NFL 2023 Regular Season Plus SUPERBOWL!

[Pyperkub]

Belichick to the cowboys?

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If I'm Belichick there is no way in hell I'm working for Jerry Jones.

[Jaymann]

Belichick to the cowboys?

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

If I'm Belichick there is no way in hell I'm working for Jerry Jones.

Yeah, it's part of a good ol' boy network, and Belichick is definitely not one of those.

[LordMortis]

I fell asleep a few minutes into the game and woke an hours after it finished. From the look of the score, I'd have probably felt stress for a team I have nothing to do with, other than living 15 miles from where they play.

[Unagi]

I fell asleep a few minutes into the game and woke an hours after it finished. From the look of the score, I'd have probably felt stress for a team I have nothing to do with, other than living 15 miles from where they play.

My wife needed to leave for work this morning at 4:00 am, so she didn't stay up to watch it either. This morning, I saw her off... I let her know that it was so close, that they probably wouldn't have won if she had watched it.

It was really weird (and maybe a little depressing in the grand scheme of life) to see Stafford out there in Detroit, trying to get a win in that stadium and it just not happening.

I felt good for the Lions though, been a long time. I was made to feel old when I learned that Stafford was born the year I graduated high school. Stafford was a 4 yr old when the Lions last won a playoff game.

[Kurth]

As an Eagles fan who has hated the Dallas Cowboys my entire life, yesterday was a great, great Sunday. I don’t even care what happens today in the Eagles @ Bucs game: the Cowboys season ended before the Eagles’ season did this year. And no more having to listen to that horrible Dak “Yeah, here we go . . . “ cadence. That shit annoys the hell out of me.

As I said before, Eagles are a broken team right now, and if I were a betting man, I'd put money on a wobbly Baker Mayfield to take our defense apart at the seams. But at least I can take solace in that horribly pained look on Jerry Jones' face as he watched the Packers destroy Dallas.

Also, with the Patriots quickly hiring Jerod Mayo to replace Belichick, there's a chance Mike Vrabel may be available if the Eagles are embarrassed by the Bucs today. I like Vrabel, and it's hard for me to conceive of an Eagles team putting out the pathetic defensive effort we've seen from this team over the past few weeks with Vrabel as the coach.

Not rooting for the Eagles to lose today. I hope they surprise me and somehow find a way to get their offense firing (albeit without AJ Brown today) enough to make up for a defense that is abysmal. But if they can't do that (and I don't think they will), I hope they get blown out and we clean house on the coaching front.

[Pyperkub]

I'm a very casual NFL fan. I usually watch if there's a game on because I like football, but have no real rooting interest. I would have certainly watched this game tonight, but there's no way in hell I'm paying them extra to do so.

I hope that it's the least viewed game of the entire year so they don't pull this shit again.

I have bad news for you. It could be the least viewed game of the year and it won’t change a thing. This was inevitable, and it’s here to stay.

Well, The Numbers are in. It doesn't bode well for it not happening again

https://www.neowin.net/news/nbc-says-th ... ck-jan-13/

NBCUniversal says that its numbers show the average viewership of the game was 23 million viewers on Peacock, combined with viewers on local Miami and Kansas City TV stations, and also on mobile devices via NFL+. Combining its own custom numbers with ones from Nielsen, the game was viewed on average by 26.3 million viewers, according to the company.

Even better, the viewer numbers were 6 percent higher compared to the same 2023 AFC Wild Card game, which was broadcast normally on NBC stations as well as Peacock.

[Jaymann]

Looking at the NFC teams, this might be the Lions' best shot at a title since...ever.

[El Guapo]

Gotta say I'm really enjoying watching the ManningCast of the second half of the Eagles - Bucs game, with Ray Lewis as the guest. Nothing better than cranky veterans getting sarcastic about sloppy football.

[naednek]

Looking at the NFC teams, this might be the Lions' best shot at a title since...ever.

<umm>

[Isgrimnur]

San Fran will obviously be rusty after their week off.

[El Guapo]

Looking at the NFC teams, this might be the Lions' best shot at a title since...ever.

Really hard to see them beating the 49ers, though.

[Kurth]

That Eagles/Bucs game went EXACTLY the way I thought it would. Still sucks.

Eagles need to fire the entire coaching staff. Clean house. Hire someone who can maximize the incredible talent we have on offense and start rebuilding the defense.

[Unagi]

Browns vs Texans - win
Dolphins vs Chiefs - win
Steelers vs Bills - win
Packers vs Cowboys - lose
Raiders vs Lions - win
Eagles vs Buccaneers - lose

Playoffs: 4 - 2

[LordMortis]

Looking at the NFC teams, this might be the Lions' best shot at a title since...ever.

