What we learned from Sundays Week 17 games

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What we learned from Sunday's Week 17 games Published: Dec 30, 2018 at 12:17 PM The took control of Sunday night's winner-take-all game from their very first drive, dominating time of po se sion and eventually grinding the unworthy into submi sion. Against a Tenne see front seven that was visibly mi sing injured defensive tackle , Indianapolis' offensive line paved holes for (119 yards, TD) and created a healthy pocket for , who, save for an overeager pick-six, was stellar in a three-touchdown outing. The ' first two drives, both of which went for six, took a combined 28 plays and nearly 17 minutes. Frank Reich's crew finished with a 20-minute TOP advantage. The won by 16, but the margin of victory could have been twice that if not for some foolish unforced errors. The committed 12 penalties for nearly 100 yards. In addition to the Luck interception, Mack fumbled in the red zone after Tenne see gifted Indy great field-goal position with a fumble of its own. The threatened late in the second half as picked up steam, but the defense forced turnovers on Tenne see's last three drives (one on downs) to thwart a comeback. In knocking Tenne see out of the playoffs, the and their first as a wild-card team since 2012. That year, they lost to the in Luck's first playoff game. This time around, Indy will travel to Houston on a short week to play a third game against the division-rival in 's first playoff game. The and split their head-to-head meetings with each team losing at home. In their most recent meeting, Luck threw for nearly 400 yards and Hilton caught nearly 200 of them in a 24-21 win. Another close contest is in the offing. was inactive for Tenne see's biggest home game in quite some time, handing the reins to , who filled in dutifully in Week 16 but was overmatched on Sunday evening. Tenne see punted on five of its first six drives, picked up just 11 first downs and converted just one of nine third-down conversions. With Henry slow to start, Gabbert was not equipped to eliminate Indy's first-half 14-point lead, and the laid down on national television. Mike Vrabel's first season in Tenne see should be considered a minor succe s -- a rookie head coach finished with an above-.500 record on the doorsteps of the postseason -- but is the future bright in Nashville? The club's franchise quarterback is an injury risk entering the final year of his rookie contract and will be the major question mark around the organization this offseason. The depth at skill positions around him is limited. The two AFC South teams in the postseason meanwhile are settled under center and boast well rounded rosters on the rise. Just one year removed from a playoff victory, Tenne see still has a ways to go before contending deep into winter. Baltimore stuck to the formula with the division on the line, and it worked to perfection -- until it didn't. The troika of , and paced a running game that racked up a season-high 296 rushing yards on 47 attempts. Baltimore succeeded in dominating time of po se sion, too, by 17 minutes. The entered the second half with a 13-point lead -- it would have been 20 points if not for Jackson's late-half fumble on the goal line -- but were a boom-or-bust on offense in the second half. Their long drives ended in field goals; their short ones were too short. After Cleveland cut the lead to two, the went three-and-out, ending their 95-second drive with a fumbled option play. If not for a clutch defensive stand in its own territory, Baltimore would have been knocked out of the playoffs, given Pittsburgh's win. But after completed two impo sible pa ses to and to get to Baltimore's 39 with over a minute to go, the went four-and-out, choosing not to opt for a game-winning 56-yard field-goal attempt from . Mayfield threw three straight incompletions short or behind his receivers before throwing a pick at the line to . The AFC North is Baltimore's , and just barely. Next up for the fourth-seeded is a familiar foe: the , who locked up the fifth seed by virtue of Kansas City's win. The Bolts boast the superior record, but are stumbling into this wild-card matchup, having played two of their most uneven games over the past two weeks, including that Week 16 lo s to Baltimore. The played to type in the first go-around, leaning on the run and their swarming defense to hold Los Angeles to season lows. Expect the same game plan next week. Mayfield's record-setting rookie campaign ended with a bang regardle s of the result on the scoreboard. The quarterback did what could not one week ago: Splice the secondary. Mayfield delivered five completions of at least 28 yards to five different receivers and averaged nine yards per attempt. He