Madden Trois

Two years away from Madden after so many calendars on it during Madden Deuce and Madden Deuce: Part Deux, a return to the greatest sports video game franchise of all-time was due.

During Madden Deuce, I found wild success with my friend, Jon. Over 20 Super Bowl titles. I didn’t expect to see that achievement again. For as talented as I can be at offense at times, my defense on Madden is gross, or at least it was long ago. It had been eight years since I’d played defense.

Madden 24 was also very different from the Madden I had become accustomed to. In many ways, the yearly drop of Madden is the same but over time, Madden from five years ago doesn’t even feel applicable to the experience you’re living now.

My friend, Willie and I created a new Madden universe and each of us took a team chained in the doldrums of football misery. Willie took the Houston Texans, a franchise afterthought the last few seasons but with offensive and defensive rookies of the year C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr., things are looking up.

I chose the Detroit Lions, outside of the Cleveland Browns and maybe Jacksonville, the most hopeless organization in football. The Jets have won a Super Bowl, were responsible for the merger. The Bears have their ‘85 season to rammer on about. The Vikings at least made four Super Bowls and the same with Buffalo.

The Lions have nothing, only Hall of Fame players who retired in the middle of their careers rather than continue to play in the pale blue. 2023 was the best season in the history of Lions football, a season that produced their first division title in 30 years and multiple playoff wins.

It was fun, watching Detroit compete after so many years of incompetent management. Finally, Detroit is a real team, maybe. The Jaguars had their AFC Championship game with Jalen Ramsey and then blew up the team so who knows but I’d like to believe it’s to stay.

I had brought Super Bowls to the Raiders, returned them to their former glory in The Madden Experience. I had turned Jacksonville into sports’ greatest dynasty in Madden Deuce and Madden Deuce: Part Deux. Now, I would take on the heartache of another fan base and try with all my might to take them to glory, a heaven they’ve never known.

Wars begin in the trenches and we would have the best lines in football. Many years have past in my Madden journey but my formula, for the most part, has stayed the same: own the trenches, run the ball at will, rush four and play defense.

So most of my best players are linemen and I’m good with it. With protection like this, a team will find it hard not to compete.

Alas, much of the draft did not go well. I waited too long to take a WR and QB so my passing attack would be anemic. Jameis Winston and Joe Flacco would be the worst QB duo I’d ever had to compete with.

I purposely waited on RB because with this line, I don’t need a star or a bell cow. A platoon of capable backs, like former starters Jerick McKinnon and Dalvin Cook, would succeed. My secondary was exceptional, with Sneed, Bland, the Honey Badger and Hufanga, an emerging star.

Perhaps the biggest problem, even more so than the quarterback room, was age. The team was older than I would have liked. I missed on a lot of younger talent and depth would be an issue.

Our head coach would be Marshall Mathers, commonly known as Eminem, the pride of Detroit. If nothing else, our team would be motivated.

I’ve always been a fan of the west coast offense so I started with Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers playbook on offense and the GOAT, Bill Belichick, on defense.

The inaugural draft of the 2023 Detroit Lions:

QB: Jameis Winston, Joe Flacco, Nick Foles
RB: Jerick McKinnon, Dalvin Cook, Latavius Murray, Matt Breida
FB: Alec Ingold
WR: Tyler Lockett, Rashid Shaheed, Marquise Goodwin, Julio Jones, Brandon Powell, Velus Jones
TE: Zach Ertz, Logan Thomas, Marcedes Lewis
LT: Tristan Wirfs, Donovan Smith
LG: Joe Thuney, A.J. Cann
C: David Andrews, Ben Jones
RG: Chris Lindstrom, Gabe Jackson
RT: Morgan Moses, Kelvin Beachum
LE: Calais Campbell, Denico Autry
DT: Javon Hargrave, B.J. Hill, Shelby Harris
RE: Brandon Graham, Leonard Floyd
LOLB: T.J. Watt, Justin Houston, Jason Pierre-Paul
MLB: Bobby Wagner, Jordan Hicks
ROLB: Quincy Williams, Melvin Ingram
CB: L’Jarius Sneed, DaRon Bland, Taron Johnson, K’Waun Williams, Tavon Young, Xavier Rhodes, Troy Hill
FS: Tyrann Mathieu, Lamarcus Joyner
SS: Talanoa Hufanga, Kareem Jackson
K: Jake Elliott
P: Bryan Anger

Unfortunately, I left pre-existing injuries on, meaning Hufanga would miss the season with his ACL injury. I drafted him in the top-seven rounds so this hurt a lot.

After the draft, my team ratings were 87 overall, 84 offense, 91 defense.

Finished with a rough 0-3 preseason, I decided to make playbook changes, switching to Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel on offense and Andy Reid’s defense. McDaniel’s offense is built around speed and my receivers were nothing if not fast. Steve Spagnuolo is a HOF-caliber assistant coach and his defenses have been notable for a long while. Maybe these playbook changes would provide a spark. I also switched to a base 4-3, moving Watt to defensive end.

With this scheme change, I needed MLB depth, so I traded a sixth-round pick and a practice squad player for Mack Wilson to be my MLB3.

I had extra ends so I traded Leonard Floyd to Cincy for a fifth. I might have been able to get more but he was going to be a preseason cut so it was a net positive.

A godsend came after the preseason: speedster Raheem Mostert. Some idiot cut him. Our running game was already going to be a problem. Now Mostert, who this past season set the Dolphins single-season touchdown record and had won me a fantasy football championship, would bring speed and explosiveness we didn’t have.

Preseason adds: RB Raheem Mostert, TE Jonnu Smith, MLB Kamu Grugier-Hill, CB Patrick Peterson, FS Tashaun Gipson

Preseason cuts: RB Matt Breida, WR Brandon Powell, MLB Josh Bynes, CB Xavier Rhodes, CB Troy Hill, FS Lamarcus Joyner

Preseason MVP: S Kareem Jackson. I’m convinced preseason Madden is even harder than playoffs because I was crushed in all contests. Our preseason MVP was Kareem Jackson, who made some plays and would need to make a lot more as the starting strong safety with Hufanga injured.

Head Coach Marshall Mathers
Offensive Coordinator Erik Aguilar
Defensive Coordinator Dean Fuller

My team captains going into the season: Wirfs, Lockett, Watt, Wagner, Mathieu.

As in prior Madden Experiences, we would start on All-Pro.

1/Mostert Magic

Our first regular season game was a huge success, winning 28-10. Detroit amassed nearly 300 yards of offense, including 169 yards rushing. Mostert, without any preseason with the team, had 18 carries for 115 yards. Latavius Murray ran in two touchdowns. An offensive line shoutout to David Andrews at center, who was exceptional.

Jameis, despite real concerns from me, was strong: 11/15 for 117 and two scores. The Famous Jameis Bakery was only cooking touchdowns today. Marquise Goodwin excelled in the slot, leading the passing game with five receptions for 66 and a score.

Other cut week adds Jonnu Smith and Patrick Peterson also made splash plays, with Smith catching Winston’s second touchdown and Peterson snagging an interception. The Chiefs fearsome run duo of Bijan Robinson and Kyren Williams amassed only 65 yards combined.

With Seattle starting Carson Wentz in week 2, a 2-0 start felt very feasible.

Jameis would throw two more scores, a bomb down the seam to Shaheed and a second on the season score to Jonnu Smith but a red zone interception proved costly.

Tied at 14 at the two-minute warning, Mathers’ marauders would force a punt, giving Winston a chance to secure his first 4th quarter game-winning drive.

Winston didn’t have to do much, handing the ball to Mostert on four straight plays as the offensive line opened huge holes, including A.J. Cann, subbed in for an injured Joe Thuney at left guard.

Then, Jake Elliott, one of the best kickers in the sport, missed a 27-yd field goal to win.

In overtime, Mostert and the line once again ran the Seahawks front over but got stalled at the 45. We punted and the clock expired before Seattle could score. 14-14 tie.

Talk about a game slipping away. The Lions rushing attack managed nearly 200 yards, including over 150 from Mostert.

It came down to faltering in the red zone. Between the Winston pick and Elliott’s miss, we’d squandered 10 points. If Detroit missed playoffs, this tie would haunt them for a while.

It would not get easier next week. Mostert and fullback Alec Ingold would miss that contest with injury. Atlanta’s Patrick Mahomes would sit behind one of the league’s best offensive lines and run the spread. The red birds would finish with nearly 500 yards. Mahomes would finish 23/26 for 381 and five touchdowns, a perfect performance.

McKinnon would run for 77 in his first start and Winston would throw for a season-high 227 but it was nowhere near enough. 42-24 Falcons.

I decided to make my first contract extension following the loss. I ended up misunderstanding the contract structure, signing guard Chris Lindstrom to a gargantuan five-year, $165 million contract, making him the highest-paid lineman in NFL history. I meant to offer him half that, a five-year, $85, $17 million per year.

This was a huge misfire. Not only had I wasted a third of my available cap space for the upcoming season, I had put a potential chokehold on my cap in a few years.

The lesson had been learned. That would not happen again.

On the positive side, Lindstrom should be a top-three guard for the next five years so at least that money would be going to a team leader.

In further bad news, Joe Thuney showed no interest in re-signing with the Lions. We would have a new starting left guard next season.

After our humiliation against Atlanta, we would rattle off four straight wins, including holding the Lamar Jackson Ravens to under 100 yards. Mostert would go over the century mark in all of his starts before we ran into Andy Dalton, who turned on God mode and beat us handedly 28-7. Three Winston interceptions didn’t help but we were 5-2-1 at the bye.

The biggest game of the season came against the Chicago Bears, led by Jalen Hurts and Derrick Henry. Henry rolled and the Bears defense was exceptional against the run. Jameis would throw two picks to start, one a pick-six and the Lions would find themselves down 17-0 in the middle of the second quarter. Detroit would run the ball down the field, convert a 4th-and-2 and score before half.

Right out of half, Winston threw his third pick. MLB Jordan Hicks would level Henry, forcing a fumble. Flacco would come in and kicker Jake Elliott would convert from 39. The Lions D would force a punt and Mostert would break the season’s biggest play, a 65-yard touchdown run. Coach Eminem would decide to go for two with the momentum on his side but the Bears would maintain the 17-16 lead.

Chicago would drive down to the goal line and on 4th-and-1, Hurts threw a ball that was tipped and L’Jarius Sneed would return the pick 100 yards for the score. This time, the 2pt try would succeed, making it 24-17 Lions.

Chicago would drive for a tying touchdown with 17 seconds. Flacco would throw an out route to Goodwin with two seconds left, giving Elliott a chance at a 65-yarder, which came up short.

The Bears would win the coin toss and win in overtime. Despite coming back from 17 down, the Lions lost and they’d lose to the 2-8 Packers in another overtime game the following week. Green Bay had 170 yards rushing, a season-high for the Lions D.

On the road against New Orleans, a playoff-caliber team, Elliott hit a walkoff field goal to end the losing streak and keep Detroit, at 7-4-1, at the top of the NFC North.

That ended the following week when Chicago once again went up 17-0 on the Lions. The Bears were built like Detroit: strong run defense, strong run game. It was a battle of trench warfare and through two games, Chicago had won handedly.

They had Jalen Hurts. We had Jameis Winston. That felt like the difference. If Chicago couldn’t run, Hurts could deal. Winston didn’t have that ability.

We had our rival.

On the plus side, Raheem Mostert signed a two-year, $30 million extension. He was the team MVP. Without him, I don’t know if our offense would have a pulse. We still had the best offensive line in football and that was not to be disregarded but Mostert was on pace to lead the league in rushing.

I offered Winston, who had been one of the worst quarterbacks in football, a one year, $23 million contract extension. Flacco and Foles were both free agents and it would be hard to replace the entire quarterback room.

Winston declined. He’d thrown 16 interceptions.

A loss to Denver the following week was our fourth loss in our last five games. We were 6-2-1 and leading the division.

Now, we were 7-6-1 and in danger of missing the playoffs.

A large part of the problem was we were getting no pressure. T.J. Watt, my top draft pick, had two sacks. We were in week 16. It was inexcusable.

In an effort to light a fire under him, I took his captaincy and gave it to Mostert, who had more than earned it. Watt record a sack in his next game and the defense would explode, intercepting Tua Tagovailoa three times in a crucial divisional win over Minnesota.

After Winston threw another two picks, I offered him a smaller offer: one year for $20. Now realizing how bad he was, Winston accepted. That’s a ton of money to pay for a backup but if I didn’t get a gem quarterback prospect, we’d be stuck turning to the Jameis Bakery next season.

The following week was a defensive masterclass. Detroit held Dallas out of the end zone, all the way to the buzzer and the Lions managed a fourth quarter score to win 7-3. Watt, no longer weighed down by the captain’s armband, had three sacks, including one defending his own goal line to seal the win. He received NFC defensive player of the week for his performance.

Winston had 22 passing yards. He was looking like a spring cut. That contract already looked awful.

In a must-win final game to make the playoffs, Winston threw two picks, showing who he is. Luckily, the defense had their best pass rush game of the season, registering five sacks and a safety, which was the winning margin, 19-17. Detroit was in the playoffs as the sixth seed at 10-6-1.

The Bears, our hated rival, won the NFC.

‘23 Season Stats:
Winston 140/228 for 1772, 61%, 60.4 rating, 9 TDs, 21 INTs
Mostert 272 carries for league-leading 1758, 6.5 ypc, 9 TDs (Offensive MVP)
Lockett 33 receptions for 593, TD
Watt 42 tackles, 13 TFL, 7 sacks, FF
Hargrave 21 tackles, TFL, 7.5 sacks
Peterson 62 tackles, 2 TFL 2 sacks, 2 INTs, FF (Defensive MVP)
Sneed 58 tackles, 3 TFL, 5 INTs, TD
Elliott 13/16 for 81%, 35/35 XP for 100%
Anger 49.8 avg, 48.1 net, 11 inside the 20
Team Stats:
Offense: 4217 (32nd), 1643 pass (32nd), 2574 rush (1st), 18.6 ppg (31st)
Defense: 4263 (1st), 2907 pass (1st), 1356 rush (2nd), 17.1 pag (1st), 30 sacks, fumble, 18 INTs

Awards:
Pro Bowl: Mostert, Ingold, Wirfs, Thuney, Lindstrom, Moses (6)
COY: Mathers (8th)
RB: Mostert (3rd)
OL: Wirfs (2nd), Lindstrom (4th), Thuney (6th)
CB: Sneed (4th)
K: Elliott (8th)

The league’s best defense, no Lions defenders made the Pro Bowl. Mostert wasn’t even nominated for MVP or NFC Offensive Player of the Year and finished third for the conference’s best running back despite leading the league in rushing. We’d be taking these snubs personally.

Our first playoff game would be a rematch against Atlanta and Patrick Mahomes, who predictably led the league in passing. That first matchup was our worst defensive performance, a 42-21 beatdown. Mostert, our best offensive player, missed that contest with turf toe.

In this playoff game, we’d be on the road, odds stacked against us and without T.J. Watt, who would miss with a PCL sprain.

Mahomes would be held to 75 yards passing and throw two interceptions, including on the first play of the game to Bobby Wagner in a dominant Detroit defensive performance. Brandon Graham and Calais Campbell, the old vets, would both record sacks and regular pressure in Watt’s absence.

Mathers’ boys would run for 178, including 121 from the league’s leading rusher, Raheem Mostert.

Our first playoff win now under our belt, the following week would be against Seattle after Carolina’s Brock Purdy upset the 1-seed Chicago Bears. We tied Seattle in week two because kicker Jake Elliott missed a 27yd field goal as time expired in regulation, sending the game to overtime and an eventual tie.

Winston would play his way out of Detroit. Mostert would run at will and the team would go over 160 yards but Winston would throw for only 48 yards and two interceptions. Elliott would miss a game-tying extra point and between the turnovers and kicking woes, we would lose, 17-16. It was Elliott’s second straight postseason game with an extra point miss. Winston’s contract was a mistake and would be remedied. Elliott was done in Detroit.

Both were released after the Super Bowl. Winston’s extension and cut incurred $13 million in dead cap for the upcoming season. We’d have an all-new quarterback room in 2024.

Willie’s Texans, led by Stroud, McCaffrey, Aaron Donald and the legend known as Tre’von Moehrig, would win the Super Bowl over Purdy’s Panthers 35-7.

2/Wheeling and Russelling

Re-signs:
RG Chris Lindstrom 5yr/$165
RB Raheem Mostert 2yr/$30

FA losses:
LG Joe Thuney 2yr/$33 with BAL
TE Jonnu Smith 4yr/$27.6 with ARI
MLB Krys Barnes 3yr/$10.4 with GB
QB Jameis Winston 2yr/$10.1 with MIA
K Jake Elliott 1yr/$2.45 with CHI
FB Alec Ingold 1yr/$2.39 with ARI
P Bryan Anger 1yr/$1.81 with LAR
Retirements: RB Jerick McKinnon, RB Latavius Murray, DE Calais Campbell
Unsigned: QB Joe Flacco, QB Nick Foles, CB Patrick Peterson, FS Tashaun Gipson, SS Kareem Jackson

We lost over a fourth of our roster but there were significant opportunities to make our team better in free agency, with the prize of the offseason being a running back, Seattle’s Kenneth Walker. It was very enticing but Mostert had already signed a two-year, $30 extension and I do my very best to honor contracts (the Winston one would be my one mulligan). Alas, I stuck to my old ways, eager to see what would come at the draft and would make do with what was left afterwards.

FA adds:
RE Yannick Ngakoue: 2yr/$8

Despite our dire need for quarterback (we lost our entire QB room), I drafted who I believed was the best player available that still filled a position of need. Oklahoma’s Joey Wheeler was one of several promising tight end prospects and a draft philosophy I’ve always had is if a position has a strong class, take one, even if it’s not a position of need for you. Tight end was a need for the Lions with Zach Ertz approaching his swan song and Jonnu Smith no longer around.

A few picks into the second, Detroit traded that year’s second and third, a modest price, to Dallas to move up nearly 30 spots in the second round and select Ole Miss Rebel Maxwell Russell as the team’s next starting quarterback. He had no mobility and would be mostly a statue in the pocket but his accuracies and composure under pressure were phenomenal. This was the field general we needed.

Much of the rest of the draft was underwhelming and many of the prospects I had on my board got snatched before my next selection. I ended up trading back a few times and added capital for next season.

‘24 NFL Draft:
1/TE Joey Wheeler (Oklahoma)
2/QB Maxwell Russell (Ole Miss)
4/LG Matt Barnett (USC)
5/LB Jimmy Dugan (Texas A&M), LB Kenya Pressley (Virginia Tech)
7/LB Nigel Jackson (Syracuse)

After the draft, we returned to free agency to fill out our roster, adding Super Bowl champions Carson Wentz, Leonard Fournette and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Former players Patrick Peterson (our defensive MVP last season),Tashaun Gipson and Kareem Jackson, who had started at safety for us the previous year, returned after failing to sign in free agency.

Preseason adds: QB Carson Wentz, QB Kyle Trask, RB Leonard Fournette, FB Nick Bawden, WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, DE Leonard Floyd, CB Patrick Peterson, FS Tashaun Gipson, SS Kareem Jackson, K Younghoe Koo, P Logan Cooke

Preseason cuts: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, FB Khari Blasingame, WR Equanimeous St. Brown, WR Scotty Miller, TE Logan Thomas, DE Morgan Fox, OLB Melvin Ingram, CB Ronald Darby, CB Tre Herndon, FS Damontae Kazee

Preseason MVP: RB Kirk Merritt. Merritt was on the Lions practice squad last year and had played his way onto the active roster. MLB Chance Campbell and WR Deven Thompkins also made it to the roster from practice squad.

New starters: QB Maxwell Russell, FB Nick Bawden, LG A.J. Cann, TE Joey Wheeler, DE Brandon Graham, LB Jimmy Dugan, S Talanoa Hufanga, K Younghoe Koo, P Logan Cooke

Our captains from last season (Lockett, Wirfs, Mostert, Wagner, Mathieu) all returned but our overall ratings had dropped significantly. We were now an 83 overall (-4), 80 offense (-4) and 87 defense (-4).

Our first game was against Willie’s Texans and it was a demolishment. Lockett and first-round tight end Joey Wheeler both ran extremely poor routes, leading to interceptions. Russell was held out to dry in his first start, throwing five picks, four to safety Kyle Hamilton. The Texans d-line with Aaron Donald, Travon Walker, Koby Turner and fresh first-round pick DT Damien McClain bottled the run and Detroit was helpless. It was a 30-0 loss, as decisive a loss as we’d had. I had severe lag and that meant I couldn’t kick or punt but regardless, it was a humiliating performance.

