The American League has the same top three players every year, Manning, Brady and the "Steel Ravens"; the National League's fortunes take turns every year, and I will appear on the stage after you sing. Thirty years on the east side of the river and thirty years on the west side of the river. Who is in charge will never know until the last moment. Another year's Super Bowl battle is about to officially begin!
In the past three years, the Cincinnati Bengals have had the potential to replace the "Steel Ravens" as the Iron Triangle - both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have entered the era of transition between the old and the new, and the Cincinnati Bengals, who took the lead in completing the new generation, will naturally Ushering in a good opportunity to fully rise, coupled with Andrew Luck's seamless transition to the Indianapolis Colts, this is the basic competitive pattern of the American League.
In the National League, Rogers and Brees are still sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai. Even if their condition is unstable and their strength is reduced, they can still become the most advantageous contenders in the playoffs; as for other teams, it is a melee that they must go through every year. A round of reshuffle, but the rise of Lu Ke has also become a troika in the federation. His performance in reaching the playoffs for three consecutive years has brought new ideas to the chaotic pattern of the National League.
In fact, after creating a perfect season last year with a gesture of writing countless historical records, and winning the honors of regular season MVP and Super Bowl MVP, many fans have already eagerly put forward a brand new proposal: Lu Ke can become the fifth player in the league. An elite quarterback?
From the perspective of age and qualifications, Lu Ke is obviously not qualified yet. The reference sample of only three seasons so far is far from enough. People still need more time, more games and more tests to complete the observation; but what is interesting is that , Lu Ke became an undrafted rookie in the draft because of insufficient "reference samples". Otherwise, even if he cannot be selected in the first three rounds, the sixth or seventh round is still possible.
So, does the current situation seem familiar?
Although his qualifications are still young, Lu Ke has proven his strength through stable and efficient output for three consecutive seasons; he has also proven his courage through brilliant and turnaround performances one after another; most importantly, , this season has experienced many troubles on and off the court, but Lu Ke still used a strong and sturdy performance to put the defending champion into the championship team again, which also proved his ability!
So, a fifth elite quarterback, why not?
At least in the American League, Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers is hailed as a well-deserved leader besides Manning and Brady; and in the National League, Rodgers, Brees and Lu Ke constitute The brand new "Three Musketeers" seems like there shouldn't be too much controversy.
Are they elite candidates? Or lack of heat? This year's playoff journey will undoubtedly be a window for people to truly examine whether Lu Ke can shoulder the heavy responsibility of overcoming obstacles like the other four elite quarterbacks in the face of the San Francisco 49ers' team crisis—— This is one of the biggest differences between elite quarterbacks and great quarterbacks.
This will also be one of the biggest highlights of the National League playoffs.
Where can the San Francisco 49ers advance? The Green Bay Packers, who had reached their peak in the previous two seasons, are facing a more severe situation. So how long can Rodgers' magic last? After experiencing turmoil and ups and downs, the New Orleans Saints have once again made it back to the playoffs. Can they still maintain their top competitiveness?
The Seattle Seahawks dominate the NFC, breaking the dominance of the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers over the past two seasons. So how will their playoff performance be? As playoff recruits, the Philadelphia Eagles and the newly emerged Carolina Panthers are in good shape. How much strength can they show in the regular season?
In addition, there are really too many things to watch in the National League's quarterback matchups, too numerous to mention.
How far can the three top quarterbacks of Lu Ke, Rogers and Brees go in the playoffs? There was no matchup between old and new that could be realized last year. Can they appear on the stage of the National League finals this year? With the promotion of three young quarterbacks, Lu Ke, Wilson, and Cam, plus Andrew Luck and Andy Dalton of the American League, can these young quarterbacks break through the top four in the playoffs? A combined blockade of elite quarterbacks? What's more, we can't forget Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles!
It has not been easy for the Philadelphia Eagles in recent years. Last season, Michael Vick's state declined across the board, ending the season with four wins and 12 losses. Although the team still renewed Vick's contract for one year, the draft However, they still made adjustments and set their sights on the future.
The Philadelphia Eagles selected a quarterback with the 98th pick in the fourth round - for the second consecutive year they selected a quarterback in the draft, Matt Barkley.
Does this name sound familiar? This quarterback from the University of Southern California was Lu Ke's opponent in the first UCAA game of his career, but he witnessed Lu Ke complete an incredible reversal, which became the starting point for Lu Ke's miraculous journey. , and now he has also joined the alliance.
