Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action has come to an end. Week 17 brought us fans some blowouts and some close games as we ring in this the first blog post of 2023. There were close games in Atlanta, a division winner in the NFC South finally and a surprise in Washington. I'll do a recap of the week's action in this week's recap post. Let's get to work!
Week 17 Recap
Dallas 27, Tennessee 13: TW: Cowboys; CV: Cowboys
Dak Prescott and company won the game but they didn't play as well as most had hoped. Dak Prescott completed 29 of 41 passes for 282 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also contributed to a fumble that lead to a Titans takeaway. Prescott did play better in the 2nd half with those two touchdown passes to Dalton Schultz. Malik Davis got play time and rushed for 39 yards with 10 carries. Ezekiel Elliot had 37 yards with a rushing touchdown. Joshua Dobbs got the start for the Titans. The former 4th round pick completed 20 of 39 passes for 232 yards with a touchdown pass to Robert Woods and tossed an interception. Fantasy owners and the Titans were hurting without Derrick Henry in the lineup. Tennessee's running game wouldn't get much as Hassan Haskins got most of the snaps with 40 yards rushing on 12 carries. Jonathan Ward had 26 yards rushing. Tennessee kept it close during the first three quarters with a 17-13 margin in Dallas' favor. For the Cowboys, they get a win while keeping the pressure on the Eagles for the NFC East title. For the Titans, they drop their 6th straight game to a 7-9 record.
Next week:
Dallas: @ Washington
Tennessee: @ Jacksonville
TW: 1-0; CV: 1-0
Arizona 19, Atlanta 20: TW: Falcons; CV: Falcons
Younghoe Koo was the difference in this game. David Blough would get the nod at quarterback for the lowly Cardinals with Kyler Murray and Colt McCoy both out with injury. Blough hit 24 of 40 passes for 222 yards with a touchdown pass to Trey McBride in the 2nd quarter. James Conner had 79 yards rushing on 16 carries for the Cards. It was overall a decent day on offense with 339 total yards. Desmond Ridder would manage the game as he hit 19 of 26 passes for 169 yards passing. Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for touchdowns in the game as they got 83 and 42 rushing yards in the game. Both kickers were utilized in the 4th quarter as Younghoe Koo would strike first with a 27-yard field goal, Cardinals kicker Matt Prater hit a 57-yard field goal and then Younghoe Koo again hit a 21-yard field goal as time expired. Maybe Ohio State could've had Koo play for that one kick against Georgia. For the Cardinals, the loss drops them to 4-12. For the Falcons, the win moves them to 6-10 but with the Buccaneers winning the NFC South, their playoff hopes die.
Next week:
Arizona: @ San Francisco
Atlanta: vs Tampa Bay
TW: 2-0; CV: 2-0
Carolina 24, Tampa Bay 30: TW: Buccaneers; CV: Buccaneers
We finally have a winner in the NFC South. Sam Darnold played well enough with 23 of 37 completions for 341 passing yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also had 20 yards rushing. Tampa clamped down on the rushing attack as they held D'Onta Foreman to just 35 yards on 13 carries. DJ Moore, Shi Smith and Tommy Tremble were the players that caught those Darnold passes for touchdowns. Tom Brady and the offense was sluggish again in the first half but fired bullets in the 4th quarter. He hit 34 of 45 passes for three passing touchdowns while getting a rushing touchdown of his own. All three touchdowns from Brady went to the arms of Mike Evans. Evans caught 10 balls for 207 receiving yards. Leonard Fournette was also held to limited yardage but did get 28 yards rushing. For the first three quarters the Panthers had a 14-10 advantage before Tampa put up 20 points in the game which lead them to victory. It was the Brady rushing touchdown that put forth the 30 points. For the Panthers, their only hope of a division title ends in Tampa as they drop to 6-10. For the Buccaneers, the sluggish season continues but they win the NFC South for the 2nd straight season.
