The 2020 NFL playoffs started on Saturday, which means three more teams will bid farewell to the 2020 NFL season.
The Indianapolis Colts were the first to leave the stage with games between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, as well as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Football Team that followed. Three more games complete the NFL Super Wildcard Weekend on Sunday, and the top-filled Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers will attend the playoff party next week after saying goodbye in the first round.
What’s next for the teams eliminated from the playoffs this week? NFL nation digs in.
What went wrong: It’s hard to tell that something went wrong when you ended up in double-digit wins for the second time since 2014. But the Colts didn’t give quarterback Philip Rivers a one-year $ 25 million deal just to lead them to the first weekend of the playoffs. Owner Jim Irsay wants to win “several Lombardis” but they haven’t won since the 2006 season. They had the knack for making the postseason, but the 2020 season proved that there was little room for error. And Indianapolis had almost one mistake too many. They didn’t qualify for the playoffs until the last week of the regular season when they beat Jacksonville and then got help from Buffalo against Miami.
Biggest question out of season: Who will be the starting quarterback and leave the tackle in 2021? After spending the first 16 seasons of his career with the Chargers, Rivers proved that critics were wrong by showing that he could still compete at the highest level. But he’s 39 and has a high school head coach job waiting for him in Alabama when he retires. The risk of keeping Rivers – if all sides so wish – is that its production will cease and the franchise will have to look for a new starter in 2022. In the fourth round, Jacob Eason spent that season as quarterback on the team’s third string, learning behind Rivers and Jacoby Brissett. It is not known if Eason is ready to push for the starting job next season. The Colts could re-sign Brissett, who will be a free agent, or look for a starter through a free agency or trade (Carson Wentz or Matthew Stafford). Anthony Castonzo turns 33 in August and, like Rivers, has not committed to play beyond this season. Castonzo flirted with retirement last winter. The only player currently on the roster who can potentially fill in is left all-pro security guard Quenton Nelson. – Mike Wells
Comments are closed.