Rookie quarterback Maxwell Russell didn’t let it affect him and neither did the rest of the team. Against the former NFC champion Carolina Panthers the very next week, Russell went a perfect 8/8 for 65 and a touchdown. That was all he needed to do. The offensive line roared back with a vengeance and the run game went for 200. Sneed took a pick-six 94 yards for a touchdown as the half expired a la James Harrison. Hufanga also got a red zone pick in a 24-3 win in our home opener.

Russell had the best game of an Eminem quarterback against division-rival Green Bay the next week: 13/18 for 182 yards, 2 TDs and a pick in a 24-17 win. Slot receiver Marquise Goodwin had the first 100-yard receiving game of the Eminem era: 7 for 100 and two scores.

Russell was very good for a few games before a three turnover, 2 pick-six performance versus Jacksonville. Down 14-3, Wentz would rally the team to an 18-17 win.

We would have a rematch against Seattle in our final game before our bye week. We would go into the fourth up 10 and squander the lead. We would end the game in yet another tie. In three games against the Seahawks, we had tied two and lost a playoff game. I hated Seattle.

Come the bye week, a valuable name popped up on free agency: RB James Conner. He was added to the team and fullback Nick Bawden was cut. Third-string tight end Brayden Willis would switch to fullback, allowing Leonard Fournette to stay on the roster. Conner’s first game would be excellent: eight carries for 50 and a score in another win over Green Bay.

We’d suffer an embarrassing defeat to the 2-6 Rams at home 38-13, with Russell having another three turnover performance. Los Angeles came in with the most yards allowed on defense. Russell was such a huge improvement over Winston but was having trouble with interceptions.

We’d suffer another humiliation at home the following week to the 2-7 Bears, who had lost seven straight coming in. For the second straight contest, Russell would throw three picks.

We had lost back-to-back games to 2-win teams at home. This felt like a new low.

We were now 0-3 against the Bears in the Eminem era.

We would fall behind to New England early. They were a very good team. The Patriots were second in passing with Mac Jones and had an excellent defense against the run.

Russell would respond to the adversity, leading a 99-yard, 5:30 drive to tie the game late in the fourth. New England would kick a field goal with :53 and no Lions timeouts. Russell would respond again, putting Detroit in range for Younghoe Koo’s 43-yard equalizer. The game would go to overtime, Detroit would receive and Mostert would fumble for the first time in his Lions tour. New England 23-17.

It was our third straight loss but unlike the previous two, we had played a strong game, responded to adversity and took an excellent opponent down to the wire. This felt like a step in the right direction despite going from 5-1-1 to 5-4-1.

Our offensive line allowed five sacks, their worst performance of the season and Russell did not crumble. Our rookie quarterback looked like a franchise player, completing 12/14 for 143 and a score and most importantly, no turnovers.

If Maxwell Russell played like that on a consistent basis, we would win a lot of games.

We’d win our next three and narrowly lost a match against Arizona, the current one-seed. We might not be a Super Bowl favorite yet but we were a contender.

We’d lose our fourth straight game to Chicago the following week. The Lions defense was a carpet all afternoon, allowing over 400 yards and 7/8 third down conversions. God, I hated the Bears so much.

The loss knocked us out of the division lead and we now were holding on to the playoffs by a thread at 8-6-1. Every member of the organization was in a rage. God help whoever we played next.

That poor soul was the Titans. We throttled them 28-7. Russell had the best game of his career: 16/22 for 229 and three TDs. Mostert had 13 carries for 73, TD and 3 catches, 50 yards, 2 TDs. Joey Wheeler also had his biggest day: 7 receptions for 82.

With our spot in the playoffs clinched, our final game would decide if we won the division or be traveling on the road as the seven-seed. The defense would carry the day against one of the league’s best aerial attacks (Darnold/Jahmyr Gibbs/Davante/Hockenson) while the rushing attacking abused Washington’s league-worst run defense in a 27-13 win.

For the second straight season, the Lions would finish 10-6-1.

Willie’s first round tight end, Michael Hamm, would set the rookie receiving and receptions record (118 for 1694), leading the league in both.

The Houston defense would force 56 turnovers, third-most in the Super Bowl era. CB Jaylon Johnson would lead the league with 12 interceptions and the team as a whole would collect 44 picks, a new Super Bowl era record, en route to their league-best 14-3 record.

Houston coach Matthew McConaughey (yes, really) would win his second straight Coach of the Year. Four of his defenders finished in the top-10 of Defensive Player of the Year voting (Kyle Hamilton, Jaylon Johnson, Jack Campbell, Ernest Jones), with Hamilton and Johnson finishing 1/2 in the AFC best defensive back race. TE Michael Hamm won Offensive Rookie of the Year but was robbed of OPOY by Lamar Jackson.

‘24 Season Stats
Russell 168/267 for 2034, 62%, 70.3 rating, 16 TDs, 23 INTs
Mostert 233 carries for 1423, 6.1 ypc, 6 TDs (Offensive MVP)
Wheeler 41 receptions for 482, 3 TDs
Lockett 30 receptions for 502, 6 TDs
Goodwin 38 receptions for 485, 4 TDs
Williams 98 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 FF, INT (Defensive MVP)
Watt 62 tackles, 15 TFL, 7 sacks
Hargrave 25 tackles, 4 TFL, 8 sacks
Sneed 52 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 7 INTs, TD
Koo 13/16 for 81%, 34/34 XP for 100%
Cooke 50.7 avg, 43.0 net, 4 inside the 20
Team Stats
Offense: 4427 (32nd), 2039 pass (32nd), 2388 rush (2nd), 20.0 ppg (31st)
Last year: 4217, 1643, 2574, 18.6
Defense: 4255 (1st), 2961 pass (1st), 1294 rush (2nd), 19.5 pag (2nd)
29 sacks, 5 fumbles, 24 INTs
Last year: 4263, 2907, 1356, 17.1, 30, 1, 18

Awards:
Pro Bowl: Wirfs, Lindstrom, Moses, Sneed, Mathieu (5)
COY: Mathers (9th)
OROY: Wheeler (3rd)
Best RB: Mostert (9th)
Best OL: Lindstrom (1st), Wirfs (7th)
Best DB: Sneed (1st), Bland (3rd)
Best K: Koo (9th)

Detroit’s Raheem Mostert was once again left off the MVP and NFC’s Offensive Player of Year ballots. Mostert was a meager ninth in the NFC’s best running back voting after leading the entire league in rushing in 2023 and finishing fourth in ‘24. Didn’t even make Pro Bowl.

Guard Chris Lindstrom and L’Jarius Sneed won awards for best offensive lineman and best defensive back respectively. Still, we as a team felt disrespected, having won zero player of the week awards. We intended to remind everyone who we were.

Our first home playoff game in the Eminem era would be against Brock Purdy’s Carolina Panthers, who last season won the NFC Championship. Von Miller was the 2023 DPOY. We hosed Carolina back in week two 24-3 but as we all know, the playoffs are a different animal.

The defense would play well, forcing two Purdy interceptions but the offense was a dumpster fire. Carolina would get away with DPI and snag an interception. They’d be gifted another on a failed screen in the red zone when Mostert couldn’t get through traffic. Russell would throw for just 100 yards and three picks in his first playoff start. Mostert and the ground game would be bottled most of the game as Von Miller and Calijah Kancey were all over, especially in pass rush. Russell had little time to throw and many of our play designs didn’t have time to develop. The Carolina Panthers were a very good team and currently, a better one. Our first home playoff game would be our first home playoff loss: 17-7 Carolina.

Despite the loss, I still had full confidence in Russell. It wasn’t the performance anyone wanted but Russell had shown moments during the season of what he could be. Russell had a bright future.

My biggest takeaway from the season and that playoff loss was the dire need for a pass rush. We had been one of the league’s best defenses two straight years because of our exceptional secondary and our clock-draining offense but had been posting middling sack totals. We had just 29 in ‘24, good for only 21st-best.

T.J. Watt was my first round pick in the draft. I selected him because I know how important a pass rush is but while the usual suspects like Garrett, Parsons and Miller all reached 20 sacks, Watt had managed just seven in back-to-back seasons despite getting regular 1v1s in my 4-3 scheme. My nickel and dime packages were four defensive linemen and Watt had done little with it. 28 players had more sacks than Watt this season, including defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who had led the team in sacks each year despite extra attention. Watt was a $20 million run stuffer. That playoff loss would be his last game in the pale blue.

While I believed the Lions’ postseason bumps were a personnel issue, offensive coordinator Erik Aguilar had a hot seat. Our offense had been dead last in yardage for two straight seasons and second-worst in scoring. Some of that was the time possession style we play but much of it was a failure to execute. Defensive coordinator Dean Fuller was holding teams under 20 regularly and forcing turnovers without much of a pass rush. Expecting much more from him was unrealistic.

In 2025, the offense needed to get out of the dungeon.

Meanwhile, Willie’s Texans would repeat as Super Bowl champions with no real opposition.

3/To the Dungeon

This offseason hurt far more than the last, especially after a one-and-done postseason.

Nine of my 12 practice squad players were poached by other teams, including seventh-round pick Nigel Jackson.

We brought back Tristan Wirfs, who became the highest-paid lineman in NFL history, netting $35 million a year and corner DaRon Bland was paid a healthy $17 per for his services. James Conner was offered a 2yr/$20, $18 fully guaranteed but still said no. $10 million a year for a backup running back was far past fair but Conner likely wanted a starting job, something I couldn’t give him with Mostert still performing.

Brayden Willis was a nice story. He had started as a tight end on my practice squad and was signed by another team mid-season in 2023. In ‘24, he returned to Detroit, fought his way onto the 53 and transferred to fullback. He’d now get a tryout year at the position on a $2 million deal.

For the second straight year, most of our backup offensive line would leave. We had draft pick Matt Barnett at left guard but we’d be looking for new backups on the offensive line this summer.

Re-signs:
LT Tristan Wirfs 5yr/$175
CB DaRon Bland 5yr/$85
CB Taron Johnson 1yr/$12
C David Andrews 1yr/$8
MLB Jordan Hicks 1yr/$4
QB Carson Wentz 1yr/$4
CB Tavon Young 1yr/$3
FB Brayden Willis 1yr/$2

FA losses:
QB Kyle Trask 1yr/$1.11 with KC
Retirements: C Ben Jones, DE Brandon Graham, DE Denico Autry, DT Shelby Harris, LB Justin Houston, CB Patrick Peterson, S Tashaun Gipson
Unsigned: RB James Conner, RB Leonard Fournette, WR Marquise Goodwin, WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, DE Leonard Floyd, S Kareem Jackson, K Younghoe Koo, P Logan Cooke

For the second straight season, we’d lost a fourth of our team. This particular summer was an indictment on my management. Unlike my last two Madden franchises, my initial draft went quite poorly. I mentioned this at the beginning of this story. I had drafted too old.

Of those who left for free agency, all but one either retired or remained unsigned come fall. The other 31 teams looked at a quarter of my 2024 roster and said, “Nope, we can do better.”

It was a slap in the face and a well-deserved one. I messed up. I’d learn from this.

As I mentioned after our one-and-done playoff exit, T.J. Watt would not be on the team come fall so we needed to splurge on defensive end. Our prize of the free agent class was Ogbonnia Okoronkwo. In real life, Okoronkwo is a fifth round pick who as of this writing hasn’t developed yet but man, we needed something from him this season.

Ironically, the bar for Ogbo was seven sacks, which is what Watt managed in each of his two seasons. If Ogbo could manage that, he’d be just as productive as Watt. Ogbo would serve as a bridge player until we were able to find a franchise pass rusher.

Taylor Lewan was one of the best left tackles on the market and would serve as a mentor to freshly-minted Tristan Wirfs. We added further depth along the offensive line and a reclamation project in former third overall pick Jeff Okudah at corner.

The top prizes of the offseason were Davante Adams, Keenan Allen and Jonathan Allen but all were too old for what was already an old team.

FA adds:
RE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo 2yr/$16
LT Taylor Lewan 1yr/$8
RG Will Fries 2yr/$11
RT Thayer Munford Jr. 2yr/$13
CB Jeff Okudah 2yr/$7
RG Cody Ford 2yr/$4

Then, it was time for the draft and we would be taking a big swing.

We would move all the way up to four, trading Watt and two firsts for two firsts and a second from the Cincinnati Bengals. It was essentially two first round pick swaps and a second, with Cincy’s picks being earlier in the draft. With the fourth overall selection, we chose corner Jonathan Aldridge from Buffalo, a slam dunk man coverage specialist with an excellent combine. We would reaquire my original 2025 first from Cincy to select Jonathan Walford at defensive tackle, a premium run stuffer with an above average pass rush repertoire.

We spent a lot of draft capital on these two players. Aldridge would, at minimum, be our new slot corner and would play outside in the near future. Walford would be in regular packages and may be the starter before long with Hargrave winding down. I hoped it was worth it.

We got a talented right guard in Edward Fowler in the third. With Chris Lindstrom the highest-paid right guard, maybe a move to center would be in the cards for him.

The defensive end class was top-heavy so we sadly missed on a potential future starter but Michigan’s Jared Messina might become something. The steal of the Lions class was back Isaiah Weaver, who had both speed back and power back skill sets. A potential unicorn?

As is tradition, we turned some of our late selections into additional picks the following year.

‘25 NFL Draft
1/CB Jonathan Aldridge(Buffalo), DT Jonathan Walford (Florida State)
3/RG Edward Fowler (Missouri)
4/DE Jared Messina (Michigan), LB Trevor Pratt (Notre Dame)
6/RB Isaiah Weaver (Notre Dame), WR Luke Williams (Mount Union), FS Casey Peerman (Boise State)
7/DT Dexter Vernon (Missouri), SS Troy Dodson (California)

Following the draft, Jonathan Aldridge was revealed to be an 81 overall, the highest of his draft class, with 95 speed and 81 man coverage, a true blockbuster player.

Free agent signee Will Fries put himself on the trade block, apparently frustrated he wouldn’t see starting time behind Lindstrom. The Lions, already desperate for pass rush help, turned Fries into young Georgia draftee Nolan Smith.

Detroit also needed a receiver with size to play the 1. Lockett had done the best he could but at this stage of his career, his size was becoming a problem. There were too many slot receivers on this team and not enough physical targets to attack the ball in contested situations.

We drafted Luke Williams from Mount Union, who needed help with his route tree but provided size we didn’t have and traded a future first rounder and defensive tackle B.J. Hill for Courtland Sutton, an underrated WR1 in real life for the Denver Broncos.

A look at free agency after the draft wasn’t all bad. James Conner, who had been offered a 2yr/$20 just months earlier, had gone unsigned. He’d return to Detroit for just $3.3. Time he fired his agent. K Younghoe Koo also returned after failing to secure an offer over the summer.

Preseason adds: RB James Conner, WR Terrace Marshall Jr., TE Maxx Williams, DE Keion White, LB Yasir Abdullah, S Marcus Maye, S Jordan Poyer, K Younghoe Koo, P Blake Gillikin

Preseason cuts: RB Dalvin Cook, WR Deven Thompkins, QB Isaiah Beckett

Preseason MVP: WR Luke Williams. I was hesitant to draft Williams in the first place because speed and a sharp route tree are what I look for in receivers and Williams wasn’t polished in either area. He immediately impressed, collecting 8 passes for 91 yards in his first preseason game. I drafted him expecting him to be a practice squad project. Instead, he’d be WR4.

New starters: WR Courtland Sutton, LG Matt Barnett, LE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, RE Nolan Smith, DT Jonathan Walford, MLB Mack Wilson, CB Jonathan Aldridge, P Blake Gillikin

Our team overall remained an 83. Our offense actually improved three points with the addition of Courtland Sutton, a total of three new WRs, better depth along the offensive line and rookie Isaiah Weaver in the backfield.

The defense had fallen from an 87 to an 83. Our line was decimated by retirements the last two seasons and the Watt trade obviously shaved points off the score. All of our ends were new except for Yannick Ngakoue but we still probably had the best corner crop in football with Sneed, Bland, first-round pick Aldridge, Taron Johnson, Jeff Okudah and Tavon Young.

Week one, we would lose against Chicago for the fifth time in a row. After Detroit rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit, the Bears’ Jalen Hurts would drive for the winning score with 50 seconds left. Russell would miss a wide open Sutton down the seam on the last drive.

The Bears were our arch rival, even more than Seattle and thus far, we had failed to beat them in five tries. It was becoming psychological.

It was especially painful because the defense played so well despite Hurts’ near perfect day, registering five tackles for a loss, an Ogbo sack and a Bobby Wagner interception.

The Lions culture and history is failure and coming up short. It would be a tough nut to crack and it would take time but we would write our own history, a new chapter.

Quarterback Maxwell Russell was the first one to grab a pen, putting together a career day: 13/16 for 169 yards and two scores in a 21-16 victory after falling behind 10-0 early yet again. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave would record two sacks on defense.

Detroit would blow a 10-point lead in their first home game. Russell would throw three second-half picks in the loss. First-round pick Jonathan Aldridge got his first interception, a pick-six, in the 24-17 loss.

Russell would throw three picks again the following week in a 21-16 loss to Cincinnati and our old friend, T.J. Watt. The Lions defense would register four sacks and a pick from L’Jarius Sneed.

Through four games, we were 1-3. Our schedule was rough to start, with four of our first five on the road but that was no excuse.

Russell had just four touchdown passes now to a league-leading seven picks. His seat was getting warm.

Mostert and the ground game was not as dominant as in years past. Mostert’s deal ended after this season and his future on the team was in question.

Offensive coordinator Erik Aguilar’s seat was scalding hot. The offense was once again dead-last in yardage and in the basement in points at 16.8.

Yet another loss the following week to Minnesota felt like a new low for Eminem’s Cats. After a strip sack on the Vikings’ first possession, Russell would throw a pick-six on his first pass in the red zone. He was benched for the rest of the game for Carson Wentz. Wentz didn’t fair much better, throwing three picks himself. Tua played his best game for the Vikings in the rivalry: 186 yards and two scores, a 28-7 Lions loss, cementing a 1-4 start.

Morale was at an all-time low. If someone didn’t respond in the immediate future, our season was over. Moves needed to be made.

QB Isaiah Beckett, who was a preseason cut, was brought in as a third quarterback option. MLB Chance Campbell, the former practice squad player, was an upcoming free agent. He was an unfortunate release.

Safety Talanoa Hufanga was drafted to be a franchise player, on the team for a long time, a captain but with Hufanga’s deal expiring, he had rejected 5yr/$75, 5yr/$90 and 5yr/$100. He evidently had no interest in being a leader on this team.

With no first round picks for the next two drafts after the Aldridge, Walford and Sutton trades, Detroit moved Hufanga and Taylor Lewan to Washington for firsts in ‘26 and ‘27.

Hufanga would sign a 5yr/$70 extension with Washington. He apparently hated Detroit so much he was willing to chuck $30 million away. That hurt.

DT Dalvin Tomlinson and center Connor McGovern joined the Cats for their next game. Marcus Maye would be the starting strong safety going forward.

And if anyone thought things might get easier for Detroit, they were sorely mistaken. Into Detroit’s second home game came the Arizona Cardinals, the best rushing attack and second-best scoring defense in football, the reigning NFC #1 seed.

Really, really needing a performance from Russell, he did not answer the call, throwing for just 57 yards and two picks. Despite his best efforts to lose Detroit the game, the defense would not allow it, surrendering just three points until the very end of the fourth quarter. The biggest play was Bobby Wagner forcing a Kyler Murray fumble that resulted in a short field for the Lions offense, with Mostert seizing the day. 14-11 Detroit.

2-4 was still awful. A lot better than 1-5.

Raheem Mostert had been the heart and soul of this team since day one. He agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract extension after the win.

The following week, Detroit returned to the loss column in a 31-13 loss at Lambeau. The Detroit defense did not show up much of the contest and neither did the offensive line, allowing six sacks.

A bounceback against the Steelers, a top-10 offense and defense, tasted delicious, going 3-5 into the bye. Despite the week off, Mostert sprained his ACL and Lockett a dislocated wrist. Both would miss against the 6-2 Commanders, another loss.

Offensive coordinator Erik Aguilar was fired. Despite having more talent than last year, it was demonstrably worse than the last two seasons. The offense had failed to score 18 points in six of their first seven games.

