NFL Week 17: Turn out the lights, the party's almost over

Should be a Dandy game to end the season.

Will let YGBFKM supply the schedule and comments.

 

No John Friesz. No Steve DeBerg. No Dave Krieg. No Doug Williams. (I don't think the Vikings or Bears ever had a QB wear No. 17.)

 

I think I claimed Jerry Tagge for this one a couple weeks ago.

 

Dammit, I totally forgot!

I once started John Friesz in fantasy football over Mark Rypien and Dan Marino. Oh, the follies of youth.

AFC playoff teams are set, but the seeding is up in the air. The Broncos can take the top seed if they beat the Chiefs and the Texans lose to the Colts. If Foster is out, there's a good chance that all goes down. I would love to see Andrew Luck overcome his terrible passing stats and stumble into an 11th win heading into the playoffs. The Patriots also can vault over Houston if they win and the Texans lose.

Ravens-Bengals to end the regular season should be a great matchup of playoff teams.

Of course, the NFC East and No. 4 seed comes down to Skins-Cowboys, but the rest of the slotting is in flux after the Falcons. The Packers clinch the other bye with a win over the Vikings, and would put the Bears in the playoffs by doing so if Chicago beats Detroit. The NFC West is still up for grabs. A Niners win clinches it, but a Niners loss and Seahawks win means Seattle wins the West. That would be pretty wild.

 

Well, 49ers are home vs. Arizona, so gotta like their chances there.

Can't see the Packers punting a chance at a bye and home game in the divisional round. So it will take Minnesota's best effort to beat them, but it's fun to have Packers-Vikings mean something for both teams again.

Too hard to pick a winner in the Dallas-Washington game, although Dallas' recent history (Romo era) of week 17 division showdowns is not real good.

Texans could fall from a No. 1 seed to a No. 3 seed if they lose at Indianapolis while Denver and New England both win. (Houston wins TB vs. Denver, but loses TB vs. New England; New England swept both Den and Hou, so wins three-way tiebreaker).

 

I thought I read the Colts were locked in the No. 5, which means the Bengals are set at No. 6. I think the AFC just comes down to who falls into the 1-3 spots.

 

No Brian Sipe. Or Matt Robinson either.

 

Colts have some kind of tiebreaker over Bengals, so they're No. 5.

Playoff opponent could be Pats or Ravens. Don't think any Colts fans are rooting for the former.

 

One of the really great things about the upcoming weekend: Bears fans having to ...

 

Nothing going on in daylight hours on Sunday that's going to get me in front of the TV. Sorry, NFL, but you can find me at the golf course and the TV won't be on until Washington-Dallas.

 

Just as the messed up part was Packer fans having to root hard for the Vikings a few weeks ago to beat the Bears at the Dome.

I agree Packers-Vikings will mean a ton. In recent years, both teams have not been really good at the same time. This probably has shades of 2009 (where the Vikings were better) but it will be close to an even match.

 

Speaking as a Colts fanboi looser, let me say: you are 100 percent correct.

Also speaking as a Colts fanboi looser, it's amazing how Indy has done it with mirrors this year. As of now, they are the worst 10-win team in NFL history, as measured by point differential ('86 jets were minus-22 when they went 10-6). Either they remain the worst 10-win team ever by losing to Houston, or they beat Houston and become the only 11-win team to be outscored over the course of the season. The Colts have a minus-14 turnover ratio. They've given up 12 more sacks than their opponents (40-28). Andrew Luck has completed only 54 percent of his passes (not good), and leads the Colts with five rushing touchdowns (not good, either). And yet, they have games like last week, where they give up 350 rushing yards, get outgained by 200 yards -- and win.

Of course, the big stat is the Colts are 9-1 in games deciding by seven or less, and they were a shit-the-bed late long touchdown by Blaine Gabbert away from being 10-0. The Colts are still very much a lousy team, for a team with 10 wins, but one sign of progress is that they don't shit the bed at the ends of close games, while their (mostly lousy) opponents have -- or have done enough of it (like Kansas City) during the whole game that it keeps the Colts close. The problem is, when the Colts' opponent isn't beating itself, Indy can't beat it, and then let the runaway begin -- the Colts' four non-Jax losses have been by an average of 20 points.

It's very likely next year the Colts will be a better team but will have a worse record.