The last week of the regular season is creeping up on fans, and so is the seasonal depression of not seeing their favorite team play anymore. Fifteen teams have been eliminated, five are looking for the playoffs, and twelve are on the road to the Super Bowl. Who was the biggest loser and winner of the week of Christmas?
Scrubs: Colts
If you make Drew Lock look like a future Hall of Famer and give up 45 points to the Giants, you deserve to miss the playoffs. This loss may have hurt New York more in the long run as they no longer will hold the first overall pick in the draft. The Giants score their first home win of the season as the Colts get eliminated brutally. Malik Nabers torched the team with nearly 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Almost 400 total yards and an average of 7.3 yards per play allowed to the now 3-13 Giants. Jim Irsay has become a wanted man. Scratch that; he’s BEEN a wanted man since Andrew Luck retired. This game was just a testament to how many issues the Colts have, and will CONTINUE to have until the team undergoes a COLT-ure change.
Dubs: Bengals
They won’t die. Either this is about to be a sick joke from the football gods giving Bengals fans hope, or an offense can win championships. 400+ passing yards from Joe Burrow, 100+ total rushing yards, an average of 5.9 yards per play, only one punt, 34 first downs, and a positive third down rate. Despite the Bengals doing everything they could to lose this game (seven sacks allowed, a doinked field goal in overtime, and questionable play calls from Zac Taylor), they ended up winning in OT and staying alive in the playoff race. Now the Bengals need the Broncos (versus Kansas City Chiefs) and Dolphins (versus New York Jets) to lose next week, and a win versus the Pittsburgh Steelers clinches them a playoff spot despite starting 4-8 and having one of the worst defenses in the league to winning four in a row is impressive. But can they finish the job?
Scrubs: Falcons
Dan Quinn’s revenge. What is with coaches not calling timeouts this year? Michael Penix looks promising, but it may be too little, too late, to get hot. Tampa needs to beat the fallen Saints to claim the division, but judging by how the last game went, it won’t happen. The Falcons have the gun trained on them to be eliminated. All it takes is for the ammo to be loaded in with one more Buccaneers win. From a 6-3 start to being 8-8 and at Tampa’s mercy to miss the playoffs, Atlanta doesn’t deserve the postseason.
Dubs: Buccaneers
Despite the Panthers’ hotter vibe, the Bucs won decisively 48-14 as Baker Mayfield and the offense shined. Baker threw for five touchdowns, Bucky Irving ran over 100 yards, and Mike Evans needs 85 receiving yards next week to get over 1000 receiving yards for the tenth straight year. There is just one more win Tampa needs. A win against New Orleans next week, the NFC South, and a playoff spot are theirs. This team features a high-powered offense that has the potential to compete with some of the league’s best. Please don’t let the Falcons in, I beg of you.
Scrubs: Steelers
Three losses in ten days is brutal. In less than two weeks, the Steelers have lost confidence and credibility as a dark horse for the Super Bowl and likely the division title. They can still claim it if they beat Cincinnati, but they must also count on Cleveland to beat Baltimore. This need is the first time this has happened since 2018. At least the Steelers have a place in the playoffs. But it’s been nearly a decade since their last playoff win. And the “Mike Tomlin has no losing seasons” narrative is getting old. Impressive, yes. But his losing playoff record of 8-10 may make that narrative age like milk. In the divisional round, he is 3-2; in the conference championship round, he is 2-1; in the Super Bowl, he is 1-1. But the wild card round? 2-6. If the Steelers win and the Ravens lose, the Steelers will be AFC North champions and host against the Chargers. If the Steelers and Ravens both win, the Ravens will be AFC North champions, and the Steelers will travel to Houston to face the winners of the AFC South, the Texans. And finally, if the Steelers lose and the Chargers win, the Steelers will travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens for the third time.
Dubs: Chiefs
Despite holding the first seed and a 15-1 record, the Chiefs haven’t made the dubs category yet this season. This result is because their games often end with controversial calls or lucky escapes with a win. This week, however, it was a definite dub. There was pure domination on both sides, with Patrick Mahomes making little mistakes, the defense coming away with two turnovers, and Travis Kelce hitting 1000 career catches. With the Chiefs heating up and outscoring their last three opponents 77-36, has the City of Fountains become the most dangerous team going into the playoffs?
One more week left in the season before we trudge onto the postseason. Who gets a chance to win the Bowl or be buried in the hole?
