerson returns to Dallas as the Rams upset the Cowboys in the Wild Card game 49ers survive a scare at home against the Lions in Round 2. Then nearly pull off a comeback against WSH in NFC Champ, the only time Joe Gibbs & Bill Walsh faced each other in the playoffs in the 1980s

[@marcus813]

The way the Cowboys looked at the end of that season, they weren't beating anybody who had a pulse. The dents in their armor were starting to show up and their run of being in the NFL's upper tier was starting to end.

[@goldosprey]

Its one year before their dynasty kicked off

[@mgb4692]

Not only did ED return to Dallas, but SMU also played UT at Texas Stadium that year with both teams undefeated. You can learn more about that SMU team and how they ended up being treated like midcarders by clicking the card in the upper right hand corner.

[@johncate9541]

The Redskins just barely got past the 49ers in RFK in the NFC championship game. The 49ers were playing very well by the end of that season. The next year, they went 18-1.

[@urbanleftbehind]

If the Lions and Rams met in the Divisional playoffs, where would it have been since both were 9-7?

[@architect011_3]

2005 Patriots, tanked a last minute 2 point coneverison in order to play the jaguars in the wild game. It made the the 4th seed. If they had won they would have been the 3 seed and face the Steelers- those Steelers would end up being the super bowl champions that year

[@Crateron1]

I remember that one. If I remember correctly, someone from NFL Network or ESPN even called the Jaguars "the worst 12-4 team in history". And the Patriots won that playoff game against the Jaguars easily.

[@swingforthefences7439]

I’m old enough to actually remember this, and it’s strange how the old rules of the playoffs used to be before 1990. That was when there was only five teams in each conference that made the playoffs, and another quirky rule was the teams that were in the same division could not meet in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Prime example is 1988 in the AFC When the Bengals were the #1 seed and the wild card game was 2 teams that were also from the AFC Central. It meant that the #3 Seattle Seahawks automatically had to play the #1 seed Bengals in the divisional round while the #2 seed Bills automatically got the WIld Card winner which was Houston. So you had a bracket of 1 vs 3 and 2 vs 4. Sucked for my Seahawks because they got beat by the Bengals who were rolling. By the expanded playoffs in 1990 when 6 teams in each conference made the postseason, this was all thrown out the window.

[@WaltGekko]

Before 1971 I believe the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the NHL were the same: 1 played 3 and 2 played 4 in the semifinal round (after the league doubled from six to 12 teams in 1967-'68 that became division semis).

[@robertlindey2538]

@@WaltGekko And during that time, it was alleged that teams that were in 3rd place late in the regular season would "throw" games to end up in 4th place and face the 2nd place team. Just like in the NBA. The opening rounds wound be 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5. The second rounds would be the 1-8 winner vs 4-5 winner and 2-7 winner vs 3-6 winner. The accusation would be that a team in 5th near the end of the regular season would "throw" games near the end to finish 6th and therefore avoid playing the 1st place team in the second round.

[@swingforthefences7439]

@@WaltGekko Odd. Was it like that every year? In NFL it only happened if the wild card game winner (there was only 1 wild card game back then) was in the same division as the seed it was supposed to play. Only then would they switch it up. Everyone knew it was antiquated and annoying because you had situations where you'd have 3 teams from AFC East or 3 from AFC Central making the playoffs nearly every year. If the division winner from one of those divisions was set to play a division opponent after the wildcard game, it threw that bracket for a loop every time.

[@WaltGekko]

@@swingforthefences7439 In the NHL, before 1971 that was the case.

[@henryca03]

​@@robertlindey2538Fixed brackets only make sense when a tournament is played at a neutral or single site, such as March Madness, the Little League World Series, or the FIFA World Cup.

[@Iamtheskidoostig]

Personally, I hate giving division leaders guaranteed home games. Statistically it usually doesn't matter. But (ie 2024) there happens to be some excellent teams having to hit the road to a barely .500 club. The NHL was plagued by this in the old conference setup. Finishing atop your division deserves at minimum, the last playoff spot, as earned, by your record.

[@tadpole8677]

Cowboys couldn't choose the 49ers if they wanted to but they couldn't best the 49ers that night.

[@joshuashamai2876]

And the Cowboys still lost in the Wild Card round. The most Cowboys thing possible.

