The problem with your analogy is that the Defending SB champions get to play as well. And we if can't beat them, then our chances of being SB champion are not good. Most NFL games are close. Most are decided by less than 10 points. There are no prizes or cookies or parting gifts for being "close in the fourth quarter". You either leave with a W or an L. Today, the Fins are 0-1. The season isn't over. It just means that in our one chance to get a victory, we did not.
The good news is that their are 15 more chances for us to get this fixed. The bad news is that we lost this game in the same fashion we lost many games before....big plays given up on defense and not establishing a running game and the QB making huge mistakes at the end.