Aguilar was a multiple zone run specialist and had been great in the ground game but his inability to develop a quarterback or a passing attack had hamstrung the offense for years. Enough was enough. The offense and Russell’s turnovers would likely cost us a playoff spot despite a top-five defense.

Kevin Stokes, who ran the west coast zone run scheme I preferred, was hired. The hope was a fresh face and mind might salvage the season.

Russell’s unit responded to the change, scoring touchdowns on each of their first three drives and a season-high 29 points in a road win over Philly.

We’d once again lose to Chicago the following week, our sixth straight loss to the Bears. Through three seasons of the Eminem era, we’d yet to beat the fucking Bears.

Now at 4-7 and last in the division, we’d likely have to win out to make the playoffs. Four of our last six were at home but the home crowd wasn’t going to win any games for us. Playoffs or not, we needed to finish this season as strong as possible.

First challenge on the docket was Cleveland. They had the worst scoring defense, total yards against and passing defense in football. They were third-worst against the run.

They also had the best passing offense with Dak Prescott at quarterback and the fifth-best ground game with Nick Chubb.

Despite the position we found ourselves, the entire team’s morale was high. There was belief.

That belief showed through in Cleveland, holding the Browns to just 184 yards and 7 points. Mostert had the best day of his Lions career: 21 carries for 209 yards and two scores, earning him NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Conner added 71 and a score as the offensive line carried the day. Detroit had 308 yards rushing and scored on each of their first four drives in a 28-7 masterpiece.

Next week against Baltimore started well, with L’Jarius Sneed picking off Lamar Jackson’s first pass and the offense rewarded him with an offensive score.

Down 14-7 in the waning seconds of the first half, QB Maxwell Russell would fumble on a scramble in the red zone. Russell would throw a pick-six in the fourth quarter to seal the game for Baltimore.

The story of this season was Russell’s inability to take care of the football. I was furious. We had 52 players on that field that day, just not a fucking quarterback. Russell’s seat was scalding.

We’d put up a Mathers career-high 33 points in a 20-point win versus Denver but Russell would turn into a pumpkin again the following week, fumbling once and throwing two picks. The Lions defense was phenomenal, forcing three Atlanta field goals against a Patrick Mahomes/Christian McCaffrey/Kenneth Walker offense but Russell once again cost the team a win, a 16-6 soul crusher. With two games to go, he’d be benched the rest of the season.

Carson Wentz played quite well in relief, with only two interceptions in the contests and neither were his fault. He earned himself a one-year contract extension.

Detroit would win both games, including a 38-10 home win against Minnesota to conclude a disappointing 8-9 season. We would miss the playoffs.

‘25 Season Stats
Russell 154/246 for 1852, 62%, 71.3 rating, 12 TDs, 18 INTs
Mostert 187 carries for 1122, 6.0 ypc, 8 TDs (Offensive MVP)
Sutton 36 receptions for 616, 4 TDs
Lockett 48 receptions for 539, 4 TDs
Williams 96 tackles, 8 TFL, .5 sacks
Smith 36 tackles, 6 TFL, 9 sacks, FF (Defensive MVP)
Okoronkwo 22 tackles, 3 TFL, 8.5 sacks
Sneed 70 tackles, 4 INTs
Aldridge 51 tackles, 2 TFL, sack, 2 INTs, TD
Koo 12/12 for 100%, 34/34 XP for 100%
Gillikin 54.6 avg, 45.5 net, 5 inside the 20
Team Stats
Offense: 4149 (32nd), 2074 pass (32nd), 2075 rush (6th), 18.6 ppg (31st)
Last year: 4427, 2039, 2388, 20.0
Defense: 4306 (2nd), 3056 pass (2nd), 1250 rush (2nd), 19.0 pag (2nd)
34 sacks, 4 fumbles, 13 INTs
Last year: 4255, 2961, 1294, 19.5, 29, 5, 24

Awards:
Pro Bowl: Wirfs, Lindstrom (2)
OROY: Weaver (6th)
DROY: Aldridge (5th)
Best OL: Lindstrom (1st), Andrews (9th)
Best DB: Sneed (8th)
Best K: Koo (1st)

Willie’s Texans had another historic year:
C.J. Stroud would throw for 5500 and 51 TDs, run for 10 more. He’d finish with a 124.9 passer rating and a Herculean 15.3 yards per attempt, both league records, en route to the MVP.
WR Tank Dell would blow the single-season receiving record out of the water with 2554 yards and 25 TDs, winning OPOY.
Future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Donald would annihilate the sack record with 30 and win DPOY.
Houston rookie corner Joel Tyson won AFC DROY.
Matthew McConaughey would claim his third straight COY and the Texans would complete the three-peat, this time toppling the Saints.

4/From the Depths

And then Marshall Mathers was fired. It was hard to believe. The Pride of Detroit, let go after one losing season?

Weeks would go back and ownership would reverse course. Mathers would be back but the pressure was on. A new fire had been started in the Lions den.

As in previous Madden experiences, we’d now be jumping to All-Madden. Willie’s days of cruising were over (hopefully). The change to All-Madden gave me low expectations. My goal every season is a playoff win. That means you’re truly contending. Our first season was a success but our second year we lost our only playoff game and last season we missed the dance entirely at 8-9. With the increase in difficulty, it seemed missing the playoffs was a certainty.

We were losing 20 players this year, nearly half the roster.

Mostert, despite agreeing to an extension during the season, decided to retire. It was crushing to read. I don’t know what we’d do without him. He had been our offensive MVP all of our first three seasons and was the most valuable player on the team. A large hole to fill.

We’d also be losing Tyler Lockett, another captain and corner Taron Johnson, two big losses.

Re-signs:
RB James Conner 1/$5
SS Marcus Maye 1yr/$4.5
QB Carson Wentz 1yr/$3

Once again, many of our free agents would go unsigned, 11 total, over a fifth of my roster. Our team needed to get a lot better, fast. Many of these players were preseason adds to fill out the team but we needed to get to a place where draft picks and free agents filled out our team, not bargain bin buys.

The biggest free agent was QB Jordan Love, who had just taken the Saints to the Super Bowl, losing to Willie’s Texans. Stunningly, New Orleans chose not to re-sign him and he hit FA. Despite my efforts, Love chose Cincinnati, joining T.J. Watt. Other available stars were corners Tre’Davious White and Devon Witherspoon, who Willie signed.

FA losses:
WR Tyler Lockett 2yr/$17.8 with SF
LB Yasir Abdullah 2yr/$5.42 with WAS
CB Taron Johnson 1yr/$4 with NYJ
DE Keion White 1yr/$2.5 with KC
WR Terrace Marshall Jr. 1yr/$2.36 with DEN
FB Brayden Willis 1yr/$1.35 with BAL
QB Isaiah Beckett 1yr/$1.11 with GB
Retirements: RB Raheem Mostert, TE Zach Ertz, C David Andrews
Unsigned: RB Kirk Merritt, TE Maxx Williams, LG A.J. Cann, C Connor McGovern, DE Yannick Ngakoue, DT Dalvin Tomlinson, MLB Jordan Hicks, CB Tavon Young, S Jordan Poyer, K Younghoe Koo, P Blake Gillikin

We needed a playmaker, physical receiver and real-life Colts draftee Alec Pierce from Cincinnati fit the profile. A reasonable three-year deal. Michael Carter was brought in as a third down specialist.

FA adds:
WR Alec Pierce 3yr/$15
RB Michael Carter 1yr/$3.5

The draft was our biggest day of the year. With the increase to All-Madden, it might be the best day of the ‘26 season.

Right tackle Chuck Jacobs would start over Morgan Moses by mid-season and the same for pass rusher Jalen Lynch, who I moved up for. Hopefully the pick I traded Willie to move up wouldn’t be in the top-ten.

Near future starters in safeties Taylor Ross and Angelo Telfer and linebackers T.J. Weston and Deontay Hillman inspired hope for the future.

But the night is darkest just before the dawn.

‘26 NFL Draft
1/RT Chuck Jacobs (Tennessee), DT Jalen Lynch (Washington)
2/SS Taylor Ross (Texas Tech), MLB T.J. Weston (Florida)
3/OLB Deontay Hillman (Ohio State), OLB Rishard Kirklin (Oregon State)
4/C Ben Powers (Michigan), TE Trent Stephenson (Boston College)
5/FS Angelo Telfer (Grand Valley State)
6/QB Patrick Thorne (Youngstown State)
7/K Sterling Foster (USC)

Multiple quarterbacks I had on my board were taken a round earlier than projected, leaving me with Youngstown State’s Patrick Thorne. His ratings did not inspire confidence, a 58 overall. I also failed to draft either of the two first-round centers I had circled on my board. Powers was not ready to start so I’d be forced to move Lindstrom to center and start second-year guard Edward Fowler at right.

I also broke my own rule and drafted a kicker. You should never draft kickers, punters or fullbacks. Sterling Foster would be put on practice squad. He barely made a 50-yarder in preseason.

Preseason adds: FB Nate Ford, WR Zay Jones, WR Jauan Jennings, TE Maxx Williams, LG Cody Whitehair, DE Derek Barnett, CB Stephon Gilmore, K Younghoe Koo, P Bradley Pinion

Nate Ford ended up beating Nick Bawden for the fullback job. Maxx Williams and Younghoe Koo returned to Detroit after going unsigned and punter Bradley Pinion stole the punter’s dollars from Blake Gillikin.

QB Jimmy Garoppolo, who was signed to be QB3, was unplayable. He couldn’t throw past 20 yards and his radar was all over the place. In six exhibition drives, he’d throw four picks and have a turnover on downs.

Preseason cuts: QB Jimmy Garoppolo, FB Nick Bawden, P Blake Gillikin

Preseason MVP: QB Patrick Thorne. Despite his report card, Thorne showed poise, presence and mobility, winning a competition that wasn’t much of a battle with Jimmy G.

New starters: RB Isaiah Weaver, FB Nate Ford, WR Alec Pierce, C Chris Lindstrom, RG Edward Fowler, DT Jalen Lynch, LOLB Deontay Hillman, MLB T.J. Weston

My captains: Wirfs, Lindstrom (new), Sneed (new), Wagner, Mathieu

Team overalls all dropped going into this season (81 offense, 80 defense, 80 overall) but we now were younger and growing.

We’d suffer a soul-crusher in week one. After Detroit built a 14-0 lead dominating time of possession, Chicago would take control of the game with 30 seconds left in the half. Derrick Henry was a non-factor but Hurts was exceptional. New Lions receiver Alec Pierce didn’t reach for a pass in the fourth quarter that would lead to a pick-six, an extremely bad first impression. A late Lions touchdown was meaningless. 32-28 Chicago.

That really felt like a win we deserved. Isaiah Weaver would run for 149 yards and a score in his first career start and still we came up short. Seven Bears games, seven Lions losses. When would it end?

After a loss to Green Bay, we’d be down three with 1:30 and one timeout. Russell would drive the field down to the three and a Weaver run on the final play for the win would end up one yard short.

Chicago wins. Again. Times eight.

In three games, the defense had generated no sacks, interceptions or fumbles. We had lost those three games by a combined 11 points.

We had traded our first rounder next year for DT Jalen Lynch. It was time to get that pick back.

Courtland Sutton, despite leading the team in receiving last year, was a huge disappointment. He also led the team in drops and was bad at the catch point. He’d regressed six overall points since I acquired him last season. He wasn’t the physical threat I had hoped.

Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave had been great for us but was on an expiring contract with two very young, first-round defensive tackles behind him begging for reps.

I had started Chris Lindstrom at center the last three games and it was punishing me at right guard. Edward Fowler, a draft pick, had struggled.

The team as a whole had been moving in the wrong direction the last year and a half. It was time to tear it down and rebuild.

In an attempt to infuse some energy and capital into the team, the following moves:

Going out:
WR Courtland Sutton
DT Javon Hargrave
RG Edward Fowler
RB James Conner
WR Zay Jones
WR Jauan Jennings
DE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
CB Jeff Okudah
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th round picks

Coming in:
WR Rashee Rice
DE Myles Murphy
C Mitch Morse
1st, 1st, 3rd, 4th round picks

This is not how I like to build a team. I like to build through the draft but the players I had in place while those draft picks developed weren’t good enough. All the players traded other than Edward Fowler, the draft pick, were on expiring contracts. I really didn’t want to move him but he was one of the few assets I had to move.

WR Rashee Rice was on the trade block last season and I wasn’t able to acquire him. No failure this time. He was on a team-friendly contract (3yr/$24).

Myles Murphy was an impending free agent but at only 24, had a lot of upside. He’d have the rest of the season to earn a contract. I was desperate for pass rush.

Mitch Morse would be a one-year bandaid at center.

Five new players were added from free agency to fill out the roster, including Ravens starlet running back Keaton Mitchell. Isaiah Weaver had become a bell cow and would take over the power role as well.

After this mass exodus, only nine of those drafted in the inaugural draft remained. L’Jarius Sneed was one of them and despite the turnover and 0-3 start, wanted to continue as a captain on this Lions squad. He agreed to a two-year for $28 and I thought he was worth closer to $19 or $20 per year as a 92 overall player, a huge bargain.

Russell would throw for a career-high 280 yards in a 24-14 win over New England. New WR1 Rashee Rice would catch 8 passes for 180, a high in the Eminem era. I benched Mathieu and starting strong safety Marcus Maye for the two rookies, Angelo Telfer and Taylor Ross. Both recorded TFLs and Telfer had a game-sealing pick-six, our first takeaway of the season. It seemed Mathieu’s time as a starting safety might be over.

Russell would go full Jameis the following game, throwing three picks in the first 8 minutes.

The Lions defense was exceptional, forcing a three-and-out on the Buccaneers first drive. They had done that all five games this season. The Cats allowed 72 yards but still lost 17-10.

Russell needed to get it together fast or not only would he not be the starter next season; he wouldn’t be on the team. Detroit was now 1-4. We were at DEFCON1.

We’d go into the bye week with a win and a 3-5 record, meaning we’d have to go 6-3 minimum the rest of the way to return to the playoffs.

I don’t know what happened during the bye but something did. Russell had his first perfect game in a win over the Bills: 14/14 for 169 and two touchdowns a week after a three-touchdown win the week before. We’d win our first three games after the bye. The offense, for the first time in the Eminem era, scored at will.

We’d stretch the winning streak to five in a 27-7 win over the Joe Burrow-led Giants. Running back Isaiah Weaver had 92 yards rushing and three scores. The following week was a career-high 42 points against the 0-12 Jaguars, our sixth straight W. From 2-5 to 8-5 and leading our division. It was hard to believe this was the same team as a few months ago.

A significant reason for the change in course was QB Maxwell Russell. He’d had an awakening during the bye and had put together multiple multi-touchdown games. Finally, interceptions were down. Team scoring was higher than it ever had been. Offensive coordinator Kevin Stokes deserved a lot of credit.

Down 14-0 against the Jets, Detroit rallied but it wasn’t enough. At the 2-minute warning and one timeout left, another Jets first down would end our winning streak. Rookie MLB T.J. Weston, who I had put in the starting role over Bobby Wagner two games prior, snagged an interception for a touchdown, winning the game.

We had started the season 1-4. We had gone 8-1 since then and now it was a seven-game winning streak. We had risen from the depths. This was the best football of the Mathers tenure.

A meeting with Atlanta’s Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCaffrey was no contest. Russell had a career day: 11/15 for 198, 3 TDs. Isaiah Weaver had three rushing scores in a dominant 42-6 win.

The Lions would end the season on a 10-game winning streak, finishing 12-5, winning the NFC North and returning to the playoffs.

This was the most impactful draft class I’d had thus far: Chuck Jacobs at right tackle, Jalen Lynch at DT, Taylor Ross at SS, T.J. Weston at MLB, Angelo Telfer at FS. That youth infused life into this team and that paired with the Rashee Rice addition made all the difference.

’26 Season Stats
Russell 212/314 for 2891, 67%, 99.6 rating, 24 TDs, 17 INTs
Weaver 299 carries for 1725, 5.8 ypc, 18 TDs
Rice 68 receptions for 1062, 6 TDs (Offensive MVP)
Wheeler 52 receptions for 679, 5 TDs
Williams 80 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 INTs
Smith 29 tackles, 4 TFL, 11 sacks (Defensive MVP)
Murphy 26 tackles, 5 TFL, 7 sacks
Bland 50 tackles, 3 TFL, .5 sacks, 3 INTs, 14 PDs
Koo 15/16 for 93%, 50/50 XP for 100%
Pinion 50.9 avg, 44.5 net, 3 inside the 20
Team Stats
Offense: 5054 (32nd), 2818 pass (32nd), 2236 rush (5th), 24.2 ppg (18th)
Last year: 4149, 2074, 2075, 18.6
Defense: 3598 (2nd), 2881 pass (2nd), 717 rush (2nd), 15.8 pag (2nd)
32 sacks, 1 fumble, 14 INTs
Last year: 4306, 3056, 1250, 19.0, 34, 4, 13

Awards:
Pro Bowl: Weaver, Wirfs, Lindstrom (3)
COY: Mathers (3rd)
OPOY: Weaver (4th)
DROY: Telfer (6th), Weston (8th)
Best RB: Weaver (3rd)
Best OL: Lindstrom (1st)
Best DL: Smith (9th)
Best K: Koo (1st)

Willie’s Texans would go 17-0. Donald reset the sack record with 32.5 and Houston set the team record with 75.

Detroit’s return to the playoffs would be at home versus the Packers. Our best pass rusher, Nolan Smith, would miss the game with a hip pointer.

Corner Jonathan Aldridge would pick off Green Bay’s Bryce Young on the first play of the game. The defense would snag a safety, Aldridge would grab a second pick and Weaver would run for 132 yards and two scores in a 26-7 win, Mathers’ second playoff win. Maxwell Russell did not play well in this game, throwing for only 67 yards but he finally had his first playoff win. Derek Barnett, playing in Smith’s stead, would gather two sacks in his first start.

The divisional game would be against Mahomes’ Falcons, who we had hammered 42-6 weeks earlier. Our best player, Tristan Wirfs, sprained his PCL during practice and would miss the game. Morgan Moses, who had started at right tackle each of the last three seasons, would start at left.

Stephon Gilmore would pick off Mahomes’ first pass, giving Detroit a short field, which led to an early lead but as we’ve seen time and time again, Maxwell Russell would throw the game away. He’d throw three interceptions, including a pick-six to start the second half. We’d score the game-tying touchdown and go for two but we wouldn’t get it. The Lions defense forced a three-and-out but Russell would chuck another one to the Falcons in a 24-23 loss.

I didn’t know what to do with Russell. His numbers had improved from his previous two seasons but in his now three-year career, he had 52 touchdown passes to 58 interceptions. That’s horrid.

That 10-game winning streak was magical. It felt like it was our year. And then it wasn’t.

5/General Patton’s War

Nolan Smith would reject deals for $10, $12 and $15 per year so we used the franchise tag for the first time. Koo, off back-to-back conference Kicker of the Year awards, deserved a check. Wagner and Quincy Williams agreed to mentor the young linebackers for one more season. Tyrann Mathieu decided to retire, another team captain lost.

Re-signs:
CB L’Jarius Sneed 2yr/$28
DE Nolan Smith tagged at $21.3
DE Myles Murphy 2yr/$20
RB Keaton Mitchell 3yr/$11.1
K Younghoe Koo 2yr/$9
LB Quincy Williams 1yr/$5
MLB Bobby Wagner 1yr/$5

FA losses:
WR Rashid Shaheed 3yr/$14.9 with CHI
MLB Mack Wilson 3yr/$12.5 with LV
RT Thayer Munford Jr. 1yr/$3.19 with NYJ
P Bradley Pinion 1yr/$1.31 with LV
Retirements: QB Carson Wentz, C Mitch Morse, RT Morgan Moses, DT David Onyemata, CB Stephon Gilmore, FS Tyrann Mathieu
Unsigned: RB Michael Carter, FB Nate Ford, WR Bryan Edwards, WR Trevante McBride, TE Maxx Williams, LG Cody Whitehair, RG Cody Ford, DE Derek Barnett, CB Desmond King, S Marcus Maye

Desperate for a solution at quarterback, I offered Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray deals but both turned me down for smaller fair elsewhere. Bijan Robinson and Nick Chubb were both available at RB and Chase Young at edge, who turned down $25 million.

Our prize of the offseason was Treylon Burks. He was a project player, a former first-rounder with upside. If we could get him to his potential, this would be a bargain.