threw for 376 yards, the most allowed by Baltimore all season, and three touchdowns, the most surrendered since Week 2. With those three TD to ses, Mayfield broke the rookie pa sing touchdown record, surpa sing Peyton Manning and as the only rookie to throw 27 TD pa ses. Watching the rookies Mayfield and Jackson duel on Sunday afternoon, each young QB leaning heavily on his skillset, one can envision a decade-plus of such standoffs. The first installment of his intra-division rivalry portends great drama and studies in contrasting style to come. Who will be coaching Mayfield's in those installments remains to be seen. This hasn't been said often this season, but credit the ' defense. Sure, Philadelphia scored 17 of its own points, but Washington didn't score any! You don't need to be a mathematician to figure out how that works. While led an offense that roared (relatively speaking), 's Washington offense couldn't even muster a whimper. Down 17-0 early in the fourth, Johnson resorted to multiple intermediate to deep heaves, which were each broken up by defensive backs. The defining play was a fourth down strip sack of Johnson by , which took a feeble effort and buried its chances. It feels odd to type, but this week, Philadelphia's defenders deserve praise. Offensively, Foles was excellent. He tied ' record for most consecutive completions with 25 before a throw behind at the goal line ended that streak. He finished with a sterling pa sing line of 28 of 33 for 221 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. His pa ser rating of 102.1 said it all, and even when he left due to injury, Philadelphia didn't mi s a beat with under center. Also of a sistance: the ' ability to gain yards on the ground. , and combined to rush for 131 yards and are looking like a poor man's version of the three-headed attack ( , , Corey Clement) Philadelphia boasted last season. That will go quite a long way toward helping their succe s in the postseason. The with the ' lo s to the . Washington enters the offseason with uncertainty abound. There likely won't be front office or head coach changes, but 's status should be monitored in the offseason after that gruesome leg injury and complications following surgery. A number of other injuries elsewhere (on the offensive line, for example) make next season's outlook more fluid. Will they all return healthy and back to form? Additionally, what is the status of defensive coordinator Greg Manusky? Is this team as good as it appeared before the injuries undercut their season? We'll wait until next season to learn. 1.The had a lot of motivation entering Sunday's game with the postseason on the line and the team would have to do it without , who was inactive with a knee injury. It wasn't easy. After sleep walking through the first two quarters en route to a 10-3 halftime deficit, the finally woke up in the third quarter with a big play. Quarterback found rookie wide receiver on a 47-yard gain, and then Roethlisberger connected with for an 11-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10-10. The then flipped the halves by outscoring the 10-3 in the second half, which was capped off by rookie kicker 's game-winning field goal. Roethlisberger finished the game with 287 yards pa sing, giving him more than 5,000 yards pa sing on the 2018 season, the first of his career. The did what they had to do by securing the win, marking an eighth consecutive victory over the . But with the surviving a scare against the to clinch the AFC North, the will mi s postseason play for the first time since the 2013 season. Despite having nothing left to play for except pride, give the plenty of credit for giving the all they could handle with a hard-fought game. Second-year running back led the offense with 105 yards on 13 carries, and the defense limited the to converting 5 of 15 third-down attempts. But a win wasn't meant to be, and the now head off to the offseason with a third consecutive losing season. Whether head coach Marvin Lewis returns for in 2019 will likely be a big question in the coming days. The showed up for their regular-season finale so that they could take Wild Card Weekend off. Los Angeles (13-3) by easily disposing the for the second time this season. It sets up another playoff game at the Coliseum, where the will be eager to avenge last year's lackluster showing against the . That came one week after the rested their starters in the regular-season finale. Second-year coach Sean McVay coached to win this time around. The ' defense forced a turnover on each of the ' first three po se sions -- in le s than nine minutes -- and then added a defensive touchdown early in the second quarter. Linebacker was responsible for two of Nick Mullen's three interceptions, returning one for a 19-yard