2017 Regular Season - Week 17

(Buffalo Bills QB Tyrod Taylor, who has led his side to their first Playoff appearance since 1999, thanks to NFL for the photo)

Week 17 Results

Green Bay Packers 11-35 Detroit Lions

Houston Texans 13-22 Indianapolis Colts

Chicago Bears 10-23 Minnesota Vikings (Vikings clinch First Round Bye in NFC Playoffs)

New York Jets 6-26 New England Patriots (Patriots Clinch Home Field Advantage in AFC Playoffs)

Washington Redskins 10-18 New York Giants

Dallas Cowboys 6-0 Philadelphia Eagles

Cleveland Browns 24-28 Pittsburgh Steelers

Carolina Panthers 10-22 Atlanta Falcons (Falcons grab final NFC playoff spot)

Cincinnati Bengals 31-27 Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills 22-16 Miami Dolphins (Bills clinch AFC playoff Spot)

New Orleans Saints 24-31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jacksonville Jaguars 10-15 Tennessee Titans (Titans clinch AFC playoff Spot)

Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 Denver Broncos

Oakland Raiders 10-30 Los Angeles Chargers

San Francisco 49ers 34-13 Los Angeles Rams

Arizona Cardinals 26-24 Seattle Seahawks

Week 17, the final weekend of the regular season, certainly threw up some dramatic moments.  The Minnesota Vikings knew a win over Chicago Bears in Minneapolis would clinch a First Round Bye in the NFC Playoffs, and they duly grabbed this and cemented the number two seed spot in the NFC.  Elsewhere the New England Patriots knew a win over New York Jets in Foxboro would cement the number one seed in the AFC and home field advantage, and they managed to do this too with an routine win over The Jets.  Atlanta Falcons grabbed the final NFC Playoff Spot after they saw off Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes Benz Stadium whilst Tennessee Titans clinched one of the remaining Wild Card spots in the AFC after they defeated Jacksonville Jaguars in a tight low scoring game in Tennessee.  However the most dramatic moment was saved till last, as the Buffalo Bills made it to the post season for the first time since 1999, clinching the other remaining AFC Wildcard Spot.  Baltimore Ravens had gone into the final weekend in pole position and knew a win at home to Cincinnati Bengals would see them take a playoff spot.  However with Bills winning their game against Miami Dolphins it left Ravens knowing if they could hold onto their 27-24 lead heading into the final minute they would make the post season and Bills would miss out.  But with 0:44 left Bengals scored a Touchdown and won the game 31-27 meaning Buffalo took the final playoff spot in dramatic circumstances.  However in the year we lost Bills fan Kevin Cadle, this seems so apt that they should finally break that 18 year hoodoo, so I'm sure Kevin is looking down with that big smile on his face we all loved.  RIP big man.

Some other notable Week 17 moments included:-

·       Frank Gore reached 14,000 career rushing yards, only the fifth player to reach this milestone in NFL history

·       Philip Rivers became the ninth Quarterback to reach 50,000 career passing yards in NFL history

·       Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara both put up 1,500+ rushing yards each for the Saints, meaning it’s the first time a Running Back duo have recorded such numbers in the same season

·       Shawn Lynch passed 10,000 career rushing yards

·       Indianapolis Colts fired coach Chuck Pagano, this despite winning their final game over Houston Texans 22-13, however they did end the season with a record of 4-12, so a change was probably needed after what was a difficult season.  And Oakland Raiders also fired their head coach, Jack Del Rio, after they ended the season with a 30-10 loss to LA Chargers to finish on 6-10.  They were in the hunt for a playoff place but ended the season disappointingly so maybe this had some say in that decision.

Here are the final standings

AFC East

New England Patriots (13-3) .813 (Clinched Home Field Advantage in Playoffs)

Buffalo Bills (9-7) .563 (Clinched Wild Card Spot in Playoffs)

Miami Dolphins (6-10) .375

New York Jets (5-11) .313

AFC North

Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3) .813 (Clinched First Round Bye in Playoffs)

Baltimore Ravens (9-7) .563

Cincinnati Bengals (7-9) .438

Cleveland Browns (0-16) .000

AFC South

Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6) .625 (Clinched Wildcard Spot in Playoffs)

Tennessee Titans (9-7) .563 (Clinched Wildcard Spot in Playoffs)

Indianapolis Colts (4-12) .250

Houston Texans (4-12) .250

AFC West

Kansas City Chiefs (10-6) .625 (Clinched Wildcard Spot in Playoffs)

Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) .563

Oakland Raiders (6-10) .375

Denver Broncos (5-11) .313

NFC East

Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) .813 (Clinched Home Field Advantage in Playoffs)

Dallas Cowboys (9-7) .563

Washington Redskins (7-9) .438

New York Giants (3-13) .188

NFC North

Minnesota Vikings (13-3) .813 (Clinched First Round Bye in Playoffs)

Detroit Lions (9-7) .563

Green Bay Packers (7-9) .438

Chicago Bears (5-11) .313

NFC South

New Orleans Saints (11-5) .688 (Clinched Wild Card Spot in Playoffs)

Carolina Panthers (11-5) .688 (Clinched Wild Card Spot in Playoffs)

Atlanta Falcons (10-6) .625 (Clinched Wild Card Spot in Playoffs)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11) .313

NFC West

Los Angeles Rams (11-5) .688 (Clinched Wild Card Spot in Playoffs)

Seattle Seahawks (9-7) .563

Arizona Cardinals (8-8) .500

San Francisco 49ers (6-10) .375

These are the final playoff positions:-

AFC

Divisional Round

1^st Seed New England Patriots

2^nd Seed Pittsburgh Steelers

Wild Card Round

3^rd Seed Jacksonville Jaguars

4^th Seed Kansas City Chiefs

5^th Seed Tennessee Titans

6^th Seed Buffalo Bills

NFC

Divisional Round

1^st Seed Philadelphia Eagles

2^nd Seed Minnesota Vikings

Wild Card Round

3^rd Seed Los Angeles Rams

4^th Seed New Orleans Saints

5^th Seed Carolina Panthers

6^th Seed Atlanta Falcons

Here are next weekend’s Wild Card Round fixtures:-

Saturday 6^th January

AFC – Tennessee Titans @ Kansas City Chiefs

NFC – Atlanta Falcons @ Los Angeles Rams

Sunday 7^th January

AFC – Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars

NFC – Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints

The winners go through to their Conference Divisional Round of the playoffs and meet one of the top two seeded teams in their Conference.  The highest ranked Wild Card winner will meet seed number two and the lowest ranked Wild Card winner seed number one, and both Wild Card winners will be on the road of course. 

So the regular season is done for 2017, it’s now time for the post season!!!  Superbowl LII, which takes place at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, is now just over a month away.