TUESDAY TIDBITS: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity"

By TJ Troup 

Gonna start by having another bite of crow with my coffee! Congrats to Adam Rank who correctly "picked" the Bears to win the NFC North. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last that Terence Jon Troup has been humbled. That said, how many times has an entire division finished a season with all four teams with winning records? 

Next August will attempt to evaluate who wins this strong division. Speaking of strong divisions, the NFC West had one of the best overall ever! Whoever is chosen to be head coach of the Cardinals next year faces a daunting task. Years ago shared with Steve Sabol that since the "wild card" came into existence, there has been at least one road victory every year(55 and counting)! 

Ok, all of you dedicated followers of the playoff football, which road team or teams will win this weekend? Since Vegas has betting lines with road teams as favorites, possibly that will make choices easier? Do I see a road victory this weekend? You betcha! 

Both the Rams & Bills win on the road this weekend. Have been an advocate of the defensive passer rating for what seems like forever, and has been a very useful tool in evaluating team pass defense. This year is no different since the top seven teams in this category (the Chargers led the league)all earned a playoff berth. Of the 14 teams in the playoffs, the team with the worst defensive passer rating is San Francisco with a mark of 100.5. 

Does this mean they will be carved up by the Eagles passing attack? The law firm of Smith & Brown should give Hurts some open receivers. How painful for NYJ fans as they established a new record (one that no one wants to break), by having 515 passes thrown at them with nary, repeat NARY an interception! The Jets finished dead last with a mark of 110.9. Ouch! 

Since many years of my life were dedicated to teaching/coaching this game of passion; was not a big fan of officiating. Brad Allen's "performance" last Saturday was truly abysmal, yet learned from Doug Farrar in his well-written article online that Brad Allen two years ago in the game between Detroit & Dallas was so inept, he was disciplined by not being allowed to officiate in the playoffs. 

Will be watching all six of the playoff games this weekend, and will check to see if he is assigned to a game. That is where the title of this week's saga comes from: a quote from Mr. Farrar directed towards Brad Allen. Finally, so many playoff games have been played on January 11th historically, yet with the Steelers earning a playoff berth again this year will take you back in time to two games. 

The first in January of 2009, when Mike Tomlin and his black & gold clad warriors easily dispatched the Chargers 35-24 with Willie Parker running around and through the Charger defense, and a strong pass rush that notched 4 sacks! 

The second was in 2014 when Green Bay down 21-13 rallied to beat Dallas 26-21 as Aaron Rodgers carved up the Cowboy secondary late in the game. So, will end with a question concerning a red-hot Texans team with a very well-coached defense on the road where three rivers meet. Does Tomlin finally get a playoff victory? See ya next week.

2025 PFJ All-Rookie Team

by Chris Willis, NFL Films

Awards:
OROY: Tetairoa McMillan, Panthers, WR
DROY: Nick Emmanwori, Seahawks, NB

Packers Fall in Minnesota; Finish Regular Season 0-4

 By Eric Goska

Holder Daniel Whelan (19), kicker Brandon McManus (17) and long snapper Matt Orzech (42)
teamed up to produce the Packers only points of the day on a 24-yard field goal as time expired.
(photos by Eric Goska)

Oh for four.

That’s the wrap on the Packers who finished the regular season Sunday in Minnesota. In falling 16-3 to the Vikings, Green Bay closed with four straight losses, something it hasn’t done in decades.

No matter. The Packers are playoff bound, just the fourth team in NFL history to head into the postseason on a four-game (or more) losing streak.

Locked in as the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs well before kickoff, the Packers rested many starters in Minneapolis. Clayton Tune opened at quarterback. Jakobie Keeney-James and Drake Dabney started at wide receiver and tight end, respectively.

In all, eight Packers made their first NFL start: TE Dabney, LG Lecitus Smith, C Jacob Monk, WR Keeney-James, DE Barryn Sorrell, DL Nazir Stackhouse, DE Brenton Cox Jr. and LB Jamon Johnson.

That makeshift lineup made for an interesting afternoon. On the offensive side of the ball, Green Bay posted lows not seen in years.

• In the opening two quarters, the Packers did not run a play from the 50-yard line or beyond for the first time since a 38-14 loss to the Lions on Oct. 9, 1983.
• The Green and Gold amassed 12 first-half yards, the team’s lowest total in the opening two quarters since coming away with minus-4 (unofficially) in a 31-14 setback to the Steelers on Oct. 24, 1953.
• Green Bay wound up with minus-7 yards passing, the fewest since the franchise low of minus-35 was set against the Bengals in 1976.
• The Packers produced one first down passing, the fewest since they had one in a 14-10 win over the Colts in 1991.