Last year, the Philadelphia Eagles selected a quarterback, Nick Foles, with the 88th pick in the third round, but obviously the team still lacked confidence in Foles' growth, so they selected him again in the draft. He hired a young quarterback and hoped to develop a future leader for the team.
This season, Foles' starting journey began in Week 4. In that game, the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Denver Broncos. Foles came on the field near the end of the game, completed three of four passes, and scored one goal. After that, the Philadelphia Eagles, who were stuck in the dilemma of one win and three losses, chose to correct Foles.
Foles did not miss his opportunity. Not only did he lead the team to an excellent record of nine wins and three losses, stepping on the shoulders of the Dallas Cowboys and entering the playoffs; he also played a professional game against the Oakland Raiders. The best of his career, he scored seven passing touchdowns, tying the historical record, and also received a perfect quarterback rating for the first time in his career.
In the end, Foles' total season score was 27 touchdowns and two interceptions, breaking the lowest touchdown-to-interception ratio record created by Lu Ke last season; the season quarterback average score was 119.0, second only to Three quarterbacks, including Lu Ke in 2012, Rogers in 2011, and Manning in 2004, rank fourth in history.
Such a stunning performance triggered exclamations across the league. Foles easily surpassed fellow sophomores Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson, and deservedly became the most watched young player this year. , and even many media couldn’t wait to compare Fowles and Lu Ke:
"Will he be the next Lu Ke?"
With the 88th pick in the third round of the draft, Foles' career is far from being highly anticipated - he spent almost all of his rookie season on the bench, and the same was true for the first four games of this season. , if Vick's performance was not too bad and head coach Chip Kelly was helpless, then Foles would not get a chance to play, and the miracle of "Cinderella" would not rise again.
Now, Foles has joined Lu Ke and has become a high-profile representative of young players in this year's playoffs.
Third-year players Lu Ke, Dalton and Cam, and second-year players Luck, Wilson and Foles. Of the twelve playoff seats this season, a full six positions are occupied by young players, showing that There was a youth storm; as for the other six positions, the four elite quarterbacks plus Alex Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philip Reeves of the San Diego Chargers, all the playoff spots were divided.
However, this situation is not unexpected. 2013 was originally a small year for quarterbacks, and the annihilation of all rookie quarterbacks was also an expected result.
Nowadays, more attention is focused on the "new and old showdown" between young quarterbacks and Mesozoic quarterbacks. The only way to know who will win is through a battle.
Considering the complex competitive situation of the National League, the strength comparison of the six teams is very close. Including the Seattle Seahawks, no team can be 100% sure that it has the absolute strength to defeat its opponents. All confrontations are still It will be decided through actual competition.
Under this background, the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks and the second-seeded Carolina Panthers, who have a first-round bye, have an unparalleled advantage. They can wait for their opponents with ease; more importantly, the previous regular season games In the last week, every team fought with all their strength to the end, and only then won a seat in the playoffs. Then they had to face a decisive battle with red bayonets again in the wild card round. After defeating their opponents, they would then face the opponent in an orderly manner. For the top two seeds who have completed rest adjustments, the contrast between their strengths and weaknesses has been further amplified.
The advantage of a first-round bye becomes particularly important at this time.
But... this is competitive sports. Even if the San Francisco 49ers have an excellent record of 12 wins and 4 losses, even if the New Orleans Saints have an excellent record of 11 wins and 5 losses, they still have to enter the wild card round. Let’s fight first!
There was no rest time or even much adjustment time. The seventeenth week of the regular season ended, and then the wild card game came immediately, and the four playoff games started first!
On Saturday, January 4th, in the American League, the fourth-seeded Indianapolis Colts will face the fifth-seeded Kansas Chiefs; in the National League, the third-seeded Philadelphia Eagles will face the sixth-seeded New Orleans Saints.
On Sunday, January 5, in the American League, the third-seeded Cincinnati Bengals will play against the sixth-seeded San Diego Chargers; in the National League, the fourth-seeded Green Bay Packers will play against the fifth-seeded San Francisco 49ers.
After a quick glance, the highlights immediately emerged:
"Green Bay Packers VS San Francisco 49ers", the regular season opener, is also the league's highest-paid duel, and will be staged again in the playoffs!
Undoubtedly, this is the most anticipated game in the first round of wild card games!
