Only six NFL games this weekend instead of 16? Only seven left in the season? You know what that means, don't you? That's right. Postseason overreactions!
In case you're new here, we do this every Sunday in the regular season. We take five strong declarations fans are making based on the weekend's developments and we judge each to see whether it's an overreaction or not.
But in the playoffs, that's where it gets really juicy. Fewer games, a ton more intensity. Reactions in general -- over and otherwise -- are ratcheted up this time of year. Nerves are frayed. Pressure is turned all the way up. Heck, as you'll see below, your team doesn't even have to be in the playoffs for things to be getting intense this time of year.
In fact, we start with one team that isn't -- anymore, at least.
Ben Roethlisberger has played his last game for the Steelers
The first snap of Pittsburgh's playoff game Sunday night sailed over Roethlisberger's head and rolled into the end zone, where the Browns fell on it for the first of their four first-quarter touchdowns. Things got worse before they got better, and by the time Roethlisberger and the Steelers collected themselves, they were too far behind. Roethlisberger ended up with an eye-popping stat line: 501 passing yards on 68 attempts with four touchdowns. But he also threw four interceptions for the first time ever in a postseason game. The punches he and his team took early in the game had taken their toll, and ultimately the Steelers, who haven't won a playoff game in four years, once again went out with a whimper.
This wasn't just a random bad day, either. In Weeks 8-16 of the regular season -- he didn't play in Week 17 -- Roethlisberger ranked 18th in Total QBR, 23rd in completion percentage, 31st in yards per attempt and eighth in interceptions.