<umm>

They did win a playoff game, so...

[Carpet_pissr]

As an Eagles fan who has hated the Dallas Cowboys my entire life, yesterday was a great, great Sunday. I don’t even care what happens today in the Eagles @ Bucs game: the Cowboys season ended before the Eagles’ season did this year. And no more having to listen to that horrible Dak “Yeah, here we go . . . “ cadence. That shit annoys the hell out of me.

As I said before, Eagles are a broken team right now, and if I were a betting man, I'd put money on a wobbly Baker Mayfield to take our defense apart at the seams. But at least I can take solace in that horribly pained look on Jerry Jones' face as he watched the Packers destroy Dallas.

Also, with the Patriots quickly hiring Jerod Mayo to replace Belichick, there's a chance Mike Vrabel may be available if the Eagles are embarrassed by the Bucs today. I like Vrabel, and it's hard for me to conceive of an Eagles team putting out the pathetic defensive effort we've seen from this team over the past few weeks with Vrabel as the coach.

Not rooting for the Eagles to lose today. I hope they surprise me and somehow find a way to get their offense firing (albeit without AJ Brown today) enough to make up for a defense that is abysmal. But if they can't do that (and I don't think they will), I hope they get blown out and we clean house on the coaching front.

Prescient!

I wasn't really pulling for either team, but I was a bit sad to see Jason Kelce lose like that for what might be his last game. He SEEMS to be the much better half of the Kelce brothers, from what I have seen, and apparently just a solid professional, leader, workhorse, and doesn't run his mouth like an ass. Total respect for those older dudes playing this violent game at their ages. Especially with some of the horrific injuries we saw in the past few games.

[Default]

First half of the Eagles season was the players, the last half was all coaching and play calling failures. Not too engaged with sports anymore, but they need to send the coaching staff out for a permanent golf game.

[Unagi]

So there are rumors that the Bears may be trading Justin Fields and looking at first-round draft pick, Caleb Williams.

[Kurth]

So there are rumors that the Bears may be trading Justin Fields and looking at first-round draft pick, Caleb Williams.

I’d love to see what Justin Fields could do outside of Chicago. He has moments when he seems like he’s all that. Of course, he also has moments when he seems like he’s none of that . . .

[Unagi]

So there are rumors that the Bears may be trading Justin Fields and looking at first-round draft pick, Caleb Williams.

I’d love to see what Justin Fields could do outside of Chicago. He has moments when he seems like he’s all that. Of course, he also has moments when he seems like he’s none of that . . .

It's Chicago's nightmare that we will pass him on, and he will go on to be amazing without us. It's bound to happen.
I think that he's got some true talent and he needs a better OL and coaching support, etc, but I also think he's going to be broken someday when a QB rush ends poorly.

[Kurth]

So there are rumors that the Bears may be trading Justin Fields and looking at first-round draft pick, Caleb Williams.

I’d love to see what Justin Fields could do outside of Chicago. He has moments when he seems like he’s all that. Of course, he also has moments when he seems like he’s none of that . . .

It's Chicago's nightmare that we will pass him on, and he will go on to be amazing without us. It's bound to happen.
I think that he's got some true talent and he needs a better OL and coaching support, etc, but I also think he's going to be broken someday when a QB rush ends poorly.

Maybe. Probably more likely than not. But I always thought that would be the eventual end of Randal Cunningham, and he somehow made it through without ever suffering a career-ending injury on a scramble.

[Unagi]

To be fair, Chicago (and myself) generally also assumed that Mitch Trubisky would probably go on to rub it in the Bears' face, but that never materialized (to say the least).

[Isgrimnur]

Sounds like a complex.

[Unagi]

Actually, it's pretty simple.

[msteelers]

To be fair, Chicago (and myself) generally also assumed that Mitch Trubisky would probably go on to rub it in the Bears' face, but that never materialized (to say the least).

He’s been a disaster for the Steelers, but some of that is due to Canada’s pathetic coaching.

[Pyperkub]

So there are rumors that the Bears may be trading Justin Fields and looking at first-round draft pick, Caleb Williams.

I’d love to see what Justin Fields could do outside of Chicago. He has moments when he seems like he’s all that. Of course, he also has moments when he seems like he’s none of that . . .

It's Chicago's nightmare that we will pass him on, and he will go on to be amazing without us. It's bound to happen.
I think that he's got some true talent and he needs a better OL and coaching support, etc, but I also think he's going to be broken someday when a QB rush ends poorly.

