NFL Payoff: Week 17

Dude… 

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We can see the cold winters of January as fans pack into stadiums to capture the Lombardi Trophy. The season is in its last weeks and the playoffs start soon. Teams are dropping like flies from playoff contention as the top teams continue to improve. There are still lots of shifting and moving pieces this week and The Dudes have their week 17 takeaways as the new year kicks off!!

Jets vs. Browns (PC)

Jets are eliminated from playoff contention

Browns Takeaway: Flacco is still HIM- Joe Flacco led the Ravens to the Super Bowl. He bounced around from team to team. He took some time off as well. Then, he got a ring from the Browns, begging him to come play for their team. Massage Parlor Deshaun Watson was out for the season and they were in a desperate need for a reliable QB. He has come into Cleveland and has totally turned this cursed ship around. The Browns dismantled the Jets in a 37-20 win. Flacco had 3 touchdowns and over 300 yards passing. Jerome Ford has taken over the backfield and has turned himself into a good running back. This 10-5 Browns team has secured a spot in the AFC playoffs with this win. Flacco is going to finish as the runner up to comeback player of the year (the only reason he won’t win is because Damar Hamlin legit died on the field and is now playing again). Amari Cooper has cemented himself as a top tier WR in the league and David Njoku finally has someone throwing him the football. This team may be a wild card team, but I would not want to face them in the first round of the playoffs. Especially with a proven Super Bowl champion QB playing like he’s in the good ole days. 

Lions vs. Cowboys (How6rd)

Lions: Refs goofed up, but more went wrong than that- Now we can all use little of our brains and say that the refs screwing up “saved the Cowboys'' and that the Lions deserved this win, but the truth is the first part of that is what’s only somewhat true and mistakes like that happen constantly in football. Jared Goff had a phenomenal final drive of the game for Detroit before they attempted to go for two, but the last throw he made after the controversial call was right up there with the two AWFUL interceptions he threw earlier on. Also, no Dan Campbell constantly going for two doesn’t make him a moron he does that all the time and he’s actually much more successful than you think he’d be at doing so. That being said the Lions game plan was really shaky at points where they found out how much of a factor Jameson Williams can be on chunk plays yet not going back to him, and they didn’t keep going to the run game when it was working well as they really just depended on Goff more often than not in general. This by no means was really a “bad showing” for the Lions as Campbell outcoached Mike McCarthy by a mile, but there are definitely issues they can take from this game and turn them into huge solutions once the playoffs start.

Cowboys: Dak and the secondary defense come up huge despite poor coaching- A bit of a long title but that really sums up this whole game for the Cowboys, as Dak Prescott has shown why he was getting MVP looks this season before Lamar rose to the sky-high top. Meanwhile, Prescott could’ve had an even better game if the Cowboys coaching staff decided to put the ball into his hands more besides handing it off (the run game isn’t working McCarthy quit forcing it). The defense would have also done a lot better in general in terms of filling gaps on run plays, but the passing defense was good enough to make that a smaller problem as Donovan Wilson and Jourdan Lewis came up huge with an interception each and even breaking up a few passes in important situations collectively. They nearly let the game get away from them including the random conservative masterclass the Cowboys were playing with only up four at half for a couple of drives, but overall this game showed how good the players can be (besides their running backs). Even with some weak-minded coaching tactics and if McCarthy learns to adapt that he has a prime Dak Prescott on his hands going into the playoffs instead of forcing the run game. This team can go back exactly to the squad that picked up impressive wins over the Seahawks and Eagles just weeks ago.

Bengals vs. Chiefs(PC)

Bengals are eliminated from playoff contention

Chiefs Takeaway: In Patty we Trust- The Chiefs have been a rollercoaster of a team this year. They started off the season 6-1. It looked like the Chiefs would just roll through the league once again. In week 8 that all changed, The Chiefs got embarrassed by the Broncos. Since then, they’ve gone 4-4. The receivers look like jv players from the local high school. The defense has looked the best they’ve ever been in the Mahomes era. Travis Kelce has been in his Taylor Swift era and has fallen off since the 6-1 start. The Chiefs had always relied on a high powered offense. Against the Bengals, it was the defense that held strong once again. The Chiefs outlasted the Bengals in a close one, which they continue to step off the gas once they are winning. Now, with the playoffs around the corner, the Chiefs sealed up the AFC West with this win. However, their problems don’t just fall away. Their receivers still suck. Plain in simple. However, the Chiefs still have the man named Patrick Mahomes under center. As long as KC has that man in town they are a threat to win the Super Bowl. All KC fans have to do is put their faith in Mahomes. I don’t think there is a better QB in the game today that you would rather have than him.