Next week:
Carolina: @ New Orleans
Tampa Bay: @ Atlanta
TW: 3-0; CV: 3-0
Chicago 10, Detroit 41: TW: Lions; CV: Lions
A close 1st quarter would lead to a dominating effort in the Motor City. Justin Fields was not a factor in the game as he hit 7 of 21 passes for 75 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Fields was better as a runner with 132 yards rushing on 10 carries. He had a 60-yard run that was the longest in the game. Pass protection was an issue for the Bears as Fields was sacked seven times for 45 yards, a net total of 30 passing yards was all that the Bears could muster. Jared Goff was quite the passer in the game with 21 of 29 passes for 255 yards with three touchdowns. It was Detroit's running game that out-yardaged its passing game as both Jamaal Williams and Dandre Swift both scored a touchdown each and had 144 yards and 78 yards respectively. Jameson Williams had a good game with a 40-yard run on one play. For the Bears, the season puts them at a 3-13 record with one game left to go. For the Lions, they get to 8-8 with a date against the Packers next week for the season finale.
Next week:
Chicago: vs Minnesota
Detroit: vs Green Bay
TW: 4-0; CV: 4-0
Cleveland 24, Washington 10: TW: Commanders; CV: Commanders
One quarterback threw three touchdowns while the other threw three interceptions. DeShaun Watson hit 9 of 18 passes for 169 yards with three touchdowns. Amari Cooper caught two touchdown passes and David Peoples-Jones had one. Nick Chubb put the hammer down on the Commanders defense with 104 yards rushing. Watson had 31 yards rushing. If you looked at the score it seemed that the Browns won a close one but the telling factor was three takeaways. Two of those came from strong safety Grant Delpit. Much faith was put on Carson Wentz to steady the ship. He hit 16 of 28 passes for 143 yards with three interceptions. Not a good game for him. Brian Robinson Jr had 87 yards rushing for Washington. It was a tough time to generate offense for the Commanders only mustering 260 total yards. For the Browns, they improve to 7-9 but no playoffs for them. For the Commanders, they drop to 7-8-1 with some hope of a playoff berth but will need help from the Vikings to do it. Update: the Vikings dropped the ball and the Commanders playoff hopes die.
Next week:
Cleveland: @ Pittsburgh
Washington: vs Dallas
TW: 4-1; CV: 4-1
Denver 24, Kansas City 27: TW: Chiefs; CV: Chiefs
The sluggish Chiefs would win while the Broncos nearly pulled off an upset. Russell Wilson had a better game (which says a lot) with 26 of 38 passes completed for 222 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Albert Okwuegbunam (nice name buddy) was the player that caught the touchdown pass. It was also Wilson that put forth rushing touchdowns with 27 yards rushing with two touchdowns. Latavius Murray had 56 yards rushing. Turnovers hurt the Broncos last week and they cut down on the giveaways with just two including a fumble. Kansas City had its chances to put the Broncos away but would have an interception and a missed field goal in the 1st half. Patrick Mahomes hit 29 of 42 passes in the game with 328 yards passing with three touchdowns and an interception. Isaiah Pacheco was the leading rusher for the Chiefs with 31 yards rushing on nine carries. Converting 3rd downs was a factor for both teams as the Broncos went 3 for 12 and the Chiefs went 2 for 9 on those chances. For the Broncos, the close loss will still put them at a 4-12 record. For the Chiefs, they get to 13-3 to keep pace with the Buffalo Bills with the #1 seed.
Next week:
Denver: vs LA Chargers
Kansas City: @ Las Vegas
TW: 5-1; CV: 5-1
Indianapolis 10, NY Giants 38: TW: Giants; CV: Giants
It was a long road to get there but the Giants are going to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. How they did that would beat an inept Colts team. Nick Foles started for the Colts and hit 8 of 13 passes for 81 yards with an interception. The former Super Bowl MVP wouldn't finish the game as he left the game with an injury. A rather distasteful display of unsportsmanlike conduct happened when rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux did snow angels after sacking Foles. Sam Ehlinger came into the game. The passer did alright with 9 of 14 passes completed with 60 yards passing and a touchdown to Michael Pittman in the 3rd quarter. It was the Daniel Jones show for the Giants offense as the passer put up four total touchdowns. Jones had 19 of 24 passes completed for 177 yards with two touchdowns passing and two rushing touchdowns with 91 yards rushing. If you had him on your fantasy football team, he had 40 fantasy points. Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins had caught those Daniel Jones passes. Jubilation was in full swing with the crowd chanting "Jones" with seven minutes left in the game. For the Colts, they drop to 4-11-1 with just one game left in their season. For the Giants, the "Jones" chants lead to more jubilation as they clinch the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Just a reminder that the Giants finished 2021 with just four wins.
