2017 Week Seventeen

Week 17 has arrived, which means it’s time for another of my annual traditions. The playoff race is nearing its end, and for several teams this final week will make or break their season. Fifteen games are in the book, and it all comes down to this last week.

Of course, for even more teams this final week means absolutely nothing. Seven of the eight divisions have been clinched, and we’re left with six teams fighting for three playoff slots. The vast majority of matchups this weekend have nothing at stake.

But football is football, and there is always a reason to watch. So, without further ado, here are the games this weekend that have no impact on the playoff field, and why you should watch them anyway.

Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions haven’t had a 100 yard rusher since 2013. This is one of the most remarkable streaks in the NFL, and it shows no indication of ending anytime soon. Earlier this year Ameer Abdullah twice became the first Lions to eclipse 80 yards since 2014, but he’s since been demoted to a backup role, receiving only seven carries in the past two games. Their primary running back now appears to be Tion Green, an undrafted rookie out of Cincinnati.

On the other side we have the Green Bay Packers, a team that has thoroughly given up on the 2017 season. Most of their roster will sit out of this game with injuries, and their defense has hardly been stout, already giving up 100 yard rushing games in the month of December to the likes of Isaiah Crowell and Peyton Barber. I doubt this week will be the one to end the streak, but it very well could be, and if Green is hovering around 80 yards late in the game it might be worth flipping over to watch this rare event.

Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts

These two rosters are exhausting to look at, stripped down to basically nothing by injuries. Neither of these teams was particularly deep to begin with, and they were both basically dead in the water when we learned their franchise quarterbacks were done for the season. Houston at least has some positives to build on as it closes out 2017, while the Colts limp to another season with no hope except the potential for Andrew Luck to carry them on his shoulders again next year.

Neither of these teams is good, so rather than focus on the teams let’s look at a couple individual players on Houston’s side. DeAndre Hopkins and Jadeveon Clowney have done their best to ride through an otherwise miserable season, two of the league’s premier athletes performing ridiculous feats on an almost weekly basis. These two players are an example of how even among the best athletes on the planet a few can stand above the rest, and if you watch them through this game I guarantee you’ll see two or three plays that simply leave you speechless.

Washington Redskins @ New York Giants

This is one of the harder games to come up with any reason to watch. Yeah, the futures of Eli Manning and Kirk Cousins will be heavily talked about this offseason, but we’ve all seen more than enough from those two quarterbacks, and another game from them won’t change anyone’s opinion.

So instead let’s focus on a player who will spend most of the afternoon chasing after one of these quarterbacks. Ryan Kerrigan is one of the most underappreciated players in the league, a consistently excellent pass rusher who never quite makes it into the conversation of the elites in the league. But he has put up at least 7.5 sacks every year since entering the NFL, and in 2017 he hit double figures for the third time in the past four seasons. He’s the sort of player who ten years down the road we’ll see near the top of the career sacks list and ask ourselves how he can be that high. So enjoy him now, because one day you’ll find yourself asking, “Was he really that good?”

Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles

Is Dez Bryant actually good? That’s a surprisingly reasonable question, and not one we would have thought we’d be asking ourselves two years ago. But barring a big game against the Eagles, Bryant is going to finish short of 1000 yards for the third straight season, and it’s worth wondering if he’s still the game changing threat he was earlier in his career. He’s now gone 23 games without eclipsing 100 yards, despite still ranking 11^th in the league in targets this year.

Try to watch Bryant even on plays when the ball doesn’t come his way. Ever since a broken foot limited to nine games in 2015 he has not looked like the same player. His explosiveness simply looks gone, robbing him of the ability to separate with anything other than sheer physical strength. Cornerbacks no longer fear him beating them over the top, and the windows he gives Prescott are too small for the cautious quarterback to risk. If Bryant can’t rediscover his old form, this fundamentally changes the shape of Dallas’s offense going forward, and forces them to consider how they will reshape a wide receiver group they already have a lot of money invested in.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos

This is the last chance for Paxton Lynch. If the NFL was a meritocracy, he wouldn’t get this chance. Though if the NFL was a meritocracy, he wouldn’t have gotten a first chance to begin with. But because he was a first round pick, the Broncos have to do their due diligence and give him every opportunity to prove himself worthy of the investment, even if two years of practice and several games of action have been enough to clearly show he isn’t.

