The penultimate week of NFL football was bittersweet. On the one hand, it’s the first time since 1978 that Week 17 didn’t mark the end of the regular season, but the NFL and the game of football lost a legend in John Madden. Teams around the league honored the late player/coach/analyst in pre-game moments while fans and players around the world reconsidered Madden’s impact on them. He was already done coaching before I was born, but he was a huge part of my introduction to the game with his colorful personality in the commentary booth, his infectious love of the game, and of course the Madden video game series. As tribute was paid across the league, there was still the business of football to get to with plenty on the line.
I had already lost in the fantasy semi-finals and, as the league commissioner, it’s extra tough to watch the championship from the sidelines. However, there was still a little bit at stake in the 3rd place game and I was fortunate to get a monster game out of Boston Scott after Miles Sanders went down for me in a loss last week. I won that matchup and it was against Christen no less, so I sorta feel bad but I’ll take what I can get. I also locked up the weekly W in my pick ‘em league, for the third week in a row, before the Monday night game even started and I’ll have sole possession of 1st place heading into the final week of the season. My final tally for Week 17 was 14-2 while Christen also had a strong week at 12-4. I still did okay against the spread but the wheels have fallen off my over/under picks. It’s been a crazy season and, as a result, there’s a little regression in comparison through Week 17. Here’s a look at the tables:
| Nick W | Nick L | Nick T | ATS W | ATS L | ATS Push | O/U W | O/U L | O/U Push | Christen W | Christen L | Christen T |
| 14 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous | Previous |
| 151 | 88 | 1 | 126 | 112 | 2 | 117 | 118 | 5 | 139 | 97 | 1 |
| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| 165 | 90 | 1 | 134 | 119 | 2 | 121 | 128 | 6 | 151 | 101 | 1 |
| Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 | Thru Wk 17 ’20 |
| 178 | 76 | 1 | 132 | 116 | 7 | 98 | 103 | 7 | 162 | 91 | 1 |
The Steelers kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 26-14 win over the Browns to close out Week 17 on Monday Night Football. Cleveland had been eliminated from playoff contention before the game began and, with it being Ben Roethlisberger’s final start in Pittsburgh, you knew the Steelers were going to show up for him. It was an ugly game for Big Ben, but the much-maligned Pittsburgh defense showed up when they needed it most and the Browns offense was completely out of sorts.
Green Bay locked up the #1 seed in the NFC with a dominant 37-10 win over the Vikings who were without starting QB Kirk Cousins and WR Adam Theilen. It showed. The Packers stacked the box to take away Dalvin Cook and dared backup QB Sean Mannion to beat them in the air. He couldn’t and Minnesota was eliminated from playoff contention.
America’s Game of the Week saw the Cardinals hold off the Cowboys in Dallas, 25-22. With Dallas already having clinched the NFC East, I was worried about them not firing on all cylinders but credit to Arizona who still has a chance to take the NFC West now. The win didn’t allow AZ to pass DAL in the standings despite giving them the same record and the head-to-head tie-break, but that will still be on the line next week.
Russell Wilson may have played his last game as the Seahawks starting QB in Seattle, and they certainly let him go out with a bang, throwing 4-TDs (3 to DK Metcalf) in a 51-29 win over the Lions. There was nothing on the line for either team and it looked like a college game with neither team playing a whole lot of defense. The Hawks close out the season in Arizona and could have some say in spoiling some seeding options for their division rival.
Somehow, someway, the Saints are still in the hunt thanks to an 18-10 win over the Panthers. It wasn’t looking good there in a low-scoring game that featured almost no offense, but a missed field goal and an interception at the end of the game sealed the deal. New Orleans will need some help to get in, but they get a Falcons team looking to play spoiler in Week 18.
The 49ers still hold their slight edge over the Saints, for now, thanks to their 23-7 win over the Texans but it was looking a bit sketchy there to start. Jimmy G was out with a thumb injury on his throwing hand so it was up to rookie QB Trey Lance to lead them to victory. It was bumpy, but Lance eventually found his groove and played a nice game. They’ll have to win on the road vs the Rams to control their own destiny.
It wasn’t looking great for the Rams as they battled a Ravens team who was fighting for their playoff hopes. Baltimore was leading the whole way and it took a last-minute Odell Beckham Jr. touchdown to earn the 20-19 road victory. Thanks to Green Bay’s win, LA is no longer alive for the #1 seed and they didn’t even clinch the division, but they are in as good of a spot as they could have asked for. The Ravens were eliminated from contention with the loss as their injury-plagued season was too much to overcome.