Next week:
Indianapolis: vs Houston
NY Giants: @ Philadelphia
TW: 6-1; CV: 6-1
Jacksonville 31, Houston 3: TW: Jaguars; CV: Jaguars
Jacksonville's passing game wasn't quite at its best but their running game sure did well. Trevor Lawrence hit 17 of 21 passes for 152 yards with an interception. With the blowout at hand, CJ Beathard got some playtime with 29 yards passing with an interception too. Travis Etienne, Jamycal Hasty, Snoop Conner scored rushing touchdowns for the Jaguars. Travis Etienne had 108 rushing yards, Jamycal Hasty had 33 yards and Snoop Conner had 17 yards on the ground. Jacksonville's defense got a boost to the scoring with a Davis Mills fumble that was on a Houston pass but it was not a forward pass. Thus rendering it to be a live ball. Davis Mills was not great but he didn't have a lot of help. Mills had 202 passing yards and had 33 rushing yards in the game. Kyle Fairbairn put up the only points for the Texans on a 56-yard field goal in the 3rd quarter. It was the only bright spot from an overall bleak day for a Texans fan. For the Jaguars, the win improves them to 8-8 with a date against the Titans to decide the AFC South title. For the Texans, they drop to the lowest of the lows with 2-13-1 with a good chance to win the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Next week:
Jacksonville: vs Tennessee
Houston: @ Indianapolis
TW: 7-1; CV: 7-1
Miami 21, New England 23: TW: Patriots; CV: Dolphins
The Patriots keep their playoff hopes alive against the Tua-less Dolphins. Teddy Bridgewater got the start and hit 12 of 19 passes for 161 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He left the game after injuring his right ring finger after the interception that turned into a pick-six by Kyle Dugger. Skylar Thompson came into the game and hit 12 of 21 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown and an interception of his own. It was his touchdown that cut the Patriots lead to two. Mac Jones did solid in the game with 20 of 33 pass completions for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Tyquan Thornton and Jakobi Meyers were the players that caught those touchdowns. It was on a 3rd down and 1 play that Jones tossed a prayer to Meyers that made him jump for his life to catch the ball. It might be the play that gave the Patriots the lift they needed to get a playoff spot. Rhamondre Stevenson had 42 yards rushing on eight carries. New England's offense didn't quite get offense that has been an issue but they did enough to get to 249 total yards. For the Dolphins, the loss is their 5th straight loss as they haven't won since beating the Texans 30-15 in Week 12. For the Patriots, they currently hold the 7th seed in the AFC playoffs while getting to 8-8.
Next week:
Miami: vs NY Jets
New England: @ Buffalo
TW: 8-1; CV: 7-2
New Orleans 20, Philadelphia 10: TW: Eagles; CV: Eagles
The NFC East is still up for grabs. Andy Dalton and the Saints offense did well enough to get a win. Dalton hit 18 of 22 passes for 204 yards with an interception. Taysom Hill played quarterback on a couple of plays with 24 passing yards. Hill would run it into the endzone for the only offensive touchdown for the Saints. New Orleans got a score off of a pick-six by Marshawn Lattimore in the 4th quarter. Gardner Minshew completed 18 of 32 passes for 274 yards with a touchdown and an interception that would lead to pick-six as mentioned earlier. Miles Sanders ran for 61 yards for the Eagles in the game. Both teams had the same total yardage on offense with 313 yards. Eagles fans were not having it as they drop their 2nd straight game without Jalen Hurts. For the Saints, the good news is that they won, the bad news is that their playoff hopes died with the Buccaneers win over the Panthers. For the Eagles, they drop to 13-3 and will need to win out to clinch homefield and the NFC East.