Patriots vs. Bills(PC)

Patriots are eliminated from playoff contention

Bills Takeaway: What a situation!!!- WOW! I can’t remember when I’ve seen a situation like this. The Bills squeaked out a win against the Patriots as Josh Allen galloped for 2 touchdowns on the ground. With week 17 behind them, they’ve set up for a AFC East title showdown against the Dolphins. A wild scenario has formed over this Buffalo team. Win, and you're in. You’re the #2 seed and the winner of the AFC East title. Now, there is a possibility that they lose this game. Now, if the Steelers lose they’re in. If the Jaguars lose they’re in. If the Colts and Texans tie, they’re in. They have an 89% chance of making the playoffs. Pretty high probability to advance to the postseason. However, if the Steelers and Jaguars both win. It will be nearly impossible for the Bills to make it to the playoffs. If a team wins between the Colts and Texans, they miss the playoffs entirely!! Week 18 was already full of excitement and anticipation for the playoffs, but for Bills fans, it may be their last game of the season if the cards don’t fall their way.

Bears vs. Falcons

Bears are eliminated from playoff contention

Raiders vs. Colts (How6rd)

Raiders are eliminated from playoff contention

Colts: When the run game is on, this team is a problem- While Jonathan Taylor was out for multiple weeks this team didn’t have much of the same magic offensively as they seemed to have since Anthony Richardson went down. However, this past week showed that a good run game can do enough for Gardner Minshew to do the rest. Although the final score indicates otherwise, this was really never a game that fell in the hands of the Raiders. At any point, the offensive unit as a whole, did a great job collectively limiting the amount of physicality the Raiders are capable of. The defense didn’t look the greatest in the second half, but the Indy protective unit made sure to bring the pressure in the first half, completely shutting down the run game and forcing Aidan O’Connell to make throws that he couldn’t 90% of the time. By the second half, after a dominant first 30 minutes, the offense was very slow and settled for field goals which allowed the Raiders to try and get back into the game but the first half hole was too much for the road team to overcome in Indianapolis. The Colts now set themselves up for a prime spot to clinch the playoffs this week with a gigantic game over their division foes in the Houston Texans and make gold of a season that looked like it was doomed at the beginning of the season.  

Giants vs. Rams (How6rd)

Giants are eliminated from playoff contention

Rams: Finding a way to victory through the mistakes- This has been the case for the Rams' last few wins as they haven’t played anywhere near a perfect game in the time frame, but they pull through whether it’s from an offensive turnaround or clutch defensive plays. After having over a month span of playing elite ball Stafford had a rough go this game with two interceptions and overall a game where he played paranoid in the pocket. To add to the interceptions Demarcus Robinson had a fumble towards the end of the first half that thankfully only resulted in a field goal for the Giants, but overall the mistakes didn’t go without costing Los Angeles. Thankfully, the Rams defense played really good ball and aside from a couple of huge passes Tyrod Taylor was able to get off the defensive line and was pressuring the veteran QB all day long. The bright spot came from Kyren Williams who had been a good supporting cast for the passing game recently yet in this one he carried most of the offensive production (especially in the red zone) with three rushing touchdowns on the day. The Rams escaped out of East Rutherford after long-time kicker Mason Crosby missed a 54-yard field goal wide left to have their playoff chances locked, but the big story here is that they can’t keep getting away with these games where teams get back into it after gaining a lead in the first place come time for playoffs.

Cardinals vs. Eagles(PC)

Cardinals are eliminated from playoff contention

Eagles Takeaway: FRAUDS UNITE?- About 5 weeks ago, the Eagles were Super Bowl favorites. After beating the Chiefs, the city of Brotherly Love was on top of the world. Then, they fell back down from the heavens. Hard. They’ve lost 3 of their last 4 games since big wins over KC and Buffalo. Sure, the Eagles lost to other Super Bowl contending teams in San Francisco and Dallas, but lost to the Arizona Cardinals this last week. THE ARIZONA CARDINALS for crying out loud!!!!! This loss took a massive hit to Philly’s playoff seed. They were the #1 seed with a first round bye. After this loss, they move down to #5 as a wild card. The Eagles still have a chance to make it back into the #2 seed with a Dallas loss and a win, but this last streak of games demonstrates the many flaws with this Eagles team.

Saints vs. Buccaneers K Stelt

Saints takeaways: They marched in: Another random good game from Carr and the Saints again, this time against the number 1 Bucs. They came into Tampa and stomped them. Before I get too high on them let's go over what we know. Number 1: Carr plays well every other game. He has to play another good game against the Falcons. Number 2: they will lose to the 49ers if they get in. Good win but good luck next week.

Bucs takeaways: You just need to beat the Panthers: That’s pretty much it. I get it you had a weird game against the Saints but you guys just have to beat the worst team in the league to get into the playoffs unless the Saints suck again. I’d focus on winning to get that seeding. I love you, Baker, take your team to glory. What a comeback from the kid.

49ers vs. Commanders K Stelt

Commanders are eliminated from playoff contention

49ers takeaways: Shannahan on top again: Not only did this team dominate the NFC, but they handled a lot of the teams they faced with ease. Is there a shot to the Superbowl easier than normal? Yes, but the problem they have is the AFC, as much as the AFC looks bad, the defenses from the Chiefs, Browns, and Ravens all counteract what their offense wants to do. 