touchdown to help the build a 28-3 lead. Los Angeles was relentle s in its pursuit of the ' rookie quarterback, even though it didn't result in the single-season sack record for . The reigning (and po sible repeat) NFL Defensive Player of the Year took down Mullens just once despite double-digit pre sures, giving him 20.5 sacks for the season. Draft positioning was about the Zach Brown Jersey only thing on the line for the entering Sunday. They own the No. 2 overall pick in 2019, their fourth consecutive year drafting in the top 10. San Francisco did manage to finish outside of last place in the NFC West for the first time since Jim Harbaugh's swan song in the Bay (2014). While Kyle Shanahan has had franchise quarterback for only eight starts the past two seasons, his 10-22 mark is not the start to his tenure Niners fans envisioned when San Francisco plucked the offensive guru out of Atlanta. One more note: broke 's very short-lived record for most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history on Sunday. Kittle's nine catches for 149 yards gave him 1,377 yards on the season, pushing him ahead of 's previous single-season record of 1,327 yards and Kelce's 1,336 yards this year. Despite widespread concern and rumors of their demise, the ' defense is in fact still alive. On Sunday, it was well -- or was it? intercepted and returned it for a touchdown, but upon review, it's clear (Carr's intended target) gave up on the play after one second of pretending to begin a route. It was really ugly, but so was most of the rest of the half for Carr and the . Carr to sed another interception on a pa s over the middle which was also nearly returned for a score by . Carr reached halftime with a pa sing line of 15 of 23, 114 yards, two interceptions and a pa ser rating of 40.8. As a whole, the turned the ball over four times in the first half. Things didn't improve afterward. Not great, Bob. On the bright side, the got a really nice day out of , who has struggled to find his footing in Oakland. Martin rushed 21 times for 100 yards, finding open space and hitting the hole with speed we expected to see from him in years past. Unfortunately, it is likely his farewell performance, as he's a free agent in March. caught nine pa ses for 78 yards, but he isn't getting any younger, either. The rebuild continues. The throughout the AFC playoffs. We don't need to spend a ton of time on the winning team, really, because Kansas City did more of what they've done all season. The difference was their defense's contribution, which should be taken with a grain of salt, due to the aforementioned reasons. What is encouraging, though, is the large amount of takeaways secured by the , who were more opportunistic than usual. A couple of those could swing a playoff game in their favor. No miracle materialized in Minnesota this time, only bitterne s. The offense laid an egg against a great defense that had little to play for and lost a chance to earn a playoff spot. For the second straight week, and the offense didn't convert a first down on its first four po se sions. At halftime, Minnesota generated 49 total yards on 25 plays. Cousins will take the brunt of the criticism for another dismal performance. The $84 million quarterback was rattled from the jump, throwing wayward pa ses that never threatened the . Quarterbacks make their money on third downs and the red zone. Minnesota converted a putrid 1 of 11 on third down, and only got to the red zone once. The Vikes offense was a mishmash of unforced errors, poor plays, bad blocking and zero explosivene s. Minnesota didn't have a reception of 20-plus yards on the day and attempted just one pa s beyond 15 yards until the final desperation drives against backup defenders. The offense has myriad of questions to answer this offseason. While they celebrate in Philadelphia -- -- the lo s will rankle Minnesota all year. The frustration began to boil over early in Sunday's crushing lo s. FOX cameras caught Cousins and going back and forth near the end of the first half on the sideline after a miscommunication on a third-down incompletion. The irritation in Minnesota was palpable as an offense with two 1000-plus-yard receivers in Thielen and , a healthy , and a highly paid quarterback couldn't move the ball once again. For its part, Mike Zimmer's defense couldn't get off the field on third down most of the game and got run over by a conservative offense. For a team that entered the season with aspirations, an 8-7-1 record is bitterly disappointing. Changes could be coming in Minnesota this offseason. The story of the game was the ' dismal output, but give the credit for handling busine s. Matt Nagy didn't bench his starters until substituting defenders late in the fourth quarter. The first-team