A moment some thought would never occur, the final week of the regular season is here and the playoff seeds are set.
I’m going to do this weekly entry of the blog a little differently. I won’t be covering each game in-depth (or discuss meaningless games), but I’ll provide some insights on some key matchups that happened on Week 17.
Cleveland Browns (11-5) 24, Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) 22
The playoff and winning-season drought has finally ended in Cleveland. With their victory over the Steelers, Cleveland has earned their first winning season since 2007 and their first playoff berth since 2002.
Cleveland obviously had their best season in a long, long time. It appears that they now also have an identity too, which was something they lacked for ages. The offense has come into its own with a run-first, play action-second mindset.
The Browns arguably have the best running back (RB) duo in the league. Cleveland’s backfield boasts Nick Chubb (acquired through the draft) and Kareem Hunt (acquired in free agency). The Browns now opt to establish a ground game first and foremost, relying less on quarterback (QB) Baker Mayfield to throw the ball a bunch.
On the other hand, the Steelers are 1-4 in their last five games after starting off the season 11-0. They had some especially ugly losses to the Washington Football Team (7-9) and to a Cincinnati Bengals (4-11-1) team that lacked QB Joe Burrow.
Despite a comeback win against the Indianapolis Colts (11-5) in Week 16, the Steelers are likely the team with the least momentum going into the postseason. I will say, though, that Pittsburgh benched multiple starters and played QB Mason Rudolph under center in Week 17 and still barely lost, which looks bad on Cleveland but good on Pittsburgh.
Tennessee Titans (11-5) 41, Houston Texans (4-12) 38
The ending to this game was insane, as the Titans managed to pull of an insane long-shot catch to wide receiver (WR) A.J. Brown and sink a game-ending field goal in under a minute when all assumed that the game would need overtime.
This was honestly a mismatch for both teams. The Texans have a top-five QB in Deshaun Watson that torched Tennessee’s lowly pass defense for 361 passing yards. However, RB Derrick Henry, who now boasts his second consecutive rushing title, obliterated Houston’s lowly run defense for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
I won’t discuss the Texans much as they’re not heading to the playoffs. The Titans, however, desperately need to get their defense right heading into a matchup against the Baltimore Ravens (11-5). The Titans’ pass defense has been terrible this year, and arguably held the team back from winning the division earlier.
But what Tennessee lacks in defense they make up for in offense. Henry, who amassed over 2,000 rushing yards this season, needs no introduction. Complementing the run game is a deadly passing attack led by the resurgent QB Ryan Tannehill and weapons such as Brown, WR Corey Davis and tight end (TE) Jonnu Smith.
The Texans gave the Titans a scare in both matchups this season. This doesn’t bode well for the Titans going into a playoff match against Baltimore. But if the Titans can somehow fix that pass defense, they’ll be a true force to be reckoned with. And hey, they upset Baltimore last year as well.
Miami Dolphins (10-6) 26, Buffalo Bills (13-3) 56
This one was a bloodbath.
In my original prediction on who would be the odd-man-out in the AFC (between the Titans, Dolphins, Browns, Ravens and Colts), I predicted the Dolphins would handle their business in Buffalo and head to the playoffs. Boy was I wrong.
Dolphins’ QB Tua Tagovailoa had a “welcome to the league” kind of game, throwing interceptions in a game that Miami needed to win. Buffalo steamrolled over the Dolphins like it was nothing.
Truthfully, its a travesty that the Dolphins won’t make it to the postseason but Washington and the 8-8 Chicago Bears will advance. If its any consolation for the Dolphins, though, I expect them to be a serious contender in short time.
Buffalo, on the other hand, looks unstoppable going into the postseason. I’ll say it now that this team will likely end up in the AFC Championship game, if not the Super Bowl. The Bills are riding into the playoffs with the most momentum of any team. With an offense led by QB Josh Allen and WR Stefon Diggs, complemented by a defense led by LB Tremaine Edmunds, safety Micah Hyde and defensive tackle (DT) Ed Oliver, the Bills are a legit Super Bowl threat.
Lastly, I will be covering the Washington-Philadelphia game as well, but in a different blog entry.
Here is the playoff bracket going into Wild Card Weekend:
AFC
Bye: Kansas City Chiefs
Indianapolis Colts (11-5) @ Buffalo Bills (13-3)
Baltimore Ravens (11-5) @ Tennessee Titans (11-5)
Cleveland Browns (11-5) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)
NFC
Bye: Green Bay Packers (13-3)
Los Angeles Rams (10-6) @ Seattle Seahawks (12-4)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5) @ Washington Football Team (7-9)
Chicago Bears (8-8) @ New Orleans Saints (12-4)
