If you ask a New Orleans Saints fan about the 2018 19 NFL playoffs, you should probably be wearing a helmet. Or at least be prepared for a twenty-minute rant about Nickell Robey-Coleman. It’s been years, but the wound is still wide open. Honestly, that postseason was one of the most high-stakes, controversial, and statistically bizarre stretches of football we've ever seen. It gave us the rise of a new era of quarterbacks and the stubborn, gritty survival of the old guard.
It was a weird time.
Patrick Mahomes was the new kid on the block, throwing no-look passes and lighting up the scoreboard in Kansas City. Sean McVay was the "boy genius" in Los Angeles. And yet, when the dust settled on February 3, 2019, it was the same old story: Tom Brady holding a trophy. But the road there? It was absolute chaos.
The No-Call Heard ‘Round the World
Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first. The NFC Championship game between the Rams and the Saints is the definitive moment of the 2018 19 NFL playoffs.
There were less than two minutes left. The score was tied 20-23. The Saints were driving. Drew Brees threw a pass to Tommylee Lewis on third down. Then, it happened. Nickell Robey-Coleman arrived early. Like, "should have been flagged for pass interference in a middle school game" early. He leveled Lewis before the ball arrived. No flag. The Superdome went from a deafening roar to a confused, angry silence, then back to a roar that felt like it might shake the foundation of the building.
The NFL later admitted it was a mistake. Big deal. The Saints kicked a field goal, the Rams marched back to tie it, and Greg Zuerlein eventually won it in overtime with a 57-yard bomb.
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This single play changed the league. Because of this specific game in the 2018 19 NFL playoffs, the NFL briefly allowed coaches to challenge pass interference the following season. It was a disaster of a rule change that they eventually scrapped, but it shows just how much that one missed call broke the system. People forget that the Saints still had chances to win that game in OT, but that missed call is the only thing history remembers. It’s the "What If" that haunts New Orleans.
Mahomes, Brady, and the Changing of the Guard (Almost)
While the NFC was melting down over officiating, the AFC was busy hosting a masterpiece. The AFC Championship game was the first real playoff showdown between the GOAT and the heir apparent.
Chiefs vs. Patriots.
Arrowhead Stadium was freezing. The air was thin. Mahomes was the reigning MVP, putting up numbers that looked like a Madden glitch. But Bill Belichick did what he always does: he took away the primary option. The Patriots led 14-0 at halftime. It looked over. Then Mahomes went nuclear in the fourth quarter.
It was a seesaw. Lead change after lead change. The Chiefs actually appeared to have the game won when Charvarius Ward intercepted Brady with about a minute left. The stadium exploded. But wait. Dee Ford was lined up offsides. Just a few inches. The play was blown dead, Brady got the ball back, and the Patriots scored.
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In overtime, Mahomes never even touched the ball. Brady methodically converted three separate 3rd-and-10s. Rex Burkhead punched it in. The old man had done it again. It was a brutal lesson for the league: you can have all the talent and speed in the world, but if you give Tom Brady a second life, he will use it to end yours.
The Wild Card Chaos and the Double Doink
Before we reached those legendary conference championships, the Wild Card round gave us one of the most meme-able moments in sports history.
The Chicago Bears had the best defense in the league. Khalil Mack was a wrecking ball. They were playing the defending champion Eagles, who were once again riding the magic of Nick Foles. With seconds left, Cody Parkey stepped up for a 43-yard field goal to win it for Chicago.
Clink. Clink. The ball hit the left upright, then bounced off the crossbar. The "Double Doink."
The silence in Soldier Field was heavy enough to crush a car. You could hear a pin drop. It wasn't just a missed kick; it was the end of a defensive era for the Bears. That kick ended their season and arguably broke the psyche of the franchise for years. Interestingly, the NFL later officially ruled that the kick was tipped at the line by Treyvon Hester, but that doesn't make it any less painful for Bears fans.
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A Super Bowl That... Wasn't Great?
If the conference championships were the peak of the 2018 19 NFL playoffs, the Super Bowl was the valley. Super Bowl LIII was, frankly, a slog.
It was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history. A 13-3 defensive struggle that felt like watching two guys play chess in a library. The Rams’ high-flying offense, which had averaged 32.9 points per game in the regular season, was completely neutralized. Belichick used a "six-man front" that confused Jared Goff and dared him to make plays. He couldn't.
- The Patriots' defense held the Rams to 260 total yards.
- Julian Edelman won MVP by basically being the only person who could catch a ball.
- The only touchdown of the game didn't happen until the fourth quarter.
It wasn't the flashy, offensive explosion everyone expected from the 2018 19 NFL playoffs. It was a grind. It was Brady’s sixth ring, cementing a dynasty that felt like it would never end (though we now know it was the beginning of the end for the New England era).
What We Learned from that Postseason
Looking back, that year was a pivot point. We saw the last gasp of the traditional "defense wins championships" mantra in the Super Bowl, even as the rest of the playoffs suggested the league was moving toward an offensive arms race.
We saw that officiating can literally change the trajectory of franchises. If the Saints go to that Super Bowl, does Drew Brees have two rings? Does Sean Payton stay in New Orleans longer? Does the narrative of Jared Goff change?
The 2018 19 NFL playoffs proved that the margin for error in professional football is microscopic. An inch offsides by Dee Ford. A fingertip on a ball in Chicago. A ref looking the wrong way in New Orleans.
Actionable Takeaways for Football History Buffs
- Re-watch the AFC Championship: If you want to see the exact moment the Mahomes era began (despite the loss), watch the second half of that game. His poise under pressure against a Belichick defense was the blueprint for the next decade.
- Study the 6-1 Front: For the tactical nerds, look up the defensive scheme the Patriots used in Super Bowl LIII. It’s still studied today as the perfect "blueprint" on how to stop a wide-zone, play-action offense.
- Respect the Special Teams: The 2018-19 season is the ultimate argument for why kickers and long snappers deserve more respect. Games are won and lost on the "unsexy" plays.
The 2018 19 NFL playoffs weren't perfect. They were frustrating, controversial, and at times, boring. But they were undeniably significant. They were the bridge between the old NFL and the one we watch today.