Panthers vs. Jags (How6rd)

Panthers are eliminated from playoff contention

Jaguars: Finally, they played like a division leader- I understand the team they were going up against was the Carolina Panthers and they struggled a bit scoring wise in the first half, but for not having Trevor Lawrence out there this team played really well. The run game led by Travis Etienne was the main focal point of this one as he had a couple of explosive runs that did more than the job to put this game out of reach early in the second half for Jacksonville. Adding on to the fact earlier about facing the Panthers a shutout is a shutout in the modern-era of football and the defense did everything they could exposing all of Carolina’s weaknesses every drive they played on the defending side. For a team that looked completely out of sorts and had no chemistry with one another this was a game they needed to get everyone back on the same page especially on the brink of potentially not making the playoffs in the worst case scenario for them in the upcoming week. 

Ravens vs. Dolphins (How6rd)

Ravens: It’s difficult to find a flaw in this squad- Really the only thing I can think of being bad for the Ravens is their consistency on both sides of the ball as they’ve had some games where the defense simply doesn’t show up or the offense goes quiet. Fortunately, both of their units have shown up and showed out very much in these past two weeks going against the NFL’s best in the 49ers and Dolphins. From Lamar making some ridiculous dimes and throws faking out the defense to the Ravens adjusting to Tua Tagovailoa reads this is just all around a special team. After the first couple of drives the Dolphins had gotten a score they almost couldn’t buy a big play if they tried with the defense all over the receivers and little time for Tua to even create anything. In the past Lamar Jackson’s receivers let him down time after time, but this year between Odell making crazy catches and having a speedster like Zay Flowers who can actually catch a football (sorry Hollywood Brown) this team is so dynamic. They have the first seed in the AFC on lock and now can give Lamar a couple weeks of rest as they clinch the first-round bye in the playoffs.

Dolphins: It’s the Ravens, but this performance was far from a pretty loss- The Dolphins came out the gate making some huge plays with their speedsters and nearly had a perfect first two drives before Tyreek Hill made one of the most absurd drops of the year in the endzone. After the red zone drop resulting in a field goal the Dolphins offense really never clicked together again like they did at the start of the game as either Tua was throwing picks or they moved no further than 15 yards on a drive. The Ravens defense was outright suffocating them as they couldn’t create any space on a motion or just straight up running it down the middle, and by the time they finally got another score in the second half the game was pretty much far out of reach at that point. It just seemed like a day where everything went wrong after a solid performance against the Cowboys, and now even being at the second seed currently they are at a huge risk of losing home-field advantage in the playoffs next week as they have the AFC East division crowd on the line Sunday night facing the Buffalo Bills.

Titans vs. Texans (How6rd)

Titans are eliminated from playoff contention

Texans: The offense started the game, the defense finished it- After going a few weeks without their star quarterback CJ Stroud at the helm the defense not only got healthier this week but they looked like they developed from being depended on the weeks prior. Stroud and the run game were moving at a slow pace only being up by 10 in the second quarter, I say slow pace and only because the defense was giving the Titans offense nothing after Treylon Burks dropped a potentially huge pass to open the game. Once Sheldon Rankins picked up a fumble from Will Levis getting LEVELED in the pocket for a touchdown this game was pretty much out of reach as the entire defense was hopping around on the sideline and had as much momentum as a football unit can possibly have. It wasn’t Stroud’s best game but they didn’t need him from how the defensive side played Tennessee. They have a huge game in the upcoming week going against the Colts for a spot in the playoffs in which could be a hygge moment for this young squad to shine big early in their careers.

Steelers vs. Seahawks K Stelt

Steelers takeaways: How the heck are they even in contention? I feel like we ask this question every year with the Steelers. A team that has good wins but just doesn’t have the overall scare a lot of top AFC teams have. Will they make it? It will take a good amount of game decisions to get them there and that includes them beating the Ravens, which can be manageable with Baltimore resting their starters. If they make it, God help them.

Sewhawks takeaways: Praying the Fazbears get a win: The Seahawks have been an interesting team this season. They are right in that middle ground of NFC teams that sit right at .500. They need a win and the Packers to lose to the Bears. If they get in the playoffs they’ll go against the 49ers (yikes). I wish them luck in the season finale but it looks like a good time to wish them a good offseason here in the coming weeks. Unless the 7-9 and 8-8 teams all decide to go 8-9 this week I don’t know what will go down, and I have no care of who goes into that last spot.

Broncos vs. Chargers

Both teams eliminated from the playoffs

Packers vs. Vikings(PC)

Vikings are eliminated from the playoffs

Packers Takeaway: Win and Survive: The Packers have had another up and down season. With Jordan Love getting his first year as the first time starter under his belt, this was expected. Love has shown us flashes of the great Green Bay Packers QBs before him. He has also shown us his inexperience. However, over the past few weeks it looks more like the Packers hit again with another great QB. I mean they had Brett Farve. Then Aaron Rodgers, and now Jordan Love. The Bears haven’t had a good QB since before I was born. The Packers continue to just reload at the most important position in football. During this game, Love was dismantling the Vikings defense. Love threw for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns in the blowout win of 33-10. The Packers look towards the playoffs. If the playoffs started this week, they would play Dallas. Knowing how Dak and the Cowboys always choke in the playoffs, I would be excited for the playoffs and the Packers future if I was a fan of Green Bay.