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The penultimate week of the NFL regular season has come and gone faster than most New Year’s resolutions already. Around 20 teams are still in the playoff hunt, so it should be a pretty thrilling race to the finish line in the final week of the season. Even through 17 weeks, there are still plenty of good and bad things to go over. Let’s take a look at the most notable!
Good Scary: The Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills Continue to Roll
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens absolutely demolished the Miami Dolphins in a 56-19 rout on Sunday. Jackson continued to look like a legit MVP candidate by passing for 321 yards and five touchdowns. It was Baltimore’s sixth straight win and tenth in their last eleven games. They’ve been absolutely rolling the majority of the season and locked up the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC playoffs. For the Buffalo Bills, while nothing about their postseason is set in stone, they sure look to be a team nobody else wants to play. The Bills secured their fourth straight win and fifth in the last six games and will win the AFC East with a win against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night. A loss and it’s quite possible the Bills could miss the playoffs entirely. If that doesn’t sum up the 2023 Bills season, I don’t know what does. I’ve mentioned the Dolphins multiple times already, so let’s talk about them next.
Bad Scary: The Trend Is Not The Dolphins’ Friend
I like the Miami Dolphins. I like Mike McDaniel as a head coach. But I’m very pessimistic about the Dolphins’ postseason longevity considering they seem to be incapable of beating a team with a record above .500. Granted, they beat the Cowboys on Christmas Eve but that was their one and only win over a team with a winning record since Week 3 of LAST SEASON. Despite their 11-5 record, the Dolphins haven’t been overly convincing. They got demolished by the Ravens in Week 17 but have a chance to knock out the Bills in Week 18 and win the AFC East. Does anyone feel confident they can get that done? The loss of Bradley Chubb is going to be a massive loss on the defensive side, and it just seems like the Dolphins aren’t going to figure it out this season, which is unfortunate.
Good Scary: Colts, Texans Ready For Showdown
The Texans dominated the Tennessee Titans, and the Colts dismantled the Raiders in their respective Week 17 matchups. It all comes down to Week 18 for the Colts and Texans. The winning team punches their ticket to the postseason and the other likely starts their off-season. For the two franchises, it’s pretty phenomenal to see both in this position considering what pre-season projections had both of them. (Hand raised, I was one of them) Regardless of the outcome of their Week 18 match-up, both teams and fan bases seem to be reinvigorated after a few seasons of misery.
Bad Scary: David Tepper, Owner & Ass Clown
The Carolina Panthers are the worst team in the NFL. This was confirmed on Sunday when the Panthers suffered their 14th loss of the season, a 26-0 shutout to the Jaguars. Video taken at the game shows Panthers owner David Tepper, apparently so fed up with the situation, that he threw a drink at some Jaguars fans from his suite. Now, he may have been getting some verbal arrows thrown his way throughout the game, but an NFL owner can’t act like that. The league just dumped Dan Snyder; they don’t need his replacement this quickly. Tepper should get a hefty fine from the league. Panthers GM Scott Fitterer needs to find a new head coach. That head coach needs to be comfortable with A) Bryce Young, B) not having a first-round pick in 2024 and C) having David Tepper as a boss. None of those three things are ideal for any coach hoping to make a name for himself in the league. The Panthers job is by far the worst in the league and it’s not even close.
