This Feels Like a "Must-Win" Game

[PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop]

(09-24-2016, 11:02 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Ok, stay with me here. I'm using it more as an expression than literal. I don't believe that are any games are must-wins other than games that eliminate you from the playoffs or playoff contention. But I do think that we really need to get a W in this one.

First home game of the season, coming off a tough loss. Even earlier in the year, 1-2 vs 2-1 has a pretty different feel if you're going into the season as a contender. While 1-2 isn't the end of the world, you're left facing with two straight losses, against team many had you rated above going into the season.

Now onto my biggest reasons for an early sense of urgency:

1.) You have the quick turnaround with the Thursday night game. For almost any team not named the Patriots, these Thursday night games reek havoc on teams. All of them. It's just such a quick turnaround when guys should be recovering. You lose 3 full days of what should be needed rest and planning. That's why the stats from so many Thurs. nights game so different than others. Teams are beat up. So you have that in play, coupled with the fact that we have absolutely horrendous in Prime Time under Lewis. Call it bad luck, bad coaching, whatever, but we've been dreadful. So when you account for all that this game scares me a lot more than it usually would. I'd say it's a coin flip.

2.) You're two games following these two home games are both road games, and one just happens to be in Foxboro, when Tom Brady is coming back, from what many consider an unfair punishment. Good luck with that one. I don't want to say we have zero chance to win at Foxboro, but I'd put very low. Like less than 20%, maybe less than 10%

Looking at that stretch, immediately following this game, looks a lot scarier coming off of a loss than a win IMO. I just know how this league works. You're sitting at 1-2, and somehow we drop a game against Miami in Primetime, or in Dallas on the road. That's very easy to see. And God Forbid somehow we lost both. But I think there's a good chance you see a split there. And then with a near automatic L immediately following, you could be looking at 2-4. (This is based on the scenario if we were to lose this week.)

I know some of you are rolling your eyes. And that's fair. I get it. I just know that it's a tough stretch and I think we could really use a 2-1 start going into rather than a 1-2 start. I mean, this team lost 4 games all of the last year. And that was with Andy missing, what, 4 games? I would just hate to start out slow, then hit this stretch and be left with a record that leaves us with a lot of ground to make up.

No reason we shouldn't beat a team that has a 7th round QB, that never had a start before this season, and hasn't looked all that great thus far. At home, it's as close to a must-win for me as it gets. Get it done for us, guys!

Your point about the 7th round QB would make sense if we weren't talking about Denver. Their defense has been straight up carrying them since Peyton's arm abruptly turned into a noodle at the end of the 2014 season.

1-2 is not a death sentence. Yeah, it would suck, but all of our goals are still ahead of us at 1-2. The clutch win against the Jets in Week 1 guarantees that we come out of the most brutal stretch of maybe any team that isn't Miami to start the season (they played in Seattle, then in New England, and somehow that's supposed to be fair...).

There is no such thing as must-win game in Week 3, unless maybe we're talking about an 0-3 start. I think 0-3 is a death knell, but at 1-2 you're one win away from a .500 record.

I know people have a hard time envisioning this, but if this team is supposed to be "elite" and supposedly has the "deepest roster in the league" then we will get ours. Sure, we'll drop a game or two against a team we're supposed to beat, but in the end, the NFL season will average itself out.

I still think this is a 12-win team on paper. Nothing short of a blowout win by Denver would be able to change that because it's only Week 3. Sorry, man.