Garrett Bradbury would be a bridge player at center, with hopefully one coming in the draft as well.

FA adds:
WR Treylon Burks 3yr/$15
DE Jonathan Greenard 2yr/$14
C Garrett Bradbury 1yr/$7
RB Austin Ekeler 1yr/$4
FB Reggie Gilliam 1yr/$4

I felt like my hand was forced with Russell so I drafted the best quarterback available, 5’11” scrambler William Patton. I prefer quarterbacks who sit in the pocket, that’s my offense but another option other than Russell was a welcome addition. This draft class was top-heavy and very thin so this spring, we doubled up on capital in 2028.

’27 NFL Draft
1/QB William Patton (Kansas)
4/LT Jalen Garrison (Arkansas), LG Javier Ridley (Texas)
6/TE Bradley Compton (UAB), QB Gill Fox (Auburn)
7/FB Joe Faulkner (USF)

Preseason adds: RB Aaron Jones, WR Jalin Hyatt, WR Kyle Philips, RG Shaq Mason, RT Terence Steele, DT Arik Armstead, MLB Micah McFadden, CB Taron Johnson, CB Benjamin St-Juste, SS Jason Pinnock, P Justin Harden

Preseason cuts: LB Nigel Jackson, SS Troy Dodson

Preseason MVP: QB William Patton. He was a raw prospect with upside. It was hard to pin what he was: Terrelle Pryor or Lamar Jackson?

New starters: FB Reggie Gilliam, WR Treylon Burks, C Garrett Bradbury, ROLB Deontay Hillman, P Justin Harden

Captains: Wirfs, Lindstrom, Wagner, Sneed, DaRon Bland (new)

For the first time, our team overalls went up, now infused with youthful fire. 83 overall, 84 offense, 83 defense.

It was a do or die year for Russell and he did not disappoint, fumbling on the goal line. The Lions would start 0-1 because their quarterback is a pumpkin, again.

He’d throw four interceptions the following week, his last game as a Lion. The team had quit on him. The Chargers’ Bijan Robinson ran for 182 yards, an alarming performance from the pale blue defense.

I had given Russell a far longer leash than he deserved, a mistake I would have to live with. I had wasted three excellent defenses because of shit quarterback play. Russell had lost us so many football games.

Russell would finish his Lions career with 53 TDs and 63 picks. He was one of the worst quarterbacks I’d ever had in Madden, a complete and absolute bust. I shipped him to Philly for two first-round picks, a much greater haul than he deserved.

Coincidentally, we would play Philly in week three and Russell would introduce himself quite well. In his five possessions, Russell would go three-and-out, interception, interception again, three-and-out and turnover on downs. The Eagles would muster only 38 yards of offense.

Patton would have a boring 79-yard game while running back Isaiah Weaver and the offensive line went to work. Weaver would run for 175 yards and a score in a 20-0 clinic, the first shutout in the Eminem era.

Patton would rally the team from down 10 and down 6 in the fourth quarter the following week, scoring the game-winning touchdown with seconds on the clock. Patton was 2-0 to start his career. He would throw two picks but responded to the adversity instead of flopping over like a pancake like Russell. Don’t throw picks, win football games. Sometimes, it’s that easy.

We’d lose to San Francisco and fail to beat Seattle for a fourth straight time, our other bitter rival. We might be the Detroit Lions but Chicago and Seattle were our owners.

But all was not lost. Following the loss, a trade request came in. Turned out, WR Jaylin Hyatt was frustrated with his lack of playing time and put his agent to work on facilitating a trade and a golden opportunity presented itself.

Back in the 2025 draft, Detroit drafted corner Jonathan Aldridge and defensive tackle Jonathan Walford but there was a third player the Lions wanted but were unable to trade up for: defensive end Ben McClain, the draft’s best defensive end by our scouting department’s reporting. He was drafted by Philly and in the two years since had blossomed. The North Carolina State product had become a strong power rusher and by rating was a top-30 defensive end.

Philly, reeling from an 0-4 stretch since trading for the dumpster fire known as Maxwell Russell, was desperate to find another receiver to help their disastrous new acquistion. The Eagles offered McClain and a young receiver prospect, Deonte Stroud, for Hyatt, a gross overpay by Philly. The green would double down, signing Russell to a four-year extension.

McClain had only registered 7.5 sacks in two and a half years but this could be the pass rusher we’d been looking for.

Our next game would be against the Bears and Patton would come to play: 19/26 for 238 yards, 3 TDs, INT. He’d complete a two-minute touchdown to steal the win from Chicago at Soldier Field, 20-19. The losing streak against the Bears was over. We had our first win over those damn guys.

We’d make our final trade before the deadline, trading malcontent Nolan Smith and a depth linebacker for a first in two seasons. Smith had been our most valuable defender the last two years but had no interest in staying in Detroit. He’d registered just one sack in seven games playing on a $21 million franchise tag.

We’d rattle off a three-game win streak, including a shutout of Green Bay, before the offensive line no-showed, allowing seven sacks to a 1-9 Vikings squad, a game we really should’ve won.

Now 5-5 through 10 weeks, the Thanksgiving Day game was against those damn Bears and we’d come out with the turkey, 28-25.

The next five weeks would be against five playoff teams: Las Vegas, Atlanta, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona and Kansas City. Detroit would win all five by 10+ points, finishing the season on a seven-game win streak. Mathers would have his second consecutive 12-win campaign.

Willie’s Texans would complete their second 17-0 season and Travon Walker set a new sack record at an astronomical 35.5.

‘27 Season Stats
Patton 180/257 for 2,462, 70%, 107.8 rating, 22 TDs, 13 INTs
Weaver 259 carries for 1487, 5.7 ypc, 15 TDs
Burks 65 receptions for 912, 6 TDs (Offensive MVP)
Rice 39 receptions for 650, 3 TDs
Wheeler 37 receptions for 491, 5 TDs
Weston 95 tackles, 6 TFL, 3 sacks, INT
Murphy 17 tackles, 2 TFL, 7.5 sacks
Lynch 24 tackles, TFL, 6 sacks
Bland 46 tackles, TFL, 5 INTs, 14 PDs (Defensive MVP)
Koo 11/14 for 78%, 48/49 XP for 97%
Harden 59.1 avg, league-leading 52.3 net, 6 inside the 20
Team Stats
Offense: 4750 (32nd), 2533 pass (32nd), 2217 rush (3rd), 22.8 ppg (23rd)
Last year: 5054, 2818, 2236, 24.2
Defense: 3582 (1st), 2528 pass (1st), 1054 rush (2nd), 16.2 pag (2nd)
30 sacks, fumble, 18 interceptions
Last year: 3598, 2881, 717, 15.8, 32, 1, 14

Awards:
Pro Bowl: Wirfs, Lindstrom, Bland (3)
COY: Mathers (3rd)
OROY: Patton (4th)
Best RB: Weaver (2nd)
Best OL: Lindstrom (3rd)
Best DB: Bland (7th)
Best K: Koo (9th)

Our first playoff game was against division-rival Green Bay and our injury report was a nightmare. Starting outside backer Jimmy Dugan would miss this week with a dislocated wrist and superstar corner Jonathan Aldridge and starting center Garrett Bradbury would each miss our first two playoff games with broken fingers. Second-year center Ben Powers would be thrust into his first career start.

Bryce Young and the Packers started on fire, scoring on each of their first three possessions. Back Travis Etienne was a problem, bouncing for 135 yards and three 6’s.

Patton struggled in the snow and was stripped while scrambling, allowing Green Bay to jump up 14 with five minutes in the fourth quarter. Detroit would convert on two fourth downs, one a one-handed catch by stud Treylon Burks, and score eight. It was 28-22 Green Bay.

The pale blue defense would get the stop and Michigan’s city would get the ball with 1:50 and one timeout, converting a fourth down once again to Burks. Burks would snag the game-winning score with six seconds left as Ford Field imploded. Detroit had completed the 14-point comeback and beaten Green Bay for the third time in 2027.

Patton was a pedestrian 12/24 for 187 and two scores but performed when we needed it most. He also scrambled for 63 yards and six. Burks caught six for 85 and both Patton air scores.

Our hearts in our throats, we’d be on the road in Los Angeles against the 13-4 Rams, the second-highest scoring offense. We had beaten them in week 15 during our end of season win streak.

Bobby Wagner, now 37, forced a fumble that was the nail in the coffin for Los Angeles. The Lions shut out the Rams in the second half. Patton completed only six passes but for two touchdowns. Weaver and the run game carried the day as the Lions made it to their first NFC Championship Game, 25-13.

The conference ‘ship was against the New York Giants and league MVP Joe Burrow, the league’s most dynamic air attack. The Lions defense didn’t get the memo, shutting out the Giants and Burrow. New York had 48 yards of offense.

Patton was exceptional: 22/28 for 273 and two scores. Burks had nine receptions for 115 and those two scores. Patton and Burks had developed a special connection.

We’d lose the Super Bowl to Willie’s Texans, a 93 overall team. It was 23-13 Texans going into the 4th quarter before the game got away from us but there were a lot of positives to take away.

Quincy Williams got a pick-six to start the game and Alec Pierce beat Trent McDuffie for a long touchdown. The run game was still a factor, the defense was stout.

We had nothing to hang our heads about. We had brought Detroit its first conference championship, its first Super Bowl appearance and done it with a rookie quarterback.

Mathers was a fired coach. He’d rallied with back-to-back 12-win seasons.

We would be back.

6/Sophomore Slump

Our first draft class hit free agency. Outside backer Jimmy Dugan was given the first extension, a modest two-year and Matt Barnett, a two-year starter at left guard, was given a one-year, likely as a backup. Taron Johnson did well in his return and was brought back for another year. Quincy could still play and was paid after his playoff performance and punter Justin Harden, who led the league in punt average, was the Lions first returning punter in the Mathers’ age.

Bobby Wagner, a captain since the beginning, retired, an expected loss but a painful one all the same.

Re-signs:
LB Jimmy Dugan 2yr/$6
LB Quincy Williams 1yr/$5
CB Taron Johnson 1yr/$3.5
LG Matt Barnett 1yr/$3
P Justin Harden 1yr/$2.5

FA losses:
LB Kenya Pressley 2yr/$7.72 with KC
FB Reggie Gilliam 1yr/$3.62 with MIN
CB Benjamin St-Juste 1yr/$2.37 with NE
C Garrett Bradbury 1yr/$2 with SF
DE Jared Messina 1yr/$1.87 with TB
RT Terence Steele 1yr/$1.23 with KC
Retirements: RB Aaron Jones, RG Shaq Mason, DT Arik Armstead, MLB Bobby Wagner
Unsigned: QB Gill Fox, RB Austin Ekeler, WR Kyle Philips, MLB Mike Russo, SS Jason Pinnock

Daniel Rayburn, an 80 overall end, was brought in to fortify the pass rush. He registered nine sacks for the Rams last season. Julian Love would provide some veteran leadership at safety.

FA adds:
LE Daniel Rayburn 3yr/$22.5
FS Julian Love 2yr/$12

At long last, we got a star receiver at the draft, a local prospect named Javier Hopkins out of Michigan State. Physical and he would attack the ball in contested situations. Daniel Mobley and Khalid Staton would provide more end help, giving us plenty of toys to play with and we took yet another defensive tackle in the first round, Jacoby Keyes. We drafted new starters at left guard, center and a Wagner replacement in Rashard Stockton. My hopes for him were sky high. In total, 12 draft picks, our largest draft haul thus far.

’28 NFL Draft
1/WR Javier Hopkins (Michigan State), LE Daniel Mobley (Louisville), DT Jacoby Keyes (Oklahoma)
2/LG Justin Johnson (Ole Miss)
3/MLB Rashard Stockton (Oklahoma), C Patrick Cash (Oregon), RB Ben Shivers (Georgetown)
4/QB Gabriel Tatum (Colorado State), LE Khalid Staton (LSU), WR Michael Gilmore (Florida), C Spencer Batch (Rutgers)
6/LB Dee Hall (Texas Tech)

Prior to preseason, we didn’t make any adds other than our fifth corner, Rasul Douglas but after preseason, Nick Chubb found himself cut. A horrendous bit of management by whatever team did that (it was the Jaguars. Jacksonville, never change). Chubb, still a 91 overall, was traded to the Rams for a second round pick.

Preseason adds: RT Jack Conklin, CB Rasul Douglas

Preseason cuts: RB Rhamondre Stevenson, RB Nelson Langford, K Sterling Foster

Preseason MVP: RB Keaton Mitchell. Mitchell posted his first 100-yard game and nearly six yards per carry during the preseason. Mitchell would see more usage in year two of his three-year deal.

New starters: FB Joe Faulkner, WR Javier Hopkins, LG Justin Johnson, C Patrick Cash, RE Ben McClain, MLB Rashard Stockton

Captains: Wirfs, Lindstrom, Sneed, Bland, Jonathan Aldridge (new)

By overall, this was the best team we had had since Year One (we were now an 84, bested only by Year One’s 87) and the best offense we’d ever had (85).

The defense balled out week one, registering five sacks, three picks and a safety in a 22-6 win to start the season. Star back Isaiah Weaver would suffer a torn labrum, missing the next month of action. That Chubb trade had already aged extremely poorly.

The Bears had curiously cut King Henry, who had tortured me for years. The Lions brought him in and cut backup right tackle Jack Conklin to make the space. Keaton Mitchell would go over 100 in his first Lions start and Henry would add 70 in a Lions revenge game over Atlanta, who had beat us in the playoffs two years ago. The defense again snatched three interceptions.

We’d start the season 4-1 but Isaiah Weaver would suffer a ruptured disk in his return to action, missing another five weeks. Despite all the injuries, I still extended Weaver in appreciation of what he’d done and because I still think he could be an elite back.

Patton would have the worst game of his career in an NFC Championship rematch against the Giants, throwing three picks. Despite our 5-2 record, Patton was in a sophomore slump, throwing 10 picks. We needed him to return to freshman form if we were gonna be a true contender.

Patton would throw five TDs in his next two games and Detroit would record the third career shutout of the Mathers era, 31-0, over Green Bay, who had curiously let Bryce Young walk. Gardner Minshew was not the solution.

A rematch against Willie’s Texans did not go well. The second half we narrowly lost 21-16 but we fell behind 28-0 in the first. The lag was a serious issue, prevented us from running screens or QB scrambling. I was unsure how we’d overcome but we would have to find a way.

After a pretty frustrating loss, many of the Lions mainstays were paid, including franchise stars Chris Lindstrom and L’Jarius Sneed. Draft pick Joey Wheeler was kept at tight end and even Rashee Rice believed in what we were building. Despite the humiliations against the Texans, we knew from the top of the organization down we had something special here.

We’d play the Eagles the following week and Maxwell Russell would once again turn into a pumpkin, throwing a pick-six to middle linebacker T.J. Weston, who won NFC Defensive Player of the Week. Weston was having a phenomenal year and getting consideration for DPOY.

We’d lose the following week after another disastrous performance from Patton. He’d thrown 19 picks in 12 games.

We were 8-4 at the bye week but we were far from a Super Bowl team. Something needed to change.

Patton’s turnover struggles would continue against a bare kitchen Packers squad, fumbling what would have been a go-ahead scoring drive on the two in a 16-14 loss.

Patton’s rookie year highlights felt like a far distant memory. He’d completed fallen apart.

He’d throw another pick to the infamous corner Amari Harris the following week versus Minnesota and be benched. No Lions QB could have won this game; the offensive line didn’t come to work, allowing a season-high six sacks. We had lost three straight games and our hold of the NFC North.

We’d respond, winning our fourth-straight Bears game after having lost the first eight. Sneed and Weston would record pick-sixes in a road win in Miami but Patton would throw a career-worst four interceptions in the finale against Washington, costing us the division and the playoffs.

We ended the season on a 2-4 collapse, finishing 10-7.

Willie’s Texans cruised, per usual. Rookie running back Cordell Cowan set the league rushing record, 2158, in an MVP season, scoring 33 touchdowns. Rookie defensive end Cordell Rose set a new sack record at 37. The rich kept getting richer, a sixth Lombardi.

‘28 Season Stats
Patton 203/304 for 2648, 66%, 88.2 rating, 26 TDs, 25 INTs
Mitchell 177 carries for 1046, 5.9 ypc, 5 TDs
Burks 61 receptions for 848, 9 TDs (Offensive MVP)
Rice 53 receptions for 732, 5 TDs
Weston 96 tackles, 5 TFL, 4 sacks, 5 INTs, FF, 2 TDs (Defensive MVP)
Walford 33 tackles, 8 sacks
Sneed 52 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks, 3 INTs, TD
Aldridge 62 tackles, 4 INTs, 14 PDs
Koo 13/15 for 86%, 40/40 XP for 100%
Harden 53.5 avg, 43.9 net, 2 inside the 20
Team Stats
Offense: 4704 (32nd), 2519 pass (32nd), 2185 rush (4th), 21.8 ppg (29th)
Last year: 4750, 2533, 2217, 22.8
Defense: 4031 (2nd), 2435 pass (2nd), 1012 rush (2nd), 17.7 pag (2nd)
37 sacks, 4 fumbles, 19 INTs
Last year: 3582, 2528, 1054, 16.2, 30, 1, 18

Awards:
Pro Bowl: Wirfs, Lindstrom (2)
COY: Mathers (4th)
OROY: Hopkins (2nd), Shivers (10th)
Best OL: Lindstrom (3rd), Cash (9th)
Best K: Koo (9th)

7/Wagging and Weaving

Defensive coordinator Dean Fuller was fired. Fuller had been one of the league’s best DCs since we’d started but his inability to develop a dominant pass rush had reached a breaking point. In six years with him at the helm, we’d never broken into the top-ten or reached 40 sacks.

New hire Sammy Wagner specialized in 4-3 cover 3 defenses.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Stokes was also on the hot seat. Mathers’ minions had been dead-last in yardage every year and while the scoring had improved under Stokes’ watch, there was still room for improvement. Stokes’ first task would be revitalizing the offense.

We’d be switching to new playbooks in 2029, scrapping McDaniel/Reid for LaFleur/Steichen.

Re-signs:
RG Chris Lindstrom 3yr/$60
CB L’Jarius Sneed 3yr/$45
TE Joey Wheeler 4yr/$40
WR Rashee Rice 2yr/$40
RB Isaiah Weaver 2yr/$24
LG Matt Barnett 3yr/$9
K Younghoe Koo 1yr/$4

Beyond frustrated with our pass rush, we cleaned house at defensive end, leaving free agent signee Daniel Rayburn and former first-round pick Daniel Mobley left. Alec Pierce, who had caught our only touchdown in our Super Bowl appearance, walked. Franchise stalwart Quincy Williams called it a career.

FA losses:
DE Myles Murphy 2yr/$16 with ATL
DE Ben McClain 2yr/$16 with BAL
WR Alec Pierce 1yr/$2.65 with IND
Retirements: RB Derrick Henry, LB Quincy Williams, CB Rasul Douglas
Unsigned: WR Luke Williams, DE Jonathan Greenard, CB Taron Johnson, FS Casey Peerman, P Justin Harden

Micah Parsons was the top gem of free agency and I offered $70 million over two years, beyond desperate for a pass rush. Parsons spurned Detroit for Seattle and those damn Seahawks, our cross country rival, for four years and short of $120. Our lone signing, Asante Samuel Jr., gave us a dominant CB4 at a CB2 price I was willing to pay, making the best cornerback room in the league even better. Even Willie’s Texans couldn’t compete with the Lions.

FA adds:
CB Asante Samuel Jr. 1yr/$10

Patton’s time as starter was over. I had held onto Russell too long. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

It wasn’t just Patton’s interceptions. Patton had begun to freeze in the pocket, causing sacks when there were open targets. The dude needed a reset and some time on the bench might help with that.

Clemson Tiger Jeremy Wagner had A grades at all accuracies and A throw power. It took two first rounders to move all the way up to 2 to snag him and a similar trade up was made for the draft’s top pass rusher, Wolverine Sidney Moorehead.

A generational corner, Aleon Pleasants, went first overall, another player I desperately wanted but the truth was I didn’t have a dire need at corner. It hurt to watch Willie trade up and snag him but he would have been my CB4 and I’d have a $10 million CB5 who wouldn’t see the field in Samuel Jr. I had had Sneed and Bland since the beginning and I wasn’t moving either. Aldridge was still my best draft pick. He wasn’t going anywhere. I couldn’t do it.

After the draft, Pleasants ended up the lottery’s top-rated prospect.