So inept was Green Bay that it risked being shutout. Brandon McManus finally ended that possibility with a 24-yard field goal as time expired.

Dropping four straight – Broncos, Bears, Ravens and Vikings – is not how the Packers expected to ride into the playoffs. Such a woebegone finish is out of character for a team that often plays its best ball as fall turns to winter.

Since the arrival of Mike Holmgren in 1992, Green Bay is the league’s winningest team when only the last four regular-games of a season are considered. From 1992 through 2024, the Green and Gold won 95 of 132 games, a 0.720 winning percentage. It’s one reason the club reached the playoffs a league-high 24 times during that 33-year span.

Another reason for that gaudy record had been the teams’ avoidance of the ‘oh-for-four’ finish. Prior to this season, Green Bay last closed out with four consecutive regular-season losses in 1990. Only the Bills (1985) and Bengals (1969) have steered clear longer.

Keisean Nixon (25) and Isaiah McDuffie (58) were two of
the regulars to start for Green Bay in Minneapolis.

So the Packers head into the playoffs having dropped four straight. Perhaps it might be instructive to take a glance at how the other three ‘oh-for-four’ playoff teams fared in the postseason.

1986 Jets (10-6) — New York was outscored 61 to 183 in losing its final five regular-season games. The Jets bounced back to defeat Kansas City 35-15 in a wild card game before falling to Cleveland 23-20 in a marathon divisional playoff contest (two overtimes).

1999 Lions (8-8) — With Barry Sanders retired, Detroit is outrushed 486 yards to 206 in its final four games, all losses. Washington knocks out the Lions 27-13 (wild card round), outrushing its visitors 223 yards to 45.

2024 Steelers (10-7) — Pittsburgh loses its last four regular-season games to the Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs and Bengals as Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow torch the Steel City 11 for a combined 1,094 passing yards and nine touchdowns. Baltimore dispatches the Steelers 28-14 (wild card round), amassing 464 yards to Pittsburgh’s 280.

Final Four
Teams with the best record in the final four games of the regular season (1992-2024).

Team                  Record       Times in Playoffs
Packers                   95-37                       24
Patriots                   85-47                       22
Steelers                  82-50                       22
Eagles                     79-53                       20
Colts                        78-54                       18
Chiefs                     76-56                       18
49ers                       76-56                       16
Chargers                71-61                        12

TUESDAY TIDBITS: "But That Didn't Mean Shit To Us"

By TJ Troup 

2025 Seahawks vs 49ers

The final week of the regular season for 2025 and we still have teams fighting for a berth in the playoffs; which is the way it should be. Seattle, San Francisco, & Los Angeles have all earned a berth in the playoffs and when they are not playing each other, have a record of 31-7! This brings to mind the AFC Central in 1975 when the Oilers, Bengals, & Steelers had a 27-3 record when they did not play each other. 

1975 Steelers vs Oilers

Next week will discuss the wild-card round of the playoffs, yet there is no doubt one of the three teams from the NFC West will travel to the NFC South Champion. Was stated online that when the Vikings beat the Lions they were the third team in the last 40 years with fewer than 10 yards net passing and won! The other two teams were the Texans in 2006 and the Cardinals in 1987. 

So, why not travel back even earlier to list all the teams that "achieved" this dubious feat? Words like lazy & foolish come to mind, and will not cover all the games, yet boy oh boy, there sure are some dandy games to talk about where the winning team could not gain much passing! Oh, you want me to detail a couple of them? Yippee! 

Three stand out to me; the first from 1974 when the Packers beat the Rams 17-6 and LOST 1 yard passing in the game. That Ram team would overcome the loss and advance to the NFC Title game. 

The Redskins in '55 still have an outside chance of catching the Browns to win the Eastern Conference title with a record of 6-3 when they take on a 4-5 Steeler team. Washington will run the ball 62 times in the game, while completing just one pass. The Steeler pass rush gets to Guglielmi & LeBaron for 29 yards in sacks, and the lone completion is to Pro Bowl linebacker Chuck Drazenovich for a loss of 3 yards (Charley Cro played fullback many times earlier in his career). Thus, LeBaron & Guglielmi complete 1 of 9 for MINUS 3 yards. Washington wins 23-14. 

