Most dominant elements of the 2022/23 NFL playoffs: What to look out for in the postseason
The NFL has been focused on things other than football over the last few days. I struggled to just let this write-up flow due to the remaining uncertainty about the health of Bills safety Damar Hamlin. This is a major challenge for all parties involved and what happens on the field seems secondary right now. We’re continuing to get positive news about the young man, which comes as a huge relief to everyone that watches football.
It is impossible to state some things with certainty, as this was written before the final regular season games have been played and the playoff picture confirmed.
There’s one more week left in the 2022 regular season to finalize the playoff picture and upcoming matchups. Before we get into those and the specific X’s and O’s, I wanted to look at all the teams in the running and talk about the ten biggest strengths and most dangerous elements across them.
All but one of these groups associated with them have already clinched an NFL playoff spot. The Miami Dolphins will host the New York Jets this Sunday and need a win in combination with the Buffalo Bills beating the New England Patriots (a matchup that still brings some questions about playoff seeding) to make the postseason.
Skylar Thompson to start vs. Jets on Sunday
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So without any further proclamations, here are the ten elements to look out for in the NFL playoffs:
#1. Patrick Mahomes' magic
This first one is pretty self-explanatory for anybody who has tracked Patrick Mahomes’ career. Ever since starting that final game of his rookie season (before taking over for Alex Smith the following year and immediately elevating the Kansas City Chiefs into an AFC powerhouse), he’s been a human highlight reel, doing things that we’ve never really seen in the NFL.
Two weeks into his first season as a full-time starter, I was ready to trash my pre-draft thoughts on him and express my belief in his future. I ordered his jersey and have followed his career with great interest.
Mahomes has continued to grow as a student of the game (being able to identify pre- and post-snap looks by the defense), and has become a machine at finding weaknesses and attacking those from within the pocket. He still adds that cherry on top with the stuff he does after the initial play breaks down.
He drifts around the pocket with bodies flying, completing frequent no-lookers and spinning out of trouble before finding his guys down the field. He looks like he’s covered in grease with tacklers slipping off him as he’s somehow getting away from them as a runner. He even switches the ball to his left hand and somehow completes passes that way. This guy has made our jaws drop on numerous occasions and is a defacto NFL superstar.
Patrick Mahomes did WHAT!? #ChiefsKingdom
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What makes him so special in that regard is that he doesn't allow his eyes to drop or miss opportunities to find his receivers down the field. Nor is he ever really unaware of somebody having an angle on him and exposing the ball to be stripped.
Mahomes will literally look behind himself at times as he’s leaving the pocket and then toggle right back to his targets trying to break free on secondary routes. He has a flexible arm to flick it to them from all kinds of different arm angles and off either foot, when needed. He and Travis Kelce almost have a Zen-like connection on critical downs, finding green grass together.
Jerrick McKinnon has been the recipient of quite a few of those off-schedule plays that have broken the backs of NFL defenses. I feel like all the components around Mahomes have really embraced that style of creating secondary plays. Along with the transformation we’ve seen this offense make on script, with more runs from under center and working the middle of the field.
That dichotomy of being able to carve up opponents when things are on-script, but then being even more dangerous when Mahomes uses his wizardry. This happens even if the defense wins initially, which makes them maddening to play against.
The patience by Mahomes 😱
He finds Jerrick McKinnon for the touchdown!
https://t.co/urSb1rUg2f
There have been several examples of Mahomes' magic already this season and we will doubtless see more in the NFL playoffs.