[@marcus813]

I get why the Cowboys wanted to deal with the Rams instead, but they way Dem Boys were playing to end that season, they weren't beating anyone decent. Their ugly home loss in a heavily hyped game vs. Washington turned out to be the beginning of the end of the Tom Landry era as they wouldn't win more than 10 games again until 1991.

[@Robert-tb6gv]

The Cowboys went 10-6 in 1985, though the fact that they got blanked by the Rams in their only playoff game that year would probably make that forgettable.

[@Statalyzer]

​@@Robert-tb6gvwhat really put the nail in the coffin was Danny White's injury in 1986. They started 6-2 and with Paul Hackett on the staff and Hershel Walker next to him, White was having the best season of his career and Dallas was leading the league in many offensive stats. Then he broke his wrist and Dallas finished 1-7 with the backup QB throwing 17 interceptions in less than half a season.

[@andrewlehane7118]

Chargers get to choose who they want this season. Playing the Raiders tonight. Win and they get the Texans, lose and they get the Ravens. Decisions... decisions...

[@BC_VORTEX_CHANNEL]

I am trying to think if there is a way where your team must lose in order to make the playoffs. In other words, If your team wins, you miss the playoffs. It would have to be three teams trying for the last two wild card spots and your team would lose out in a three-way tie-breaker, but you already beat one of the teams that you are NOT playing. So, you lose to the other team, and then it becomes a head to head tie-breaker with the team you already beat. I don't even know if this is possible. But with more playoff teams, this could happen in the future especially if they add another wild card team when they add an 18th regular season game.

[@michaelreich4827]

This was the last good Cowboys team Tom Landry had.

[@mjwatts1983]

It was good… up until their rematch vs WSH at Texas Stadium “NO, DANNY! NO!”

[@WaltGekko]

@@mjwatts1983 Cowboys got old in a hurry and Landry's "Flex" defense became outdated.

[@Zman82]

I have never heard anybody ever say that the top seeds should pick their opponent and that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Never will I be okay with that.

[@msarzo]

Congrats on 63K

[@shuroom57]

Bottom line is, if you have to resort to mental gymnastics over how you might luck into the playoffs, you're not good enough to survive those playoffs. Only teams that are hungry enough and strong enough to play TEN playoff games --- or at least, FEEL that hungry and strong --- will make it to the top.

[@JayFreeman-m1z]

Congratulations on 63k great job

[@Ragnar009]

I'm a Cowboys fan old enough to have watched these games. The Cowboys were a broken team after getting killed at home by the Redskins the previous week.

[@xxTexas_outlaw71xxttv]

😭😭😭 iam sorry your a crybaby fan 🤣

[@FletchBrendanGood]

8:27 the Superdome had the NFL, NFC, and Saints' logos on the field... but Tulane's name and logo in at least one endzone

[@michaelreich4827]

3:20 Blatant attempted horse collar tackle

[@moderncomet9810]

That move was entirely legal at that time, and for at least the next decade. Reference the Choke at Doak in 1994 (on the college side) for an absolute parade of horse-collars.

[@Unamedrn-p5z]

Legal at time when football was football

[@markbrian7179]

I guess the lesson here is be careful what you wish for.

[@Jason_Maier]

I don't care for taking ... whether it's for playoff positioning or draft picks. But my favorite playoff scenario was the 1984 Giants making it in despite losing their last two .... because everyone else in front of them lost.

[@Trizzer89]

What happened to Washingtons amazing offense in the super bowl???

[@DolFan316]

They got bullied by a good D, like every amazing offense did up until around a decade ago.

[@haroldmccoy-k7e]

The raiders acquisition of Hof CB Mike haynes during the season shifted the balance advantage towards the raiders , it provide the raiders with two elite shutdown CB's with Lester Hayes being raiders other star CB . WFT couldn't sustain drives because their wr's were being handcuffed. The WFT hogs OLine couldn't push the raiders excellent defensive front line around to compensate for their incarcerated passing attack . The Mike Haynes trade was actually illegal because it transpired 50 minutes after the trade deadline had expired, The raiders doing raiders things like breaking ,bending rules to gain a leverage advantage,in this case it was paramount to them winning a sb .

[@DolFan316]

@@haroldmccoy-k7e Raiders flat out gave away the regular season meeting and made sure they wouldn't have another letdown.

[@chuckgan]

Seriously? Been a Cowboys fan for about 50 years and don't remember this at all.

