NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Mitch Trubisky wishes he hadn’t signed with the Steelers. Doesn’t every Steelers fan feel the same, except for beachbum.

 

Jaguars win AFC South by beating Titans 20-16



The Jaguars are headed to the playoffs in Trevor Lawrence‘s second season and in Doug Pederson’s first as the team’s head coach. They beat the Titans 20-16 with a gritty, physical team victory.

The Jaguars won their last five regular-season games, including a sweep of the Titans. They won the first meeting 36-22 in Nashville on Dec. 11. Jacksonville (9-8) is headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.


The Titans lost their final seven games to fall to 7-10. They lost starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill to an ankle injury, prompting the signing of Joshua Dobbs on Dec. 21. Dobbs started the last two games, his first two career starts.

The Jaguars defense had four sacks and two takeaways, limited the Titans to only three points in the second half and scored the game-winning touchdown. Dobbs lost a fumble and threw an interception, which the Jaguars used for 10 points.

The Jaguars are the first team since the 2000 Panthers to pull off a fourth-quarter comeback without gaining a first down in the fourth quarter, per ESPN. Jacksonville had minus-1 yard in the fourth quarter.

IN PART; PFT

 

Going into Sundays Action...

 

WHO'S IN?
Before we get into the seeding weeds, let's take a quick look at who's already qualified for the postseason. There's not much room left.


The NFC has six spots filled:

• 
  
  
  • Philadelphia Eagles (13-3, currently the No. 1 seed in the conference)
  • San Francisco 49ers (12-4, No. 2)
  • Minnesota Vikings (12-4, No. 3)
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8, No. 4)
  • Dallas Cowboys (12-4, No. 5)
  • New York Giants (9-6-1. No. 6)

The Buccaneers and the Giants clinched in Week 17 after Tampa Bay won the NFC South (with a victory over Carolina) and the Giants snagged the sixth seed.

The AFC has six teams locked in:

• 
  
  
  • Kansas City Chiefs (14-3, clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference)
  • Buffalo Bills (12-3, No. 2)
  • Cincinnati Bengals (11-4, No. 3)
  • Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8, No. 4)
  • Los Angeles Chargers (10-6, No. 5)
  • Baltimore Ravens (10-6, No. 6)

All the AFC teams that have qualified entered Week 17 with playoff berths already in hand.

WHAT'S AT STAKE IN WEEK 18?
NFC's No. 1 seed and NFC East title

In the NFC, the Eagles had a stranglehold on the top seed a couple weeks ago, right before they fell to Dallas and New Orleans in consecutive weeks with quarterback Jalen Hurts sidelined with a shoulder sprain. It would be surprising if Hurts, who is "trending in the right direction," per coach Nick Sirianni, did not find his way onto the field. Even if he's not 100 percent -- and the Eagles' Sunday opponent, the Giants, have nothing to gain in the finale -- Philadelphia can't risk losing out on that advantage. They have too many injured players who could use a week off, including their quarterback. With the 49ers and Cowboys still in pursuit of that top seed (and Dallas still able to take the NFC East from Philly), there's even more incentive for the Eagles to handle their business.

The Vikings have a chance at the No. 2 seed, but they can't fall further than No. 3. Thus, the remaining drama in the conference concerns the No. 7 spot.

NFC's final wild-card spot
Aaron Rodgers is going to have more to say about "the power of manifestation" if his team beats the Lions on Sunday night and qualifies for the playoffs. The Green Bay Packers (8-8, No. 9 in the NFC) were sitting at 4-8 after 12 games. They haven't lost since that point, and their last two victories have been impressive on both sides of the football. The offense has found a distinctive rhythm in the run game, while Rodgers has apparently developed more trust in his young receivers. The defense has been even more of a revelation. After being inconsistent most of the season, the Packers forced four turnovers in a 26-20 win over Miami and then dominated Minnesota in a 41-17 romp last Sunday.

You want to know how confident the Packers are on defense these days? Cornerback Jaire Alexander told the whole world that Vikings stud receiver Justin Jefferson -- who logged an average of 159.7 receiving yards over his three previous games -- was going to be contained in Week 17, and Jefferson wound up with one reception for 15 yards. The Packers will need all that energy when they face Detroit.

The Lions (8-8, No. 8 in the NFC) won the first meeting between the two teams, and they've been playing great offensively for most of this season. In fact, quarterback Jared Goff hasn't thrown a pick in his last eight games. Lions head coach Dan Campbell has been preaching toughness to his team for the last two years, and this is the moment when they need to be ready to display that. They don't control their destiny to the degree that Green Bay does -- Detroit only gets in with a win and a loss by Seattle -- but this is the biggest game the Lions have played in six years.