Next week:
New Orleans: vs Carolina
Philadelphia: vs NY Giants
TW: 8-2; CV: 7-3
NY Jets 6, Seattle 23: TW: Seahawks; CV: Jets
One team's playoff hopes stay alive while the other's ends. Mike White completed 23 of 46 passes for 240 yards with two interceptions. Not a good day for him in general. Ty Johnson got 46 yards rushing on the ground. Zonovan Knight rushed for 27 yards. Seattle's defense held the Jets to 279 offensive yards in the game. Definitely made Mike White look like a mortal. Geno Smith gave his former team a wallop of a game with 18 of 29 passes completed for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Kenneth Walker III came back to form and had 133 rushing yards. Seattle's points mostly came in the 1st half and put up a solid 346 total yards in the game. For the Jets, the memories of 7-4 seem like a distant memory as their playoff hopes end with a 7-9 record. For the Seahawks, they stay alive in the playoff hunt into Week 18 with a 8-8 record.
Next week:
NY Jets: @ Miami
Seattle: vs LA Rams
TW: 9-2; CV: 7-4
San Francisco 37, Las Vegas 34 (F/OT): TW: 49ers; CV: 49ers
The San Francisco and Las Vegas TV markets could only show this game. Lucky bastards. Brock Purdy hit 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Christian McCaffrey had a good game with 121 rushing yards with a touchdown and had 72 receiving yards. Jordan Mason also scored a rushing touchdown on a 14-yard run late in the 4th quarter. Jarrett Stidham got the start over Derek Carr who has had a bit of a falling out with the Raiders. Stidham did alright but could've done better. He had 23 of 34 passes completed for 365 with three touchdowns and two interceptions. One of the interceptions came in the Overtime period. Josh Jacobs did nice on the ground with 69 yards rushing, penatrating the 49ers defense on 17 carries. Davante Adams had 153 receiving yards with two touchdown catches. Robbie Gould was the hero for the 49ers with the game-winning field goal from 23 yards. For the 49ers, the win is their 12th this season while getting a 12-4 record. For the Raiders, they drop to 6-10 on the season.
Next week:
San Francisco: vs Arizona
Las Vegas: vs Kansas City
TW: 10-2; CV: 8-4
LA Rams 10, LA Chargers 31: TW: Rams; CV: Chargers
The Baker Mayfield honeymoon ends in the Battle for Hollywood. Mayfield had 11 of 19 passes completed in the game for 132 yards. The game comes after last week's NVP performance against the Broncos. The Rams only touchdown came on a 23-yard run that came in the 2nd quarter. The Rams wouldn't score again for the rest of the game. Cam Akers did put up numbers in the run game with 19 carries with 123 yards rushing. Justin Herbert came forth and put up numbers in the game with 21 of 28 passes completed for 212 yards with two touchdowns. Chase Daniel saw playtime with the blowout at hand with 27 passing yards. Austin Ekeler had 122 yards rushing with two touchdown runs in the game. Most of the scoring came for the Chargers in the 2nd quarter with 17 points. The Chargers put up 431 total yards while the Rams got 277 total yards. For the Rams, they drop to 5-11 with no hope of a repeat title. For the Chargers, they get their 10th win of the season.