offense played the duration and performed well versus a stout defense. Outside of 's 109-yard, two-touchdown day, the box score won't jump out for Chicago, but did a great job managing the game and converting on third downs. Against one of the stingiest third-down defenses in the NFL, Trubisky & Co. converted 8 of 14 on the pivotal down. The biggest drive of the game came after Minnesota cut the lead to three points late in the third quarter. Trubisky proceeded to lead a 16-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took 9:05 off the clock by converting five third downs (one by penalty). Trubisky made several clutch throws on the drive, including three conversions with his arm on third down. Despite playing without , and seeing and leave with injuries, Trubisky moved the chains repeatedly. Heading home to face the in the Wild Card round, Sunday's performance should have Nagy confident in his offense. Clinging to the AFC's No. 2 seed and a first-round bye, the treated the regular-season finale as if it was a playoff game against a short-handed division rival. New England jumped out to an early lead, holding decisive edges in points (21-3), first downs (15-6) and net yards (232-108) by halftime. Of Gang Green's first 31 offensive plays, 19 went for zero or negative yards. The aura of invincibility may be fading with and in obvious physical decline, but Bill Belichick's outfit will enter January in fine shape. Even with Houston's victory at Jacksonville, the will take through at least the Divisional Round. With starters and on injured reserve and deactivated for disciplinary reasons, the ' secondary was comprised of All-Pro candidate and a cast of practice-squad graduates. Brady found easy rhythm from the opening whistle, spreading the ball around to seven different receivers en route to a season-high 133.8 pa ser rating. Although Brady enjoyed one of his finest first-half performances of the season, Todd Bowles' defense didn't pose much of a test. The second touchdown came on a pretty pa s to , who came wide open thanks to miscommunication in coverage. proceeded to force an fumble, handing the ball back to the Pats deep in territory. Brady failed to see Gronkowski break free on the far side of the field on first down and airmailed a pa s to a wide open in the middle of the end zone on the next snap. Gifted a fresh set of downs thanks to a gratuitous shove from on third down, Brady found for a touchdown and the rout was on. Along the way, the extended their NFL record Cameron Johnston Jersey by reaching 400 points for the 12th consecutive season. Bowles was after the game, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Although the roster is riddled with holes thanks to subpar drafting and a plague of late-season injuries, the next coach can point to Darnold as his potential franchise savior and Adams as the linchpin on defense. Let's start with a critical bit of housekeeping: The win for Houston . This game felt over as soon as popped into the end zone on a 5-yard scoring burst to put the up 10-3 against a squad refusing to move the ball. That touchdown march began when Jacksonville's muffed a punt on Houston's 49-yard line. Facing an edgy defense, looked healthy barreling in for a touchdown of his own before the half, a feat set up by a bobbled pa s that magically landed in the arms of (12/147) in the red zone. The starry wideout made play after play to cap another brilliant season. Watson galloped 12 times for 67 yards and was still scrambling with two minutes to go. He took far too many hits -- his six sacks on the day made it a league-high 62 on the year -- but that's part of the deal with this attack. On defense, appeared to hurt his right arm before the half, but returned wearing a brace to finish the game. This godle s campaign can't end quickly enough for a operation that put up 119 yards on the day, ran for just 30 yards and saw 10 of 11 drives end with a punt or turnover. In what might be the final appearance by in black, gold and teal, the embattled signal-caller threw for 29 yards over the first two quarters, to sed a pick and settled for a field goal after Jacksonville recovered a botched punt return at Houston's 10-yard line. The were dangerously disorganized through the air and saw next to nothing from (10/13) with a banged-up sitting it out and finishing his second season with just 439 yards at 3.3 yards per carry in eight disappointing appearances. Jacksonville sending a 2019 fifth-rounder to Cleveland for Hyde, meanwhile, looms as a steal for the . Few teams league-wide have more work to do on offense heading into a busy offseason. scrambled on 4th-and-15 to find for a diving touchdown. The QB then hit for the two-point conversion to give the an entertaining, dramatic win in a