7 Biggest Losers of 2022 NFL Wild Card Weekend

Let’s start with a peak behind the curtain. I have no idea if this is the 2022 NFL Wild Card Weekend because it’s a continuation of the 2022 season or if it’s the 2023 NFL Wild Card Weekend because, ya know, it’s 2023. Probably not great for SEO to not know but shrug.

Anyway, here are the 7 biggest losers of 2022 NFL Wild Card Weekend (or 2023):

1. Trey Lance

The conversation surrounding Brock Purdy is one of two extremes. Either he’s the best 7th-round quarterback of all time who deserves $500 million guaranteed and a statue built outside of Levi’s Stadium. OR…he’s the result of Kyle Shanahan’s offensive schemes that are pretty plug-and-play and make every quarterback look great.

If the latter is true then what does that say about Trey Lance who was in that same system earlier this season before his leg exploded? He looked nothing like Purdy. Here’s what Brock did against Seattle this weekend:

18-for-30 (60%)
332 yards
4 total touchdowns
0 interceptions
131.5 passer rating

I guess we haven’t seen enough of Trey Lance to confidently say whether he’s capable of this level of performance, but we do know that Brock Purdy is. Sucks that Lance has to find a U-haul truck because he is 1000% out of San Fran.

2. Brett Maher

I don’t enjoy writing about kickers having bad nights because, in my ideal world, there would be zero kicking in football. Get rid of punts and field goals altogether. Every team has 4 downs to advance the ball or else you turn it over. That simple. No one tunes into these games to see Brett Maher jog onto the field.

Brett Maher missed 4 extra points and the stinks but the Cowboys still won and that’s even worse. I can’t even enjoy Maher being trash because Dallas is still hanging around. Whatever. Go Niners, I reckon.

3. Brandon Staley

Last week, Staley was on the losers list for playing his starters in a meaningless Week 18 game resulting in the loss of their starting wide receiver, Mike Williams, and this week he blew a 27-0 lead in a playoff game to the Jacksonville Jaguars. A playoff game in which they forced 5 turnovers and still ended up losing.

But there was one moment from the game that showed the world that these guys do not rock with Staley like that:

Joey Bosa’s reaction to Brandon Staley handing him his helmet back is the funniest thing you’ll see this @NFL playoffs…pic.twitter.com/XUwjIrVIjM

— Tito (@JavierPDJavier) January 15, 2023

Joey Bosa was being a little bitch the entire game complaining with the refs. Not surprising to see a Bosa brother in his feelings on MLK Weekend.

But yea, you cannot lose a game where the opposing quarterback throws 4 interceptions. That’s a game you win by 76 points.

Fire Brandon Staley.

Also want to quickly point out that we absolutely need to stop automatically placing Justin Herbert in the Top 5 QB conversation when he has a grand total of zero (0) playoff wins. All he needed to do was get a first down at the end of the game to seal the win for his club anddd went 3 and out. Joe Burrow would never.

4. Tony Dungy

The Chargers and Jaguars had a legendary playoff game but you wouldn’t know it listening to the Al Michaels and Tony Dungy broadcast booth as these elderly men slept walked through the entire game as if they were being forced to do it at gunpoint.

Tony Dungy is already a loser for supporting Ron DeSantis and his ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill last year. We do not need this man in our lives anymore. He doesn’t even care to sip a coffee before snoring through one of the most dramatic games in NFL history.

5. The Vape Lord

Is Mike McDaniel ripping a vape on the sideline?😂 pic.twitter.com/SWsHMA1Yyk

— Bussin’ With The Boys 🐺 (@BussinWTB) January 15, 2023

The Dolphins should not have been in that game against the Bills at all with a 7th round rookie as QB but somehow they were and Mike McDaniel did everything in his power to start his vacation.

With a little over 3 minutes left with Miami down by just a field goal on the 50-yard line, the Dolphins ran it up the middle and was stopped short. Cool. 4th and inches should be an easy conversation. Nope, the Dolphins took the entire play clock and ended up with a delay of game. Bills win. Atrocious game management.

6. Tom Brady

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to be investigated for elder abuse after what they did to Tom Brady this season. It is fucking insane to ask this 45-year-old man to throw 66 times against the Cowboys on Monday night. I have never seen a quarterback look more terrified to make physical contact before.

Look at this interception he threw in the endzone:

Tom Brady getting so pissed at himself after an interception that he slaps his own helmet is my love language. pic.twitter.com/VXZZ5xn3k9

— Adam Best (@Arrowhead_Adam) January 17, 2023

Brady was so afraid of being hit that he just closed his eyes and chucked a terrible pass off his back foot where literally only a Cowboys defender could reach it. There were balls spiked into the dirt the second a blue jersey was in his line of his sight.

And the weirdest part is ESPN and all these NFL outlets will spend the offseason speculating about where Brady will play next season as if we didn’t just watch him go 8-9 and only make the playoffs because the NFC South is in its flop era.

Tom Brady stinks now. He’s old and one hit away from turning into a small pile of dust.

7. Baltimore Ravens

I have no idea if Lamar Jackson could’ve beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night but I did know for a fact that Tyler Huntley didn’t stand a chance.

There is this strange narrative that Lamar is somehow selfish for not playing in this game even though he has a knee injury. We just watched Damar Hamlin almost die on the field last week and now we’re demanding Lamar limp onto the field and try to play with a busted knee as if that won’t have long-term negative effects on both his career and his life.

The Ravens refused to pay to him last offseason and now they have to deal with the consequences. Play stupid games win stupid prices.