Nearly all our capital spent, WR Terrell Gates would be our only other selection but we now had three game changers added to our roster. Complacency was not an option.

Patton would remain with the Lions. Despite his awful second year, I still believed he had potential. I just wasn’t willing to pass on the best QB prospect in six drafts.

’29 NFL Draft
1/QB Jeremy Wagner (Clemson), DE Sidney Moorehead (Michigan)
2/WR Terrell Gates (Georgia)

We got veteran leadership on defense and a former first-round back in Matt O’Neal. (95 speed, 97 accel).

Preseason adds: RB Matt O’Neal, RG Will Hernandez, DE Mike Danna, DE Kenny Clark, CB Kendall Fuller, SS Jamal Adams, P Justin Harden

Preseason cuts: RB Ben Shivers, FS Ifeatu Melifonwu

Preseason MVP: WR Terrell Gates. Gates was an accomplished route runner with serious wheels. He’d be our new slot receiver before long.

New starters: QB Jeremy Wagner, LE Daniel Rayburn, RE Sidney Moorehead

Captains: Wirfs, Lindstrom, Sneed, Bland, Aldridge

Our team overalls maintained at 84 across the board.

Wagner’s Lions career would start rough, throwing a pick-six in each of his first two starts, both one-score losses.

We’d lose twice to Minnesota, who had developed one of the league’s best pass rushes with 99 overall Aidan Hutchinson and top-five pick Trae Starks. We were 2-3 going into week six against Mahomes’ Falcons.

Middle linebacker T.J. Weston would make yet another splash play, taking a goal line pick-six the other way. Despite a still struggling pass rush, the defense was exceptional, holding Atlanta to seven points in a 24-7 win.

One Lion was pissed off about this win and that was Treylon Burks. Despite leading the team in receiving for the third straight year, Burks was pissed he wasn’t getting the ball more. This was not the first time he had a blowup in the locker room; he had requested a trade last season.

I had enough. Burks was in the final year of a bargain 3yr/$15. He had been great, a huge value for the team, worth at least double his deal but I had a talented rookie in Gates who would start in the slot next season. Burks had earned a raise I likely couldn’t afford, not with so many of my stars needing contracts. Corners Jonathan Aldridge and DaRon Bland had both signed $20/yr deals, left tackle Tristan Wirfs had inked $30 and SS Taylor Ross had agreed to a team-friendly $10 AAV. With Burks once again being a manchild off the field, we’d reached the end of the line.

It was likely from the beginning of the season one of my starting key contributors would hit free agency. Burks had made the decision for me. He was traded to the struggling Browns for a high second.

We’d push our win streak to three games. Wagner was disciplined with the ball, throwing only four picks halfway through the season.

After missing most of last year with injuries, Weaver had become a Derrick Henry prototype, bouncing off of tacklers and gaining yards after contact. I had signed him to a short two-year at a more comfortable $12 per but continued production like this and Weaver would get another extension and a well-deserved raise.

Sneed and Ross would both grab pick-sixes in a thumper over Chicago, our fifth-straight Bears win after losing our first eight matchups.

We’d finish a five-game win streak before our bye, reaching the line at 7-3. Going into the rest week, middle linebacker T.J. Weston was leading the league in interceptions with five, two for touchdowns. He would sign a $60 million extension.

Defensive starters Weston, Aldridge, Bland, Ross, Walford and Telfer all signed long-term deals. Asante Samuel Jr. also agreed to another mercenary contract, 1yr/$10. In total, my top-four corners now cost $65 million, a heavy penny, but all were top-20 corners by rating. The best cornerback room in football would be together a little longer.

We’d lose to the Bears for the first time in three years coming out of the bye, ending our five-game win streak. The series was now 9-5 Bears.

Wagner would throw multiple picks in his first four out of the bye and we’d lose two, falling to 9-5. The defense, after allowing over 20 twice in their first 10, allowed 20+ in three.

Firing defensive coordinator Dean Fuller had proven to be a mistake. The defense had regressed and the sack totals had gotten worse, not better. It was still a top-unit but stirring the pot hadn’t worked. Fuller was now in Carolina and the Panthers were a top-five scoring defense, top-10 against the run and 9-5.

An interesting name popped up on free agency after week 16: WR Amari Cooper. He was 35 but still an 82 overall. He had played six seasons for the Chiefs and this season, Kansas City sat him on the bench and gave him no reps. He’d mentor the young guns and get them ready for the playoff push.

Wagner would beat his older brother, Washington Commanders starting QB Brayden Wagner, in week 17, 21-14.

We finished with our third 12-5 season.

Willie’s C.J. Stroud had his best ever year, throwing for over 6,000 yards and 62 TDs with a 144.6 passer rating, all league records. WR Garrett Wilson and Tank Dell were first and second in receiving, with Wilson over 2200. The Texans would finish with their third undefeated regular season. Coach Matthew McConaughey would finish with his seventh-straight Coach of the Year award. He hadn’t coached a season without winning it.

Outside of the four-game stretch out of the bye, Wagner had put together a strong rookie campaign. He had less than 10 interceptions in those 13 games.

The defense scored an impressive 10 defensive touchdowns and poached a record 27 picks but 24 sacks, fourth-worst, was alarming.

’29 Season Stats
Wagner 231/350 for 2837, 66%, 94.4 rating, 25 TDs, 17 INTs (Offensive MVP)
Weaver 238 carries for 1385, 5.8 ypc, 16 TDs
Rice 55 receptions for 613, 6 TDs
Hopkins 47 receptions for 594, 5 TDs
Weston 103 tackles, 9 TFL, 5 INTs, 2 TDs (Defensive MVP)
Moorehead 21 tackles, 7 TFL, 7.5 sacks
Ross 70 tackles, 3 TFL, sack, 5 INTs, 3 TDs
Sneed 58 tackles, 2 TFL, 6 INTs, 2 TDs
Koo 19/20 for 95%, 50/51 XP for 98%
Harden 55.0 avg, 53.0 net, 9 inside the 20
Team Stats
Offense: 4570 (32nd), 2578 pass (32nd), 1992 rush (7th), 25.6 ppg (20th)
Last year: 4704, 2519, 2185, 21.8
Defense: 3818 (2nd), 2825 pass (2nd), 993 rush (2nd), 15.9 pag (2nd)
24 sacks, 2 fumbles, 27 INTs
Last year: 4031, 2435, 1012, 17.7, 37, 4, 19

Awards:
Pro Bowl: Wirfs, Lindstrom, Weston, Sneed, Ross (5)
COY: Mathers (3rd)
OROY: Wagner (4th), Gates (5th)
DROY: Moorehead (2nd)
Best RB: Weaver (7th)
Best OL: Cash (10th)
Best DB: Sneed (1st), Ross (3rd), Bland (4th)
Best K: Koo (1st)

After getting swept by Minnesota during the year, we’d stomp them in the wild card round. The defense allowed under 150 yards and only 10 points, while Wagner went an efficient 11/14 for 144 and two scores in his first playoff win.

We’d throughly demolish Mahomes’ Atlanta 42-10. Weaver had perhaps his best playoff performance (22 carries for 184 yards) while Wagner went 8/9 for 103 and two scores.

Our first home NFC Championship Game was a disaster…for the Saints, a 38-3 stomping.

In three playoff games, the Lions defense allowed 23 points.

Detroit would return to the Super Bowl with a rookie starting QB against Willie’s Texans, who would win their seventh straight Lombardi.

Willie was simply a better player with a superior team and better internet connection. For me, making it to the Super Bowl was my Super Bowl. Still, the goal was to win it for the Lions and city of Detroit. It hurt, knowing whenever we made it to the big game, we only had a 1/100 chance. It was a successful season, a great year but still short of the ultimate prize.

Maybe Stroud would get hit by a car.

8/The Sophomore Curse

In total, we spent $449 million on contracts this season but I believed in the players. Most of these names were team captains or soon-to-be leaders. It was a gargantuan sum but our stars were strong and could take us to the top.

Kicker Younghoe Koo, our specialist for six years, would hit free agency along with both starting outside linebackers.

Re-signs:
CB Jonathan Aldridge 5yr/$100
LT Tristan Wirfs 3yr/$90
CB DaRon Bland 3yr/$60
MLB T.J. Weston 5yr/$60
SS Taylor Ross 5yr/$50
DT Jonathan Walford 3yr/$42
FS Angelo Telfer 3yr/$24
CB Asante Samuel Jr. 1yr/$10
RB Keaton Mitchell 2yr/$10
FB Joe Faulkner 2yr/$3

FA losses:
RB Matt O’Neal 2yr/$8.7 with SEA
LB Deontay Hillman 1yr/$2.4 with ATL
K Younghoe Koo 1yr/$2.1 with DEN
LB Jimmy Dugan 1yr/$1.9 with TB
LB Rishard Kirklin 1yr/$1.9 with PHI
P Justin Harden 1yr/$1.4 with BAL
C Ben Powers 1yr/$1.3 with NYJ
TE Trent Stephenson 1yr/$1.2 with GB
Retirements: WR Amari Cooper
Unsigned: WR Darnell Mooney, RG Will Hernandez, DE Mike Danna, DE Kenny Clark, CB Kendall Fuller, SS Jamal Adams, SS Julian Love

This was the most active I had been during free agency but the draft board at some positions was lacking or it was unlikely the player I wanted would fall to me. Some affordable one-year fixes, including Scary Terry at receiver.

FA adds:
LT AJ Jackson 1yr/$6
WR Terry McLaurin 1yr/$5
DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah 1yr/$5
SS Ji’ayir Brown 1yr/$4
RG Conor Robinson 1yr/$2

I also made two trades prior to draft day. Defensive end Daniel Rayburn had signed a three-year, $22 million contract with us in free agency two years ago. In those two years, he had just two sacks. He was one of the worst signings of my career. That contract had to go. Tampa Bay traded us an early second.

QB William Patton deserved another chance to start but that opportunity seemed unlikely to materialize in Detroit. Hoping he might still serve Detroit’s interests, I shipped him to Indianapolis, where he would face Willie’s Texans twice a year. The Colts surrendered a second and a first next year.

With no first round pick after the draft day trade last year for pass rusher Sidney Moorehead, we missed out on a few premium prospects at outside linebacker, right tackle and tight end but they were players I wanted, not athletes I needed.

WR Justin Springs was one of two promising resumes at WR, George Scott would strengthen the secondary and Rushing and Redding the offensive line. After letting three outside linebackers walk in free agency, I missed on the draft’s best at the position, which would leave a glaring hole in the roster card.

’30 NFL Draft
2/WR Justin Springs (Wisconsin), FS George Scott (Notre Dame), RT Logan Rushing (Utah), C Norman Redding (UCLA)
4/LB Austin Verdon (Auburn)
5/LB Larry Rhodes (USC)
6/RT Jonathan Priestley (Boise State)
7/QB Anthony Burr (UAB)

Willie and I have a three-trade limit per season and I’d make my final trade before preseason even started. Willie had a talented pass rusher named Stephon Nails on his bench. He was in the final year of his rookie deal. I traded a fifth for the rental and hoped Nails could rediscover the talent that had made him a top-10 draft choice.

Kyler Murray and Shaquille Richard, a RB I missed out on in one of our earlier drafts, both were cut after preseason. Kyler would obviously provide mentorship and Richard would be a talented RB3.

Many former draft picks were sadly cut. Sometimes, prospects don’t work out.

Preseason adds: QB Kyler Murray, RB Shaquille Richard, TE Dallas Goedert, DE Montez Sweat, DE Stephon Nails, LB Bradley Chubb, MLB Owen Pappoe, CB Eric Stokes

Preseason cuts: QB Gabriel Tatum, RB Brian Robinson Jr., LT Jalen Garrison, C Spencer Batch, RG Javier Ridley, DE Khalid Staton

Preseason MVP: QB Anthony Burr. Burr was a seventh-round pick and I expected him to be QB3 but he really impressed, an improviser when the play broke down. Gabriel Tatum, who had been a drafted backup the last two years but hadn’t been asked to do anything, was god awful, throwing seven picks and two pick-sixes in five quarters. Not only did he lose the backup job to Burr, he lost his roster spot to Kyler.

Marcus Matthews, an undrafted player who had marinated on practice squad and Dee Hall, a sixth-round choice two years ago, would start at outside linebacker. I’m mostly in nickel or dime but they would see the field in 4-3, 46 Bear and goal line formations. Hopefully, the run D wouldn’t suffer too much.

Kicker Josh Randolph and punter Allen Carr both took over starting roles after a year on practice squad.

New starters: RE Stephon Nails, LOLB Marcus Matthews, ROLB Dee Hall, K Josh Randolph, P Allen Carr

Captains: Wirfs, Lindstrom, Aldridge, Bland, Sneed

Our overalls were the highest they had been since our introductory season (87 overall, 88 offense, 87 defense).

Week one was against Joe Burrow’s Giants, who now had T.J. Watt and Nick Bosa. They were a scary team and it got to Wagner, who threw three picks in the first half but the Lions defense held, with middle linebacker T.J. Weston stealing a Burrow pass on the goal line.

Down 10-0 at half, I would usually bench a QB who had thrown three picks but something told me to keep Wagner in. This was a moment of adversity for him. I wanted to see how he responded.

He’d drive us to a score to start the second half, MLB Rashard Stockton would kidnap another Burrow pass and Wagner and company would capitalize again. Burrow would answer, taking a 17-14 lead with three minutes in the fourth but Wagner had gotten over his jitters. Detroit would score with under a minute to go and the defense would hold again. 21-17 Lions.

Some wins are ugly but often those victories say more about your team than the pretty ones. This one said we could overcome adverse circumstances.

Weston would record 11 tackles, a TFL and an interception, yet another game-changing performance among so many. I had five captains on my team since the beginning but for the first time, we’d have six. Weston had earned it.

Wagner would have another three-pick first half but the team responded again. The rushing attack put up over 300 yards as our offensive line bullied Miami all day. Weaver would have a career-high 36 carries and 219 yards and Keaton Mitchell would add 11 for 86 in a 21-14 win. Adversity overcome but Wagner needed to eliminate the picks immediately. We overcome adversity, not create it. The goal for my QBs is 10 picks a year. Wagner already had 6.

The Lions secondary would torture the Vikings’ Tua, intercepting five balls and returning two for scores. We were 3-0 and would stretch it to five. The defense allowed seven points or less three straight games.

We’d finally beat the Seahawks (0-4 previously), winning a blockbuster in overtime, 34-28. T.J. Weston would record nine tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and two picks. What an incredible player he had become.

Defensive tackle Jonathan Walford would suffer a torn labrum in the contest and miss the next month.

A win over Mahomes and the Falcons would take us to 7-0 and we’d go a perfect 8-0 into the bye, our.best ever start. In those eight games, the defense allowed 17 or less points in seven.

Isaiah Weaver took our latest Bears rivalry game personally: 210 yards and three touchdowns. We’d win by 20 and stomp the Rams in LA the following week, stealing five picks and a strip sack. Justin Springs would record the first punt return touchdown during Mathers’ tenure.

Wagner would have his worst game of the year, throwing two picks and fumbling a strip sack in the first half. He’d be benched for preseason MVP Anthony Burr, a seventh-round rookie, who delivered an inspiring 8/9 for 124 yards and a score. Weston would score a pick-six and the Lions would escape a 21-7 deficit for a 28-21 win, remaining undefeated.

Despite the roar back from adversity, there was some sad news. Starting defensive tackle Jonathan Walford tore his pec, ending his season. Osa Odighizuwa was signed off free agency.

Our record 11-game winning streak would come to an end the next week. Wagner would struggle and the 49ers would torture the dominant Lions d, a 35-14 defeat.

This was the best Lions team we’d had in Mathers’ career but Wagner’s sophomore slump was a steep decline. It was demoralizing. A traditional loss to Willie’s Texans came the next week.

We were 0-4 against Houston and I didn’t think that was ever gonna change. We were 11-2 and it felt like the season was already over.

Wagner would continue his Jameis Winston impression for the rest of the season. After four seasons of suitable to acceptable quarterback play, Wagner had returned us to the Maxwell Russell era.

Our team was all but dead in the water.

The End

It was here we called it quits. It wasn’t that Willie’s team was significantly overpowered (it was). It wasn’t that he was a much better player than me (he is). It was that the internet connection was so poor, I had accepted I never had a real chance to win. I’d be playing for second place every season and that didn’t sit right with me. Willie had won seven straight bowls. He was bored, too.

It hurt. I had failed the Lions. I had salvaged the Raiders with Kyle, recreated the Jaguars with Jon but I had failed Detroit solo.

I hoped to one day avenge all the great players I had who never got to win a ship with the pale blue, like Raheem Mostert, Tristan Wirfs, Chris Lindstrom, L’Jarius Sneed, DaRon Bland, Bobby Wagner, Quincy Williams, Tyrann Mathieu, Isaiah Weaver, Joey Wheeler, Jonathan Aldridge, Taylor Ross, Jonathan Walford and Jalen Lynch.

This sucked. A sad ending to what could’ve been.

Summary:
’23: Divisional Lions 16-17 Seahawks
’24: Wild Card Lions 7-17 Panthers
’25: Missed Playoffs
’26: Divisional Lions 23-24 Falcons
’27: Super Bowl Lions 13-37 Texans
‘28: Missed Playoffs
’29: Super Bowl Lions 26-48 Texans
’30:

All-time stats:
Passing:
‘23: Winston 140/228 for 1772, 61%, 60.4 rating, 9 TDs, 21 INTs
‘24: Russell 168/267 for 2034, 62%, 70.3 rating, 16 TDs, 23 INTs
’25: Russell 154/246 for 1852, 62%, 71.3 rating, 12 TDs, 18 INTs
’26: Russell 212/314 for 2891, 67%, 99.6 rating, 24 TDs, 17 INTs
’27: Patton 180/257 for 2462, 70%, 107.8 rating, 22 TDs, 13 INTs
’28: Patton 203/304 for 2648, 66%, 88.2 rating, 26 TDs, 25 INTs
’29: Wagner 231/350 for 2837, 66%, 94.4 rating, 25 TDs, 17 INTs
’30:

Rushing:
‘23: Mostert 272 carries for 1758, 6.5 ypc, 9 TDs
‘24: Mostert 233 carries for 1423, 6.1 ypc, 6 TDs
’25: Mostert 187 carries for 1122, 6.0 ypc, 8 TDs
‘26: Weaver 299 carries for 1725, 5.8 ypc, 18 TDs
‘27: Weaver 259 carries for 1487, 5.7 ypc, 15 TDs
’28: Mitchell 177 carries for 1046, 5.9 ypc, 5 TDs
’29: Weaver 238 carries for 1385, 5.8 ypc, 16 TDs
’30:

Receiving:
‘23: Lockett 33 receptions for 593, TD
‘24: Wheeler 41 receptions for 482, 3 TDs
‘25: Lockett 48 receptions for 539, 4 TDs
‘26: Rice 68 receptions for 1062, 6 TDs
‘27: Burks 65 receptions for 912, 6 TDs
’28: Burks 61 receptions for 848, 9 TDs
’29: Hopkins 47 receptions for 594, 5 TDs
‘30:

Defense:
‘23: Peterson 62 tackles, 2 TFL 2 sacks, 2 INTs, FF
‘24: Williams 98 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 FF, INT
’25: Smith 36 tackles, 6 TFL, 9 sacks, FF
’26: Smith 29 tackles, 4 TFL, 11 sacks, FF
’27: Bland 46 tackles, TFL, 5 INTs, 14 PDs
’28: Weston 96 tackles, 5 TFL, 4 sacks, 5 INTs, FF, 2 TDs
’29: Weston 103 tackles, 9 TFL, 5 INTs, 2 TDs
’30:

Team Offense:
‘23: 4217 (32nd), 1643 pass (32nd), 2574 rush (1st), 18.6 ppg (31st)
‘24: 4427 (32nd), 2039 pass (32nd), 2388 rush (2nd) 20.0 ppg (31st)
’25: 4149 (32nd), 2074 pass (32nd), 2075 rush (6th), 18.6 ppg (31st)
’26: 5054 (32nd), 2818 pass (32nd), 2236 rush (5th), 24.2 ppg (18th)
‘27: 4750 (32nd), 2533 pass (32nd), 2217 rush (3rd), 22.8 ppg (23rd)
’28: 4704 (32nd), 2519 pass (32nd), 2185 rush (4th), 21.8 ppg (29th)
’29: 4570 (32nd), 2578 pass (32nd), 1992 rush (7th), 25.6 ppg (20th)
’30:

Team Defense:
‘23: 4263 (1st), 2907 pass (1st), 1356 rush (2nd), 17.1 pag (1st), 30 sacks, fumble, 18 INTs
‘24: 4255 (1st), 2961 pass (1st), 1294 rush (2nd), 19.5 pag (2nd), 29 sacks, 5 fumbles, 24 INTs
’25: 4306 (2nd), 3056 pass (2nd), 1250 rush (2nd), 19.0 (2nd), 34 sacks, 4 fumbles, 13 INTs
’26: 3598 (2nd), 2881 pass (2nd), 717 rush (2nd), 15.8 pag (2nd), 32 sacks, 1 fumble, 14 INTs
‘27: 3582 (1st), 2528 pass (1st), 1054 rush (2nd), 16.2 pag (2nd), 30 sacks, 1 fumble, 18 INTs
’28: 4031 (2nd), 3019 pass (2nd), 1012 rush (2nd), 17.7 pag (2nd), 37 sacks, 4 fumbles, 19 INTs
’29: 3818 (2nd), 2825 pass (2nd), 993 rush (2nd), 15.9 pag (2nd), 24 sacks, 2 fumbles, 27 INTs
’30:

Mathers
‘23: 10-6-1 regular season, 1-1 postseason, 6 Pro Bowlers, 87 overall/84 offense/91 defense
‘24: 10-6-1, 0-1, 5 PBs, 83/80/87
’25 8-9, 0-0, 2 PBs, 83/83/83
’26 12-5, 1-1, 3 PBs, 81/80/80
’27: 12-5, 3-1, 3 PBs, 83/84/83 52-31-2, 5-4
’28: 10-7, 0-0, 2 PBs, 84/85/84
’29: 12-5, 3-1, 5 PBs, 84/84/84 74-43-2, 8-5
’30: 11-3, 87/88/87

Final record: 85-46-2, 8-5 playoffs

The Invisible Man/The Scarecrow

Seen but unseen

Saw but saw through

Noticed but not recognized.