Next week:
LA Rams: @ Seattle
LA Chargers: @ Denver
TW: 10-3; CV: 9-4
Minnesota 17, Green Bay 41: TW: Packers; CV: Vikings
A kick-six early in the 1st quarter would spell doom for the Vikings. Kirk Cousins had a rough game as he completed 18 of 31 passes for 205 yards with a touchdown in the 4th quarter. The rough part came with Cousins throwing three interceptions. A couple of them were to Vikings that had double coverage on them. Nick Mullens would also play in the game and got 57 yards and a touchdown pass in the game. The underrated aspect in the game was that the Packers defense held the Vikings rushing game to 102 total rushing yards. Alexander Mattison was the leading rusher with 38 yards. Justin Jefferson was held to just one catch for 15 yards in the game. Offense, defense and special teams all contributed to the win for the Pack. Aaron Rodgers hit 15 of 24 passes for 159 yards with a touchdown pass to Robert Tonyan. Aaron Jones ran over the Vikings defense with 111 rushing yards on 14 carries. AJ Dillon had 41 yards rushing with a touchdown. Aaron Rodgers would get on with the scoring with a bootleg play that told Aaron there was plenty of open space, why not go in for the score. One of the Cousins interceptions was caught by Darnell Savage and ran back for a 75-yard score via pick-six. For the Vikings, they drop to 12-4 and a missed opportunity to send the Packers home for the winter. For the Packers, they stay alive but will need to beat the red hot Lions to get into the tournament.
Next week:
Minnesota: @ Chicago
Green Bay: vs Detroit
TW: 11-3; CV: 9-5
Pittsburgh 16, Baltimore 13: TW: Steelers; CV: Ravens
The Steelers are still alive in the AFC playoff picture. Kenny Pickett hit 15 of 27 passes for 168 yards with a touchdown pass to Najee Harris in the Steelers final drive in the game. Najee Harris had a good game with 111 yards rushing on 22 carries. Jaylen Warren had 76 yards rushing on 12 carries. Chris Boswell was utilized a lot in the game and put up 3 of 4 field goals. Tyler Huntley started for the Ravens. Huntley hit 14 of 21 passes for 130 yards with a touchdown and interception. Isaiah Likely was the one that caught the Huntley pass. JK Dobbins had 93 yards rushing on 17 carries. Tyler Huntley had 24 rushing yards. For total yards the Steelers put up 351 total yards and 240 total yards for the Ravens. Tempers flared in this game as Cam Heyward got into a scuffle with the Ravens offensive line. The end result was an unnecessary roughness call on Heyward. The penalty would eventually result in the Ravens touchdown. The rivalry still runs strong. For the Steelers, they still have a shot to make the playoffs but will need help to get in. For the Ravens, they drop to 10-6 on the season.
Next week:
Pittsburgh: vs Cleveland
Baltimore: @ Cincinnati
TW: 12-3; CV: 9-6
Buffalo 3, Cincinnati 7 (Game currently suspended): TW: Bills; CV: Bills
Well not sure exactly how to consider this game. As of 10:30 pm, the game is suspended. If you haven't heard, Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin made a tackle, stood up and then involuntary collapsed. He is currently in a Cincinnati hospital in either critical or stable condition. As far as the game is concerned, I'm not sure if they should resume it. They should just call it a tie or just call it a draw if that's possible. At this point, the life of a human being is far more important than whatever implications that this game has on the AFC playoff picture. If you want to contribute to Damar Hamlin's charity, feel free to go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mxksc-the-chasing-ms-foundation-community-toy-drive. As far as I'm concerned, I'll chalk this game as incomplete
Next week:
Buffalo: vs New England
Cincinnati: vs Baltimore
TW: Incomplete; CV: Incomplete
2022 Pick ‘Em Records
My record:
Week 1: 8-7-1
Week 2: 8-8
Week 3: 5-11
Week 4: 11-5
Week 5: 10-6
Week 6: 8-6
Week 7: 9-5
Week 8: 12-3
Week 9: 11-2
Week 10: 8-6
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 10-6
Week 13: 11-3-1
Week 14: 7-6
Week 15: 8-8
Week 16: 9-7
Week 17: 12-3
Total: 155-98-2
Cardinal Viking's record:
Week 1: 6-9-1
Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 5-11
Week 4: 6-10
Week 5: 9-7
Week 6: 9-5
Week 7: 8-6
Week 8: 9-6
Week 9: 9-4
Week 10: 8-6
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 9-7
Week 13: 8-6-1
Week 14: 9-4
Week 15: 13-3
Week 16: 10-6
Week 17: 9-6
Total: 144-107-2
Previous Picking Records:
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
2021: 167-104-1
2019: 161-94-1
2020: 167-88-1
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