The Rams’ cross-town rivals, the Chargers, found their playoff hopes afloat with a key 34-13 win over a depleted Broncos team. Denver was fighting for their playoff hopes as well and division games are always tough, but the Bolts answered the call and they live to fight another day as they are headed towards what amounts to a play-in game vs the Raiders in Las Vegas.
Vegas earned their way into that position with a road win over the Colts. It was a game that Indy didn’t really need, but now isn’t the time to be playing your worst football. Carson Wentz wasn’t even on deck to play until the last minute and he looked awful for the majority of the game. Still, they battled back to tie the game inside two minutes. The Raiders dominated the physical aspect of the game and found themselves with the ball at the end, where Derek Carr to Hunter Renfrow set up the game-winning field goal. Vegas lost on the road in LA back in Week 4 and they’ll look for some especially tasty payback in Week 18 with a chance to eliminate the Chargers and make the playoffs in motion.
The Eagles are extremely fortunate to have clinched their playoff berth in Week 17 because they were hit with a huge Covid outbreak right after their 20-16 win over Washington. It allows Philly to just get right before the playoffs while SF and NO battle to figure out the Wild Card picture.
The New England Patriots also clinched their playoff spot with a 50-10 win over the Jaguars. They could still win the division in Week 18 with a win over the Dolphins. However, the Bills also clinched their playoff spot with their 29-15 win over the Falcons and have the inside track to the AFC East crown and get a favorable matchup with the Jets in Week 18.
Speaking of the Jets, they damn near pulled off an incredible upset of the Buccaneers but ultimately fell 28-24. New York basically led all the way until the final 15-seconds of the game. Even if they won, the most bizarre story coming out of that game was Antonio Brown seemingly quitting mid-game as he removed his gear and skipped off, shirtless, into the tunnel. That story is still developing and while Head Coach Bruce Arians said Brown is no longer a Buc, he hasn’t been officially released either. It’s the latest in the long-running drama of Brown who probably should have been out of the league years ago.
The Dolphins will host the Patriots in Week 18, but their playoff dreams were shattered at the hands of the Titans 34-3. The Fins had won 7-games in a row to bounce back into contention but they hadn’t played many good teams during that stretch and Tennessee reminded them what the top of the food chain looks like. The Titans moved into the #1 spot in the AFC for now and they are starting to get healthy at the right time of the season.
That #1 spot was up for grabs thanks to the Bengals come-from-behind win over the Chiefs, 34-31. If you listened to the Pick ‘Em Show or read the weekly picks, you’ll know I was big on the Bengals in this game, but it wasn’t looking good when the Chiefs were up 14-0 early. Cincy battled the whole time and never let themselves believe they were out of the game ane they willed themselves into a close enough game where they could punch back. Ja’Marr Chase went bananas, baking the KC defense for 266-yards and 3-TDs while Joe Burrow threw for over 400-yards and 4-TDs. The Bengals locked up the AFC North for the first time since 2015.
While all of that drama was going on, the Bears beat up on the hapless Giants, 29-3, in a game that had zero relevance to the playoff picture. Both teams will have strong draft positions once the season is over.
The Packers stay in the top spot, the Rams take #2, and the Cards and Titans move back into the Top-5 while the Jags close in on securing the bottom spot for the second straight season. Here are the updated Power Rankings:
| 1. Packers 13-3 (=) |
| 2. Rams 12-4 (+3) |
| 3. Buccaneers 12-4 (-1) |
| 4. Titans 11-5 (+2) |
| 5. Cardinals 11-5 (+4) |
| 6. Cowboys 11-5 (-2) |
| 7. Bengals 10-6 (+3) |
| 8. Bills 10-6 (=) |
| 9. Chiefs 11-5 (-6) |
| 11. Patriots 10-6 (-4) |
| 11. Chargers 9-7 (+2) |
| 12. Raiders 9-7 (+4) |
| 13. Colts 9-7 (-6) |
| 14. 49ers 9-7 (-2) |
| 15. Eagles 9-7 (=) |
| 16. Steelers 8-7-1 (+3) |
| 17. Saints 8-8 (+3) |
| 18. Ravens 8-8 (-4) |
| 19. Dolphins 8-8 (-2) |
| 20. Vikings 7-9 (-2) |
| 21. Browns 7-9 (=) |
| 22. Broncos 7-9 (=) |
| 23. Falcons 7-9 (=) |
| 24. Bears 6-10 (+3) |
| 25. Seahawks 6-10 (+1) |
| 26. Washington 6-10 (-2) |
| 27. Panthers 5-11 (=) |
| 28. Texans 4-12 (=) |
| 29. Jets 4-12 (+1) |
| 30. Giants 4-12 (-1) |
| 31. Lions 2-13-1 (=) |
| 32. Jaguars 2-14 (=) |
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