back-and-forth affair to close out the regular season. The Dallas bra s insisted all week they would play their starters. Jerry Jones' team did just that for the most part. sat out, but and the majority of offensive starters who were active played the duration. With three backup linemen at one point, the strategy to put the starting QB in harm's way was questionable, but the wanted a shaky offense to hit the playoffs with a positive performance. They got just that. After a sloppy start, Prescott looked good down the stretch. There are some rickety moments, but when he is in rhythm and hits his reads on time, Prescott proved he can be effective. Dak surpa sed the 300-yard barrier for just the second time on the season, compiling 387 yards on 27-of-44 pa sing with four touchdowns. Perhaps the best news for Dallas was they succeeded in the red zone (three TDs in four trips), a place they've struggled, and Prescott was stellar on third downs. His strike on the game-winning score should provide a boost of confidence for Dallas heading into Wild Card Weekend. Tight end was the star for the , catching three touchdown pa ses (13, 19, and 39 yards). The second-year tight end was Prescott's go-to target all game, catching seven of eight targets for 119 yards and the three scores. Jarwin entered the game with 20 catches and 188 total yards in his career. The past month, the 24-year-old has surged to the forefront for a team that had been searching for Jason Witten's replacement. Heading into the playoffs, Dallas opponents must account for Jarwin, giving Prescott another needed weapon. didn't catch for the rushing crown, but the running back set a rookie record. Barkley caught four pa ses Sunday, giving him 91 for the season to pa s Reggie Bush (88) for most ever by a first-year player. The Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate was stymied most of the day in the season-ender, but popped two huge runs (26 and 68 yards), compiling 109 yards on 17 totes. Barkley's big 68-yard second-half scamper put him over 2,000 scrimmage yards for the season, becoming just the third rookie to reach the mark, joining Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James. With Barkley, -- who played fantastic in the season finale -- and receiver making two fantastic acrobatic one-handed catches, the showed, sans , they have the pieces to be an explosive offense in 2019 if they can finally figure out their offensive line i sues and determine the future at quarterback. In a game that eventually developed into a battle of backups, the ' second-team players proved better than the on both sides of the football. Rookie quarterback was sharp, completing 16 of 27 pa ses for 228 yards and two touchdowns before giving way to in the blowout win. Allen's performance proved more impre sive when considering he faced most of the defensive starters in the first half. Running back had a short day, playing a series in the first quarter, and linebacker left the game in the second quarter. The finish the season at 7-9 and looking forward to the offseason. The (13-3) clinched the No. 1 seed in Week 16 and signaled their approach to a meaningle s game by declaring , and Jr., as inactive. drew the start at quarterback with an opportunity to showcase himself ahead of free agency. Bridgewater, however, didn't produce eye-popping numbers and completed 14 of 22 pa ses for 118 yards and a touchdown with an interception on the game. Still, it would be unfair to evaluate Bridgewater based on numbers, as the signal-caller played behind an offensive line that featured just one starter -- center - after left in the first quarter with a hand injury. While there shouldn't be heavy concerns over the ' offense given the amount of players not playing, it's probably OK to raise an eyebrow over the defensive performance with the postseason on the horizon. The went with virtually all the starters in the first half, but the ' backups, led by a rookie quarterback, had no i sues jumping out to a 23-0 lead. The have been stout on the defensive end over the past month, so Sunday's performance could be an anomaly. Sunday's game was defined by two first-half plays: A fake field goal that produced a touchdown, and a 13-yard touchdown run that looked far too easy to have occurred in an actual NFL game. The fake field goal is the one that will get more run on social media and TV, thanks in part to the fact it was 's first career touchdown pa s (complete to tight end ), and also thanks to former punter Pat McAfee . Detroit dominated a game that will quickly be forgotten in what is also a forgotten season in Green Bay. Matt Patricia earned a much-needed blowout win to earn a little positive momentum heading into the offseason after a tumultuous first season at the helm of the . Not bad from a game that had little meaning otherwise. ' exit due to a concu sion in the second quarter took away the competitive element of this game, but opened the door for intrigue in the form of . The second-year quarterback played out the remainder of the contest, and predictably, Green Bay's offense found itself stuck in the mud. Through three quarters, the had run 32 plays in opposing territory. The had run four, and three of the four came in the final 20 seconds of the third. Kizer's day went like this: A handful of throws that narrowly mi sed targets (finger-grazing pa ses, for example), a healthy amount of drops of catchable pa ses, a couple scares on ill-advised pa ses that could've easily been turnovers (one eventually was), and more than a few rushes for decent-to-significant gains. A 12-yard scramble on fourth-and-9 extended a drive, woke up the sleepy Lambeau Field crowd and even inspired Kizer to signal that yes, he'd indeed achieved a first down. His final line reflected what we saw with our eyes: 16-of-35 pa sing, 132 yards, one interception and a 44.0 pa ser rating. No surprise: Green Bay still doesn't have a reliable option behind Rodgers. Some unheralded who could be key depth players (should Detroit retain them) in 2019 had good games. Zenner rushed for 93 yards and the aforementioned TD. caught two touchdown pa ses, including a really well-placed pa s from Matt Stafford and equally good catch on the part of Jones. And Toilolo caught a TD pa s from a kicker. Fun stuff, friends. A season ago at this time, Buffalo fans were reaching into their wallets to donate to 's favorite charity in celebration of ending the NFL's longest playoff drought. This time around, Sean McDermott's walked off winners following a 42-17 trouncing of the . It was a 6-10 season, though. Yet it was a pleasant Jason Peters Jersey day in Buffalo, as much as it can be pleasant in Buffalo in late-December. , the longest tenured Bill who previously announced he would retire, was celebrated after a career in which he went to five Pro Bowls. He helped an overlooked, but excellent defense that lends promise to the future. And he caught a nine-yard fourth-quarter pa s on offense that brought fans to their feet. The pa s came from rookie , a one-man roller coaster if ever there was one. Allen's game summed up his season as he mi sed horribly on some pa ses, but dazzled with his educated feet to the tune of 95 yards and two rushing scores on nine carries and flexed the big arm and playmaking pa sing to still go 17 of 26 for 224 yards and three touchdowns. A 6-10 season is never good, but all is not lost in Buffalo at season's end. At the start of the season, the were somewhat of a surprising succe s with a 3-0 start. Three weeks ago, the Miami Miracle pushed them a game above .500. Alas, those highlights seem all but forgotten as tumultuous times have hit the , who concluded a 7-9 season. Coach Adam Gase might have coached his last game for the 'Phins and quarterback might have played his last. If so, it ended in brutal fashion with a lopsided defeat. Gase, whose record stands at 23-25 after three seasons, reportedly has some suitors if he's dismi sed by Miami. Tannehill, the eighth-overall pick in 2012, has gone 42-46 with Miami and never started a playoff game (Matt Moore started the team's 2016 playoff game). If Sunday was Tannehill's swan song in Miami, it was hardly a memorable one. He completed 18 of 31 pa ses for 147 yards. He caught a touchdown pa s from , too. Elsewhere, he was sacked four times, lost a fumble, had two interceptions and a 43.4 QB rating. No stranger to racking up fines, 's likely to dig deep again after he launched himself like a mi sile at a sliding Allen in the third quarter. It looked as though at the last second Alonso, despite going in full speed, might have tried to avoid Allen and mi sed a helmet-to-helmet, though his leg whipped around and hit Allen in the face. Allen jumped up and got out of the way as a melee ensued with Alonzo, defensive end and offensive tackle ending their seasons earlier than expected with ejections. So, Alonso's rep for questionable play grows and there was still a little fire shown between AFC East rivals in a game with nothing riding on it. Plagued by close lo ses throughout the season, the (7-9) found a way to win a close one -- and they did so by rallying back from an early two-touchdown deficit. With the teams trading leads in the second half, the managed to close to within a point of the lead late in the fourth quarter to give a chance to win it. The veteran kicker didn't disappoint, hitting a 37-yard field goal as time expired to deliver the ' third straight victory. spearheaded the comeback, connecting on 31 of 44 pa ses for 378 yards and two touchdowns after