Nah. What's bound to happen is Chicago will destroy the career of anyone they draft at qb.

LB on the other hand...

[Pyperkub]

The Eagles just fizzled into the biggest collapse in NFL history.

yeah, the '86 Jets had a similar collapse, but won their Wild Card game, and then were barely edged out in double OT to Kosar's Browns in the Divisional. The Eagles didn't show up at all yesterday.

[Unagi]

So there are rumors that the Bears may be trading Justin Fields and looking at first-round draft pick, Caleb Williams.

I’d love to see what Justin Fields could do outside of Chicago. He has moments when he seems like he’s all that. Of course, he also has moments when he seems like he’s none of that . . .

It's Chicago's nightmare that we will pass him on, and he will go on to be amazing without us. It's bound to happen.
I think that he's got some true talent and he needs a better OL and coaching support, etc, but I also think he's going to be broken someday when a QB rush ends poorly.

Nah. What's bound to happen is Chicago will destroy the career of anyone they draft at qb.

Same coin, different side.

[Jaymann]

Predictions for Wild Card Weekend:

Packers at Boys LOSS
Rams at Lions (bold) LOSS
Eagles at Bucs LOSS
Browns at Texans LOSS
Fins at Chiefs WIN
Steelers at Bills WIN

2 - 4 Bad predictions, good results

[RunningMn9]

Tough injuries for the Bills to deal with as they prepare to host the Chiefs...

Matt Milano --> Tyrel Dodson --> Baylen Spector --> Dorian Williams (LB5)
Tyrell Bernard --> AJ Klein (LB6)
Taron Johnson --> Cam Lewis (SAF4/NB2)
Tre' White --> Rasul Douglas --> Dane Jackson (CB4)
Christian Benford --> Kaiir Elam (CB5)
Taylor Rapp --> Damar Hamlin (SAF5)

Also missing Ed Oliver's primary backup at DT in Jordan Phillips, which caused us to dust off Linval Joseph.

Gonna need to do some medical voodoo to get some of those unbolded bodies back, or this run they've been on will be over this weekend. Unless Playoff Josh continues to be in attendance. Playoff Josh is the best Josh.

[Unagi]

I'm a very casual NFL fan. I usually watch if there's a game on because I like football, but have no real rooting interest. I would have certainly watched this game tonight, but there's no way in hell I'm paying them extra to do so.

I hope that it's the least viewed game of the entire year so they don't pull this shit again.

I have bad news for you. It could be the least viewed game of the year and it won’t change a thing. This was inevitable, and it’s here to stay.

Well, The Numbers are in. It doesn't bode well for it not happening again

https://www.neowin.net/news/nbc-says-th ... ck-jan-13/

NBCUniversal says that its numbers show the average viewership of the game was 23 million viewers on Peacock, combined with viewers on local Miami and Kansas City TV stations, and also on mobile devices via NFL+. Combining its own custom numbers with ones from Nielsen, the game was viewed on average by 26.3 million viewers, according to the company.

Even better, the viewer numbers were 6 percent higher compared to the same 2023 AFC Wild Card game, which was broadcast normally on NBC stations as well as Peacock.

Well, the real numbers are in - and it looks like Peacock screwed the viewership numbers heavily.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nf ... e771&ei=42


Packers-Cowboys, Fox: 40 million
Rams-Lions, NBC: 35.8 million
Steelers-Bills, CBS: 31 million
Browns-Texans, NBC: 29 million
Eagles-Bucs, ESPN/ABC: 28.6 million
Dolphins-Chiefs, Peacock: 23 million


That being said - it broke the record for the most 'streamed' live event ever.

[RunningMn9]

I feel like people don’t understand the NFL. The NFL cares about one thing. And it’s not viewers.

The only thing that matters to them is money. Did Peacock perceive enough value from 23M streaming viewers to fork over another giant pile of cash. If yes? Great success.

TV viewers only matter to the NFL for the purposes of pillaging the broadcast networks for their giant piles of cash. It always comes back to giant piles of cash.

[Pyperkub]

I feel like people don’t understand the NFL. The NFL cares about one thing. And it’s not viewers.

The only thing that matters to them is money. Did Peacock perceive enough value from 23M streaming viewers to fork over another giant pile of cash. If yes? Great success.

TV viewers only matter to the NFL for the purposes of pillaging the broadcast networks for their giant piles of cash. It always comes back to giant piles of cash.

