The San Francisco 49ers offense was nearly unstoppable in December. The Seattle Seahawks didn’t score a touchdown through eight quarters against the 49ers in January.
For several years now, every NFL team with a head coaching vacancy has seemed to be looking for the hottest offensive mind. Teams in this cycle may see the dawn of assistants successfully stopping these offenses. Defensive coordinators like Chris Shula, Jesse Minter and Matt Burke are all top candidates this month, and they may have Mike McDonald to thank.
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In his second season, Seahawks head coach McDonald has lived up to Seattle’s expectations and far exceeded them. He led Seattle to a home victory in Super Bowl X, and McDonough’s defense was on top. The Seahawks’ defense ranks 25th in points allowed in 2023. It ranked 11th last season after McDonald took over and ranks first this season. The Seahawks made these big leaps without any Defensive Player of the Year candidates. They have very good players, but a lot of that success is due to McDonald’s scheme, which put him on the head coach’s radar when he was the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens.
McDonald’s defense shackled 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, perhaps the best playmaker in the NFL. Brock Purdy has thrown for 127 and 140 yards in his last two games against Seattle, a Week 18 loss and a huge divisional playoff victory. The Seahawks won 41-6 on Saturday night to advance to the NFC Championship Game. Seattle isn’t expected to be tied with the NFC West this season, but has been the best team in the NFL from the start of the regular season through the divisional round. McDonald played an important role in this rapid transformation. Before this season, he wisely hired Klint Kubiak (another hot head coaching candidate) as his offensive coordinator to handle the team’s offensive coordination. Taking over after a franchise icon is difficult, but McDonald re-energized the Seahawks after they began to decline toward the end of the Pete Carroll era.
McDonald is the only head coach who has ever had success with a defense-focused approach. Mike Vrabel also led the New England Patriots to the conference championship game. DeMeco Reigns and Sean McDermott made it to the divisional round and became mainstays in the playoffs. The tide is turning. The defensive coach is back in style again.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike McDonald led the team to a 14-3 record this season and defeated the 49ers in the playoffs. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sports Wire via Getty Images)
Here are the remaining winners and losers from the NFL playoff divisional rounds:
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Winner
Jarrett Stidham: Stidham obviously doesn’t want to see Bonix get hurt. No one supports an injury, especially an injury to a teammate. Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton said Stidham and Nix are also close friends.
Yet consider the situation Stidham finds himself in.
Nix suffered a season-ending injury in the Broncos’ thrilling 33-30 overtime victory over the Bills, which left Stidham in the starting lineup for the AFC Championship Game. This will be the fifth start of his NFL career. Payton expressed his confidence in Stidham, who he said could start for several other teams. All Stidham has to do is help Denver win two more games and go from a little-known backup player to an overnight phenomenon. Winning even one game will have a place in NFL history. It won’t be easy, but it won’t be impossible because he has a good defense and Payton is a great coach.
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There have been a lot of good but unmemorable quarterbacks over the years. But we remember quarterbacks like Jeff Hostetler, Trent Dilfer and Nick Foles who took over in adverse situations and became starting quarterbacks in Super Bowl victories. Foles already posted an interesting piece of news about Stidham on social media on Sunday.
Stidham didn’t ask for it, and presumably if he gets his way, his good friend the Knicks will start this weekend. But he had an almost unprecedented opportunity. The four-career quarterback has failed to throw a pass the past two regular seasons and could become a legend if Denver wins two more games.
Patriots defense: The obstacle to Jarrett Stidham’s fairy tale becoming a reality is that the New England Patriots’ defense hasn’t had it easy, especially of late.
The Patriots defeated Justin Herbert and the Chargers in the wild-card round, holding Los Angeles to just three points. In the divisional round, the Texans gained just 241 yards and New England forced five turnovers, including a pick-6 fumble to cornerback Marcus Jones. A lot has been said, and a lot will be said, about C.J. Stroud’s collapse and what it means for the future, but the Patriots had a lot to do with those mistakes.
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New England is having a fantastic breakout season, and the defense is a big part of it. It’s gotten better in the playoffs. All the Patriots need to do is beat a team forced to use a backup quarterback to get back to the Super Bowl.
Caleb Williams: Williams did more to bolster his reputation in the postseason than any other player, even those still alive to play in the conference championship game.
Quarterbacks always get too much attention, especially in the playoffs. The Chicago Bears playoff run was memorable for Williams’ dramatic comeback, with two highlights that would help begin to define his NFL career. His fourth-down pass to Roman Odunze against the Packers was so good that he might have outdone himself by throwing a fourth-down touchdown pass to Cole Kmet in the final minute to send the game against the Rams into overtime. That comeback didn’t end in a victory for the Bears, and Williams’ interception in overtime was a huge key to the Rams’ win.
Williams’ miss in overtime shouldn’t go unnoticed, but the Bears were already playing with casino money at the end of a huge season for the team. Williams completed only two NFL seasons. The Bears should feel like something special is coming together.
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loser
Buffalo Bills on Josh Allen: Allen will be the primary culprit for the Bills’ failure to reach the Super Bowl this season. He knew it after the game. He emotionally put the blame on himself in an interview with the media afterwards, and he did make some key mistakes in the loss to the Broncos.
Plus, the Bills wouldn’t make the playoffs without Allen, and everyone knows that.
Allen didn’t have much help around him. General manager Brandon Beane was upset with the inference that Allen didn’t have enough help, especially at receiver, but it was a valid criticism. The defense has had its ups and downs over the past few seasons.
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Whether we want to blame Allen or the circumstances surrounding him for this latest loss isn’t that important. What matters is how the Bills made it to the Super Bowl during Allen’s prime. It’s hard to imagine Allen doing more than he has over the years, although he deserves some criticism for his missteps in Denver. That means Buffalo needs to find a way to upgrade around him.
What’s next for the 49ers and Texans: Both teams are having great seasons. The 49ers have endured several serious injuries and overcame them to win 12 regular season games and one playoff game. The Texans shook off a slow start and won ten straight games, including a victory in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
But the offseason won’t be easy for everyone.
For San Francisco, the core is about to age for another year. Some players like Nick Bosa and George Kittle are coming off serious injuries. Christian McCaffrey is coming off a big season with 450 touches and is about to turn 30 years old. We saw Saquon Barkley take a big step back last season after touching the ball 482 times last season. Worth paying attention to. The 49ers must continue to reshape their roster, especially on defense, and around some big contracts.
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The Texans’ problem is much different. The playoffs were shocking for C.J. Stroud, who had a great rookie season but never regained that form in the two seasons since. Stroud had a poor showing in the wild-card round, something the Texans overcame, and he was even worse in the divisional round, something Houston couldn’t make up for. They lost to the Patriots and Stroud threw four interceptions, including a bad pick-6. The Texans are certain to pick up Stroud’s fifth-year option and they’ll likely reach an extension soon, but even if head coach DeMeco Ryans backs him after Sunday’s game, confidence in him may be waning. They need to figure out how to get Stroud back to his rookie year form, if they can.
Houston and San Francisco have better fundamentals than many teams entering the offseason. But some big questions still await each of them.
