NFL Takeaways: Week 18
Photo by Denny Simmons from The Tennessean
And that’s it.
Both football regular seasons are officially done.
It’s sad, isn’t it.
But, we do have playoffs to get through, and a preview of those comes soon.
But finally, let’s discuss what we learned in the regular season.
Steelers defeat Ravens 17-10
This game doesn’t matter, as the Ravens rested all their starters, but a third matchup remains possible between this two in the divisional round.
I wonder if the Steelers have a little bit of extra confidence in their back pocket…
Texans defeat Colts 23-19
Demeco Ryans rules.
CJ Stroud rules.
Will Anderson rules.
The Texans rule. Hell yeah, Texans.
Bengals defeat Browns 31-14
Turns out, all Zac Taylor needed to beat the Browns was for them to not play any single starter.
Take ‘em as you get ‘em!
Lions defeat Vikings 30-20
The Lions wanted the 2 seed, and they played hard to get it.
It cost them with some brutal injuries that may affect them next week, and they didn’t get the 2 seed after all, but that’s Dan Campbell for you.
And I’d want nothing else from my head coach.
Titans defeat Jaguars 28-20
There is no other word to describe this Jaguars season other than “failure.”
I get that the Texans and Colts were better than expected, and I get that Trevor Lawrence was hurt, but this team was 8-3 and completely fell apart down the stretch.
It was a total failure.
Jets defeat Patriots 17-3
The Jets finally beating the Patriots after losing to them 15 straight times does feel like a fitting bookend to the Bill Belichick era.
We’ll see if it is in the end.
Saints defeat Falcons 48-17
Do you guys remember when the Falcons publicly stated they had absolutely no interest in Lamar Jackson?
That was a bold move, eh?
Buccaneers defeat Panthers 9-0
Hey.
A win is a win, and a playoff spot is a playoff spot.
Doesn’t have to be fun to watch or enjoyable at all.
Packers defeat Bears 17-9
Jordan Love really, really came into his own as the year went on, and the Packers deservingly have a spot back in the playoffs.
Plus, they were significantly less insufferable due to having Love at QB instead of the other guy, who keeps running his mouth with nonsense and then gets mad at the media for discussing the nonsense he spews.
(I feel extremely vindicated by saying Aaron Rodgers sucks years before he revealed it to the world).
Raiders defeat Broncos 27-14
Sean Payton and the Broncos benched Russell Wilson for “football reasons” and the offense continued to play poorly.
So that was either a lie, or Sean Payton is actually a bad football coach.
Who’s to say?
Giants defeat Eagles 27-10
The vibes in Philly are apocalyptically terrible.
That team is talented enough for a Super Bowl run, and yet I have less than no faith that they will even come close to it.
Seahawks defeat Cardinals 21-20
Geno Smith, despite a bottom 5 offensive line and a bottom 5 defense, had a statistically good season and led the Seahawks to a winning record, while also setting the record for most game winning drives in a single season.
But if you ask the NFL media who doesn’t actually pay attention to the late window games despite the game of the week, they’ll tell you he’s the problem and needs to be replaced.
Sure.
Chiefs defeat Chargers 13-12
Yeah, I got nothing from this game.
Rams defeat 49ers 21-20
Yeah, I got nothing from this game.
Both of those games played all backups.
Nothing was learned.
Cowboys defeat Commanders 38-10
A dominating win on the road is what the Cowboys needed, even if they were facing a terrible opponent.
A morale boost at this point of the year could be crucial.
Bills defeat Dolphins 21-14
Josh Allen might be my favorite player to watch in the NFL.
Not that I don’t enjoy the traditional greatness, like Mahomes insane arm or Lamar Jackson’s insane athleticism. Those are great!
But Josh Allen is just a ball of chaos.
Each game, you’ll watch Josh Allen make insane plays and insane throws, while also seeing some of the most boneheaded decisions you will ever make.
It’s like football Russian roulette.
It’s art.