Yeah, plus the "value" in being able to track and identify and surveil each and every one of those 23m streaming users pretty much guarantees it (plus needing ways to get cord-cutters)

[Unagi]

I don't disagree with any of that.

[Kurth]

I feel like people don’t understand the NFL. The NFL cares about one thing. And it’s not viewers.

The only thing that matters to them is money. Did Peacock perceive enough value from 23M streaming viewers to fork over another giant pile of cash. If yes? Great success.

TV viewers only matter to the NFL for the purposes of pillaging the broadcast networks for their giant piles of cash. It always comes back to giant piles of cash.

I don't disagree at all about the NFL and the primacy of big piles of cash in its decision-making. But I disagree somewhat that viewership doesn't translate into bigger piles of cash, especially when taking a long view. TV rights aren't the only revenue source the NFL relies on. One additional big piece of the pie is merchandising revenue:

Revenue is generated from several places, such as broadcast rights and sponsorships to ticket sales and merchandising. As a merchandising powerhouse, the NFL sells more than $4 billion in merchandise each year. Much of that revenue comes from licensed merchandise, including jerseys, hats, and t-shirts with team logos. However, there are several other categories you can find your team logo on, like door mats, Christmas decorations, and dog collars. For the most part, if you can think of a product, the NFL has probably made a team-themed version of it. This ability to sell merchandise across a wide range of categories is one of the things that makes the brand so successful.

It's not a success for the NFL if the viewership of a premier prime time playoff matchup like Chiefs/Dolphins (with Tay Tay in attendance to boot) draws barely 50% of the viewership of a game like the Packers/Cowboys. More viewers equals more excitement about the NFL equals more fans = more customers for NFL merchandise.

TV rights are a huge slice, but they're not the whole pie.

[Pyperkub]

You can't compare anything to Cowboys games. The comparison to the year before as well as the (next) lowest rated game is the appropriate one. If you want to be critical, maybe the other prime-time games (Lions/Rams, Bucs/Eagles), but you need to keep in mind the additional data they get on the viewers - it's hugely important because the fact is that streaming is the future and the NFL, as well as the broadcast partners need data to figure out how to maximize revenue in doing so.

Plus, while low, even the regular season numbers are seeing large gains:

The increases have been huge across the board: “TNF” viewers are up 23% so far this season, up 13% in the 18-34 demo and up 17% in the 18-49 demo. Amazon officials believe this is the first time the first seven games of an NFL package posted double-digit year-over-year increases, at least for any package that stayed with the same media company.

[Kurth]

You can't compare anything to Cowboys games. The comparison to the year before as well as the (next) lowest rated game is the appropriate one.

Fair point, but it still looks bad for the NFL: Chiefs/Dolphins airing exclusively on Peacock saw viewership down nearly 35% from Rams/Lions viewership on regular NBC.

[Pyperkub]

You can't compare anything to Cowboys games. The comparison to the year before as well as the (next) lowest rated game is the appropriate one.

Fair point, but it still looks bad for the NFL: Chiefs/Dolphins airing exclusively on Peacock saw viewership down nearly 35% from Rams/Lions viewership on regular NBC.

The Thursday games get less than half what weekend games get, and yet they are now streaming only (and Amazon may end up with that as a steal down the road - TNF cost them less than half what the other networks pay for the weekend/MNF packages -which generally include extra games):

The new agreement runs through 2033 and will feature two Super Bowls returning to Disney’s ABC network channel.

Amazon is paying about $1 billion per year, according to people familiar with the matter.

ViacomCBS, Fox and Comcast (which owns NBCUniversal) are all paying more than $2 billion per year for their packages, while Disney (which owns ESPN and ABC) will pay around $2.7 billion annually, according to people familiar with the matter.

No Super Bowl for Amazon tho, but I do think that a streaming only (PPV? Only if they are stupid, IMHO) Super Bowl is an eventuality, but not until after the current contracts run out in 10 years.

[RunningMn9]

Again, the number of viewers of one game don’t mean anything to the NFL outside of their ability to use it to brag and jam the networks in the next deal.

The distribution rights are worth about $12.5B per year to the NFL. Which is about 70% of their total revenue. They clearly want to stream the product (without being on the hook to provide the actual stream). It’s coming and there’s going to be more of it, not less of it.

[El Guapo]

Lions are 6.5 point favorites against the Bucs, which is also the biggest edge the Lions have had in (limited) franchise playoff history.

No way this turns out badly for them.

[Unagi]

Divisional Picks:

Texans vs Ravens
Packers vs 49ers
Buccaneers vs Lions
Chiefs vs Bills ...very divided on this pick