NFL Takeaways: Week 17
Photo from ESPN
17 weeks of the NFL season are done, and for the first time in what feels like a long time, we head into the final week with lots of unanswered questions.
Who will be the 1 seed in the NFC? Who will win the AFC North and NFC South? Are the Broncos actually good?
I guess we will soon find out.
Cowboys defeat Commanders 30-23
It’s a shame that this may be the best year of Dak’s career, and it won’t matter because the defense was so bad.
Vikings defeat Lions 23-10
Six turnovers.
Six!!!
Brian Flores had the Lions offense in a blender all game long, and it’s a sadly fitting way for this season to end for Detroit.
They just never got going.
Broncos defeat Chiefs 20-13
Two weeks ago, I was bought in on the Broncos.
They were dominant against the Packers, and truly looked like one of the NFL’s best.
After that, they were beat soundly by Jacksonville, and struggled to beat a beat up Chiefs team who just got crushed by the Titans.
So now, we’re back to being flat out confused.
Texans defeat Chargers 20-16
Coach’s change. Quarterback’s change. Even the whole city changes.
None of it will change the fact that the Chargers will always find a way to beat themselves.
Every single time.
Ravens defeat Packers 41-24
As it turns out, it’s actually a really good idea to give Derrick Henry the ball a ton.
Let’s see if the Todd Monken has learned his lesson and implements that against the Steelers, or if he goes back to splitting carries with Keaton Mitchell (who is good. He’s just not Derrick Henry).
Seahawks defeat Panthers 27-10
The Seahawks defense made Bryce Young’s day a living hell, but this was still closer than it needed to be.
Those turnover issues aren’t getting fixed in Seattle.
Bengals defeat Cardinals 37-10
The Bengals lined up an offensive lineman at wide receiver, and threw it to him for a 20 yard gain.
They toyed with the Cardinals all day long, and it’d be baffling to me if Jonathan Gannon didn’t get fired.
Browns defeat Steelers 13-6
The Steelers just need a win against a bad Browns team to clinch a playoff spot and division title?
The most obvious flop game there could be.
Despite that, I still thought they’d win.
But nope. The offense did nothing all day long.
Saints defeat Titans 34-26
Tyler Shough is good!
The Saints might have found their guy!
Jaguars defeat Colts 23-17
I thought the Philip Rivers experiment would be an unmitigated disaster.
And now that it seems to be at its end, I have to say that he was really, really good considering the circumstances.
Hats off, Phil. Don’t be a stranger.
Dolphins defeat Buccaneers 20-17
Even if the Bucs make the playoffs, Todd Bowles needs to go.
His era in Tampa is over and done with.
Patriots defeat Jets 42-10
Good team destroys bad team.
More at 11.
Giants defeat Raiders 34-10
I didn’t watch this.
I’m not sure anybody did, frankly.
Eagles defeat Bills 13-12
There are times where going for two to win the game is smart.
When the Seahawks did it to the Rams a couple weeks ago? Smart!
If you’re in a shootout, and you’re worried you can’t get that extra stop you need in OT and want to end the game here? Smart!
But the Bills defense held the Eagles to 17 yards in the second half. The Eagles couldn’t do anything at all.
That is a situation where you go to overtime, and trust your elite defense to get the stop you need.
49ers defeat Bears 42-38
Ben Johnson got too cute.
The Bears offense was dominant all game long, and on the second to last drive, they wasted a goal to go play on a dumb “clever” shovel pass, and didn’t run the ball a single time, despite being the best running team in football.
And on the final drive, with no timeouts, they tried another “clever” hook and ladder play, which did not get into the endzone, and lost about 10 seconds, meaning they had four seconds and one play to try to win the game.
That is not a play you do when you have no timeouts, and they should have still had a timeout because I didn’t love them using one to bookend the 4th down play.
You don’t need to be cute and fancy in a game like this.
Trust your guys to get you into the endzone and win the game without the glitz and glamor.
Falcons defeat Rams 27-24
After the Seahawks and Niners wins on Sunday, this game didn’t really matter for the Rams, as they might still get the 5 seed with a win + a Seahawks win.
Still, it’s not great for the overall vibes after a brutal loss to Seattle, it may have cost Matt Stafford the MVP, and it also made the Falcons draft pick, which the Rams have, worse overall.
So in terms of a game that doesn’t really matter, that was still a pretty bad loss.
