TMQ: Introducing the Authentic Games Index

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In athletics there are games and there are Authentic Games -- tests against a strong opponent.

The NFL postseason consists entirely of Authentic Games, that’s why many’s the team that looked great during the regular season then wheezes out.

The regular season Authentic Games Index may foreshadow who does best when the red light comes on.

I define an Authentic Game as any pairing against an opponent likely to make the playoffs. Until the final two weeks that’s a little subjective. It’s my Index, I can assume whatever I want!

Generally the more Authentic Games the better – facing worthy opponents is good. Thus Detroit’s 7-1 is better than Pittsburgh’s 4-0 even though the Steelers are undefeated in Authentic terms. Atlanta and Arizona, with a lot of Authentic games, rank ahead of Houston and Washington even though the latter have a better Authentic winning percentage

I only rank clubs with a legit shot at the playoffs. You don’t need a sophisticated index to know the Raiders and Giants are crummy teams. The Falcons and Bucs are included because according to federal law, somebody has to win the NFC South.

Detroit 7-1

Kansas City 6-1

Pittsburgh 4-0

Philadelphia, Minnesota 4-2

Baltimore 5-3

Seattle 4-3

Buffalo 3-3

Green Bay, LA/A 3-4

City of Tampa 3-5

Denver, LA/B 2-5

Atlanta 2-6

Arizona 2-7

Houston 1-3

Washington 1-4

The Authentic Games Index suggests the Commanders and Texans are pretenders, the Steelers are for real and Kansas City and Detroit will meet in the Super Bowl.

In NFL front office news, Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was suspended for a late hit on sliding Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence: especially, for slamming his forearm into Lawrence’s neck. That move once was legal in football, called a “clothesline.”

Al-Shaair was suspended but not fined. The suspension is a fine in effect since he loses 3/17ths of his 2024 salary.

Tom Brady, now a broadcaster for Fox, said it should have been offsetting fouls – Lawrence slid too late, which should, Brady thinks, have been unsportsmanlike conduct.

Retired quarterbacks like Brady and Troy Aikman who themselves took a pounding under the old anything-goes system tend to looks askance at contemporary protection of quarterbacks.

Yet Brady’s got a point. Lawrence was a runner, not a passer, on the down. He did not start his slide till Al-Shaair began the tackling motion. The defender ought to have fair warning the ballcarrier has decided to slide.

Twice this season Patrick Mahomes has been running along the sidelines looking like he’s about to “give himself up” in football terms; twice the nearby defender pulled up, not wanting a late-hit flag; both times Mahomes suddenly accelerated and made a long gain.

This rule needs to be clarified in the offseason.

The Al-Shaair hit was not much different from others that have not led to suspensions. Franchise quarterbacks are the most valuable assets NFL clubs possess. Owners want the officials to protect their economic assets.