Such is the life of The Invisible Man

A creature who falls into the background

Never resides in the foreground of people’s perception

Because visibility is in the eyes of the beholder

And it’s hard to see what you do not know

And do not wish to know.

Invisibility is only a superpower until you have it.

It’s a power but it is not super.

It is a curse, to walk city ways and street corners

Under bright headlights and skyscrapers

To hike peaks, skate lakes, dive depths

To fail, to falter, to struggle, to tear

To accomplish, to succeed, to achieve, to aspire

And know all too well no one saw any of it

Because your dreams feel foolish to them

And your fears make them uncomfortable

But perhaps most of all

You scare them.

You are a scarecrow, an intimidating shroud

Built to protect but mistaken for an assailant

And they’re even more frightened when you take off the mask

Because the truth is often more terrifying than the lies.

The mask stays on and you go through life a bystander

Rather than an active member

A technical participant

But not one anyone recollects.

Voyages at masquerade parties bring brief relapses of enjoyment

Slides across the dance floor in a banquet hall with granite columns and crystal chandeliers

Dramatic dresses and pompous palettes

But eventually, the night ends and the act is over.

The curtains draw

And everyone returns to their daily lives

Honestly themselves

Leaving the Scarecrow in his thoughts

Knowing, unlike everyone else, his mask must stay on.

People do not just not see The Invisible Man

They do not hear him.

He is not just invisible. He is unheard, unknown.

Invisibility is all-encompassing

And there is no length he can go to escape it

No phrase to break the spell

No test of wills.

What scares them the most is how different he is

And different has never been celebrated, only ostracized.

It is never welcomed or sought out.

It is forewarned.

There is no alteration he can make to himself to change that.

He can be loud or quiet, abrasive or malleable

But who he is at his core

That cannot be changed

And so neither can his reality.

Thousands of people passed and seen by none.

Decades lived and never viewed

A cassette from another era never spun.

Melodies, harmonies and ballads played but never heard

A lonely pianist at the keys but no ballroom audience

Not a one.

If a song is played with no listening ears,

Was it ever played at all?

A novel penned without a reader ever written?

Art is given purpose, message and value by its recipients, not its creator

And so is life.

A life unknown is a life wasted.

The Retirement Tour, Chapter One: Vindication

It has aged tremendously. Nearly everything I said would happen has occurred.

Last November, I published The Pittsburgh Penguins Forgot How to Hockey, detailing the team’s decline over the last five years and highlighting why it will continue. It’s certainly worth a click, even more so now that we’ve seen the predictions come true. It also provides further context to much of this article.

I told my readers this team couldn’t score. Months into the season, they had the worst shooting percentage on high-danger chances in hockey.

Per @NatStatTrick, Pens are generating 13.2 high-danger chances per game in all situations, in a virtual tie for the fourth-best rate in the NHL. Their shooting % on those chances is 15.41, worst in the NHL.

— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) December 18, 2023

The power play is on pace to be one of if not the worst in the history of the franchise.

At 13.3%, at the moment, the Pens’ PP is worst in team history. The team record for worst conversion rate in one season is 13.6% in 1967-68.

— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) January 26, 2024

Jake Guentzel became the seventh Penguin all-time to record seven 20-goal seasons.

Jake Guentzel is now a Carolina Hurricane, traded before the deadline.

The Penguins essentially traded multiple players (Mikael Granlund, Jeff Petry, Jan Rutta, Casey DeSmith), a first-rounder, a second-rounder and chucked Jake Guentzel into the river for a 33-year-old defenseman on a $10 million contract for the next four years, three more after this campaign.

In addition to being bad, the Penguins have also ruined their cap situation. They have no money.

Outside of Sidney Crosby, Guentzel was the team’s best offensive weapon. As of this writing, he’s nearly a point-per-game player (474 in 508 games).

Kyle Dubas decided Karlsson was more valuable than Guentzel this summer. His exorbitant contract made it impossible to extend Guentzel. #59 was on his way out as soon as Karlsson’s flight landed. The fan base should have been booing the move from the start instead of celebrating on Twitter.

By the way, Kris Letang as of this writing has six fewer points than Karlsson in the same amount of games while costing almost $4 million less against the cap. Letang, as I said then, is on a team-friendly, high-value contract and demonstrates how awful the Karlsson acquisition is.

You paid $4 million for six extra points?

But in fairness to Karlsson, it wasn’t just him that Dubas chose over Guentzel this summer. He also chose 31-year-old Noel Acciari. Dubas gave him a two-year, $6 million contract. Acciari has seven points in 53 games.

Acciari’s specialty is defense. He wasn’t expected to produce points but the Pens need goal scorers, not expensive fourth-line defensive forwards.

He chose Matt Nieto, who missed over half the season with injury because when you’re over 30, you’re more likely to get injured.

The Penguins also chose Ryan Graves, a now third-pair defenseman who has never been a point producer and at least this season, hasn’t been good at guarding his net either.

Dubas’ first move was Reilly Smith, making $5 million for the rest of this year and next year. Don’t forget about the Jarry extension this summer either.

In the years before Dubas, the Penguins signed Rakell and Rust to long-term extensions.

Of Karlsson, Acciari, Nieto, Graves, Smith, Jarry, Rakell and Rust (didn’t even mention Lars Eller), exactly none of them are currently better or more valuable to the Penguins than Jake Guentzel.

Guentzel was the second-best player on this team outside of Crosby. Pens management knew the bill for him was coming due and decided to throw their budget at lesser fair.

The problem with this team, as it has been for years, is they cannot score goals and now without Guentzel, they’ll score even less.

The goaltending has been excellent outside of the last month. I told readers it wasn’t the problem with this team.

The good news: since Jan. 11, Pens have allowed just 2.44 goals per game, 5th-best in NHL at the start of the day. The bad news: since Jan. 11, Pens have scored just 2.44 goals per game, 5th-worst in NHL.

— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) February 10, 2024

Pens’ team shooting % is 8.73, per @NatStatTrick. That would be their lowest since 8.36 in 2014-15 and fifth-lowest all-time.

— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) February 15, 2024

And they will continue to not score until they find players under the age of 30.

Since the turn of the calendar, the Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the worst teams in hockey.

Legs feed the wolves and the Penguins have no legs. Come March, this team would be out of gas, I said.

It is March. They are out of gas, stomped by the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena 6-0.

As of this writing, they are 3-8 in March and winless on the road. They are a dead man walking.

Does it get old, being right?

No. No, it does not but it does get old watching your professional sports teams exhibit the intelligence of a bag of rocks and continue to persistently choose to be that unwise.

What I write and research is not the outcome of an archaeological discovery. It is not the result of new statistical models or innovative financial practices or data mining.

I am not a scout, I’m not a hockey historian. Hockey isn’t even my most knowledgeable sport.

I’m just a guy who watches the games, looks at the same publicly accessible numbers as everyone else and draws very simple, straightforward conclusions from them.

People, especially in the sports realm, hate math. They hate the analytics community because people like myself never played even amateur hockey and therefore can’t possibly understand the game at the same level as old-school minds. They believe numbers diminish people, unfairly criticize them.

They don’t. Math is objective where people are subjective. Math can remove biases from evaluation and math, unlike people, knows when it’s wrong.

Two plus two does not equal five. Math knows that but the Penguins have been arguing a false premise just like that for multiple years now. It’s why their current reality is so predictable.

I wrote last fall the team had reached the point of no return. It is not a salvageable situation. They have lost, dug themselves such a large hole of asset mismanagement that not even Crosby, Malkin and Letang can save them. Crosby is a legitimate MVP candidate this season and the Penguins will miss the playoffs despite his efforts.

Coach Mike Sullivan should not last till October. I still believe it is the team’s failings, not his own, that have continued this playoff win drought but 2018, their last playoff series victory, is a long time ago. That’s six years ago. The historically bad power play should be a fireable offense on its own (Karlsson didn’t fix that either.) Sullivan has done himself no favors.

Coaches often feel the fire for management’s mistakes long before those most responsible do. Kyle Dubas, despite a horrendous first offseason that absolutely contributed to this team’s failure and to shipping out the Jagr of the team, will still be the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins come summer.

Will he learn from his mistakes, from the horrors of Ron Hextall, from the chaos of Jim Rutherford?

The math suggests not.

The 49ers Have a Shanahan Problem

The 2023 San Francisco 49ers were, by most metrics, a dream team. This season, they had multiple All-Pros on offense, from left tackle to fullback to running back to tight end to wide receiver. This is without mentioning the best middle linebacker in the sport, a top-tier pass rusher and one of the league’s best interior linemen.

Their quarterback is an actual dream, a player taken last in the draft who led the league in most statistical categories and yet was still skipped over for All-Pro and MVP recognition.

Despite all this talent, San Francisco’s playoff run looked poor. In games against Green Bay and Detroit, they were largely outplayed and arguably should’ve lost both. Alas, they won, they made the Super Bowl and I’m writing this column.

Coach Kyle Shanahan, perhaps the game’s greatest play caller, would get a third chance at the Super Bowl. His previous two tries did not end well.

Up 28-3, he squandered it in perhaps the greatest collapse in the history of football. To this day, Brady and the Patriots’ impossible comeback is my favorite football game.

Up 10 in the fourth quarter, he butchered another one. Kansas City won their first Super Bowl in the Mahomes era.

He managed these failings not through unfortunate events or refball but through pure coaching incompetence, the stubborn refusal to adjust, a lack of situational awareness and poor clock management.

Now seven years since that legendary Falcons collapse in Super Bowl 51 and four since that 10 point fumble against this same Chiefs core, he would get a chance to show the world he had learned from these humbling experiences and grown wiser from it.

Only, he hasn’t.

A more perfect draw of the cards could not have been had in this game for Kyle.

Kansas City’s offense no-showed for almost an entire two quarters. They were out of sync and their offensive line was under siege. San Francisco had a long drive to start the game and sustained drives throughout the first half that kept Mahomes and crew off the field.

The Chiefs would manage a field goal toward the end of half. San Francisco had 23 seconds and two timeouts.

Shanahan elected for a McCaffrey run and a walk into the locker room up 10-3.

This is an abomination of clock management. To not even attempt to score, to feel complacent and comfortable up one score in a game you’ve dominated? Bewildering, to be polite and disrespectful of what we all know Kansas City can do.

Mahomes and this same Chiefs team once tied a playoff game in 13 seconds. That was a different unit and team build, sure but challenging Mahomes’ greatness, Reid’s mind, the pedigree of that organization, is arrogant and foolish.

Too many times in his career, Shanahan has taken his foot off the gas pedal and settled. Settlers do not win championships.

Other times, Shanahan can’t seem to understand when to take it off.

Kyle Gonna Kyle

The second half began with a Chiefs possession. Pacheco would fumble on the first snap (KC would recover) and Mahomes would throw a poor interception to end the drive. Now a short distance from establishing themselves, a golden opportunity for Shanahan and company was present: a shot at momentum and at minimum, a chance at recapturing their 10-point lead.

They went three-and-out.

The wisest way to beat Patrick Mahomes is to keep him off the field, which means sustaining drives and draining clock on offense.

In the second half, Shanahan decided to minimize the best running back in football, Christian McCaffrey. This after his All-Pro tight end ended the first half with zero targets.

Shanahan’s bread and butter is under center, play-action passing paired with a consistent zone read run game but in the sport’s biggest exhibits, Shanahan elected to abandon that for shotgun, often empty, formations where his offense statistically performs worse than possibly any other.

Purdy is not a gunslinger and even if he was, playing gunslinger football against two All-Pro caliber corners in Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed and an All-Pro pass rusher in defensive tackle Chris Jones is really, really dumb but Shanahan enjoys making situations as hard as possible for his players.

Come playoff time, the game’s best play designer turns into Arthur Smith, a man who doesn’t understand personnel management. Jauan Jennings was the 49ers best vertical threat in the game. His All-Pro receiver, Brandon Aiyuk, had three receptions. Kittle got a whole two catches for four yards at game’s end.

Kansas City had the league’s best defense this season but often got bullied in the run game. “Wow, Kyle, I was just looking at the roster sheet and it says here that San Francisco has an All-Pro left tackle, an All-Pro fullback and the league’s best running back and offensive player of the year. Maybe we should utilize these three players and run the damn ball.”

But no. Shanahan insisted on shotgun and incomplete passes. No explosive plays happened in the pass game aside from an extremely bizarre WR pass from Jennings, a ball that lingered in the air for a calendar year, somehow didn’t get picked off and was taken by McCaffrey for a score. A deep ball into the end zone was knocked away by McDuffie in 1-on-1 coverage on Deebo Samuel and another end zone shot was missed after the throw was disrupted by a Chris Jones pressure, that All-Pro defensive tackle I was talking about earlier.

With the 2-minute warning passed at the end of the game and a third-and-four, San Francisco was a first down away from eliminating Kansas City’s final two timeouts and kicking a go-ahead field goal with little time remaining, if any.

Kansas City would blitz. Running the ball was the right call. At worst, it would kill one of Reid’s stoppages. At best, it would punish the blitz and get the first down, essentially icing the game.

Shanahan called shotgun. Incomplete. San Fran would kick and Mahomes would systematically drive down the field for the tying score to send the game to overtime.

Now in the extra period, another third and medium. McCaffrey had been the cog that had delivered San Francisco to this position.

Shanahan called shotgun. Incomplete. San Fran would kick, Mahomes would drive down the field for the winning score.

For all of Shanahan’s success, all of his schemes, designs and talents, these are the only numbers that matter:

28-3

20-10

10-0

Those are the three Super Bowl leads he has blown, all back-to-back.

After a third failure and second in the Bay Area, Shanahan’s seat should be getting warm if not hot. Shanahan is coming scarily close to Mike McCarthy, another coach who struggles with clock management and situational awareness.

As Sean McVay continues to evolve in the NFC West, Shanahan appears to be regressing, failing to learn from his greatest failures. All three of these Super Bowl defeats came from a refusal to run the ball. Perhaps that is why Super Bowl Sunday felt underwhelming this year, a season finale I’ve already seen before.

The night should be remembered for Mahomes’ second half magic and theatrics, the Chiefs’ back-to-back trophy run, Reid’s continued success but the prevailing story line, the tale that will likely fade as time passes, the message on the other side of the page, is the thread of Shanahan’s shenaningans, the chapter of a man who repeats his mistakes at the podium and won’t learn his lesson, who abandons his identity and talents when the heat is hottest for lesser fair.

Because unlike many in the sports realm, Shanahan is not bullish or an old-school football mind tethered to the principles of the past. He is creative, in some ways revolutionary, artistic even but there is clearly something significant lacking with Shanahan. Maybe that something will appear in time but now seven years since that infamous 28-3, Kyle is still fucking around and finding out.

For all his brilliance, Shanahan’s greatest adversary is himself, from his hatred of the run game in big moments, his lacking awareness in not just the situational sense but in his evaluation of prospects (not enough has been said about the Trey Lance debacle) and his understanding of his opponent and his own personnel.

As great as Mahomes was in that second half last night, the biggest reason Kansas City will be hosting a championship parade is Kyle Shanahan’s persistent need to stand in his own way.

If San Francisco has the type of season they had this year in 2024 and Shanahan once again is responsible for an early playoff exit, a serious discussion needs to be had. Detroit’s Ben Johnson will once again be available. There are plenty of bright NFL minds who could accomplish great things with this All-Star team.

I’m sure this will be an unpopular take. Shanahan owns his division and has a dominating record against McVay and he’s made multiple NFC Championships and Super Bowls but context matters and is often more important than the final result. Maybe I’m the dumb one (entirely possible) but it sure feels like the 49ers are Michael Phelps during the regular season. They turn into a talented college swimmer after a hangover come playoffs, skilled enough to win sometimes but never seemingly at their best. Multiple players after Sunday’s Bowl said they were unaware of the new overtime rules. That’s coaching.

In all three Super Bowls, Shanahan was running the ball away from winning. If he would simply embrace his own identity, he would be a three-time Super Bowl champion and on his way to Canton.

Instead, he’s now known as one of the greatest Super Bowl chokers in NFL history and his Hall candidacy is very much in question despite all he’s brought to the sport.

Shanahan is capable of great things but the Bay Area cannot wait much longer for him to figure it out. The 49ers already missed a window with the tandem of new Hall of Famer Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman. They missed the Garoppolo window. They cannot afford to miss this window of Bosa, Warner, Kittle, Deebo, Aiyuk, CMC, Trent, Juszczyk and so many more.

Because Sunday, the 49ers were not a quarterback away. They were not an offensive line or a defense away. They were not even a “Patrick Mahomes not on the other sideline” away.

They were a coach away.

Steelers Hire Arthur Smith

With another season of failure freshly finished in the Steelers history books, the hope things might change, though distant and frail, was still alive.

Even now, as of this writing, Tomlin hasn’t been extended. It’s technically still possible, however remote, this will finally be the end of the Steelers’ Curse, their Neverending Hell, their continual circuit on the hamster wheel finally over.

Yet, owner Art Rooney II’s recent press conference was less than encouraging.

Rooney said he believes the team can compete with this group of players. Why?

Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, two of the top-five best quarterbacks in football, live in your division. Patrick Mahomes, already one of the sport’s all-time greats, has a stranglehold on the AFC Championship. CJ Stroud and Trevor Lawrence are both problems in the South. Josh Allen, King Turnover or not, still provides more firepower than you can deal with. This is all without mentioning quality coaches in Kevin Stefanski, Shane Steichen, Mike McDaniel and now Jim Harbaugh to deal with.

Remove TJ Watt from your team. What gives you confidence you can compete with any of them on the game’s biggest stage?

Regular season success is fickle and for the truly great teams, it’s just practice. Sports media has told us for months how vulnerable the Chiefs are. This Kansas City squad has one of the worst receiving units in the sport and yet, less than a week away from the Super Bowl, who is representing the AFC yet again? Kansas City.

For a full season, we heard how lifeless the offense was, how susceptible the team was but they found ways to win most of the season and come playoffs, it has looked routine for them. The ice bowl versus Miami wasn’t competitive, the road game in Buffalo a familiar tale and the upset of favored Baltimore made anyone who doubted Kansas City feel dumb: “I’ve seen this before. Why did I doubt history, deny my memory?”

I took Kansas City to win all three games. Miami does not play well in the cold. The moment has been too big for the Bills too many times to trust them. Baltimore has two playoff wins since 2015 and played one quality half versus Houston.

For as much as the world changes, truths don’t. Pedigree, principles and revolutionary, forward-thinking philosophies always carry the most weight, not talent. It’s why I expect a Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl win. The Red Kingdom getting points in three straight playoff games is comically wrong.

