2016 NFL Playoffs: Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr Injury Impacts

Aug 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) and Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) meet after the game at Oakland Alameda Coliseum. The Titans defeated the Raiders 27-14. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

The Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr injuries really did the 2016 NFL playoffs zero favors in the AFC. The league certainly is better for them.

It was going to be a potential showcase of the up-and-coming young quarterbacks that were set to replace the old guard. Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady would have to try holding them off. Instead it looks like a New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers conference title game is inevitable. That may sound like a heavyweight matchup, but it’s really not.

The Steelers are just 3-9 against the Patriots in the Brady-Belichick era. That includes an 0-2 mark against them in the playoffs. They already lost at home back in October 27-16. So what hope does the AFC really have of stopping yet another New England march to the Super Bowl? Maybe, just maybe having a couple of young guns like Carr and Mariota involved might’ve made it interesting. Now it will take another year to find out.

This continues an unfortunate trend for the NFL in 2016. It seemed rather top heavy from the start with very few teams that could be classified as “good.” Meanwhile teams that clinched their playoff berths this week either did so with backup quarterbacks or did so with losses. The Houston Texans won their second-straight division title with a second-straight 9-7 record. New York lost to Philadelphia on Thursday night but got in anyway. Seattle lost the 2nd seed after falling to Arizona despite Russell Wilson throwing four TD passes.

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The cherry on the Sunday was seeing both Mariota and Carr fracturing the same bones in their legs to be lost just two weeks before the start of the postseason. Anything can happen. A long history has proven that but it’s looking like nothing short of a miracle will stop the 2016 NFL playoffs from being about the old guard for another year.

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