It's not the one game I'm grading him on, it's the totality of the playoff run. Statistically he played 4 Top 9 defenses, but we also have eyes and are able to contextualize what we saw.
That Chargers defense (#9) was nothing special. They had moments throughout the year and were "good", but that wasn't a special defense.
The Texans (#2) were the best defense in the NFL this year. I'm not indicting him for his performance against a truly elite defense, but he loses that game with any team that can match that defense with competent offense. The Texans have minimal weapons, a mid line, a worse run game, and a bottom tier starter at QB. As it always does, eventually the dam broke, and credit to the Pats on that, but a legit offense ends the Patriots season in Rd2. So my point being, he was not good enough this postseason and it was evident from that game on.
The Broncos (#3) compiled most of their heavyweight stats in the first half of the year, they were not the same defense by the end. They were still good, and even with Josh Allen turning it over 5x, they were in position to lose that game at the end. If you remember 1st half of Pats/Broncos, the Pats had like 22 yards of offense deep into the 2nd quarter. And it's not because the Broncos defense was special.
The Hawks (#1) were a formidable defense for him but he missed layups all night until the 4thQ. Note, I'm not saying he should shoulder the blame, McDaniels should know well enough how to scheme against a zone heavy, blitz heavy defense. Maye is out there though, some of the throws he missed were average NFL throws.
By my count, he played two good defenses, and two elite defenses. His protection is a problem, and not just from the left side as the broadcast kept mentioning, the Hawks were jailbreaking thru the right side, too. They absolutely have to strengthen his line.
But ultimately, my beef is with the coronation he was given thru NFL Media partners the past two months. I thought it was clear as day he's made a leap, from his rookie year, but I also thought people shoulda relaxed on the "he's one of the elite guys" shyt. That's my central point, its okay that he's not one of the elite guys yet, but every year mf's so quick to crown these guys....he may become one of those guys. He isnt one of them yet.