The Steelers have none of these things.

Their pedigree is getting outclassed in all areas when they make the playoffs.

Their principles are antiquated. In a league where quarterbacks are lighting up scoreboards, Pittsburgh is not only content but emboldened to run their offense like it’s 1997. Play defense, try not to allow 20 points, which means they have to be one of the best defenses in football every year and hope the offense can accidentally fall in the end zone once or twice.

Defense is important in today’s game. The Chiefs have the best defense and even though half their receivers don’t have hands, they’re in the Super Bowl but if you’ve watched professional, NFL football the last ten years and believe a play style from 1997 is going to succeed in 2024, you shouldn’t be anywhere near a sports organization.

A large part of failure in life comes from a refusal to adapt and the Steelers are run by both an owner and a head coach who have no interest in changing their ways despite repeated, loud disappointments.

Poor results are usually a product of bad process. Baking a cake will likely go poorly if you use salt rather than sugar but Pittsburgh is brazenly confident their recipe is correct and continues putting their salt-laden pastry in the oven that is the NFL season. The finished product in 2024 and going forward will be as expected.

The Steelers’ revolutionary, forward-thinking philosophies are ignoring the middle of the field, the area most targeted by the league’s most productive offenses, hiding their quarterback rather than weaponizing him and hoping they can grind out yards with their run game.

This philosophy is not only foolish; the Steelers are ill-equipped to run such a scheme.

Still, the Steelers can’t stop watching their Super Bowl videos from the 1970’s. They genuinely believe this is what’s missing from their franchise: they’re not being true to who they are.

Change is necessary in life. It is something you can resist and fight with all your tenacity but change will happen around you whether you want it or not. Evolving as a person, business or in this case, sports franchise, is not betraying your identity: it’s bettering it. It’s how you become more knowledgeable, wiser and such things spur creativity and innovation, two words the Pittsburgh Steelers are deathly afraid of.

Running in Reverse

Pittsburgh this past week decided to hire former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator. The fan base and media was told the Black and Gold would be casting a wide net in search of a play caller with experience.

It’s genuinely hilarious a professional sports organization needs to mention they want someone with experience. They had to clarify that because the last two guys they hired had zero, repeat, zero play-calling experience at the NFL level. If you’re reading this, you had just as much experience calling plays in the National Football League as the Steelers’ last two offensive coordinators.

In a world where Starbucks is hesitant to hire a high school student with no work history, the Pittsburgh Steelers are willing to give anyone a look.

Except for this past month, apparently. The Steelers interviewed a whole three people for the job. Wide net indeed.

The media was told it would be an exhaustive process. Exhaustive for a geriatric, maybe. Most businesses could do three interviews in a day.

The Pittsburgh job is not appetizing because of the worldview the organization employs but it’s not so controversial or polarizing that only three people would be interested in it.

While teams in the NFL looking for coaching changes were interviewing potential suitors left and right, Pittsburgh put their vehicle in neutral and hoped someone might hop on. In a world of Ferraris and Maseratis, Pittsburgh was content to be a 1997 Subaru Forester.

Rooney talked about a sense of urgency with the team, how the franchise is tired of losing and eager to find success in the postseason but his words ring endlessly hollow when his actions look like this on a repeated basis.

The head coach responsible for this team’s mediocrity is still being paraded by the organization as a champion of success despite a resume of nearly a decade now with no notable accomplishments. It seems, and I mean this seriously and sincerely, that Mike Tomlin is more likely to be a victim of a shark attack than he is of ever being held accountable for his lacking job performance.

The stench of settling for average reeks throughout 100 Art Rooney Avenue.

Square Peg, Round Hole

There’s a lot of reasons to be skeptical of this hire. There’s much talk that Smith’s experience as the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator was appealing to Pittsburgh. There, Smith ran the exact style of offense the Steelers want to run: ground-heavy.

To Smith’s credit, the Titans found a lot of success with him at the helm but there’s a clear and obvious difference between the 2019 Titans and the current iteration of the Steelers.

The Titans had Taylor Lewan at left tackle, a three-time Pro Bowler and Jack Conklin, a now two-time first-team All-Pro right tackle. Ben Jones, an established center in this league, manned the middle of the offensive line. Derrick Henry is a Hall of Fame running back, easily one of the best of his generation.

Compare all this to what the Steelers’ roster card currently looks like. They have Dan Moore at left tackle, a player Pittsburgh would be wise to let marinate on the bench. At right tackle, they have Broderick Jones, who will be going into his second year. Center Mason Cole was rated one of the worst centers in football by Pro Football Focus. Running back Najee Harris is regularly being outperformed by undrafted back Jaylen Warren (who is an objectively very good player, by the way.) Receivers George Pickens and Diontae Johnson demonstrated multiple times this season they don’t consider run blocking a priority.

Pittsburgh does not have the personnel to play bully ball. New general manager Omar Khan had an excellent first offseason. The drafting of Jones and signing of Isaac Seumalo, one of the league’s best guards, shows he recognizes some of the team’s faults but a general manager will be hard-pressed to rearrange this roster enough that they can overpower teams physically come fall. Pittsburgh for many years disregarded the trenches, especially the offensive line. They’ve recently rediscovered how important big men are to gridiron success but this hiring suggests they believe this is a problem they can fix overnight.

It is a problem that was created over the course of years of negligence. It will take years to correct.

Smith also demonstrated his own stubbornness as a coach in Atlanta. Despite drafting skill position players in the first round all three years of his tenure, including tight end Kyle Pitts in the top five, Smith rarely manufactured touches for his best players, preferring utilizing names like KhaDarel Hodge and Jonnu Smith. His failure to correctly manage personnel is the predominant reason he was fired. His fostering of young quarterback Desmond Ridder also left much to be desired, though it’s still too early to say how much of the blame resides with each party.

The chief concern with the Smith hiring is the mismatch of personnel and coaching approach but the second worry is Smith has only ever coached one way. Atlanta this past season lost to the Washington Commanders, the worst pass defense in football this year. Josh Dobbs, who hadn’t yet practiced with the Vikings after a trade days earlier, beat them. Smith also lost to Carolina, the worst team in football and gave up 37 points to the Chicago Bears, an offense similar to the Steelers in its ineptitude.

Throwing from behind is not something Arthur Smith does well. He shielded his quarterback in Atlanta, preferring to run the offense with the ball out of his passer’s hands. Eventually, every team needs their quarterback to make a few plays in order to win and when you demonstrate a regular reluctance to hand over the reins, it gives the quarterback less reps to learn and less confidence in himself to feed off of.

Steelers fans should be somewhat encouraged. The worst offensive coordinator in Steelers franchise history is no longer on the team. The offense should improve by default (it would have to perform Olympic gymnastics to somehow be worse) but those who believe all of Pittsburgh’s roster mismanagement and flawed approaches to the game will simply disappear are mistaken. This is an offense that will struggle to be average in today’s game.

The sad part of it? The organization is choosing this road.

The Steelers Curse: A Neverending Hell

After surrendering a 13-0 lead to Indianapolis and giving up 30 straight points, it seemed Tomlin’s tenure was finally coming to an end but Tomlin is the luckiest man on Earth and once again found another parlor trick to save him: Mason Rudolph.

Yes, that Mason Rudolph.

Rudolph had once been seen as the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger but had been pushed aside for better options like the great Duck Hodges. He had been pinned to the bench for the last three seasons, seeing little game action and when the team signed Mitch Trubisky in free agency, it seemed clear Rudolph was no longer a part of the team’s future.

Alas, Mitch Trubisky is a terrible NFL quarterback and after three straight losses, Tomlin begrudgingly gave the ball to Rudolph.

As always seems to happen with Tomlin, unexpected events saved his job: Rudolph played like an NFL franchise quarterback, completing 74% of his passes at a high 9.7 yards-per-attempt, three touchdowns to no picks and an exemplar 118 passer rating in an offense designed to make things as hard as possible. Pittsburgh scored 34 and 30 points in Rudolph’s first two starts and ended the season on a three-game winning streak, once again sneaking into the playoffs and keeping Tomlin’s precious non-losing season stretch alive.

Rudolph demonstrated the composure to stay in the pocket and go through his progressions, the arm talent to throw deep completions (along the sidelines in particular) and an active willingness to go for it.

Rudolph’s post-game pressers were especially eye-opening. This sounded like a franchise quarterback: a man humbled by his past failures, a player who eagerly accepted responsibility for mistakes while dishing praise to his teammates. He conducted himself like a professional, a stark contrast to the players surrounding him. The maturity, the leadership qualities, the character..it was all there.

In the quagmire of Steelers football, Rudolph was one of the few bright spots of 2023. That is a player the Steelers should keep around. Is he a franchise quarterback? No but to see someone conduct themselves like a leader in the locker room outside of the usual suspects was rejuvenating.

Back to Reality

In exchange for once again squeaking their way into the postseason, the Steelers got the pleasure of playing the Buffalo Bills, captained by Josh Allen. With a black hole at middle linebacker and T.J. Watt out for the game with an MCL sprain, chances looked bleak for Pittsburgh, especially given their coach is Mike Tomlin, a man who regularly tells you who he is in the postseason.

If black and gold fans believed Tomlin would write a new story, they were poorly mistaken.

21-0 Buffalo before Pittsburgh bothered picking up the controller.

This is not new. Including Monday, Pittsburgh has been outscored 66-0 in the first quarter of their last five playoff games. Always unprepared.

Tomlin defenses also don’t play playoff football. They became the first team in the Super Bowl era to allow 30+ in five straight postseason games (Before the Bills game, it was 36+ in their last four). They were outscored 122-47 at halftime in those five contests.

With the 31-17 drubbing to Buffalo, 23 teams have now won a postseason game more recently than the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This is who Pittsburgh is now. They aren’t even the Steelers anymore.

They’re the Settlers. They settle.

They settle for non-losing seasons and getting stomped in the playoffs by real contenders. Sometimes, Pittsburgh doesn’t even bother making it to the postseason.

I could go on about so much more with this team.

I could drop stat after stat on this page until I ran out of ink.

I could link quote after quote from players over the years, criticizing referees (Pickens did this post-game) or the weather conditions or how the team lacks structure and discipline (Najee Harris did this post-game) or how injuries piled up and didn’t allow the team to compete (next man up mentality? What’s that?) or how they didn’t hit their stride at the right time or it was a casserole of a lot of issues.

Yet there are few constants that remain from their last playoff win seven years ago, January 15, 2017.

Tomlin Torture

Why does the team continue to look the same? Nearly the entire roster has been flipped and yet, year after year, same result.

Coach Mike Tomlin.

His post-game presser should be his lasting image in this city. After 90 seconds of questions from the media, Tomlin walked off the stage when a question about his contract began. He is about to be in the final year of his deal.

Fresh off being stomped in yet another early playoff ouster, Tomlin ran.

He runs from adversity at every opportunity like the Alice in Wonderland rabbit, opening door after door while quoting all of his famous lines that still make the media blush. “Accountability? Standards? I’ve got an important date to make. I don’t have time for this.”

Media, more nationally than locally, love Tomlin because he makes their job easy. A significant role of the press is fishing for quotes and most people are not naturally quotable. People don’t talk like they do in Hollywood movies.

Tomlin, on the other hand, is a natural public speaker. Those nuggets and tidbits come out left and right but between those lines are a lot of baloney. Sure, standard is the standard until it’s time to answer why the standard didn’t happen today. He’ll say something like, “We don’t focus on the rearview mirror, we focus on the road ahead of us and we’ll look to improve going forward.”

Hard to do that when you actively ignore failed approaches and continue to implement them. He operates more like a White House press secretary than a football coach, dodging poignant questions about pressing issues while countering with past campaign promises.

The national media in particular applaud him regularly for navigating his team through the trash every season when he is dumping a lot of the sewage in front of his own ship and some of the people he hired on the vessel are actively sabotaging.

Tomlin is the only coach in possibly all of sports who gets credit for starting his own fires. It’s like applauding an arsonist for putting his out and calling him a fearsome firefighter.

Whenever Tomlin falls, it’s because of the roster and coaching staff he assembled, the poor battle plan he designed, the mounting injuries that exist for every NFL team.

Whenever Tomlin wins, it’s, “Look at all the turmoil he was able to overcome! What a guy!”

He is currently held to an irreproachable standard: nothing wrong is because of him and every success is due to him. He is treated like an icon for losing back-to-back games to 2-10 football teams at home in five days.

Rooney Roulette

For the seventh straight season, the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t won a playoff game, the longest drought since the merger and their five-game postseason losing streak is the longest in franchise history. The Browns finished above the Steelers in the division for the first time since 1989. It doesn’t get much worse than this.

But the reports began coming out not one week after getting demolished that Tomlin is expected to be extended again this offseason. I held off publishing this waiting for that announcement.

Art Rooney II is a terrible owner and his relatives before him weren’t great either.

The football world worships the Steelers for employing so few head coaches, applauding the stability of the organization but the illusion of stability is not stability.

Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Noll won four Super Bowls in six years with the 70’s Steelers. From 1980-1991, the Steelers went 93-91 under Noll. He won 10 games just once and won only two playoff games.

The 80’s were virtually a complete waste and it wasn’t just because of the talent in the locker room. The Rooneys chose it. They have never learned how to let something go. Change is never an opportunity for improvement, only a chance at ruin and worse yields. They are terrified of losing what they have, so scared they’re unable to see when it’s slipping through their fingers.

By the way, Noll had to retire before any change was made. Pittsburgh hired Bill Cowher and the team immediately became competitive again, winning 10+ games five of Cowher’s first six years, including a Super Bowl appearance in year four. You’d think the Rooney’s might have learned a valuable lesson from that but nope.

With Tomlin’s extension despite his worst season seemingly inevitable, the 2020’s will play out like the 1980’s before them. The team will achieve meaningless accolades like non-losing seasons. It will be beaten like a drum when it has to enter the ring against a true opponent in the playoffs and that’s when the team bothers getting invited to the tournament.

The Steelers are a hamster on a wheel. They’ve been on the wheel for seven years but they’re sure if they keep running, the wheel will end soon.

They do not understand how wheels work.

Because despite all the football that’s played in Pittsburgh’s Black and Gold every year, this is the only measure that matters:

Last Five Playoff Games:

31-17 Bills

42-21 Chiefs

48-37 Browns

45-42 Jaguars

36-17 Patriots

My Time on Overwatch 2

After my career on Apex Legends (post linked), I wasn’t sure what to do with myself gaming-wise. When you spend three and a half years in a relationship, whether it’s with a person, a business or in this case, a game, it feels like your compass has lost its north. You’re used to doing things a certain way for so long that when you don’t have that north in your life anymore, you have to rediscover it.

Three and a half years is a very long time and I seriously considered stepping away from the console for a bit. Maybe I just needed a break from that part of my life.

In came Overwatch 2.

Like Apex, Overwatch is a class-based shooter, which made it immediately appetizing.

Unlike Call of Duty or Battlefield, class-based shooters offer unique characters, skill sets and personalities. Main-stream shooters remind you constantly you’re playing a video game. You have customizable loadouts, appearances and sprays but the voice lines and flair aren’t there. Grunt 1, Officer A, it all feels detached. Apex and Overwatch feel like stories.

I was a Moira main and I do not apologize for it. Mei was my queen, Torb my king and the more I played, the more diverse my hero catalog became.

I’m a marksman/support style player and that’s where I tended to reside in-game. I did not play much tank.

That changed over time. Reinhardt’s appearance reminded me of one of my favorite animes, Akame ga Kill. That’s something else main stream shooters don’t have: creative character design. I started maining Rein specifically cause of his look, not even his abilities.

Overwatch offers a wide range of play styles and during my year and a half on there, I explored them all. Some reminded me of my days on Team Fortress 2, an old PC game. Pharah was Soldier, Junkrat was Demoman, Widowmaker was Sniper, Torb was Engineer. It was reliving younger days.

By my time’s end on Overwatch, I regularly played Moira, Zenyatta, Rein, Mei, Torb, Brig, Reaper, Pharah, Dva, Zarya, Lifeweaver, Orisa, Kiriko, Widow, Junker Queen, Genji, Hanzo, Mercy, Sojourn and Junkrat.

Blizzard, unlike Respawn and Apex, seemed to listen to player feedback because many of my complaints with game balancing were often addressed. Of course, no game is perfect and some things, like Sombra’s existence, were never removed, though they did eventually rework her.

Overwatch felt like even more of a community that Apex did in some ways because of this open communication. It felt like all of us together wanted to make this game great.

In other ways, however, Overwatch was agonizing.

Why I Left

Part of a class-based shooter is class/hero counters. Some play styles specifically counter others and continuing to play said character and ignore the counters put in place by the developers to encourage game variety puts yourself and your team at a huge disadvantage. If you are one of the greats or even a very, very good player, you can overcome counters but an overwhelmingly large number of players are not that person. I wasn’t most of the time. Refusing to switch characters makes everything harder on yourself and your team and on Overwatch, more than on any game I’ve ever played, players would rather lose than switch when they’re getting decked in the mouth.

A significant portion of the player pool doesn’t play the game to win. They don’t even play to be competitive. They only care about playing a particular character and if they die a dozen times in a row, they don’t care. The world revolves around them. “Who cares if I’ve made the gaming experience absolutely miserable for my four teammates?”

Wide, complex maps like Apex Legends offers gives every character playability, even if they’re outside the meta. Overwatch maps are much more compact and they’re 5v5, not 60-pool lobbies.

Apex is built so that you can hardmain one hero if you wish. Overwatch is not. The developers themselves would tell you that.

So when you enter a ranked lobby and your tank picks Doomfist, you want to chuck your console into the river. The dude just chose to lose when there’s a Bastion on the other team.

People like this make Overwatch’s ranked system extremely hard to climb, harder than Apex. For all my complaints and bitterness towards Apex, Apex’s competitive play had safeguards in place to protect players from de-ranking if they got a teammate who decided to YOLO.

Overwatch has no such protections. Overwatch also doesn’t take play quality into account. If I played well on Apex but finished sixth, I could still gain rank points at certain levels. Higher up, I had to finish fourth. On Overwatch, I could go 50/5/5 with 25,000 damage and if I lose because of a teammate who doesn’t respect class counters, I de-rank. This is wildly unfair to me.

Despite Apex being a three-player game and running with randoms left me at a disadvantage, I could still compete. Overwatch actively hates solo players and have built their game to heavily favor pre-stacks, groups of players who squad into a lobby together.

In quick play games, you don’t have to be the best team. You just have to be the team who doesn’t have a rage-quitter on it.

What finally pushed me over the edge though, more than the self-centered players, was Overwatch’s strategy in releasing new heroes.

For three heroes out of four, Blizzard purposefully cranked their new characters’ viability to 12. Upon release, Rammatra’s ultimate was the strongest in the game, Illari was the best support character and now Mauga is the strongest overall hero on the server just weeks after drop.

This philosophy, that the newest character must be the game’s strongest by an overwhelming margin or no one will play them, is foolishly flawed. People enjoy new stuff, regardless of how viable it is. Ironically, Overwatch’s best hero introduction was Lifeweaver. He was weak initially and over the last few months, players got to witness his growth. Blizzard sees the Lifeweaver reveal as a failure.

When you release a character like Mauga, who has two Gatling guns with an over 300-bullet clip, no mobility but a decreased headshot multiplier and over 500 hit points, you’re telling the entire community the game revolves around him.

Mauga, as a tank, put out so much damage, you couldn’t outheal it. You had to play Zen/Ana or accept you were going to lose 70% of your games.

A hero who not virtually but completely eliminates half the heroes you can play at the selection screen is awful for the game.

I’m a Moira main who couldn’t play Moira because Moira doesn’t do enough healing to output Mauga’s damage but also doesn’t put out enough damage herself to take him down. I’m a Rein tank main who couldn’t play Rein because Mauga destroys my shield and still has 100 bullets to finish me off. I’m a marksman player who gets penalized for hitting headshots while Mauga sprays and prays and dominates the lobby.

The game became literally unplayable.

If I had genuine hope this would never happen again, I would still be on Overwatch but this was the third time Blizzard made a season of their game obnoxiously painful and stressful over character release philosophy. They nerfed Mauga mid-season and walked him back as they did with Rammatra and Illari before him but the next hero introduction will be the same. For weeks if not months, the game will once again become unplayable for a significant portion of characters, Blizzard will introduce nerfs to finally institute stability only to flip the table again around the bend.

