Perfect season ends at Arrowhead - JSOnline. Players like Charles Woodson and Donald Driver were disappointed that they won't have a perfect season. And I'm disappointed for them too. While acknowledging the fact that the pressure of going unbeaten is now gone.
I'm reminded of a NY Times article describing the 1962 Packers loss to the Lions on Thanksgiving. That Packer team was a powerhouse and loaded with future Hall of Fame talent. It was arguably Lombardi's greatest Packer team. Lombardi told reporters afterwords:
"You didn’t think we were going to win them all, did you?"
The loss was credited for re-focusing the Packers on winning another championship, and not winning every game.
There remains an advantage to having that pressure lifted from them. I hadn't been expecting perfection because so much can go wrong in a 16 game season, but it seemed possible as we got closer to the end of the season. Woodson talked about missing out on a rare opportunity, and it's too bad they couldn't experience it. But it's time to put that game, and that opportunity behind them, and focus on next week against the Bears.