What's Wright - NFL Playoff Reaction: Bills LOSE, McDermott FIRED, Allen to BLAME? Bears FALL SHORT + Miami-Indiana

In Right With Nick Wright, episode 417, and we’re already off the rails with my boost sign and a family airport run where grandma lasted about 12 feet before missing the baby and rapping along in the backseat. Fun start, big show: a semi‑classic national title game, then the divisional round, and a plea for media consistency.

Tough overnight news: Jimmy Butler’s torn ACL at his age could be a harsh pivot point, and for the Warriors it feels like a wrap. All‑Star starters are set; if LeBron isn’t in given precedent, it’s a basketball crime. Coaching carousel notes: Bieniemy back to the Chiefs, Saleh to the Titans could work if Cam Ward hits, Stefanski to the Falcons seems steady, and I’m skeptical on Hafley to the Dolphins.

Indiana capped a perfect run and beat Miami. How impressed were you with Fernando Mendoza and the Hoosiers?

It’s one of the greatest program turnarounds we’ve seen; Kurt Signetti took a bottom‑tier Big Ten team to 16 and 0, and the Bill Snyder comp still undersells how fast this flipped. Mendoza went from a local two‑star Miami pass to a likely number one pick with size, toughness, poise, and the voice of a franchise; if the Raiders pair him with the right coach, the AFC West gets wild.

Game notes: I loved Indiana’s decision math late even if it was dicey, Miami was right there, and Cristobal’s crew earned respect with pros all over the field; the right team won, and Indiana is the story of the season.

The Broncos ended the Bills’ season and McDermott’s tenure, with Josh Allen committing four turnovers. Did the team fail him, or did he fail them?

First, sincere gut punch for Denver fans after that injury swing because Bo Nix played his best NFL game and Sean Payton dialed it up; you earned it the hard way. As for Buffalo, four Allen turnovers and two missed late throws define the loss, and we can say that while also acknowledging he carried them this far; accountability isn’t hate.

I was surprised McDermott got fired that fast even with the turnovers.

What drove me nuts was the agency removed from Allen in the analysis; he’s nearly thirty and the reigning MVP, not a passenger. The hyperbole machine crowning him the most talented ever sets a standard where a four‑giveaway playoff game should be called what it is.

Allen, Dion Dawkins, and Brandin Cooks were emotional afterward. How do you feel about players crying after a round‑two exit?

It shows how much it mattered, but it also told me this core felt the path was finally open without Mahomes; if they hadn’t moved on from McDermott, that emotional weight alone said you can’t run it back. On the calls, the Brandin Cooks play was correctly ruled an interception—screenshots don’t prove control, and simultaneous possession wasn’t in play.

I thought about that Isaiah Likely catch—if that’s a catch, this one wasn’t; Cooks never truly had it.

Exactly—Davante’s catch was control, tuck, steps, then contact; Cooks had a brief pin that the defender ripped out before the process completed. Blaming refs or inventing broadcast‑window conspiracies dodges responsibility, and this isn’t the first offseason Buffalo has tried to rule‑lawyer their way out of a loss.

People say you give Mahomes a pass.

I tell you where I stand—I root for the Chiefs—but résumé matters; five Super Bowls by twenty‑nine, three wins, and absurd playoff numbers earn benefit of the doubt. That’s different from calling someone unmatched while excusing four giveaways in a home loss.

He’s also not out here throwing away four possessions in round two.

Right—before the Super Bowl, Mahomes is fourteen and two with forty‑plus touchdowns and three picks; I even kept betting the Bills live because I thought Allen would pull it off, but fair is fair.

On the Bills’ opening, if you’re in win‑now mode with an MVP‑caliber quarterback entering his prime, I’d swing big at Belichick on a short deal and chase the record and a ring; this isn’t the time for a developmental hire.

Rams survived the Bears. Caleb forced overtime with a wild play, then threw the losing pick. What did you make of his game and year?

Huge success: elite arm talent, poise, burst, and escape are there, while footwork and accuracy—very coachable—need polish, which is the best possible distribution. The two fourth‑down magic acts on back‑to‑back weeks were rare stuff, but in overtime he didn’t need the kill shot on second and eight; I expected a two‑point try, respected the pivot based on short‑yardage woes, and noted the Rams still had timeouts, so going up one didn’t end it.

I think DJ Moore’s route contributed to the pick, but Caleb can live for third down there; painful loss for a Bears team that’s close. The Rams are my Super Bowl pick, and while they haven’t played clean yet, they’re in the dance and Stafford’s avoided the big mistakes; Seattle awaits.

Patriots‑Texans next—did New England win it or did Houston give it away?

The Pats have breezed through two playoff games while Drake May rides some nerves—great flashes like that end‑zone dart and unreal grab, but too many loose balls—and they’re still heavy favorites to reach the Super Bowl without him truly hitting stride.

I’d have sat C.J. at halftime for Davis Mills to jolt a flat offense, because that defense was nasty and the back‑breaking pick six swung a 10 to 7 lead into a spiral; the line struggled, but the giveaways are on him, and he’s more likely getting the fifth‑year option than a year‑three extension.

Seattle smothered the Niners; do you buy them as the Super Bowl favorite?

I’m still leaning Rams, but Seattle has earned the billing with double‑digit wins and that 35‑point romp, and they’ve done it without their quarterback needing to carry them, with Rashid Shaheed’s returns cracking games open.

I expect a tight NFC title game and would trust Stafford late; Mike Macdonald’s defense is undervalued, Charbonnet’s loss hurts, and if you’re Philly you’re sick that a banged‑up Niners team came to your place and handled you.

After that showing, are you moving on Brock Purdy?

He was rough, but the whole roster no‑showed, so I’m not torching him; if he’d been great there I’d be rethinking things, but not off that mess.

Is the San Francisco window open or closing?

With Shanahan it can’t be closed, though Kittle’s status, McCaffrey’s mileage, and losing Saleh are real worries, yet Shanahan’s too good to count out.

Billy asks why Josh Allen seems to get a softer ride while Mahomes, Jalen, and Lamar get hammered.

Race undeniably shapes QB discourse, but I don’t see Lamar as uniquely piled on—he’s often insulated after bad Januarys, as that Nick Young flap and the reaction around it showed—and Mahomes has earned media grace by stacking appearances and rings.

Eric wonders if your Allen critique mirrors pre‑2012 LeBron, and whether a similar breakthrough is coming.

LeBron by then had two Finals trips and owned the regular season, which Allen hasn’t matched, though I still think he eventually wins a Super Bowl.

He might age into a savvy version of himself, health willing.

He’ll get one, but save some compliments for when that day arrives—if he’s already the most gifted ever before even making a Super Bowl, what’s left to say; pin a peace medal on him then and we’ll end up joking about invading Greenland, and I’ll see you Thursday.