And all of a sudden the NFL's 2017 playoff race has turned ugly.
Steeler fans and a lot of people on social media were furious that a Steelers touchdown got erased (it followed the worst effort against a pick route ever seen by New England's defense, and that gaffe came after one of the worst gameplans and execution ever seen by the Patriots) on the league's preposterously tight definition of a catch; the result was disaster for the Steelers on an endzone interception that won the game for the Patriots. Being the top rivalry in the AFC right now this finish will earn more controversy than usual, and one has to ask why the league fears letting receivers get benefit of the doubt on catches.
It also got worse for the Steelers with ankle injury to Antonio Brown, which reportedly has cost him the season and maybe the playoffs.
Brady's former backup meanwhile pulled off a clutch last-second win in a game where both he and Marcus Mariota displayed clutch delivery. Garoppolo's turnaround of the Niners shows anew the reality that quarterbacking is what wins. The Titans offense went to a no-huddle attack and it clearly works. Tennessee can still make the playoffs by beating the Rams and Jaguars at home.
One of the wildest games of the weekend came amid media eruption about investigation of Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, now putting the team up for sale, for reputed sexual harassment and use of a racial slur against a former scout with monetary settlements in at least four cases reported. For what it's worth Cam Newton and other players vouched for Richardson's character after the game, and one should disabuse the notion that selling the team is any kind of lark based on a league investigation - it's way too big an investment for that. The Panthers are a worthwhile purchase for a new Carolina owner with a quality team, fanbase, etc. and a playoff run pending.
Carolina's win all but ends the forlorn playoff hopes of the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers' return from injury - surprising in and of itself - ended with a lot of yards and two touchdowns but also three picks and his 33rd loss (to just six career wins) when trailing by at least two scores.
Games between the Eagles and NY Giants at East Rutherford, NJ have shown a habit of bringing out the barrel of laughs from Joe Pisarcik to 1988's blocked field goal score to 2008's playoff grinder to Michael Vick's preposterous comeback in 2010. 2017 was the most competitive running of this series in years and the Eagles are in the NFC's first-round bye and still alive for the top seed and beyond. For Eli Manning his NY Giants career looks to be ending, and struggle against the Eagles continues.
The playoffs thus are on the line for this coming week's games -
Ravens over Colts - The Ravens are fighting for their playoff lives with the Bills and face a team that has haunted them since their 1996 debut, the ghost of the team that quit its city in late-March 1984. The Ravens got the Colts at Indianapolis in their 1996 debut season and the rivalry has been woefully one-sided, a combined score 316-243 - an average of 22-17 per game. That doesn't matter this year with the collapse of the Colts, reaching a new low with the loss to the Broncos.
Vikings over Packers - The Vikings are NFC North champs and the Packers are effectively out of the playoffs. That's all one needs to know going into this game. Aaron Rodgers is back, and looks ready to witness a fall to 8-8 or 7-9. The question now is how far the Vikings can go; they've wrapped up the NFC North and can still get at least a bye.
Bears over Browns - 0-16 now beckons for the Browns after another rough outing for Mitch Trubisky of the Bears last week. DeShone Kizer's rookie season will go down as a failure, leaving one to wonder if there is anything even here with him; a presumptive coaching change - just the latest such with the ever-perplexed Browns - also looms.
Panthers over Buccaneers - Carolina's spectacular season rolls on; Tampa Bay's lost season stumbles to its conclusion. The regression of Jameis Winston has been disturbing, but his effort against the Falcons showed reason to believe he is improving.
Titans over Rams - There remains reason for optimism for the Titans after a dismal West Coast swing, with the switch to a no-huddle offense showing effectiveness at San Francisco. Certainly the Rams' attack has become the most destructive since the Greatest Show On Astroturf and winning the division is a cinch, but the Titans have fought back from behind all season and need this game more than the Rams do, especially as.............
Falcons over Saints - .......we expect the Falcons to finish the sweep of the Saints and thus end any hope of a playoff bye. It's clear now the Falcons have worked in their new offensive coordinator's schemes well, and they've won the last three meetings with New Orleans. Despite being plus-four in overall differential the Saints' turnover problems resurfaced against the NY Jets as well. We expect the Rams and Saints' playoff seeds to stay the same.
Broncos over Redskins - The Redskins, despite the win over the Cardinals, have transmuted back into the Deadskins, while the Broncos are on a two-game roll.
Chargers over NY Jets - The Jets once again stand for Just End The Season. San Diego's playoff hopes are gone so they need worry only about winning games, especially after their ugly no-show at Kansas City. One also has to wonder if San Diego will try to draft one of the hotshot quarterback prospects entering the 2018 Draft, for Philip Rivers has been in slow-motion erosion all decade, failing to reach ten wins even once.
Chiefs over Dolphins - The Chiefs have their swag back and the Dolphins are fried fish for Lamar Hunt's powwow.
Patriots over Bills - New England's stunner at Pittsburgh raised eyebrows for the struggle of the defense and also for the continuing inability - or unwillingness by Brady - to permanently engage other pass-catchers in the offense - Gronkowski had nine catches and Cooks had four; Amendola and James White were the only others targeted more than twice. This binky approach has always ground the offense to a halt and the need for Brady to engage the likes of Kenny Britt (one catch for seven yards in his Patriots debut) into the offense becomes ever greater with playoff seedings on the line. Buffalo's only chance at the playoffs is to win out, an unlikely prospect with a scuffling Patriots team looking to fix issues before the postseason arrives.
Forty-Niners over Jaguars - The Jaguars are for real again, but so are the 49ers (they've won four of their last five), and Jimmy Garoppolo is clearly better than Blake Bortles, though Bortles' 3,174 yards and nineteen touchdowns aren't anything to sneeze at. That edge is what will decide this outcome and put the AFC South into a one-game showdown on New Years Eve.
Cowboys over Seahawks - The Seahawks now appear to be in freefall. They still own the tiebreaker for the playoffs, but a loss will cancel that out, and where the Cowboys have won three straight the Seahawks have lost four of their last seven, three of them at home. Seattle's abandonment of discipline was in evidence again after last week's Jacksonville brouhaha as rookie Delano Hill attacked two Rams players and got ejected for it - it's a sign Pete Carroll's ethic increasingly doesn't work or he's not disciplining players.
NY Giants over Cardinals - The Cardinals are now 6-8 and falling to their worst record since 2012. The Giants have struggled to beat anyone but this looks like a morale-booster of a game.
Steelers over Texans - Overmatched - that is the word for the Texans.
Eagles over Raiders - The Eagles are flying to the top seed in the NFC, while the Raiders lament yet another lost opportunity.
The other big story percolating is that eleven and up to fourteen head coaches may be fired; one such domino has already fallen with Marvin Lewis of the Bengals retiring, presumably to Cincinnati's front office. The hot coaching prospect is Josh McDaniels of the Patriots, but Jon Gruden amazingly may actually return to the league as a head coach. A slew of coordinators will certainly be promoted to head jobs, and such turnover happens because - to use an old Ralph Kramdein-ism, one of these days, Morton, POW! Right in the kisser! - of finally finding the right coach.
With improvement in numerous teams the last two seasons, that's a chance teams should take.
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