What a mess.

We knew that the Deshaun Watson contract with the Browns would reset the quarterback market. In the new NFL, with all the rules protecting quarterbacks, it’s now a quarterback league. Some may argue it has been for a long time, but the trend has accelerated dramatically with the new rules. Barring some serious luck, you need an elite quarterback to win.

Combine that with the growing salary cap and you’re going to see more and more monster contracts for NFL quarterbacks. This provides massive leverage to players, and we’re going to start seeing more NBA-style holdouts and trade demands. Quarterbacks are the stars.

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The NFL continues to cash in, now adding a Monday night playoff game to its annual bundle of playoff goodies.

The game wasn’t very competitive, however, as the Los Angeles Rams bullied Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. I suggested laying the points in this one and it was pretty much over in the first half.

Murray was a mess the entire game, making one wonder the extent to which he’s still feeling the effects of his ankle injury. We didn’t see the explosive running, but being banged up is reality in the NFL, particularly for quarterbacks who run around. Murray has been playing hero ball all season, and it caught up to him big time last night. The low point was an embarrassing interception where Murray just flung the ball to avoid a sack, leading to an easy pick-six for the Rams.

Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford earned his first playoff victory and Cam Akers returned to spark the Rams running game. The Rams travel to Tampa for a date with Tom Brady and the reigning Super Bowl champs. That one should be fun . . .