Game Analysis
Re-Focused: Jets @ Dolphins, Week 17
The last spot in the AFC playoffs was still in reach for the NY Jets, but to get there they needed to win and have some help. They were taking on a Miami Dolphins team that just came off a second-half collapse against the Patriots. The Dolphins, out of the playoffs themselves, would surely have liked nothing more than to keep their rivals from advancing.
The game turned out to be a defensive battle, with the teams combining for less than 600 yards, but the deciding factor was a few drive-killing turnovers from the Jets. After another Super bowl promise by Rex Ryan, the Jets ended up not even making the playoffs. I think there is going to be some major changes in New York for next year because this group of players has proven they can’t get it done. Let’s take a look at some of the notable standouts in this game.
Re-Focused: Bills @ Patriots, Week 17
A win is a win, but sometimes it can raise more questions than you’d like.
Sure the New England Patriots are rolling into the playoffs as the number one seeds in the AFC, but after another slow start, and an at times disjointed display, they’re not exactly creating the same widespread fear as they did 12 months ago.
Perhaps that will stand them in good stead, because if they’re going to be ready for the Baltimore and Pittsburgh’s of this world there’s plenty of work to be done. That shouldn’t take away from a good come-from-behind victory against a Buffalo Bills team that made progress this year, but is too short on talent or depth to overcome injuries to key players and a collection of mistakes (a seemingly weekly occurrence).
Here’s some of the key performers from Week 17 when Buffalo faced New England.
Re-Focused: Ravens @ Bengals, Week 17
The AFC North can definitely claim to be the best division in football this year, sending three teams to the playoffs for the first time–the Pittsburgh Steelers and the two teams who met on Sunday: the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.
In the end, the Bengals didn’t need to win the game as the roars of celebration ringing round Paul Brown stadium during the Bengals’ failed final drive signaled that the Broncos has lost. That being said, it’s disappointing to see them slip up against better opposition once again, not ideal heading into the playoffs.
The Ravens managed to banish their road woes to finish the season 4-4 away from M&T Bank Stadium, but the win meant they clinched the division and No. 2 seed in the AFC, meaning they’ll need to win one game on the road at most, to reach the Super Bowl. The game didn’t feature much in the way of dominant performances but there were still plenty of talking points. Here’s a look at the key performances from this matchup. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: Lions @ Packers, Week 17
So this is a game that the Packers didn’t care about; they’d simply rest their big names, run the ball at every opportunity, just take the loss and move on? Yeah right.
Matt Flynn is a free agent in February and he and the coaches had other ideas about giving up a 22 year home winning streak against the Lions. Instead they gave him the opportunity to shop his wares to all the NFL teams struggling at the QB position and condemn the Lions to the playoff gig no one wants; away to the offensive juggernaut of the New Orleans Saints. Matthew Stafford together with Calvin Johnson played about as well as you can but still came up short in a game that had plenty of interest for interested parties and neutral fans alike. Here’s what I thought of some of the key players:
Re-Focused: Bears @ Vikings, Week 17
The final regular season week of the 2011 season saw the Chicago Bears travel to face the Minnesota Vikings in a divisional game that meant…nothing. This was precisely the kind of game the NFL had hoped to avoid by moving divisional games to the end of the season, and in truth, it worked in this game.
Two teams with nothing more than draft position to play for found themselves fighting tooth and nail for the win, and characteristically it was the mistakes, rather than the impressive play, that wound up being decisive. The Vikings were in danger of landing a torpedo into the side of their draft position until the final drive ended with a badly overthrown pass from Joe Webb, in for the injured Christian Ponder once more.
For Chicago the game seemed to center around thrusting Jared Allen towards Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record, and then doing everything humanly possible to prevent him getting one more to break it. In the end he fell just a half sack short of the record.
Re-Focused: 49ers @ Rams, Week 17
Job done for the San Francisco 49ers.
The end result was slightly less comfortable than it both should and might have been for the position they got themselves into, but they got that crucial bye week and at least one home playoff game on their first visit in a decade. The 49ers pushed the envelope giving extensive play to some backups and the Rams pushed them all the way with a late comeback, but at the end of the day, the 49ers have earned two weeks off.