In a way it would probably be better for the Broncos if he plays abysmally. While it would definitely be nice not to give up on a first round selection after two years, a strong performance by Lynch will remove what little clarity exists in Denver’s offseason. Right now they know they need to invest in a quarterback—through the draft or through free agency—and I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that Lynch will be the answer next year. But a good performance could muddy the waters, and make life a lot more complicated for the Broncos front office.

San Francisco 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams

We’ve all heard plenty of talk about Jimmy Garoppolo, but how many people have actually watched him play? There certainly weren’t a lot of eyes on ugly wins over the Bears, Texans, and Titans, and even last week’s impressive victory over the Jaguars was on opposite the Cowboys-Seahawks elimination game.

Garoppolo’s stats are impressive, and this is where I’d normally point out that his actual performance hasn’t lived up to the numbers. And while that’s certainly true, that shouldn’t detract from how much fun he has been to watch. His arrival has breathed life into Kyle Shanahan’s offense, turning a once dreary unit into one of the most creative in the NFL. Much as he did last year in Atlanta, Shanahan draws up some of the most beautiful route combinations in the NFL, and he finally has a quarterback capable of not only executing his designs but making plays outside of them. The Rams may rest most of their best players this weekend, but this will still be a good last test for Garoppolo going into his first offseason as a starting quarterback.

Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers

I have to admit, I did not expect the Browns to be anywhere close to this bad. I expected them to take a serious step forward this year, perhaps even pushing towards a .500 record. That obviously hasn’t happened, as they’re one road loss against one of the best teams in the league away from only the second 0-16 season in NFL history.

This roster is abysmal, and the coaching is even worse. The only thing they have going for them is the individual brilliance of Myles Garrett. Injuries have kept the first overall pick from getting into the Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation, but when healthy he’s been head and shoulders above every rookie in the league besides Marshon Lattimore. He missed the first matchup against Pittsburgh, but now he has a chance to face off against one of the best offensive lines in the league. If the Browns are smart they’ll move him all around, giving him a chance to duel against a Pro Bowl tackle, guard, and center at various points to go after one of the toughest quarterbacks in the league to track down.

New York Jets @ New England Patriots

The Patriots do have to win this game to lock up home field advantage in the playoffs, but that shouldn’t be a problem. The Jets have been better than expected this year, but that isn’t particularly high praise, considering they were expected to be the worst team in the league. And now with Josh McCown out and Bryce Petty in as the starter, they have become as miserable as everyone expected, and they pose no threat to this New England team.

That said, I have to give New York credit for building a competent offense at several points earlier this year. Their scheme is one of the most clever and unique in the NFL, integrating a lot of “college offense” concepts into an occasionally lethal down the field passing attack. Jermaine Kearse and Robbie Anderson have become a quality receiving duo, and if the Jets can find a real quarterback to slide into this scheme next year (along with the return of deadly slot weapon Quincy Enunwa) this could be one of the league’s most exciting offenses in 2018.

Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings

Of all the games on this list this is the one with the most significance. With a win the Vikings can clinch a first round bye, while a loss would open the door for the Panthers to leap them. But that would also rely on both Carolina and the Rams winning and the Saints losing to Tampa Bay. It’s not impossible, but I feel comfortable saying this game won’t have major consequences no matter which way it goes.

We’ll see plenty more of the Vikings, so let’s take a look at Chicago. It’s tempting to call out Mitch Trubisky, but honestly I don’t want to watch any more of him doing his best to play in this lifeless offense throwing to this shell of a receiving corps. So let’s flip to the opposite side of the ball, where Chicago may be building something interesting. Injuries to Pernell McPhee, Jerrell Freeman, and Leonard Floyd have stripped this unit of some of its star power, but they have built up tremendous depth in the front, starting with the exceptional play of Akiem Hicks. Throw in growth from Kyle Fuller and the emergence of rookie safety Eddie Jackson, and this defense has the look of one that could make a leap with just another one or two pieces added.