Our Week 17 Thoughts, Reactions and Recap

3 Jan, 2023

Our Week 17 Thoughts, Reactions and Recap

Prayers for Damar Hamlin

It was a scary scene on Monday Night Football as Bills Safety, Damar Hamlin, went down with a sudden injury halfway through the first quarter. CPR was administered for nine minutes before he was rushed to the hospital. Reports are saying he is still in critical condition but is continuing to fight. There isn’t much for us to say other than we’re hoping for a recovery and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. If you’d like to make a donation to his charity, which has already raised 6 million in the last 48 hours, you can do so here.

Green Bay Demolishes Minnesota

This was an all-around great game for Green Bay. The Packers were up 27-3 at halftime thanks to a kick return touchdown and a pick six. The defense held Justin Jefferson to just 1 catch for 15 yards. He was locked down from start to finish. The loss really doesn’t mean much for Minnesota other than being a complete demoralizer right before the playoffs. They’ll be either the 2 or 3 seed, but the win for Green Bay means a lot more. If the Packers can win next week against the Lions, they’re in the playoffs. A few weeks ago, I would have said any team would want to play Green Bay in the playoffs based on how bad they were playing. Now, it looks like this defense is starting to look like what everyone thought it would at the beginning of the season. 

Giants Secure a Playoff Spot

New York took the Colts behind the woodshed on Sunday, winning by a final score of 38-10. Daniel Jones had 4 touchdowns in a monster performance. With this win, the Giants are guaranteed a playoff spot independent of what happens next week against Philadelphia. I still don’t believe New York is a good football team, but it is nice to see coach Daboll have this team back on the right track. The Giants just feel like a team that should be in a cold, January playoff game that ends with a total score below 20. 

Philadelphia Stumbles Again

I wrote last week about how after the Dallas game, I was more worried for Dallas than Philadelphia. I still don’t have a lot of faith in Dallas, especially after that brutal showing against Tennessee’s third string, but now I am starting to panic for the Eagles. Lane Johnson needs to get healthy ASAP. The fact that he needs surgery, but is putting it off until after the season is scary. It seems like Philadelphia is content with him being at 75% throughout their playoff run and I am not sure how that will play out for them. This offensive line gave up six sacks yesterday. A healthy Jalen Hurts probably would have danced his way out of danger, but that kind of pressure can’t be overlooked. 

Kansas City Survives Another Denver Scare

This is the second time in less than a month the Chiefs have almost lost to the Broncos. It is a division game, and both of these teams hate each other, so I will cut them a little slack. However, if this offense keeps turning the ball over at the rate they have been they are going to be in trouble come the postseason. The injury to their star Center, Joe Thuney, is also a major cause for concern. He re-injured the same ankle that kept him out of two games earlier in the year. We all remember how awful Kansas City was in the Super Bowl a couple years ago when their offensive line was severely banged up. Just like Philadelphia, Kansas City needs their protectors healthy if they are going to compete for a championship. 

Tom Brady Leads Tampa Bay to a Division Title

Carolina gave it their best shot, but Tom Brady was not going to let Tampa Bay lose last Sunday. He had a lot of help from Mike Evans though. Evans hauled in 10 passes for 207 yards and 3 touchdowns. Every time I looked up, RedZone was switching to a 50-yard bomb to Evans resulting in a touchdown. The running game for Tampa is still a major issue however. Fournette and White combined for 50 yards on 21 carries (2.38 YPC). Tom Brady might be able to carry them to a win or two on his back, but he’s going to need some sort of running game if he wants a shot at another Super Bowl. 

The Commanders Season Comes to an End

With a lot of help from Carson Wentz, Washington’s season has officially ended. I still have no idea why the Commanders switched to Wentz for this pivotal game. Heinicke has been better all year. He’s not a great quarterback, but the team likes playing for him a lot more than they do Wentz. Head coach, Ron Rivera, allegedly didn’t know the Commanders could be eliminated this week leading to a Twitter frenzy. If that’s true, it’s another blunder on his resume. I used to like Rivera, but lately it seems like he can’t get out of his own way. It will be interesting to see what Washington does in the offseason. They need a good quarterback to lead this talented, young roster back into relevance. 

New England Stays Alive

With a 23-21 win over Miami, New England was able to keep their playoff hopes alive. A win at Buffalo next week and they’re in no matter what Miami does against the Jets. I will say, if Tua is healthy, I would much rather watch Miami in the playoffs than this anemic New England team. The Patriots offense had only registered 10 points until the 5 minute mark in the fourth quarter against this below average Miami defense. I don’t need to watch them lose to Cincinnati by 20+ during the Wild Card round. 

Pittsburgh Remains Relevant

The Steelers narrowly escaped the Ravens with a 16-13 win on Sunday Night Football. This win puts them at 8-8 on the year and still in playoff contention. They would need to beat Cleveland at home next week and have both the Bills and Jets win their games in order to get in. If those events were to transpire, it would be an insane turnaround. As I said last week, this team was considered to be a bottom five team a couple months ago. Now, they have at a shot a playoff berth. However, similar to New England, I would not want to see this Pittsburgh team make it to the postseason. They play an ugly style of football, and it will not translate well up against Mahomes, Allen, Burrow or Herbert. 

 Other Notes:

  • The Chargers smoked the Rams by a final score of 31-10. This Chargers team is getting hot at the perfect time. If this defense can keep it up, they might be busting a few teams’ Super Bowl hopes. 
  • Seattle handled the Jets with ease. The Seahawks moved to 8-8 on the year. It’s an impressive season, but the light has faded on this team. They still have a route to the playoffs, but they need a now hot Green Bay team to lose to Detroit next week. 
  • Atlanta beat Arizona 20-19 in a game that had zero people watching.
  • Detroit took it to Chicago, beating the Bears by 31 points. Justin Fields had 100 rushing yards before the end of the first quarter. It was shaping up to be a monster day until Detroit put up 34 unanswered points.