Thursday, January 2, 2025

NFL 2024 - 25 Season: A Review of Week 17

The NFL made a bit of impressive history this past weekend. It is the second time ever - and the first time since 1998 - that three teams reached records of 14-2 or better in the same season. Two of those teams are in the same division, which means that in the regular season finale, we will have a meeting between two 14-2 teams, with a hell of a lot at stake. The winner will clinch the number one seed in the NFC playoffs, and earn a playoff bye. Meanwhile, the loser will fall to the fifth overall seed, and have to play on the road for Wildcard weekend (which frankly, feels a bit unfair to me).

The three teams are the Kansas City Chiefs at 15-1, and the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, both at 14-2. The last time that three teams kept such impressive records intact this deep into an NFL season was in 1998, when the Minnesota Vikings finished the regular season at 15-1, and both the Denver Broncos (who were then defending Super Bowl champions from the AFC West) and Atlanta Falcons both finished the regular season with 14-2 records. 

Kansas City improved to 15-1 by soundly defeating the Steelers in Pittsburgh. It is a game I already reviewed. But basically, KC jumped ahead early with two touchdowns, and then beat the will out of the Steelers the rest of the way. It hurt the Steelers chances at capturing an AFC North division title, with the Ravens crushing the Texans in Houston later the same day. But the Chiefs clinched the top overall seed in the AFC with the impressive win. 

Detroit improved to 14-2 mostly by surviving a tough challenge by the San Francisco 49ers, 40-34. The Niners, who had already been eliminated from postseason contention entering this weekend, clearly were looking to play the role of spoilers. They looked like they were on their way to a win, as they led at the half, 21-13. But the Lions had a bit of an explosion in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns and a field goal for a total of 18 points. Ultimately, they were able to earn the West Coast road win to finish the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record in away games this season.

Meanwhile, Minnesota just hung on against their tough division rivals, the Green Bay Packers, earning a 27-25 win. The Vikings had seemed to be dominating the game, holding a seemingly comfortable 27-10 lead entering the fourth quarter. To their credit, however, the Packers fought back and made it close, scoring two touchdowns and giving themselves an opportunity to steal a win. However, the Vikings did manage to hold on to improve to 14-2 on the year. Still, they kind of feel like the most overlooked 14-2 team in NFL history to me, as both Kansas City (15-1) and Detroit (14-2) garnered a lot more consistent attention and praise this season.

Another big game with huge playoff ramifications took place in the nation's capital. The Washington Commanders hosted the Atlanta Falcons. Washington needed a win to clinch a playoff berth, while Atlanta was hoping to keep ahead of Tampa Bay in the NFC South standings. At points, it looked like Washington might run away with it. To their credit, however, the Falcons kept coming back, and made a game of it, forcing overtime. In the end, however, Washington managed to get a touchdown for the win, officially punching their ticket into the playoffs. That also meant that the Falcons, with the loss, gave up control of their own destiny, and now find themselves with only a slim chance to qualify for the postseason, needing a lot of help in order to do so.

Tampa Bay capitalized big time this weekend, winning while watching Atlanta lose in Washington. The Bucs took care of business, absolutely blowing the Carolina Panthers out, 48-14. The Buccaneers now have sole possession of first place in the NFC South, and control their own destiny. If they win this coming weekend when they host the New Orleans Saints, they win the NFC South division title, and the fourth overall seed in the NFC, which includes a home playoff game.

Buffalo had long ago clinched a playoff spot. In fact, had long ago clinched another AFC East division title. However, with the Chiefs locking up the top overall seed in the AFC, the Bills had a chance to clinch the number two spot. And they left no doubt, jumping all over the New York Jets. Gang Green was behind 40-0 before they finally scored some largely empty points to make the final score of 40-14 look more respectable. 

Miami kept their slim playoff hopes alive by crushing the Browns, 20-3. They still need some help to qualify, needing a Broncos loss, while also needing to take care of business and beat the Jets at the Meadowlands this weekend. Not impossible, although it feels unlikely.

The Philadelphia Eagles have locked up the number two overall seed this season, as they crushed the Dallas Cowboys, 41-7, this past weekend. Saquon Barkley, one of the major candidates for MVP honors on the season, reached 2,000 yards rushing, and is within 100 yards of clinching the overall rushing record for one season. However, since Philly now is locked in with the number two seed, they likely will not play their starters for very long, if at all. So it is questionable whether Barkley will even get a chance at the record this weekend, when they host the G-Men.

One team that did play spoiler this past weekend were the Giants, my team. The offense had looked lifeless for so long, that this version of the team looked almost unrecognizable. They had 32 combined points total in their three December games prior to this one. Then all of a sudden, Giants quarterback Drew Lock completed 17 of 23 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns, enjoying a banner day. That's the good news. The bad news is that by virtue of this win, the G-Men fell from first to fourth in overall draft order, which a lot of fans are not thrilled about, to say the least. They beat the Colts, 45-33, and thus eliminated Indianapolis from playoff contention.

Otherwise, the Raiders beat the Saints, 25-10. Jacksonville beat Tennessee, 20-13. Those two games, however, had no playoff ramifications to speak of.

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