The teams that got eliminated in the Wild Card round of the 2020 NFL playoffs face some serious questions moving forward. The Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Washington Football Team must seek new solutions at quarterback.
The Seattle Seahawks will be looking for upgrades at just about every position except quarterback. The Tennessee Titans must realize that their greatest strength could quickly become their biggest weakness. Here’s an NFL Recap look ahead at what’s next for Russell Wilson, Derrick Henry, Philip Rivers, Mitch Trubisky, and others.
Editor’s Note: For the rest of Mike Tanier’s individual NFL Divisional Round playoff previews, make sure to check out his full NFL Wild Card Recap. Not only does he give in-depth breakdowns of each game, but he also provides you with his Studs ‘n’ Duds.
Which NFC teams were eliminated from the Wild Card round, and what comes next?
What’s next for the Chicago Bears?
If you seriously thought the Bears were going to extend Mitch Trubisky’s contract after his late-season lukewarm streak, Matt Nagy’s decision to hand off and run out the final 1:49 before halftime while trailing 7-3 on Sunday was your wakeup call. The Bears will be in the quarterback market this offseason.
They may also enter the general manager market in the next few days. It will be hard to justify giving Ryan Pace another chance to find a quarterback of the future after all of the time and resources the organization sunk into Trubisky.
The Bears are scraping the 2021 salary cap ceiling. Wide Receiver Allen Robinson will probably depart via free agency, further weakening a feeble offense. The Bears payroll is full of very good veteran defenders (Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Kyle Fuller, etc.) who are likely to be on the downsides of their careers by the time the offense gets repaired. The Bears are a rebuilding team that doesn’t know it yet. The quicker they get serious about starting over, the better.
What’s next for the Seattle Seahawks?
After the Seahawks were eliminated in the Wild Card round, NFL Recaps asks that they please start over. Keep Russell Wilson, Jamal Adams, Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, and maybe a half-dozen others. Ditch everyone else. Send Bobby Wagner to the Hall of Fame (he can still play, but his presence fools the Seahawks into thinking their defense is better than it really is).
Blast offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer into the furthest reaches of the galaxy. Let general manager John Schneider explore opportunities with some other organization offering more power. Order Pete Carroll to hire the hottest young coordinators on the job market. Then, limit his authority to making rah-rah speeches. Rebuild and rethink everything.
The Seahawks have reached a dead-end with their annual playoff-berths-due-to-narrow-wins routine. Few 12-4 teams have been less impressive than the Seahawks were this year. They’re due for a season where they go 6-10 just because their luck runs out. If they launch a soft reboot now, the Seahawks can at least steer into the skid and control it.
What’s next for the Washington Football Team?
It’s not as simple as finding a quarterback and immediately becoming a Super Bowl contender. Washington needs to find most of an offense — receivers to supplement Terry McLaurin, running backs to rotate with Antonio Gibson, depth and reinforcements along the offensive line — while also searching for a quarterback without a high draft pick at their disposal.
The greatest risk for Washington moving forward may be the assumption that their defense will continue to play at its 2020 level next year. Defensive performances fluctuate wildly from year to year, and a slight dip (caused by opponents no longer being caught off guard by Chase Young and Montez Sweat, for instance, or a better slate of opposing quarterbacks) could send Washington tumbling back to 5-11.
Head coach and showrunner Ron Rivera may opt for a one-year bridge quarterback (Cam Newton?) while he continues to build on both sides of the ball in 2021. That might frustrate Washington fans hungry for a big leap forward, but it could be what’s best for the franchise in the long run.
Which AFC teams were eliminated in the Wild Card round, and what comes next?
What’s next for the Indianapolis Colts?
The Colts were one of three AFC teams eliminated in the Wild Card round and now enter the offseason with some questions, especially at the quarterback position. So, who should be the Colts quarterback in 2021? Here are some choices.
Philip Rivers: He reportedly wants to return, and his wily knuckleballer routine was effective for most of 2020. But he’s only going to keep declining and yielding diminishing returns. The Colts would be tempting fate to pay him another $25 million for what might be his Y.A.Tittle season.
Carson Wentz: Eagles fans love this idea much more than Colts fans do, which should give you a pretty good idea of what Colts management must think of trading for a $34-million restoration project.
Jacoby Brissett: Brissett is great for getting a team through a gap year. That would make 2021 the third gap year in five years.
A top rookie prospect: The Colts have too many needs at too many positions to trade bouquets of draft picks so they can move up into, say, Zach Wilson territory.
Sam Darnold, Jameis Winston, etc.: Once we reach the second-chance reclamation project list, it’s a pretty good sign that the Colts left themselves without a plan if Rivers played just well enough to get them knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. Which, unfortunately, was the most likely scenario from the very day the Colts signed him.
While finding a solution at quarterback, the Colts also need to make decisions about 2021 free agents like wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, edge rusher Justin Houston, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, and others. The Colts have the cap space to keep younger, higher-priority players like Rhodes while letting some older players and role players. That’s a great way to level off as a Wild Card team, but it’s a terrible way to get any better.
What’s next for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
The Steelers are the Colts with better pass rushers and a softer schedule. As Sunday night’s Wreck of the S.S. Roethlisberger demonstrated, the Steelers are overdue for the quarterback change they chose to put off this season. Like the Colts — and Bears and Washington, for that matter — they may find themselves sifting through suboptimal solutions and playing mix-and-match musical chairs with guys like Darnold, Trubisky, and others.
The good news for the Steelers is that they possess a Super Bowl-caliber pass rush and receiving corps, making it much easier for them to fill in blanks. But the Steelers are right up against the roof of the salary cap, even if Roethlisberger’s salary is wiped off the ledger. Not only can they not entertain any Wentz-priced potential quarterback solutions, but they won’t be able to do much more in free agency except re-sign incumbents like wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
What’s next for the Tennessee Titans?
The Titans face two major offseason problems, one obvious and one cleverly concealed among the team’s strengths.
The obvious problem is the Titans’ pass rush, and it should be easy to solve. Despite a lack of cap space on paper, the Titans should be able to clear enough room for a veteran free agent pass rusher like Ryan Kerrigan, who is eager to play for Mike Vrabel and a playoff team.
Help should also be available when the Titans pick in the first round of April’s draft. The Titans should aggressively seek all the upgrades to their pass rush they can find.
The concealed problem is the fact that Derrick Henry has been overused for two years — he crossed the dreaded 370 carry threshold during the regular season — and is now due for his steep Todd Gurley-like decline. We may even have witnessed the start of that decline on Sunday.
The Titans need to add a running back or two on the second day of the draft and turn their backfield into a Henry-chaired committee. Otherwise, they will risk more 18-carry, 40-yard rushing performances and 20-13 losses to quality opponents next year.
Who plays in the Divisional Round?
Now that the Wild Card Weekend is over, we know which teams will be playing in the Divisional Round next week.
AFC Divisional Round Matchups
- (5) Baltimore Ravens vs. (2) Buffalo Bills | Saturday, January 16th, 8:15 PM ET on NBC
- (6) Cleveland Browns vs. (1) Kansas City Chiefs | Sunday, January 17th, 3:05 PM ET on CBS
NFC Divisional Round Matchups
- (6) Los Angeles Rams vs. (1) Green Bay Packers | Saturday, January 16th, 4:35 PM ET on FOX
- (5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. (2) New Orleans Saints | Sunday, January 17th, 6:40 PM ET on FOX