Did Back to Back 10 A.M. P.T. Playoff Game Starts Help Do The Chargers In?

[jachba]

I know it's a bit late to bring up this question for discussion, but an article I read brought it to my attention.

The question came up in an article by John Breech of CBS Sports three years ago when the Seahawks were in a similar situation and had the exact same scenario happen to them.

How much of a factor is the 10 AM start in the playoffs? From 2002 to 2016, Pacific and Mountain time zone teams have been outscored 202-56 in the first half of all 1 p.m. ET playoff games. More evidence? From 2010 to 2016, the Seahawks were outscored 75-0 also in the 1st half of all four 1 p.m. ET playoff games they played in that time period as well.

Am I saying that the Chargers would have beaten the Patriots for certain had they not been forced to play back-to-back playoff games at 1 p.m. E.T.? There's no way to know for sure, but you can make a case that the 1st half of last week's game would likely have been more competitive.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/s...-playoff-slot/

[Bolt4Life]

I personally think we were extremely out-coached in the Patriots game. Our players didn't look sluggish imo.

[jachba]

Originally Posted by Bolt4Life

I personally think we were extremely out-coached in the Patriots game. Our players didn't look sluggish imo.

We were outcoached but not by a 35-7 margin. That's too much of a difference to be attributed to simple strategy and planning.

[Totally Bolted]

you are either good enough to overcome the hurdle or you are not.

[Chargeroo]

I think the bye week is much more a factor. The teams with a bye week are well rested while the winners in the wild card round are recovering from a game the previous week. In fact, many times the division winners are able to rest players in the final regular season game so they enter the game on 3 weeks of rest.

It really is a tough grind for the wild card winner, but it's been done in the past.

[LongTimeOCBolts]

Originally Posted by Bolt4Life

I personally think we were extremely out-coached in the Patriots game. Our players didn't look sluggish imo.

I think we definitely looked sluggish.

I also think it’s an absurdly raw deal. One that would NEVER be visited upon one of the East coast darlings (I know, I know that’s impossible — but think about if some sort of similar obstacle could possibly be put in the path of an East coast darling team . Remember the way the darlings got restrictions on travel to the West coast written into the very rules?)

There was NO legit reason, let alone a compelling reason, to schedule our games that way. Especially twice in a row.

I guess Mr Kraft simply wanted the extra insurance policy

[ltinabottle]

It's been done before by two teams within the AFC West. Wild Cards teams that made a run and won a Super Bowl:

1980 Raiders
1997 Broncos
2000 Ravens
2005 Steelers
2007 Giants
2010 Packers

We got our butts kicked. To blame the time when we had a stellar record going in is making excuses. Rest up...recover and renew. The core of the team will be back in 19.

[jachba]

Originally Posted by ltinabottle

It's been done before by two teams within the AFC West. Wild Cards teams that made a run and won a Super Bowl:

1980 Raiders
1997 Broncos
2000 Ravens
2005 Steelers
2007 Giants
2010 Packers

We got our butts kicked. To blame the time when we had a stellar record going in is making excuses. Rest up...recover and renew. The core of the team will be back in 19.

Did the two AFC West teams you cite actually play back to back 1 p.m. ET playoff games that year as wild cards and go on to win a Super Bowl? That makes a big difference.

Winning one 1 p.m. ET playoff game is doable even though the statistics mentioned in John Breech's article make it clear that there is a definitive disadvantage to West Coast teams playing in that time slot. The Chargers and Seahawks managed to win one game each. The real issue is winning two 1 p.m. ET playoff games in consecutive weeks. That is the real crux of my comments.

The other question that is raised is this: was the 1 p.m. ET time slot the determining factor last Sunday? Obviously no one can say for certain. There are valid arguments concerning coaching decisions and execution issues that factor into the loss.

The Chargers could have easily lost last Sunday's game with the other factors mentioned even with a 4 p.m. ET start. I will still contend that the first half would likely have been somewhat more competitive with a later start based on the evidence laid out in Breech's article.

[beachcomber]

have said it before, and will say it again.... the biggest factor standing inbetween the Chargers and a SB appearance is a NT.... Jamal Williams, Aubrayo Franklin, and/or.... whomever and whenever we've had a real run stopping, double team commanding, collapsing the pocket big man in the middle.... our defense, and run defense has been noticeably better.

think a second factor that I also brought up early in the season that contributed to our fall off, was that for some reason it could be interpreted that the development of Derwin James inside the box/closer to the line of scrimmage was seemingly more important than the success of the team, as can't believe that our D wouldn't have been better w/James playing @the single high and letting Jahleel play inside the box/closer to the LOS ??

and last, and some could say 'tis unrelated and/or out of control of the Chargers, was the fact that we played in a soccer stadium.... am a bit of a conspiracy theorist, and.... can't believe that in any way shape or form was/is that any kind of incentive to the NFL to help get the Chargers anywhere near the promised land.... @least anytime before Atlanta.

[bluesurf]

Where was Whis?

Nowhere.

No jet sweep calls. Lame trying to push it up the middle behind a sub par OL. Long passes by PR that looked like ducks.

Can Whis. I would prefer one of the posters here than him.