For the St Louis Rams, this was a fine effort in what was–if you believe the reports–the final game for head coach Steve Spagnuolo. While some fine performances almost gave them another upset win over a playoff team, the Rams’ shortcomings on offense and defense bit them again. Once the uncertainty over the future of their head coach and general manager are decided, attention will turn to free agency and the draft. How to turn around the fortunes of a team that hasn’t had a winning season 2003? Read the rest of this entry »
Three to Focus on: 49ers @ Rams, Week 17
Last year, the NFC West was embarrassed by having a team steal a playoff spot and a home playoff game by registering a 7-9 record with a Week 17 win. In 2011, their divisional champion will secure a bye week with a victory over the same opponent that lost the final game of the 2010 regular season. The division champ has once again changed, as the San Francisco 49ers finally take the mantle they were expected to walk away with last season. The team on the receiving is once again the St Louis Rams who with a loss will walk away with their third season of two wins or less in the last four. The Rams could even be picking first for the second time in three years as an injury ravaged season (all of the cornerbacks they took to training camp are on injured reserve for example) has seen them plumb the depths of the NFL. Read the rest of this entry »
Three to Focus on: Bears @ Vikings, Week 17
An NFC North encounter to round off the season features both sides finding themselves with nothing to play for. The Bears were firmly in the thick of the playoff hunt until an injury cost them their star quarterback, Jay Cutler, and since that point the injuries have only been mounting, with Matt Forte the latest major piece to go down for the year. Minnesota on the other hand was never at the races this season and languish with a 3-12 record heading into their final game.
The Vikings took themselves out of the running for the number one overall pick in the next draft last week when they beat Washington, and a final win this week could drop them to as far as the sixth overall pick, which would be little short of a disaster for a team with so many holes to fill. Losing Adrian Peterson forces them to lean on the shoulders of Toby Gerhart as their main bellcow in the run game, and their rookie quarterback Christian Ponder returns to the starting lineup this week, after being sidelined with concussion. Chicago are playing for pride and little else, but that may well be enough. Here are three matchups that will heavily influence the outcome.
Three to Focus on: Panthers @ Saints, Week 17
One last chance to watch Cam Newton as a rookie, one last chance for the New Orleans Saints to build momentum ahead of the playoffs and an outside chance of a bye week. The formula is pretty simple for both the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints this week as the Panthers chance of playing spoiler for a second time in three weeks was thrown out of the window Monday night as the Saints clinched both the division and the single season passing record for the Saints and Drew Brees.
With the 49ers needing only a road victory over the hapless Rams, the Saints appear to be locked into the third seed so much of the intrigue in this game is gone. However if the Saints stick to Sean Payton’s claim that they will go full throttle for sixty minutes to maintain their momentum into the post-season this game still has the potential to be one of the best on the Week 17 slate. The first game between these two was a close three point victory for the Saints and a wide open Carolina offense has the chance to keep pace with, if not beat, Drew Brees and the Saints. Here are three focus points in our last chance to watch Cam Newton in a competitive game for eight months.
Three to Focus on: Titans @ Texans, Week 17
Quite incredibly after handing the Indianapolis Colts their first victory of the 2011 season just two weeks ago the Tennessee Titans are still alive in the playoff hunt. With a victory over the Houston Texans, who are locked into the third seed in the AFC, along with wins for Baltimore and the New York Jets, the Titans will steal an improbable sixth seed in the AFC and re-match in Houston next weekend. So we are left with the interesting situation, which we’ve had a couple of times in recent seasons, where a “better” team has nothing to play for against an inferior opponent with a playoff berth and potential momentum all to play for.
If Tennessee’s recent history is anything to go by watch for this game to be one of the closest of the weekend and one that could see the AFC sixth seed going down to the final minutes. Tennessee has only had one of their last six games decided by more than six points, their two touchdown defeat to the Colts, with four of those six games settled by a score of 23-17. All Houston has to play for in this game is momentum and some semblance of control over their wildcard opponent. Here are three focus points for one of three key games in deciding the sixth seed in the AFC.
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