[@someperson3883]

To get to the NFC Championship the Cowboys would have had to go through the 49ers and Rams due to no division games in the Divisional Round, and the Rams having the head to head over the Lions. They got to choose who to hose and who to travel too

[@marcusmcgraw3519]

This was one of the smartest strategies I've seen. Unfortunately, it would have only paid off if the Cowboys were fielding the same team they were 2 years prior. The wild card loss at home against the Rams was the beginning of the end for the Cowboys in the 1980s, and they wouldn't return to their peak for another decade. Was it their fault that they were stuck in a division with a 14-2 team, as a 12-4 team? Absolutely not, since they would have won just about every other division in the league. But it was Danny White's fault that he threw 23 INTs that year and never fixed the gunslinger tendency after that

[@timc7037]

Cowboys didn't have a choice who they played in the playoffs, they got their asses beat by the Niners.

[@nymike06]

The Cowboys would go on to lose to the Rams the following week in Dallas.

[@fionam3554]

could have applied this year. The loser of the Sunday night game between the Lions and Vikings will be a 14-3 wild card. they will be playing a division champion the first round on the road. If a team had clinched the playoffs as a wild card, and is in play for their division, if that division plays the NFC North winner, they might not mind losing and facing someone else.

[@ParadiseCity1329]

And it did happen. Ironically, it was billed as one of the biggest season finale games in maybe a decade or even 15 years, and the Lions devoured the Vikings.

[@mbienlein]

Not quite the same but This year, If the Ravens win against the Browns Saturday they play the Chargers who we beat 30-23 recently, If they lose they play either the Texans who they beat 31-2. or the Steelers who we recently beat 34-17 (depending on the outcome of the Steelers-Bangles game) The Ravens don't have total control of their opponent, but I think either Steelers or Texans are an easier matchup for the Ravens than the Chargers

[@DolFan316]

It won't matter because Lamar Jackson will just choke in the postseason like he always does.

[@brucebaron1212]

I think it absolutely could happen in today's NFL. There is only 1 bye per conference and the division winners are seeded ahead of wildcards, which tends to scramble the pairings.

[@kyle1910]

It would have sucked to have a 9-7 #2 seed

[@kushclarkkent6669]

Sickening.

[@miked237]

Almost as much as a 7-9 division winner hosting a playoff game?

[@ryanjacobson2508]

​@@miked237 The league won't scrap the dumb division based seeding because it allows bad teams in bad divisions to hold onto playoff hopes longer, which therefore leads to better ratings. Basically it's a contrivance to prevent more teams from falling out of contention.

[@CTubeMan]

@@miked237Dems fightin words!

[@ManiaxOnYT]

1989 Browns: Hold my beer....... (Sure they were 9-6-1, but they were the 2nd seed)

[@geoffstrickler]

Cowboys should have played their second string for most of that final regular season game, letting their starters rest the extra 6 days before playing the RAMS

[@LegendaryDorkKnight]

I don't think letting the division leaders choose their wild card opponent really creates any conflicts with schedule tbh. Seeding can almost always potentially change in the last week anyway meaning no team in the wild card can truly know who they'll play unless they lock it up super early. This season's NFC and AFC wild card pictures have the potential to change ENTIRELY this coming week. So the way this could be handled is very simple. After seeding is locked up in week 18, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seeds have one day to decide who they'll play in the divisional round with priority being given based on seed. 2nd seed has first pick, 3rd seed has second pick, and 4th has last. If the 2nd seed fails to lock in their choice in a day, the 3rd seed will have a chance to make their pick. If they both fail the 24-hour deadline, the 4th pick goes first. If all teams fail to report in 24 hours, 2nd plays 7th, 3rd plays 6th, and 4th plays 5th as it is already. The NFL contacts the wild card teams that day or the following morning of who they'll be playing. That way everyone knows by Monday or Tuesday where they need to go for their first game. If only one team reports, the remaining higher division leader to not report will play the lower remaining wild card team and the lower division team will play the higher wild card team.

[@FletchBrendanGood]

12:00 Fred Dean had in fact JUST joined the 49ers in time for that regular season game against the Cowboys in 81. The Chargers had just stupidly traded him, and he'd only gotten 2 practices in. Bill Walsh predicted before the game that he wouldnt play much, but Dean played the whole game, recording 2 sacks while constantly harassing Danny White, and performing what football author Tom Danyluk called "the greatest set of downs I have ever seen unleashed by a pass rusher".