starting out slow. While changes could be coming to head coach Dan Quinn's staff this offseason, the have to take some solace in knowing they finished the year on a strong note. In what was in Tampa, the (5-11) showed flashes of the early-season promise that was supposed to break their 11-year playoff drought. had one of his best games of the season, connecting on 22 of 35 pa ses for 345 yards and four touchdowns. The chemistry he had on-field with showed how lethal the duo can be to opposing defenses when they're on their game -- even if it came against an injury-hampered secondary. Evans' TD catch over was pure perfection from Winston and Evans. Unfortunately, they needed more of it after Tampa Bay's defense failed to slow down the . With the closing out the season with four straight lo ses, Koetter's stay in Tampa ultimately became an untenable situation for the parties involved. "Look, I've been hired and fired before, and if you can look in the mirror and know you did everything you could to win, then you can hold your head high," Koetter said after the game. Discovering their inner Philly Special helped spark the ' comeback from a 17-0 deficit. Atlanta's version of the play -- let's call it the Dirty Bird Special -- was executed to perfection. found Ryan in the end zone wide open from five yards out to cap off an impre sive, 14-play, 75-yard drive that helped serve as a momentum changer for the . The touchdown cut the Bucs' lead to three points and put them back in the game after they scored a touchdown just before halftime. The 2018 season will go down as the year the Philly Special became the most trick play in the NFL. With the running away with the division 600 miles away, the had little to play for save for pride past 3 p.m. local time in Denver. And yet, the Bolts kept their starters in for three-and-a-half quarters of Sunday's sloppy victory over the , their 12th of the season. and L.A.'s offense looked sluggish for the second consecutive week; their first six po se sions ended in either punts or picks. Their lone score of the first half came on defense, courtesy on a flubbed backward pa s from . L.A. committed four turnovers, including a fumble on an INT return from Denver's goal line. This is not the way the Bolts want to enter the postseason, especially with a rematch with the Baltimore looming. A cause for concern in Carson heading into postseason play: Rivers has thrown as many interceptions in his last three games (6) as he had in his previous 13 contests. Four of them, including the two picks he threw Sunday, have come in the first quarter. If he keeps up that trend in Baltimore next week, it'll be a long night and a longer winter for the Bolts. It's hard to imagine Sunday afternoon wasn't Vance Joseph's last game as head coach in Denver. Two seasons into his tenure, Joseph has an 11-21 record and has overseen the first consecutive losing seasons in history in 46 years. The ' fan base has given up, too. There were 12,073 no-shows in Denver on Sunday, the most since the end of the Josh McDaniels era. We know how that ended. If is the heart of the ' offense, is the backbone. Seattle's final selection in the 2017 draft topped 100 rushing yards for the third consecutive game to finish the year with 1,151 yards. His career-high 122 rushing yards Sunday paced an offense that struggled to move the ball through the air. After Pete Carroll discu sed utilizing a running back committee midway through the season, Carson has instead established himself as the ' feature back. His touchdown in the second quarter gave Seattle a 14-3 lead, and his 11-yard scamper in the final seconds of the fourth set up 's game-winning chip shot. If this was first-year coach Steve Wilks' finale, the gave him all they had. Arizona's defense forced Seattle to keep its starters in for four quarters at CenturyLink Field, collecting six sacks while holding the to 291 total yards and 16 first downs. But the ' own offensive woes (198 total yards) resurfaced in what was another tough outing for rookie quarterback (18 of 34, 149 yards, 1 TD). He dropped a dime on a late third-and-12 that was dropped, forcing a game-tying field goal attempt rather than advancing toward the potential go-ahead touchdown. The No. 1 pick in the 2019 belongs to the (3-13) and the (10-6) claimed the NFC's fifth seed. The latter won for the sixth time in seven games and will play at the next weekend. The boast a potent rushing attack again and still have a strong defense, despite all the turnover. Of course, that was their winning formula prior to last year's playoff absence. Meanwhile, the own the draft's top pick for the first time in the Common Draft Era. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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