JIM LANG’S 10 NFL THINGS: WEEK 17

Hi there, I hope everyone had a good Christmas and Santa was good to them. Once again, Covid is a major factor day-to-day in the NFL. Coaches have no idea one to the next who they will have in their lineup. This is something fans need to keep an eye on heading into the post-season. Enough of that, time now to take a look back at what happened this week in the NFL.

1 – Thursday – Week 16 kicked off Thursday in Tennessee as the Titans hosted one of the hottest teams in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers might have had all the momentum going into the game, but the Titans have Mike Vrabel. The Titans have used 52 different starting players this year, yet they are still 10-5. That is a sign of good depth, and it is a sign of good coaching. The Titans are one of those teams that definitely have taken on the personality of their head coach. There is still a chance the Titans could get Derrick Henry back in time for the playoffs. That is a scary thought for teams in the AFC. One final note, because the 49ers lost, the Dallas Cowboys clinched a playoff spot.

2 – Christmas Double-header – The NFL doesn’t play on Christmas day very often. So, football fans were given a treat as the Packers hosted the Browns at Lambeau Field. Then the Colts took on the slumping Cardinals in Arizona. First off in Green Bay, Browns running back Nick Chubb was having himself a great game. Up until the end of the 4^th quarter, he had 17 carries for 126 yards and a remarkable average of 7.4 yards per carry. The Browns are 1^st and 10 at the 50-yard line late in the 4^thquarter and they still have all of their time-outs left. And what does Kevin Stefanski do? He tells Baker Mayfield to start throwing the ball, and his third pass was picked off by Rasul Douglas. Baker Mayfield had already thrown 3 picks in the game, and Chubb was practically running at will. Why do you pass the ball in that situation? That loss all but kills any chance the Browns had of the Wild Card. In the late game, it was a case of two teams trending in the opposite direction. Carson Wentz was fantastic, completing 18 passes for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns. Despite the fact the Colts were missing a number of key players, they won their 3^rd straight game and for the 6^th time in the past 7 weeks. Meanwhile the Cardinals have lost 3 straight games and they have to play the red-hot Cowboys next week.

3 – Joe Burrow – Joe Burrow made a little history in the Bengals win over the Ravens. Burrow passed for 525 yards, with 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He is now one of four quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to ever do that. Thanks to Burrow’s record setting performance, the Bengals have a legitimate shot at winning the AFC North. Blessed with a core group of great young players, Coach Zac Taylor is building something special in Cincinnati.

4 – Oh Canada – Former CFL all-star Alex Singleton was a big reason the Eagles were able to beat the Giants. As of now, the Eagles are hanging on to the final Wild Card spot in the NFC. Singleton ended up with 12 tackles and a pick-six to help seal the win. Singleton leads the Eagles with 129 tackles and is one of the top tacklers in the entire NFL. I love it when any former CFLer does well in the NFL.

5 – How ’bout them Cowboys? – Wow. Dak Prescott shredded Washington for 330 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Cowboys won their fourth straight game. In the past four weeks, the Cowboys have outscored their opponents by a 131-60 margin. Unlike others, I am less concerned with the Cowboys opponents of late. They can only play the teams on their schedule. What is more important is that Prescott and the Cowboys offence are peaking at the perfect time.

6 – Rams – Are the Rams a good team? Damn right they are. Is Matt Stafford a good quarterback? Well, that depends on the week. This past week, the Rams were able to overcome Stafford’s three interceptions in their win over the Vikings. There are weeks that Stafford looks unstoppable. There are other weeks that make you scratch your head. The Rams are betting everything that they have the team that will go all the way to the Super Bowl that is being playing in their home stadium. If that is going to happen, Stafford has to be much more careful with the football.

7 – Chiefs – It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. The Chiefs crushed the Steelers to extend their winning streak to 8 games. With the win, the Chiefs clinched the AFC West title. The Steelers are a shadow of their former self. In fact, the Steelers have failed to score a touchdown in the first half in their past five games. Pittsburgh has a lot of soul searching to do in the off-season. The Chiefs meanwhile have the inside track to the number one seed in the AFC.

8 – Da Bears – That was a nice win for the Bears. I mean, they have only won 5 games this season, so any win is a nice win. The star of the game was Nick Foles. Foles hit Jimmy Graham with a touchdown at the end of the 4^th quarterback, he then connected with Damiere Byrd for the go-ahead two-point conversion. Foles is a Super Bowl champion, and nobody can ever take that away from him. Foles is also a humble and team-first guy who is liked by his teammates. No matter where he plays, every team needs someone like Nick Foles.

9 – Playoff Race – A lot was decided in the playoff race this past weekend. In fact, after this week, the NFC playoff race is almost locked up. The Rams, Bucs and Cardinals joined the Cowboys and the Packers. That means there are only two spots left over the final two weeks. The Eagles, the 49ers and the Vikings will determine who makes it in the NFC. In the AFC, things are wide open. The Chiefs are the only team in the post-season. Thanks to the Raiders win over the Broncos, they are still very much alive. With the Dolphins win, the final Wild Card in the AFC is a fight between Miami, the Ravens, the Chargers, and the Raiders. The biggest fight in the NFC is to see who will get the coveted number one seed and the bye week. Right now, it is the Packers’ spot to lose.

10 – Monday Night Mayhem – Week 16 wrapped up Monday in New Orleans as the Saints hosted the Miami Dolphins. I feel bad for anyone who paid to watch that game. A combination of injuries and Covid protocol forced Sean Payton to start Ian Book at quarterback. To put it mildly, it was a disaster for the Saints. The Dolphins defence abused Book all night long and the Saints ended up going 0-12 on 3^rd down conversions. While mathematically they are still alive, the Saints would need a miracle to make the playoffs now. Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins have to be feeling pretty good. The Dolphins are the first team ever to win 7 seven straight games, after losing 7 straight games.

Week 17 in the NFL will kick off Sunday with a ton of games. Key games include the Chiefs versus the Bengals, Raiders and the Colts, the Dolphins versus the Titans, the Ravens hosting the Rams, the Eagles on the road in Washington, and a huge AFC West showdown between the Chargers and the Broncos.

That’s all for now, all the best in the New Year and I hope 2022 is a great year for everyone.

I will talk to you next week.

(Jim Lang is Canada’s foremost expert on the NFL. Follow him on Twitter at @JimLangSports)