[@StarTropicsKing]

The Packers literally did the same exact thing back in 2013 to the Vikings. They lost, giving the Vikings the final wildcard spot on the final week. They then destroyed them in the wildcard round the next week. As a Vikings fan, I theorized they did this on purpose.

[@mgb4692]

Was that the AP game where the Vikes also lost Christian Ponder and ended up having to turn to Joe Webb?

[@tylerlarsen1842]

Another example of two teams playing their regular season finale against each other before immediately rematching in the Wild Card round was the Steelers and Browns in 2020. The Wild Card game in question was the infamous "Same Old Browns" game where the Browns scored 4 touchdowns in the first quarter.

[@L_Train]

Literally same exact, eh?

[@marcusmcgraw3519]

This isn’t the case. Green Bay would have gained a 1st round bye if they won. On top of that, the game was 37-34, they would have given up long before that. Otherwise, I would have agreed with you on the motive

[@markm.j.lewandowskijr1171]

This was the era when the skins and the Cowboys were pretty darn good.

[@kyle1910]

DET already had the Central locked up by kickoff vs TB. In the 1pm window, GB lost @ CHI 23-21 which put them at 8-8 along with GB and MIN. None of those 3 could beat DET, either individually or together, that could keep DET from winning the division with a tiebreaker. DET played TB in a 4pm game

[@freddyandfoxy7526]

If I was the coach I put in backups after the 4th quarter

[@daveporter0217]

Reminds me of the Baylor scenario that was on JG8 a while ago.

[@dionr1168]

I remember this exact scenario playing out in the NBA in 2006. It was a game between the Los Angeles Clippers & Memphis Grizzlies where the loser got the more favorable 1st round playoff match up. Winner got the 5 seed and loser got the 6 seed, so winning SHOULD have been an advantage, right? Except, due to playoff seeding, the opposite was true, because the Denver Nuggets at 44-38 (tied for the worst record among Western Conference playoff teams) ended up with the 3 seed by default on the account of winning their division, while the 60-22 Dallas Mavericks were relegated to the 4 seed because their division was won by the 63-19 San Antonio Spurs. On top of that, because of Memphis & LAC's records, whoever got the Nuggets in the first round would get home court advantage over the Nuggets due to a better record. Needless to say, the Clippers benefited by losing to Memphis, because while Memphis got swept by the Mavs, the Clippers beat the Nuggets (in what was the first playoff series the Clippers won since their days as the Buffalo Braves). In part because of that debacle (and also because of the Mavs #4 seed situation despite having the 2nd best record in the West), after the season was over, the league altered the playoff seeding format to where the first 4 seeds were the 3 division winners plus the wild card team with the best record in order of record.

[@marcus813]

I remember that mess very well. I don't think the NBA expected to see anyone exploit such quirks in its playoff format, but the Grizzlies and the Clippers knew the assignment.

[@WaltGekko]

Since changed to where winning your division only guarantees you the play-in round. The Heat a couple of times have been a 7 seed because the division they won was weak. The NFL should go to NBA-style playoff seeding where winning your division only gets you into the playoffs, you have to earn the rest.

[@Robert-tb6gv]

I think the same thing happened in 1988, when the 49ers played the Rams at home in the final week on a Sunday night game. The Niners considered the Giants a threat, so they got blown out by the Rams, perhaps intentionally. This way, the Rams got into the playoffs, and the Giants were out. The Niners would win the Super Bowl that year.

[@billwheeler3687]

I don't care who beats the Cowboys.

[@nicholaswinebrenner5164]

You should do a video about the most meaningless final game of the season in the history of Monday Night Football.

[@scotthopkins9458]

Just like that old saying. Be careful what you wish for

[@Farting-2]

Do one on the epic 2001 regular season finale, when the Sunday night game in week 17 was Philadelphia at Tampa Bay. Both teams had already clinched playoff berths before kickoff, and both teams were locked into their respective seeds. Those seeds were #3 and #6 meaning the wildcard weekend was going to feature...Tampa Bay at Philadelphia. Naturally, neither team wanted to risk any injury or show anything that could help their opponent prepare for their upcoming playoff game. It might have been the least exciting game ever played.