 Chuck Drazenovich

The third and final comes on opening day '50 when the Giants play the Steelers. Early in the 4th quarter the Giants are behind 7-4, but the stellar New York defense will score twice on fumble return/recoveries to win 18-7! Chuckin' Charley completed only 3 of 13 for 30 yards, with the Steeler pass rush getting 24 yards in sacks. Conerly will rebound and pitch the pigskin well during the season, but that Giants team had a punishing ground attack and strong defense. They lost a hard-fought game to the Browns in the special NFL Eastern Conference playoff 8-3! 

This coming Sunday, January 4th, has had many, many historical playoff games, and we sure could detail many of those games, but will end with the most meaningful. The last game in AFL History will be played in Oakland between the bitter rival Chiefs and the Raiders. Oakland won both regular-season games, but the winner of this game will advance to the Super Bowl.

Since both Oakland and Kansas City have both lost to the Packers in the Silver Trophy game, the game has even more meaning. The title of today's saga is a quote from Willie Lanier after Oakland destroyed the Oilers in the divisional round, and comes from Rick Gosselin's superb book "The Team History Forgot" -- get a copy, and enjoy, 'cause I sure did!

As always in those days, the game had plenty of compelling drama as Kansas City won 17-7! See ya next week.

Malik Willis: A One-man Show at Lambeau

 By Eric Goska

Malik Willis in 2024
(photo by Eric Goska)

Malik Willis stands just a shade over six feet tall. But in one regard, he towers over every passer in Packers history.

Willis opened at quarterback for Green Bay against Baltimore Saturday. The 26-year-old right hander—filling in for Jordan Love (concussion)—lit up the night sky at Lambeau Field in a game in which the Ravens overran the Packers 41-24.

That the Packers dropped their third in a row should not take away from Willis’ performance. From his first pass, a 40-yard sideline shot to Romeo Doubs, to his last, a 7-yarder to Christian Watson for a first down, Willis was dialed in.

In making his first start of the season, Willis produced the first fail-safe 100 game of his career (minimum 20 attempts); that is, his passer rating never fell below 100. From his first throw to his last, his rating remained in triple digits.

Willis in action against the Ravens Saturday night.
(photo by Colin Schmenk)

Here is a snapshot of Willis’ evening as a passer:

• Willis started hot. He completed his first 11 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. Only four other Packers—Aaron Rodgers (12 on Sept. 26, 2021; 13 on Oct. 23, 2011), Brett Favre (14 on Sept. 10, 2000; 13 on Oct. 23, 2005; 11 on Nov. 15, 1992), Don Majkowski (14 on Nov. 26, 1989) and Lynn Dickey (18 on Sept. 4, 1983)—have equaled or exceeded such a dead-on start. Willis’ streak ended when Chris Brooks dropped a short throw early in the third quarter.
• Willis went deep. He fired five passes of 30-plus yards to four different receivers: Watson (39; 31), Doubs (40), Jayden Reed (30) and Bo Melton (34). In doing so, the four-year veteran joined Rodgers (Nov. 30, 2014), Matt Flynn (Jan. 1, 2012), Favre  (Dec. 22, 2003), Dickey (Oct. 17, 1983), Babe Parilli (Oct. 19, 1958) and Cecil Isbell (Nov. 1, 1942) as the only players in team history to complete five passes of 30 or more yards in a game.
• Willis was accurate. His completion percentage (85.7) was the fourth highest in team annals. Only Dickey (90.5; 87.1) and Rodgers (86.4) had higher marks (minimum 20 pass attempts).

Clearly, Willis was effective through the air. But No. 2 used his legs as well.

(photo by Eric Goska)

Willis led the team with 60 yards (nine carries) on the ground. He gained 55 on four runs that accounted for all four of the Green and Gold’s rushing first downs.

The native of Georgia scored twice on runs of 22 and 11 yards. In doing so, Willis joined the aforementioned Isbell (Sept. 29, 1940) as the only players in club history to have thrown a touchdown pass, run for two scores while leading the team in rushing.

Willis kept humming into the fourth quarter. His team down 10, the mobile mover and shaker pushed the Packers to the Baltimore 35 on a 7-yard connection with Watson. Unfortunately, the throw aggravated the shoulder injury he had suffered a week earlier in Chicago, and Green Bay’s most dynamic player on offense was done for the evening.

Clayton Tune took over at quarterback for the Packers’ final eight plays.  

