What We Learned From Week 17 Of The NFL Season

by



[ad_1]

The Green Bay Packers secured the NFC playoff seed, while also making a great argument for Aaron Rodgers as the NFL’s most valuable player. The Buffalo Bills secured the second seed in the AFC while ending the Miami Dolphins season. And the Cleveland Browns, after 17 frustrating seasons, are back in the playoffs. It was an exciting Sunday, even by Week 17 standards, and the playoff ground is now established.

Here is what we learned:

Indianapolis Colts (11-5) to Buffalo bills (13-3), 1:05 p.m., CBS

The Colts only qualified for the playoffs because the Bills strangled the Miami Dolphins. Now they have to travel to Orchard Park, New York, for their own turn against the Bills’ well-rounded juggernaut. (First row: Bills -6.5)

Los Angeles Rams (10-6) to Seattle Seahawks (12-4), 4:40 p.m. Fox

The Rams are desperate to get Jared Goff back to quarterback following the thumb surgery he suffered on his throwing hand. John Wolford did a good job replacing Goff on Sunday against the Cardinals, but he’s not a fix on the road in Seattle. (First row: Seahawks -4.5)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5) to Washington football team, 8:15 p.m., NBC

Home teams should always be taken seriously in the playoffs, even if it’s the under .500 footballers who only got here because every division gets a playoff squad. (First row: Buccaneers -10.5)

Baltimore Ravens (11-5) to Titans of Tennessee (11-5), 1:05 p.m. ESPN and ABC

With powerful racing games and quarterbacks that can take advantage of a stacked box to stretch the pitch, these teams are more similar than you might think. (First row: Ravens -3.5)

Chicago Bear (8-8) to New Orleans Saints (12-4), 4:40 p.m., CBS, Nickelodeon and Prime Video

Chicago should be thankful for the NFC East, because without the ineptitude of this division, people would likely be focused on the Bears playoffs without a winning record. (First row: Saints -9.5)

Cleveland Browns (11-5) to Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4), 8:15 p.m., NBC

Cleveland was able to hold onto a win over Pittsburgh this week in Cleveland, but next week’s game in Pittsburgh could be a lot different with Ben Roethlisberger back under center for the Steelers. (First row: Steelers -3.5)

Did Rodgers do enough to overtake Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes in the MVP race? The two quarterbacks led their teams to the best record in their respective conferences, Rodgers having the advantage in touchdown passes (48 to 38) and Mahomes having the advantage in passing yards (4,740 to 4,299). Rodgers will also finish with better scores in the traditional passer and QBR standings, but he’s most likely still behind Mahomes, who went 14-1 before not playing Sunday’s game. Other top contenders for the award include Josh Allen of Buffalo and Derrick Henry of Tennessee.

Jonathan Taylor of the Colts narrowly edged Henry for best running mark of the day, but not enough to beat Henry becoming the eighth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season and the first player with back-to-back NFL titles since Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson did so in 2006 and 2007. It looked like it would be tough for Henry to keep up with his 2019 season, but he ended up with career highs in all major racing categories.

Detroit’s Marvin Jones and Houston’s Brandin Cooks both put in bigger numbers, but it’s impossible to ignore Brown’s impact with a 52-yard reception in the last minute of the game that established a winning basket. Brown continued his promising rookie season with sophomore efforts that included career highs in receptions (70), receiving yards (1,075) and touchdowns (11).

* Except when more is needed.

Browns 24, Steelers 22 It came in a game in which Pittsburgh played without defensive stalwarts Cam Heyward and TJ Watt, but Cleveland still impressed on the field, racking up 192 yards on 31 carries, letting the team’s greatest strength carry it to the playoffs. playoffs.

Bills 56, dolphins 26 Miami was hoping Tua Tagovailoa could take care of things himself, since Ryan Fitzpatrick – the NFL equivalent of an ace relief pitcher – has been placed on the Covid-19 reserve list. It did not work. While Tagovailoa threw for 361 yards and one touchdown, the rookie was also intercepted three times, including a six-pick, and never really challenged Buffalo’s dominance on both sides of the ball.

Packers 35, bear 16 The beep you hear is Chicago’s return to the playoffs. The Bears came into the day with control of their own destiny, but needed help winning a wild card after quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was largely ineffective and running back David Montgomery was capped at 3.1 yards per stroke.

Colts 28, Jaguars 14 Indianapolis looked to be on the verge of a second straight brutal collapse in the second half, but formidable play from the team’s defense and Jonathan Taylor’s 45-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter propelled the Colts to victory. Taylor entered the season as a Marlon Mack replacement, but his 253 rushing yards and two touchdowns on Sunday gave him 1,169 yards and 11 touchdowns in a formidable rookie year.