[@kevinburke8464]

Late season collapse was unusual for Dallas since 1970, although I get it. That Redskins loss for Div title ripped heart out of team. Since 1970, Landry's teams followed same script. Start strong. early to mid season slump, finish strong. Only exceptions were 1974 (started 1-4, finished 8-6) and 1976, when a mid season finger injury to Staubach greatly hurt his passing ability.

[@KingOfTheNighttime]

I don't think the Cowboys lost to the 49ers on purpose - they just got whipped. If they were tanking the game, they would have played their second team. Plus I agree with what seems to be the consensus: the ultimate goal in the playoffs is the Super Bowl, and you have to be able to defeat every opponent.

[@thomash.schwed3662]

It would appear that Kansas City in effect chose their own opponent by losing to Denver Sunday evening. If Kansas City had won, the resurgent Cincinnati Bengals would have claimed the wildcard and, doubtless, would have faced Kansas City for the second time this season later in the playoffs. Instead, Kansas City rested its starters and lost 38-0. Granted, Cincinnati had lost the previous meeting-by only one point. But, that was at a time when Kansas City was undefeated and Cincinnati, by most accounts, was heading back into the Dark Ages of 1989-2019. Since then, Cincinnati had improved enough to be “in the hunt”, and Kansas City clearly didn’t like that. So, rather than face the Bengals again, Kansas City decided to just let Denver run away with the final game of the regular season.

[@vulture3874]

1:08. Only by #2 seeds after being pumped by #7 seeds.

[@nichodemus10]

I often think the high seed picking opponents would be interesting and high drama (just think being in the lower seed locker room...'of all the teams they think they can beat us?'). It also has some crazy scenarios where the one seed picks their rival instead of the weakest team as a flex. A GM is unlikely to do this, but an owner wanting to dunk on another owner has a bit too much spite for people making millions of dollars together. And the scheduling nightmare bit is over blown. You could have this information out before you can the information just as fast as you have it now. Just make playoff eligible teams submit opponent preferences on the Tuesday of week 18. And seeds with home games dont get selected. So for example the eagles would submit a list before the final games (1 Falcons, 2 Bucs, 3 commanders, 4 packers, 5 lions, 6 rams, 7 Vikings). The once seedings are set, they get their choice as a two seed ignoring choices of seeds 1-4 as they have home games and byes. Also let the media have the selections as this will be a huge talker for which teams are the real teams 'no one wants to play'

[@hollybeat6901]

Why did the NFL stop having Monday night games the final week? I can't find an answer anywhere

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

Too many meaningless games or games where a team has an advantage by resting their starters because they know the outcome in advance

[@chriswaller3251]

I see one problem with that scenario what if the number one seed wants to play the number two seed because they got their number

[@garytruex6906]

It failed. The Rams came in and beat them soundly. Dallas' season ended a week earlier when they lost at home to Washington.

[@mjwatts1983]

“NO, DANNY! NO!”

[@truechaos6927]

and then the Redskins would go on to have their asses handed to them in the Super Bowl by the Raiders.

[@graysonmichael8335]

roger craig isnt in the hall of fame? ....thats seems like a crime. been an eagles die hard since '78. i watched roger craig through his whole career. he shouldnt be penalized for playing in the "west coast" offense. he was a GREAT football player, definitely an all time great.... and a great professional.

[@davidrivera9743]

Billy Johnson was NOT short.

[@stephenhood2948]

As a Redskins fan I badly want to beat Dallas tomorrow, I do not want to have to face Philly in Philly in the 1st round. The Rams or Bucs will be hard enough.

[@MarkAHoltz]

Joe Montana is one of the GOATs of football.

[@vihtoripuurola3775]

Dallas has been eliminated from the playoffs.

[@rentslave]

What about the Colts losing to the Lions in 1977 because it was better off for them than winning?

[@chriswaller3251]

I'm really surprised somebody didn't end up in jail over that people lost a lot of money on that game I'm a cowboy fan by the way

[@jongilbertson2106]

The purpose of the playoffs is to determine who is the best team. If that team was The Cowboys, then they should not be worried who their opponent was. A champion could beat anyone, any time, anywhere.

[@rksr7026]

Doesn't always work out that way. The best team does not always win. Underdogs win almost every week.

[@ajdelanoue647]

Glad to see theyre back to their losing philosophy

[@jamesbonnen]

8:10 NFC Championship game 2019

[@sparklerbc9898]

i mean, i get it, but the cowboys can't just decide to win a game. they could decide to lose, sure, but if they wanted the 49ers its not like they just decided that and the victory over the 49ers was a given.