For all those reasons, I’m out.

I reached master open queue and diamond all roles before I dipped so I accomplished what I wanted before this season from hell pushed me out the door.

I’m not sure what the next step of my gaming journey will look like but despite the bitterness I currently feel, I’m thankful for my chapter on Overwatch as I’m thankful for the Apex Legend I once was.

The One That Got Away

You were stunning.

I remember the first like it was yesterday

The first glance, the first hair flip, the first strut across the dance floor.

From the very moment, I was mesmerized

Spellbound, all the cliches are true.

Entranced, written into the storybooks and lovesick novels.

A reality in a fairy tale or a fairy tale in a reality?

I was never one to be impressed

My attention is not so easily attracted and harder still to hold onto

But as the first word broke your lips, I heard it.

When you hear the right chord progression

Or the right taste comes across your palette

You don’t just feel it. You sense it.

I’d never been so sure of something in my life.

You were a diamond.

Your laugh was a melody I couldn’t quit

A shot of adrenaline to my day.

You stoked the embers of my being

Made my fire burn like it never had

Like I didn’t know it could.

My light was always passionate

But now it roared with newfound fervor

Burned not red but a deep blue

Lively, energetic and most of all, hopeful.

Your presence alone was a spark.

Your eyes made me seen.

Your ears gave my voice bravado.

Your mind made me known.

But you were never mine.

I never felt I deserved you and so it didn’t bother me.

Being given the time of day felt like a blessing.

I idolized you. I really thought you were perfect.

I never saw aiding you in your studies as a chore.

I viewed it as a responsibility, something I owed you.

Lending my ear to your struggles was just something a good friend would do.

Supporting you wasn’t an obligation.

It was something I wanted to do.

I wanted to see you win

Because I believed you could go further than I would ever make it.

As a child, everyone around me wanted to be Batman.

Everyone wants to be the hero, the protagonist of life.

I always wanted to be Robin, the sidekick

The one who never got the respect or the credit

And never asked for it

The one who lifted others

So they could reach higher.

I was the Beast

Maligned and misunderstood

Ostracized and shunned

Labeled and characterized.

I was The Invisible Man.

Unseen but seen through

A concept more than a person

An NPC more than a character

A masked vigilante rather than a memorable face.

You were my Belle.

The first person in so many years

To not just notice me

But see me.

People don’t understand what a gift that is

To be recognized as you are.

It is one of life’s greatest treasures.

In exchange for that, I was willing to do nearly anything.

As long as it didn’t betray who I was, it was on the table.

I was willing to sacrifice everything for your aspirations.

I poured so much of my energy into you

And saved none for myself.

And then that rodent dumped you

And you shattered like glass

Withdrew from the world.

Your light died.

You wouldn’t accept that all you were was in spite of that thing, not because of it

But over many months, I watched you, my rose, wither away.

You closed the shutters on your windows

You locked the door

And you stopped dancing.

You moved back home to chase that cesspool of a creature

A being that never treated you with a shred of respect or dignity.

I never heard from you again.

For years, I longed for that voice to reverberate in my ears again

For my heart, a dormant volcano, to become active again.

I’ve questioned what I did wrong to lose you.

For a decade, I’ve shamed myself

For letting you crumble

For not being strong enough to lift you up.

”How did you let her get away?”

But the truth is, you weren’t the one who got away.

I was.

It’s taken me so long in life to see my own value

But I know now there isn’t anything I could have done

To lift you above yourself.

You weren’t Batman.

You were a damsel in distress who encouraged said distress.

You had the power to be Batman and Robin

But you stepped in your own way.

You hooked your wagon to people who not only didn’t support you

But sucked the life out of you.

You saw me for me but also didn’t.

You took my dedication, character and loyalty for granted.

You saw my perspective, my selflessness, my humility

And thought it wasn’t enough.

The truth is, I am the Batman of my story. I just didn’t know it.

We all are the heroes of our stories, the protagonists of our journey

Whether we want to be or not.

With great power comes great responsibility

And it’s much easier to shed the responsibility you have to yourself

Than it is to embrace it.

You are as strong, or as weak, as you allow yourself to be.

I saw you as above me

When really, I looked up at you from above.

All that I believed you could accomplish

Is the self-belief I never allowed myself.

So I no longer regret those decisions.

The days I longed for you in my life are past.

I’ve realized that melody I heard when you spoke?

That melody was mine.

The feelings I had of self-acceptance

Are inside myself.

The passion and energy I felt is what I created, not others.

You cannot rely on people for self-worth, for outside validation.

Your identity verifies your validity.

I’m the one who got away.

I hope as age and wisdom come to you

As it comes to us all

You’re able to appreciate the rose you once had.

End of an Era: Belichick/Saban

When we are young, we dream and children overwhelmingly do not dream small: professional athlete, astronaut, president, actor, all reachable but all lofty. Regardless of what your goal is in life, it never comes easy. It always pushes you harder than you were prepared for and those integral moments, when you’re so far beyond exasperated and beginning to doubt is when you learn who you are and what you’re willing to do to achieve.

When you accomplish, I think we fantasize there’ll be mass joy and celebration and the work will be over but I’d argue the grind gets even more severe trying to maintain that level. There’s a reason people don’t live on Mount Everest.

For decades, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban have been living on a peak unapologetically, commanded with a Zeus-like grip and innovated to survive their battle against time. You can’t get stuck in your ways. Life will move forward with or without you. Belichick’s end in New England is because he became hardened to change and the results due to refusal to change are to be expected.

Saban, meanwhile, has retired, called it a career at Alabama. For years, I’ve hated Alabama and I’d argue Alabama is one of the many reasons I don’t watch college football. When all the best recruits go to the best coaches and the best programs, the sport becomes heavily unbalanced. The college football season is monotonous because we all know at the end of the season the usual suspects will be raring to go to the playoff: a west coast school that won’t be able to compete with Big Ten size and SEC talent, a minimum of one Big Ten school, usually Ohio State or Michigan and a SEC school, usually Alabama or Georgia. The fourth team doesn’t matter, they’re already out.

And so the stories written in college football history books feel known before the season ever starts. The times of little schools like Boise State doing something meaningful in a prime-time bowl game are long gone. The big boys are too big now.

But this is a problem with the structure of college football, not Saban. The truth is, as much as I hate Alabama, that hate over his lengthy career has turned to annoyed respect. To excel repeatedly regardless of the tools or talents at your disposal takes character and dedication.

I’d say the same of Belichick. As a Steelers fan, you’re taught to hate New England when in reality, New England is just better at most football things for the last two-plus decades. Brady is the greatest the sport has ever seen and Bill crafted game plans tailored to his roster. Attention to detail, discipline and the ability to see talent in prospects other organizations didn’t. Belichick once said he didn’t look for what players couldn’t do. What can they do and how can those things potentially help us?

As the Patriots kept winning, I found great admiration for Brady and Belichick. What they were doing reached a never-before-reached precipice. How could I not respect them?

Everyone starts as a Rocky but too much success and people start to see Goliath: they want you torn down. Neither Saban nor Belichick ever let their success develop apathy nor did they allow ego or arrogance to corrupt their organization. They stayed in their lane with one singular focus: excellence.

While I still found enjoyment when they faltered, specifically Saban (that Iron Bowl ending was fantastic), I knew these two were as close to immortal in sports as you could be: iconic, inevitable and timeless.

With Belichick onto his last chapter and Saban off the reserve entirely, it’s natural to wonder who may step into their spotlight but I hope the world over the next few weeks takes the time to relive their journey. Stories like theirs have a lot of lessons for all of us. It would be a great error to have lived in their time and not learned.

Aaron Rodgers is Not a God

The New York Jets were in a 12-season playoff drought, the longest in the NFL.

This type of struggle was not new to Jets fans. They went the entire 1970’s without a winning season and the 90’s were mostly a waste, too.

In what were halcyon days for New York fans, from 2000-2010, the Jets recorded eight winning seasons and six playoff wins, including back-to-back AFC Championship appearances in 2009 and 2010.

Since then, it’s been a lot of losing on Sundays. After this recent Thursday’s loss to Cleveland, 135 of them.

This past spring after yet another failed campaign, the Jets decided to go all-in at the poker table. Desperation pushes people to do unwise things and the Jets, well, let’s get started, shall we?

Enter the Lord and Savior

Despite all the losing, the Jets had actually built a competitive team. General manager Joe Douglas has been one of the league’s best personnel managers over the last few seasons and has especially demonstrated success in the draft.

It would not be hyperbole to say the 2022 Jets draft may go down as one of their best ever. Cincinnati corner Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Ohio State receiver Garrett Wilson won Defensive Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year, respectively. Douglas also drafted pass rusher Jermaine Johnson later in the first round and running back Breece Hall in the second, who had his own case for OROY before a season-ending injury. Those moves in particular made Douglas a finalist for Executive of the Year.

Robert Saleh is the best Jets coach since Rex Ryan’s heyday in 2010 and the defense in particular last season took massive strides.

The Jets seemingly had one weakness: quarterback.

As has been the case since Chad Pennington (yes, that’s the best they’ve had in the last 40 years), the Jets have been a conveyor belt of trash cans at the sport’s most important position. They spent a second overall selection on Zach Wilson and Wilson has been one of if not the worst passer in the sport since he entered the league. There’s been no improvement (sometimes it feels he’s getting worse) and there’s been consistent immaturity issues and a lack of accountability. The Jets needed an upgrade.

So they traded for Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers, the future Hall of Famer, had grown tired of his time in Green Bay. After the Packers decided to draft Jordan Love in the first round and consider a future without Rodgers, Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards, making the Packers look foolish. Aaron, who has never felt he’s been given the respect he deserves, threatened retirement multiple times, essentially blackmailing Green Bay into giving him a check with whatever number he wanted on it.

He got that deal, a three-year worth over $150 million ($101 guaranteed) and it made him the highest-paid player annually in North American sports history at the time.

His first season after signing went poorly. He finished with 12 interceptions last year, a normal number for a normal quarterback but eye-raising for Rodgers, who had finished a season with 10+ picks only twice in his storied 15-season career as a starter.

After spending a season skirting coronavirus protocols over an obscure stance against “Big Pharma” in 2021 and then a season where Rodgers regularly complained about the Packers young skill position players in 2022, Rodgers and Green Bay were sick of each other.

After a drug-induced wilderness retreat gave Rodgers whatever spiritual journey he needed to go through, Rodgers was moved to the Jets in April. If only the Jets had known what they were signing up for.

Aaron Rodgers, The Dictator

When a team, a person or a business is desperate, really at the end of their rope, they often look for a savior to bail them out.

The Jets decided Rodgers was that guy and immediately gave him control of the team, from says in personnel to coaching hires.

Nathaniel Hackett hadn’t made it through a full season in Denver and had pretty thoroughly demonstrated he was overwhelmed as an offensive coordinator in today’s game but Rodgers and Hackett were old friends. Hackett was signed.

Rodgers got the Jets to sign former teammate Allen Lazard to a four-year, $44 million contract.

Randall Cobb hadn’t played meaningful football in three years, even when Rodgers talked Green Bay into giving Cobb a second stint in Wisconsin. Still, Cobb was brought in.

Tim Boyle, who has done nothing to warrant a position on an NFL roster, was one of Rodgers’ friends. He was hired.

When Dalvin Cook became available, Rodgers said he wanted him. The Jets offensive line had been a sandcastle, falling over often at the first sign of pressure and after all, New York had just drafted Hall.

Rodgers didn’t care. The Jets spent $7 million on Cook.

The Circus Begins

On the fourth snap of the season, Rodgers tore his Achilles and it was partly his own fault.

The play called into Rodgers was for left tackle Duane Brown to dive low on the defender in front of him, opening a passing lane to the left.

Brown did as he was supposed to and Rodgers just decided not to throw it. This after a similar play had been called on one of the three previous plays and Rodgers also decided not to throw it.

Instead, Rodgers tried to roll out, his ankle got caught in the Meadowland turf and like that, his season was over.

For reasons that were unclear at the time, Douglas and the Jets refused to bring in a new quarterback in the weeks following. Rodgers was done for the year, there was no doubt of that. Zach Wilson had already more than demonstrated he wasn’t an NFL starter and yet the Jets continued to sit on their hands. They never had a backup plan for a Rodgers injury and now that one had happened, seemed fully disinterested in crafting one.

As the losses continued to pile up, something extremely bizarre occurred.

I’ll Be Back

Rodgers said he intended to return to play by December.

This was scientifically impossible. It had never been done before and certainly not by a 39-year-old quarterback but Rodgers, who has made railing against modern medicine his new favorite hobby, said he knew “alternative methods” to accelerate his recovery and actively welcomed pushback from anyone who doubted him.

Each week, the world got an unwanted update on Rodgers’ continual progress in his race to beat evolution itself because Rodgers sees himself as above everyone else. He’s a raging narcissist who’s quick to point the finger at himself when it comes to aplomb but quicker still to point it at others when things start going in a poor direction.

This is not a recently crafted narrative. It’s been lightly whispered in NFL circles for years but Green Bay, a small town in the Midwest, dampened a lot of that noise. There is no dampener in New York. Everything said is heard and the media is always on top of everything there.

Come the start of December, Rodgers was “cleared for practice” but still ineligible to play and the best media voices laid into him. Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd said Rodgers had labeled himself an oracle, a guru, a mind beyond us mere mortals, a guy who believes he always has the answers. In another segment, Cowherd compared him to a snake oil salesman and days later was vindicated when Rodgers had to walk back his never-rooted-in-reality guarantees, saying a return to play after 14 weeks just wasn’t reasonable.

He made this acceptance of reality days after the Jets were eliminated from the playoffs. Coincidence, I’m sure.

Where’s the Mute Button?

You’d think that would be the end of this story but just as I finish this and go to hit publish, there’s yet another update. Rodgers has become the self-written tabloid of the NFL. He will not shut up.

Rodgers, specifically since he became a regular on the Pat McAfee show, has become more and more unhinged and not quietly. At first, the McAfee appearances were refreshing, giving you an inside look at how one of the sport’s greatest players ever conducts himself on a week-to-week basis in terms of game prep and recovery and the way he analyzes games after the fact.

That useful, informative experience was ditched within a matter of months for a weekly seminar about why the Covid-19 vaccine is actually just another way “Big Pharma” is trying to control the population, that the vaccine isn’t any more effective than “alternative” methods. This was weird to begin with and as Rodgers continued to hammer down on it, it became more and more unsettling.

For some reason, Rodgers thinks people are making personal health decisions, this particular one being the difference between life and death for some people, based on what Rodgers, a professional NFL quarterback with exactly zero formal education in epidemiology, thinks.

In the grand scheme of things, what Rodgers thinks about the coronavirus vaccine isn’t important, not until it becomes a problem in his job but it has more than reached that point. Rodgers’ personal vendetta against modern medicine has cost the Jets their season. There’s no question the Jets bought into the false promises. The only other possibility is Douglas suddenly became one of the worst talent evaluators in the NFL overnight. Seems less likely than Rodgers still holds ultimate authority in the New York organization.

Rodgers in not just his career but his life believes he knows best at all times, the smartest man in the room on any topic. Anyone who disagrees with him simply can’t comprehend his intelligence.

Rodgers has been ruled out for the season with the Achilles tear, something that should have happened a day after initial tests months ago but whatever. Still, Rodgers had to make himself the focal point of the organization yet again. At this point, the football the Jets play every week isn’t even important. I don’t even know if Jets fans are watching anymore. Somehow, the biggest part of the 2023 New York Jets season is someone who’s not playing in it.

Rodgers was put on the active roster despite being physically unable to play professional football. Fullback Nick Bawden, a professional football player who is physically able to play professional football, had to be waived to make a roster spot for Rodgers, again, a guy who is out for the season. The New York Jets are the only team with a 52-man roster.

Bawden was a veteran who thankfully has a guaranteed salary but multiple analysts and Rodgers truthers didn’t seem to understand the value of an NFL roster spot. His salary is nowhere near as valuable as a spot on an NFL team.

The Jets added Bawden to the practice squad after the fact which means a player on the practice squad, Kalon Barnes, is now out of the league entirely to assuage Rodgers’ massive ego.

Rodgers, after a lot of negative feedback from the media, said it wasn’t his idea and Saleh backed him, saying it was an organizational decision. True or not, it’s a terrible look for Rodgers. If it was Rodgers’ choice, it demonstrates how he sees himself compared to his teammates: far above them. He cannot help them right now and has been nothing but a loud, nagging distraction all season. If it was the Jets’ prerogative, it showcases the lengths they’re currently willing to go to make Rodgers feel comfortable.

The Jets have become a teenage girl, a franchise with no standards or self-control, only complete allegiance to their perceived savior. They’re terrified of what their life might look like without their toxic boyfriend and so they’ll come up with endless excuses for his narcissistic behavior. The elements of their life that were going well, like the 2022 draft class and that defense, which is widely-considered a top-five unit by most football minds, have been pushed aside for the almighty Rodgers. This seems like a relationship that will go on for as long as Rodgers wants it to. The Jets were beyond desperate and it caused them to hitch their wagon to the Wizard of Oz.

Rodgers the GM

When a player’s confidence grows too large, he begins to think he should have say in roster decisions.

No player should. Players play, coaches coach, managers manage. It is a team sport run by multiple people. Micromanaging, as I thoroughly discussed during the David Tepper write-up, breeds a lack of trust and false confidences in failed processes.

Every decision Rodgers made this offseason has been a five-bell alarm.

With Hackett coordinating the offense, the Jets have the second-worst total offense in football. They’re bottom-five in passing, rushing, scoring and dead last in red zone percentage and third-down percentage.

Allen Lazard has 23 catches in 14 games and at one point was a healthy scratch, an $11 million player the Jets told not to bother coming to work.

Cobb has four catches in eight games. Four.

Zach Wilson was so bad, Saleh benched him to give Boyle a shot. Boyle started two games, throwing 360 yards combined on 4.7 yards per attempt. He had one touchdown, four picks and a passer rating of 56. The Jets released Boyle after losing both games.

Cook, who had 249+ carries in four straight seasons for the Vikings, regularly putting up one of the league’s best yards-per-carry, has 67 carries for 214 yards, a 3.2 clip. He’s gotten zero touches the last two games, a $7 million player glued to the bench.

The 2022 Jets thought they were a quarterback away when they were actually an offensive line, offensive coordinator and quarterback away. In 2023, they ended up improving none of those things and have gotten significantly worse and a year older.

One would hope the Jets will have received a wake-up call after this failed campaign but their lord and savior is immunized against reality checks.

He’s Still Talking

The day after Christmas:

“They’re still mad I’m covid MVP. Not just the two MVP’s that I won but also: I didn’t bow down to the Medical Industrial Complex and the Mass Formation Psychosis and I decided to make a decision that was in the best interest of my health. They’re still trying to get their jabs in. Have another jab while you’re at it.”

Rodgers, in yet another attempt to avoid responsibility, said any criticisms of his behavior are by vaccinated puppets mad about his immunization status. He’s still talking about stuff two years ago, like a dude who just cannot get over a failed relationship.

He said he’d make the field for game-ready practice at the start of December. It didn’t happen but Rodgers in that same McAfee interview said he accomplished what he set out to do despite his promises and proclamations being cemented on the internet. His current recovery timetable is exactly what doctors said it would be after the injury: ready for spring training.

Whatever pronounced statements Rodgers makes, he often quickly walks them back as a joke and a turn of phrase. When called out on his dishonesty, he asks why the spotlight is on him when he constantly begs for attention like a dog who’s never got a good pat. He’s a troubled man who both complains about a lack of respect and recognition while whining when that attention is on him seemingly 24 hours a day, affording the world a window into how much peddling this self-described maestro does.

Like many athletes and public figures before him, Rodgers’ self-obsession has prevented him from fulfilling his max potential. He has become the James Harden/Kyrie Irving of football, fully and solely focused on his own aspirations at the expense of those around him, thereby stalling him from ever achieving the immortal status he believes he deserves, like Icarus lighting his own wings on fire and shrieking about it.

Rodgers needs a serious intervention but his personality and state of mind make him incommunicable. This is not someone who can be reasoned with or hear the word “no”.

Now at 40 coming off an Achilles tear, it seems likely we get more headlines out of Rodgers than noteworthy performances on a football field. Perhaps this is what Rodgers meant when he talked about being 90% retired. He conducts himself like a red pill podcast host more than a professional quarterback.

The Jets felt they had a kid in the quarterback room. They tried trading for an adult.

They ended up with an older kid.