Week 17 Recap


The NFL regular season ended with a flourish on Sunday as the final 16 games yielded plenty of surprises.

Heading into the day, I predicted the Broncos, Patriots, Bengals, Colts, Chiefs, and Dolphins would be the playoff teams for the AFC, while the Seahawks, Panthers, Eagles, Bears, Saints, and 49ers would get it in the NFC. I was 10/12.

Surprises:
* AFC Playoff team collapses: The Ravens struggled against the Bengals, which was a pretty safe bet. But I was shocked that the Dolphins imploded against the Jets, falling out of the playoffs. The Dolphins  looked to be in the driver's seat after beating the Patriots to move to 8-6. But the team scored just seven points in losing two games to AFC East foes, falling short.

* The Chargers looked flat. Coming in, the Chargers knew all they needed was a home win to get in the playoffs. And they just had to get by a Kansas City Chiefs team they'd already beaten in Arrowhead that was resting all its starters. So what happened, the Chargers almost blew it. The team needed Overtime and a gift call to make the playoffs.

* The Cowboys played tough. Absent Tony Romo, I figured the Eagles would blow right past Dallas. That didn't happen. As per usual, the Cowboys knifed their fans in the heart in the final few minutes of the regular season. This time it was Kyle Orton throwing the game away. So the question remains, does this help Tony Romo's cause? I think it might.

Disappointment:
* The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. At various points I thought both teams would win the North. In the end, it was the Packers — using Matt Flynn for weeks and getting Aaron Rodgers back at the last minute — that made it happen. Jay Cutler played well, but still somehow seems to be getting blamed for the Bears' loss yesterday. Really, the Bears need more defense to compete.

Predictions:
Here it goes for the playoffs:

AFC:
Round 1: Colts over Chiefs; Bengals over Chargers
Round 2: Broncos over Colts, Patriots over Bengals
AFC Championship: Broncos over Patriots

NFC:
Round 1: Eagles over Saints; 49ers over Packers
Round 2: Seahawks over 49ers; Panthers over Eagles
NFC Championship: Seahawks over Panthers

Superbowl: Broncos over Seahawks

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