Willis’ performance was no aberration. He’s been nothing short of excellent since coming to Green Bay, having completed 70 of 89 passes for 972 yards and six touchdowns. His passer rating of 134.6 is far superior to that of any other Packer passer at the same point in their career.

He has not been intercepted during his time in Green Bay.

Unfortunately, Willis’ stay in the NFL’s smallest city is likely at an end. He’s played too well not to be signed by some other team in the offseason.

Losing Malik will hurt. Almost as much as the 307 rushing yards Green Bay surrendered to the Ravens, a total so abominable as to almost overshadow Willis’ last hurrah on the Frozen Tundra.

Top Guns at 90
The 10 passers who compiled a passer rating greater than 70 on their first 90 pass attempts as a Packer. Thirty-five players have thrown at least 90 passes for Green Bay. Willis will become the 36th to do so should he attempt at least one pass in the season-finale in Minnesota.

Name                          A-C-Yds-TD-HI          Rate
Malik Willis                  89-70-972-6-0              134.62
Brett Favre                    90-57-657-4-2              90.83
Anthony Dilweg           90-52-625-5-2              88.43
Aaron Rodgers             90-60-565-2-1              86.57
Jordan Love                  90-54-637-4-3              82.50
Irv Comp*                     92-46-662-7-4              80.98
Blair Kiel                       90-53-547-4-2             74.63
Mike Tomczak             90-53-685-5-6              73.61
Babe Parilli                   90-40-680-7-5             73.38
Lamar McHan              90-43-702-8-7             71.62

*Unable to determine Comp’s rating after 90 passes.

The 1962 Denver Broncos - the Team's Last, Best Hope (for quite a while) ...

 by Jeffrey J. Miller

The Denver Broncos of the American Football League do not get much love. Rightly so. They are the only one of the original eight AFL franchises which never made it to the post-season in the league’s ten-year existence. The Oilers, Chiefs/Texans, Chargers, Bills, Raiders and Jets all won league championships, while the Patriots at least made it to the post-season once.  But the Broncos?  Bupkis.

The sad-sack Broncos would, of course, go on to win three Super Bowls after the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, taking home the Lombardi trophy after the 1997, 1998 and 2015 seasons.  But the 1960s were not kind to Denver fans, as the Broncos posted nine seasons of sub-.500 ball in the league’s ten years.  There was one year, however, that gave football fans in the Mile High city hope, a year in which the club actually held a winning record going into the final game of the season.

The year was 1962, a season in which the AFL and many of its teams were still trying to find their footing. Broncos management were determined to improve their team’s on-field performance after going 4-9 and 3-11 in their first two seasons. The first step toward respectability was discarding the hideous vertically striped socks the players had worn during those first two years. The second was hiring Jack Faulkner, the former defensive backfield coach of the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers, as their head coach.    

Denver Broncos first-year head coach
Jack Faulkner, pictured during his time
with the Los Angeles Rams, late 1950s.

The changes appeared to work, at least initially. The Broncos season got off to a very fast start, going undefeated after to weeks of action with wins over San Diego and Buffalo.  After a Week 3 loss at Boston, the Broncos relit the fuse and won their next four, knocking off the Titans, the Raiders twice and, most impressively, the Houston Oilers (the previous year’s champions). Standing at 6-1, the Broncos then hosted the Bills and lost in a shootout, 45-38.  They bounced back the following week, defeating the tough Chargers for a second time this year to improve to 7-2.

But here is where the saddle fell off the horse, as the Broncos lost the final five games of their season to finish 7-7. It turned out to be the team’s only .500 record in the entire decade. It was also to be the latest in any season the Broncos would still be in contention for a playoff berth.  Sadly, it would be another 11 years before they posted an actual winning record (7-5-2 in 1973) and 15 seasons before Denver fans felt the thrill of real success as their beloved boys in orange finally made the playoffs AND the Super Bowl (though they lost to the Cowboys in SBXII).   

So what happened?  Why the collapse? How could a team starting with a 6-1 run end with a 1-6 mudslide? It doesn’t appear to have been the personnel.  Most of the team’s star players, such as split end Lionel Taylor, flanker Bob Scarpitto, tackle Eldon Danehauer and defensive back Goose Gonsoulin played in all 14 games. Taylor even led the AFL in receptions with 77. 

