Week 17 of the NFL certainly cleaned up some playoff races for the AFC and NFC. The Dallas Cowboys are one win away from winning the division, but the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens will have home-field advantage through the playoffs.
The AFC East is set for a showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, while the AFC South is in a three-way tie between the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, and Houston Texans. The NFC South enters its final day as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers allow the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons to return to the race.
Let’s take a look at Sunday afternoon’s game results from Week 17 and decide which was an overreaction and which was reality.
Overreaction or reality: reality
With Jackson at quarterback, the Ravens are the best in the AFC, with Jackson and the Ravens offense scoring a whopping 56 points against a Dolphins defense that has allowed just 14.8 points per game over the past six weeks. We became a team.
All Jackson did was throw for 321 yards and five touchdowns with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Jackson has 3,6678 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 102.7 passer rating, while leading the Ravens with 821 rushing yards (five touchdowns).
Jackson became the youngest quarterback in history to win the NFL MVP (he turned 27 on the final day of the regular season) when he won his second NFL MVP award, making him the youngest quarterback to win the league MVP without a 1,000-yard rusher or receiver (Brett in 1996). It could be the first since Favre.
The Ravens have the best record in football and are the best team in a tougher conference. They’re not 13-3 without Jackson.
Eagles can’t win in the playoffs
Overreaction or reality: reality
The Eagles lost the football game to a team that entered the game with a 3-12 record, allowing 35 points and 449 yards to an offense that hadn’t gained more than 30 points or 440 yards all year. They have lost four of their past five games, averaging 22.6 points per game and allowing 31.0 points in that span. Although the Cardinals scored 29 points in the second half, they were unable to score more than 29 points in a game all year.
That’s the current state of the Eagles’ defense, a unit that demoted (fired) its defensive coordinator three weeks ago. The players are showing the vibe of a team that can’t wait for the year to be over. And this is a football team where he goes 11 wins and 5 losses and advances to the playoffs.
The coaches don’t get it, but they keep preaching “together.” That’s a sign that the locker room is broken. This team is in deep trouble and appears to be on the verge of early elimination from the playoffs.
Bills will miss the playoffs
Overreaction or reality: overreaction
Theoretically, the Bills could miss the playoffs. Combining the Week 18 loss to the Dolphins (in Miami), a Colts or Texans win (both games), and a Steelers win, Buffalo is now 10-7 with the Houston/Indianapolis winner and Pittsburgh. There are two playoff spots left.
So who would earn a spot in that scenario? The Bills didn’t play either of these teams, so the tiebreaker would be determined based on conference record. If the Colts beat the Texans, they will be 8-4 in the conference, and if the Texans win, they will be 7-5 in the conference. If Pittsburgh wins, the Steelers will improve to 7-5 in the conference.
Where does that leave the Bills? If they lose to the Dolphins, they will fall to 6-6 in the conference. If Buffalo loses and the Colts/Texans and Steelers win, they’ll be on the outside.
The Steelers face the Ravens who have nothing to play for. If the Bills lose to the Dolphins, Buffalo could definitely miss out on the playoffs. However, if they win, they will not only clinch the AFC East title, but also the second seed.
Even if the Bills lose, the Steelers have to win. There are a few things you need to do. There is a chance they will miss the playoffs, but this is an overreaction for a team that has won four straight games and five of six games.
Bears should trade the No. 1 pick.
Overreaction or reality: overreaction
Justin Fields continues to play solidly for a Bears team that has won five of its past seven games. Fields completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 1,213 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions in six games (80.9 rating). He also recorded 393 rushing yards and three touchdowns (5.7 yards per carry) during that stretch. The Bears are averaging 24.5 points per game during this span.
Fields was doing well as the Bears’ starting QB, enough to make the Bears consider trading down the No. 1 pick again to get a king’s ransom for the right to select Caleb Williams. . In fact, are the Bears better off acquiring Williams or keeping Fields and stockpiling picks?
The Bears dealt Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud last year, stacked up the pick in favor of Fields, and traded the No. 1 pick to the Panthers to get the No. 1 pick anyway (the Panthers, along with Young, were the worst in the NFL). (as their quarterback).
The Bears have four months to decide whether to trade the No. 1 pick or trade Fields. Chicago already has a dynamic playmaker at quarterback, and this would be a franchise-changing decision.
Texans qualify for the playoffs
Overreaction or reality: reality
The Texans only need to beat the Colts to make the playoffs. If both teams win in Week 18, the Texans will face the Steelers in a head-to-head tiebreaker. Even if the Bills win and end up 11-6, the Texans will be 10-7.
Why do the Texans have an advantage over a Colts team that has already lost this year? C.J. Stroud is much better than he was in Week 2, and in that game the Colts started Anthony Richardson at quarterback (Richard Son was out for the rest of the year, and actually left that game with an injury).
Yes, Houston will play Indianapolis, but the Texans are 8-6 in games in which Stroud has started. Also, Jacksonville can win the division if they beat Tennessee by one win and one loss, so there is still a chance they can win the division.
Basically, this is a Week 18 win for the Texans. This will determine our place in the playoffs.