Skip Bayless Calls Out Jarrett Stidham, Drake Maye as QBs Struggle in Cold Weather

For decades, the AFC championship often guaranteed fans a chance at seeing at least one of the greatest quarterbacks of their lifetime in either Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes. Well, this year they got Drake Maye and Jarrett Stidham, and their battle was about as impressive as their name value.

The New England Patriots’ sophomore sensation, who had managed to take the league by storm with Mike Vrabel earlier this year, finished the game with a measly total of 86 passing yards, while the Denver Broncos QB2 struggled to complete 17 passes for 133 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Some are blaming the weather, others are pointing towards the caliber of defenses that were involved, but according to Skip Bayless, we can’t ignore the lack of skill that was displayed by both signal callers.

As both teams entered the fourth and final quarter of play, Bayless, who was likely frustrated by the rate of play that he was seeing, inaccurately tweeted that “Neither QB has thrown for even 100 yards through 3 quarters.” The majority of fans were quick to call him out on this, citing the fact that Stidham had managed to produce more than 100 passing yards in the first half alone. 

On some level, however, Bayless’ misguided tweet still serves as a testament to the severe downgrade that we saw in quarterback play this year.

Even though Bayless may have gotten the numbers wrong, the fact of the matter is that the AFC Championship game ended with a combined total of 219 passing yards from both Maye and Stidham. Once you realize that Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes were able to clear that total by themselves, respectively, in last year’s conference championship, it becomes pretty clear that this year’s product didn’t match its history.

Although, as mentioned earlier, we can’t ignore the sheer amount of snow and ice that blanketed most of the nation this weekend.

For better or worse, however, the results are final, and all that matters now is the fact that the Patriots will be returning to the Super Bowl stage for the first time since the departure of Tom Brady. This now marks the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl appearance of the past decade, and if they are at all able to mimic the form of those teams that came before them, then the winner of the NFC Championship should be of no consequence to them.

Although when you consider the amount of historical themes that have run parallel to this year’s playoffs, it may not come as a surprise to see the Los Angeles Rams prevail only to give us an instant remake of Super Bowl LIII.