Have you ever captained a sailing yacht?
Me neither.
But when the America’s Cup competition was held in San Francisco in 2013 I got to hear a number of the crew members talk of their experience. It is exhilarating to listen to their tactics and as one said, “When you find that groove that allows you to just trim the sails for maximum speed, it is a high over any other high I have ever experienced.”
In my world, I see trimming the sails as important too. But I apply it to National Football League teams entering the postseason. If, by chance, a team wins on the last day of the season in a game they didn’t need against an opponent that did, they consistently underachieve when the games count for them again in the playoffs.
Yet, when a team that has their postseason slot assured before their last game and then loses ... it is as if they are trimming their sails. They come out in their first postseason game with a proper blend of talent and motivation.
That’s what the Buffalo Bills did on Sunday. In a game they didn’t need, they rested key starters and allowed the New England Patriots to beat them on the scoreboard, 23-16.
Perfect.
Now they open the postseason against the Denver Broncos who needed their game on the final day of the regular season to secure a postseason berth and got it against a skeleton Kansas City Chiefs squad by a 38-0 score.
It was a satisfying victory for the Broncos who ended an eight-year playoff drought with the win and their first postseason date since winning Super Bowl 50 to complete the 2015 season. They did it behind rookie quarterback Bo Nix and second-year head coach Sean Payton. Over the past two seasons the Broncos were looking for a revival of their fortunes first by signing quarterback Russell Wilson before the 2022 season.
When that season went downhill from the start, and Wilson played more like Marc Wilson than the Russell Wilson who won a Super Bowl for the Seattle Seahawks, the Broncos figured bringing in a coach who had won a Super Bowl would be the answer.
It initially wasn’t.
While Payton had coached Drew Brees while with the New Orleans Saints to a Hall of Fame career he couldn’t find the magic with Wilson that he displayed during his career in Seattle. So, out with Wilson and in with Nix with a first-round draft choice.
Success.
The Broncos opened this season with Super Bowl odds in triple-digits and now are one of six teams left in the American Football Conference with a chance to advance to Super Bowl LIX. While Nix is a rookie, he played five college seasons and is 25 years old. His maturity shows on the field and Denver brings to Buffalo this week both a solid defense, good running game and the more veteran-like play of their rookie signal caller.
It is a good combination. Good enough to land a playoff spot.
Good enough for that, but that’s that.
The Bills trimmed their sails last week, the Broncos got a lopsided win over a Chiefs team that had nothing to play for. This week, the Bills have something to play for, and the Broncos 2024 surge ends with a thud.
Qoxhi Picks: Buffalo Bills (-9) over Denver Broncos