Titans 41, Texans 38 There were a lot of good things to say about Tennessee after snagging a hard-won AFC South title, but the Houston players could hold their heads high after a formidable second half for quarterback Deshaun Watson that saw rival Titans division to fight for it.

Boucaniers 44, Falcons 27 Antonio Brown (11 catches, 138 yards, two touchdowns) and Chris Godwin (5-133-2) both had terrific games for Tampa Bay, but the Buccaneers will hold their collective breath as they await a health update. wide receiver Mike Evans, who injured his knee on an incomplete pass in the end zone. Evans had received 46 yards before the injury, giving him 1,006 for the season – he’s the first NFL wide receiver to have 1,000 or more yards in each of his first seven seasons.

Seahawks 26, 49ers 23 San Francisco led 9-6 after three quarters, but Russell Wilson took over in the fourth, throwing two touchdown passes to Tyler Lockett. Alex Collins also put in a score and the game wouldn’t have been so close if it hadn’t been for San Francisco’s Jeff Wilson Jr. trash scoring.

Saints 33, Panthers 7 Covid-19 protocols have led New Orleans to find itself without nearly all of its backers, but that hasn’t slowed down in the slightest. Ty Montgomery, who plays a wide receiver but also has some running back experience, filled the ball admirably, carrying the ball 18 times for 105 yards. That, combined with three touchdowns from Drew Brees and one rushing touchdown from Taysom Hill, was more than enough against Carolina.

Ravens 38, Bengals 3 JK Dobbins showed why many people believe he’s Baltimore’s best running back going forward, scolding for 160 yards and two touchdowns in just 13 carries. But Lamar Jackson was almost as efficient, rushing for 97 yards on 11 carries, which left him 1,005 for the season. He now owns the No. 1 and No. 3 racing seasons by a quarterback in NFL history.

Rams 18, Cardinals 7 It might not work in the playoffs, but Los Angeles was able to end Arizona’s season with an attack led by quarterback John Wolford, who entered the day with zero career passing attempts and left him with 231 passing yards, 56 yards leading the team. rush and his first career victory.

Footballers 20, Eagles 14 It was far from Washington’s best effort, but the footballers sent wide receiver Terry McLaurin back to the field after an ankle injury prevented him last week and their defense generated three takeaways. so it wasn’t that bad.

Giants 23, Cowboys 19 In what could be the perfect wrapping of the NFC East this season, the Giants’ victory went to running back Wayne Gallman recovering his own fumble in the dying minutes, with just two plays out of Andy Dalton of Dallas virtually giving the victory. at Big Blue with an interception.

Vikings 37, Lions 35 Justin Jefferson recorded 133 receiving yards, putting him at 1,400 for the season. He broke Randy Moss’ franchise record for a rookie wide receiver and finished within 100 of the 1,473 Bill Groman had for the AFL Houston Oilers in 1960. Jefferson and the other talented Minnesota players were without any doubt happy to top up their stats, but they should stay in the know that Detroit’s defense was so bad this season that it allowed a total of 6,716 yards and 519 points, breaking franchise records set in the Lions’ winless season. in 2008.

Chargers 38, heads 21 It happened against the Kansas City substitutes, but Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was terribly impressive throwing 302 yards and three touchdowns in a win that has the potential to save coach Anthony Lynn’s job. Herbert wasn’t even expected to start this season, but after being forced into service in Week 2, he finished with 4,336 passing yards and a rookie record of 31 touchdowns.

Raiders 32, Broncos 31 This game didn’t have any playoff implications, and it was often quite ugly, but it had a lot to offer. Denver took a late lead with a 92-yard touchdown pass from Drew Lock to Jerry Jeudy. Las Vegas picked it up with a Josh Jacobs touchdown of one yard and a 2-point conversion just 24 seconds from time. After such moves, the game ended the only logical way: Raiders ‘Maxx Crosby blocked Brandon McManus’ attempt at what would have been a 63-yard field goal.

Patriots 28, Jets 14 In what was coach Adam Gase’s last game with the club, and could be Sam Darnold’s last as a starting quarterback, the Jets entered the tied fourth quarter, 14-14 and then fell apart. , allowing Cam Newton to start a pair of matches. -sealing touchdown passes. New England came into the day with eight NFL touchdown passes this season, but had four – including one by a wide receiver – against the Jets.

[ad_2]

Source link