[@dylanoshea1864]

Cheers! I won one league, 4th in another and 10th in my keeper. Who you take as your 5 keepers for a keeper league. I’m pretty set on the top 4, just not sure on the last one. I have picks 3, 4, 11, and 22 in the next draft. So I can get a rookie WR/ and another good WR/ RB. I think I should keep Jonnu. Sutton could be good if broncos don’t draft another weapon. SF seems to uncertain. BTJ J Cook Tyrone Tracy Jr McConkey Sutton Aiyuk Jonnu Smith Also can your rank these QBs for 2025, i know it’s early. K Murray B Mayfield J Goff T Lawrence S Darnold P Mahomes C Williams B Nix And outside of McBride and Bowers. Can you rank the next 10 TEs you like?

[@davidgriffith3938]

That is stupid.

[@stephenhood2948]

Yeah but they cant exactly choose to win. They can certainly throw the game, but winning takes effort and chance.

[@CTubeMan]

Can you please explain more why Detroit beating Tampa Bay factored into Dallas being able to choose its opponent?

[@KingOfTheNighttime]

It doesn't look like it would have mattered really, but a Detroit loss would have resulted in four teams in the NFC Central tied for first at 8-8 - I don't even want to try figuring out the tiebreaker there. It seems the NFC Central division winner was locked into the #3 seed regardless, as Los Angeles would take the #2 seed based on a head-to-head win over the Lions (and by record over any of the other three teams), and San Francisco would take the #2 seed based on record.

[@chriswaller3251]

Digging your helmet collection

[@MewCast1]

Bears could of back in 2018. They were sent as the 3rd seed as there game kick off. So if they let the Vikings beet them the last game of the year would turn around and play the same Vikings a team the were beating better badly than the eagles who they did lose to in the end.

[@tjp72675]

Yeah, as dar as higher seeds picking their opponents, I mention these teams as an example, Philadelphia says they would rather play Arizona instead of Green Bay, Nothing like giving your opponent a (Arizona) another reason to get fired up before the game. Oh they think we are the easier matchup, lets prove them wrong.

[@graysonmichael8335]

feature presentation?

[@RobHolecko]

uh, one correction, the 2-13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were not the worst team in the NFL, they were very clearly the second worst team in the NFL , having beaten the 2-13 Houston Oilers on Nov. 27 in the Repus Bowl (Super spelled backwards)... Their kicking situation that year would be a good topic for a video.. Bill Capece was kaput, (McKay's words), they brought in a barefoot kicker, David Warneke, I think his name was, he sucked, so McKay asked if anyone could kick and OL George Yarno volunteered and made an extra point

[@robertbennett2586]

Why are the Rams tanking it to play the Vikes or the Lions? Skins are a better match up.....

[@dallassportsfan_forever1983]

MLS Next pro lets teams pick their opponents in the playoffs

[@nicholasdupont2468]

Misleading thumbnail

[@Veritifiy]

What if BOTH TEAMS WERE TRYING TO LOSE ---------------

[@gcbranger1189]

the only real winner that season was the L.A. Raiders!

[@usnbostx2]

8:37 Is he kicking barefooted?

[@architect011_3]

Yes, there were some kickers that did that back in the day.

[@libertyprime2013]

The chiefs sorta have that today

[@BC_VORTEX_CHANNEL]

If Pittsburgh wins tonight, they play Houston in the first round of playoffs. If Pittsburgh loses, they play Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs. Pittsburgh gets to pick their opponent. Maybe they want to play Baltimore!

[@xxTexas_outlaw71xxttv]

AMERICAS TEAM?🤣 more like AMERICAS JOKE 🤣 TEXANS PLAY L.A. at home in the playoffs unlke the JOKE of dallas..THE JIMMY JOHNSON CURSE LIVES!! when Jerry grows a brain and gets a REAL winning coach and staff then and ONLY then will dallas go back to the bowl 29 yrs since they won🤣🤣🤣 HOW BOUT DEM COWGURLS

[@ynkybomber]

Imagine being short today and still getting the TD?

[@BeachBumZero]

The Kansas City Chiefs have the power to choose the Buffalo Bills opponent. Beat the Broncos and the Bills have to play the Bengals. Lost to the Broncos then the Bills get the easier opponent Broncos.