Lionel Taylor, 1961

The team’s biggest star, however, was 35-year-old quarterback Frank Tripucka. On paper, Tripucka appears to have had a fine season, leading the league in passing attempts and completions, total passing yards and average passing yards per game. Those numbers earned Tripucka a trip to the AFL All-Star Game.  

Broncos quarterback Frank Tripucka,
1962.

Tripucka started 13 of the Broncos’ 14 games that year, finishing with a 6-7 record. In the first eight games he started before the team’s collapse, Tripucka averaged 284 passing yards, throwing 14 touchdowns (1.75 per game) and 16 interceptions (2.0 per game). However, in the final five games (all losses), Tripucka’s passing-yards-per-game fell to128 (a 55% drop!), while he threw just three TDs (an average of just .6 per game) and nine interceptions (1.8 per game). 

This is not to place all of the blame on Tripucka. It says here the team’s overall on-field performance also fell sharply after Week 9. In those first nine games, the offense averaged nearly 28 points while the defense gave up 20. They averaged 371 yards of total offense in the first nine games while allowing 293. In the last five games, however, the Broncos managed just under 21 points per game while surrendering almost 31. Their total yardage-per-game fell by nearly 100 (273) while yardage allowed ballooned by almost 90 (381). 

Frank Tripucka on a quarterback keeper versus
the New York Titans, September 30, 1962.

One could also fault coach Faulkner’s failure to replace the struggling Tripucka while having veteran George Shaw—who had been victorious in his only start for the club that season—riding the pine.  However, bringing the Broncos to the brink of respectability, no matter how briefly, earned Faulker Coach of the year honors. Still, regardless of how one slices it, whether the quarterback, the offense, the defense, the coach, there was plenty of blame to go around. 

The Broncos were clearly never really that good during the 60s, but 1962 gave their fans something to cheer about, even if it was only for part of a season. They would have their time in the sun, it was just going to take a few years, and an awful lot of patience!     

TUESDAY TIDBITS: "We're World Champions"

By TJ Troup

Last weekend all of us were treated to another boatload of exciting, consequential games! Let's sure hope that continues, yet since the standings show probably which teams will make the play-offs, yet with not all of the division champions being decided there are plenty of games of meaning. Let's start with the strongest most competitive division the NFC West. Would relish all of your opinions, who wins the West? 

The Houston Texans & Los Angeles Chargers rank 1-2 in the key defensive passer rating category. Does this mean that the game will be low scoring and the passers will struggle? 

My friend Mr. Eric Goska is one helluva talented writer/historian (bet you knew that) and his column on the Bears vs. Packers discussed how long Green Bay had a lead in a game against the Bears before they surrendered the lead. Are you ready to go back to October 4th, 1953? 

Here we go. 

After Ed Sprinkle recovers a Packer fumble, the Bears run the ball six straight plays, and on 4th and 6 on the Packer thirty-four Blanda drills home a 40-yard field goal at 10:25. Green Bay drives 70 yards to score on nine plays when Rote delivers a strike to Bob Mann. Gib Dawson weaves and dashes 60 yards with a Fred Morrison punt halfway through the 2nd quarter thus the Packers lead at the half. 

The Bears with Romanik at quarterback now (O'Connell started) drive 39 yards but Blanda misses a 50-yard field goal attempt. Romanik is replaced by O'Connell, who throws an interception that Romanik returns to throw an interception early in the 4th quarter. 

Midway through the 4th, Blanda is now in at the triggerman position but he is also intercepted. Green Bay has 3rd down and twelve to go as Rote pitches to Breezy Reid on a circle route with Don Kindt in coverage -- the ball is tipped and George Figner latches on to the ball for the only interception in his short career. 

Blanda leads the Bears 51 yards to score as he lofts to Dooley for 16 yards in the left corner of the end zone at 3:35 of the 4th quarter. Thus, Eric's saga of the Packers having a lead for over 40 minutes before victory escapes their grasp. Having the accurate stats and the play-by-play of every game sure would serve the league well. 

Why the NFL has not reached out to historians who have this vital information mystifies me. This coming Sunday, the 28th, is one of those historical days all Baltimore Colts fans relish. Was the Championship game the greatest game ever played as Klein wrote about in his book? 

We all have opinions, yet no doubt the game captured the imagination of so many with not only compelling drama, but with iconic characters and Johnny Hightops long drives against the NYG defense. When Buzz Nutter enters the locker room he hands the ball to the team captain Gino Marchetti and proclaims, "We're World Champions!"

Gino Marchetti
Credit: Merv Corning

See ya next week!