I'd rest too considering the few guys rested have been banged up at times this season. What I meant was they didn't seem to care for the #2 seed because they probably thought the Dolphins would lose anyways. But hey your guys get to use that next week and it's a dangerous tool to give to hungry dawgs.
Hit my 9-teamer! Also I cashed out my $61.83 for $82.19 when the Eagles were leading because my brother was pissing me off about being an idiot and not betting $300 for guaranteed $700 win or lose.
Sunday Night Football: Washington clinches NFC East with 20-14 win over Eagles Washington will represent the NFC East in the postseason. The Football Team defeated the Eagles 20-14 in the final game of the 2020 regular season, clinching their playoff berth and eliminating the Giants. Washington got out to a 10-0 lead, but Jalen Hurts scored two straight rushing touchdowns to gain a 14-10 advantage. Then Logan Thomas‘ 13-yard touchdown reception put the Football Team back on top 17-14 before halftime. And Dustin Hopkins nailed a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to close the scoring. But this game might be better remembered for head coach Doug Pederson’s quarterback decisions. Benched quarterback Carson Wentz was a healthy scratch, inactive for Sunday’s contest so Philadelphia could activate Nate Sudfeld as Hurts’ backup. Hurts completed 7-of-20 passes for 72 yards, and had 34 yards on the ground. But after Hurts threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal from the four late in the third quarter, Pederson inserted Sudfeld into the contest. He promptly threw an interception and then fumbled a shotgun snap for two giveaways in six plays. Sudfeld finished 5-of-12 passing for 31 yards with an interception. One of the season’s best stories, quarterback Alex Smith was 22-of-32 passing for 162 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He’ll now get a chance to start a playoff game next week. As the NFC’s No. 4 seed, Washington will host No. 5 Tampa Bay next week in the wild-card round. At 7-9, the Football Team is the first squad with a losing record to make the postseason since Carolina won the NFC South at 7-8-1 in 2014. That team was also coached by Ron Rivera. NBC
The NFL announced the wild-card playoff schedule for next weekend. The most highly anticipated scheduling decision involved the Saints-Bears game. Saints running back Alvin Kamara is on the COVID-19 reserve list with a chance to play in the wild-card round only if his team was given a Sunday game. The Saints and Bears play at 4:40 p.m. ET on Sunday. On Saturday, the Colts and Bills begin the postseason with a 1:05 p.m. ET game on CBS. The Rams at Seahawks follow at 4:40 p.m. ET on Saturday on FOX. The NFC East winner — Washington or the Giants — hosts the Bucs in the Saturday night game that kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC. Three more games follow on Sunday. The Ravens and Titans — a rematch from last year, only this year’s game is in Tennessee — are scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC on Sunday. The Bears-Saints play the middle game. The Browns play the Steelers for a second consecutive week with an 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff on Sunday Night Football on NBC.
The Doug Marrone era is over in Jacksonville. The Jaguars have fired Marrone a day after a loss to the Colts left them with a 1-15 record for the 2020 season. The Jaguars fired General Manager Dave Caldwell during the regular season. “I am committed and determined to deliver winning football to the City of Jacksonville,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement. “Realizing that goal requires a fresh start throughout our football operations, and with that in mind I spoke this morning with Doug Marrone to express my gratitude for his hard work over the past four seasons as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I’ll always appreciate Doug’s passion, grit and class, and I’m confident he will enjoy success in the next chapter of his career. As the search for our new general manager continues, now the quest begins to find a head coach who shares my ambition for the Jacksonville Jaguars and our fans, whose loyalty and faith are overdue to be rewarded.” Marrone coached the final two games of the 2016 season on an interim basis after Gus Bradley was fired and then got the full-time job in 2017. The Jags went 10-6 and advanced to the AFC Championship Game that year, but went 12-36 over the next three seasons to touch off the housecleaning. The Jags have already been linked to former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and their mix of early-round draft picks, including the first overall pick in 2021, and cap space should make it an appealing opportunity. NBC
Bengals announce Zac Taylor will return Is 6-25-1 good enough to get Bengals coach Zac Taylor a third year on the job? Yes, it is. The Bengals have announced that Taylor will return for 2021. “Our fans wanted a fresh new direction two years ago, and that is what we aimed to do in hiring a bright, energetic head coach in Zac Taylor,” Bengals owner Mike Brown said in a statement issued Monday morning. “We remain bullish on the foundation Zac is building, and we look forward to next year giving our fans the winning results we all want. In Zac’s two years, we have added many new starters and contributors through the draft, we have invested heavily in free agency, and we have acquired a talented young quarterback with a bright future. “This season we faced challenges with injuries at key positions and missed opportunities. I am proud of our football team for fighting hard through adversity. That adversity and hard work will help us next season. We’ll enter the offseason looking to shore up our weaknesses and amplify the strengths of our talented young core. We are not discouraged, but instead feel motivated and confident that next year will reap the benefits of the work that has been done to date. We must capitalize on the opportunities in front of us. Next year we will earn our stripes.” The Bengals “acquired a talented young quarterback” because they bottomed out in 2019 with a 2-14 record. They doubled their wins in 2020, but lost quarterback Joe Burrow along the way to a serious knee injury. But the Bengals have a habit of not firing coaches with guaranteed salary left on their contracts. That may have saved Taylor, or at a minimum it may have been a factor. It will be interesting to see whether and to what extent staff changes are made, given that Taylor stay. Regardless, Taylor will be back for a third season in charge of the only AFC North team that didn’t make it to the playoffs in 2020. NBC
You do know playoff teams with nothing to gain often rest their players in week 17. Now some will point out the #2 seed was still up for grabs but that would have required the bills loosing and steelers winning. Both possible but what is the reward vs the risk? The reward is homefield except for vs chiefs but as we have all discussed a number of times how much does homefield mean without fans (or very small # of fans). The risk is loosing key players without a bye to get them back. In other words the risk is not worth the reward. Sorry but trying to line up the browns in round one was not the the determining factor for sitting them.
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