As for the final team seeking that seventh seed in the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks (8-8, No. 7 in the NFC) finally showed some life in a win over the Jets after dropping five of six games prior to that. They throttled New York with the same formula that got them off to such a hot start earlier this season: efficient offense and opportunistic defense. That combination should be good enough to get them past the Rams in the finale, but they still need to root for the Lions in prime time.

AFC's No. 1 seed
(EDITOR'S UPDATE: The Chiefs clinched the AFC's No. 1 seed with a win over the Raiders on Saturday.)

The road to the Super Bowl has become a lot more complicated. A league vote created a provision addressing the possibility that the two participants in the AFC Championship Game will have played an unequal number of regular-season games. The simplest explanation is that two things must happen for the AFC Championship Game to be played at a neutral site:

1. The Chiefs wind up with the same number of regular-season losses as the Bills or Bengals.
2. The Chiefs end up playing one of those two teams in the AFC title match.

Any other matchup for that contest will end up being played at the home stadium of the team with the highest seed.

There's also the possibility that the host of a prospective wild-card game between the Bengals and Ravens would be determined by a coin flip. But for that contingency to be implemented, Cincinnati would have to lose its regular-season finale to a Baltimore team operating once again without star quarterback Lamar Jackson.

All that said, the first-round byes remain in play in both conferences. The Chiefs are the front-runner in the AFC after the cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game. If Kansas City beats Las Vegas on Saturday, the Chiefs will have more wins than any other AFC team can muster (14) and the best overall winning percentage. The only way Buffalo can snag the top seed is with a win over New England and a Chiefs loss. The Bengals have clinched the AFC North title, but they cannot advance to the top of the conference -- though they do still have a route to a higher seed. If Buffalo loses to the Patriots and Cincinnati beats Baltimore, the Bengals move to the second spot, with Buffalo falling to three.

AFC South title

(EDITOR'S UPDATE: The Jaguars clinched the AFC South title with a win over the Titans on Saturday.)

As for the rest of the AFC, the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8, No. 4 in the AFC) are poised to take the AFC South on Saturday night from a Tennessee Titans team (7-9, No. 11 in the AFC) that has won that division crown the last two seasons. It's just difficult to see the Titans overcoming all their problems -- from multiple injuries to a weak passing attack -- and taking down Jacksonville at this stage. The Titans are so desperate at quarterback that they're starting Josh Dobbs for a second straight game, and he didn't even join the team until Dec. 21. Jacksonville is younger, healthier and more capable of inflicting damage with an offense led by burgeoning star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

AFC's final wild-card spot
That leaves the last AFC wild-card spot up for grabs between three teams: the New England Patriots (8-8, No. 7 in the AFC), Miami Dolphins (8-8, No. 8 in the AFC) and Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8, No. 9 in the AFC). Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Friday that Skylar Thompson will start in place of Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) against the Jets -- and even with Joe Flacco suiting up for New York, having the rookie under center means this is far from a gimme for Miami. The Patriots could really use a Dolphins defeat, because they've got a tough task awaiting them in their second meeting with Buffalo. Buffalo dominated New England earlier this season. Even with everything they've endured this week, the Bills are still the better team.

Finally, respect to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. A few weeks back, it seemed a certainty that he'd be on his way to his first losing season with that franchise. However, the Steelers are 8-8 with a winnable game against Cleveland coming this weekend. Pittsburgh has one of the toughest paths toward grabbing that AFC playoff spot -- the Steelers need a win and losses by New England and Miami -- but Tomlin deserves credit once again for mining the most out of a young team with obvious limitations.

IN PART...
Jeffri Chadiha
NFL.com Columnist

 

Do the Steelers get to play at a neutral site if they make it to the AFCCG?

 

NFL owners approved a change to the rules for handling a cancelled game on Friday and one of the changes opens the door to the AFC Championship Game being played at a neutral site.

That will happen in the following three scenarios:

1. Buffalo and Kansas City both win or both tie — a Buffalo vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.
2. Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Baltimore wins or ties — a Buffalo vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.
3. Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati wins — a Buffalo or Cincinnati vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.

 

J.K. Dobbins isn’t expected to play Sunday



The Ravens may be down to their third-string quarterback against the Bengals on Sunday and they are also set to play without running back J.K. Dobbins.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Dobbins is expected to sit out in Week 18. Dobbins did not practice on Wednesday, but he was listed as resting and he was off the injury report the rest of the week.


Dobbins did tear his ACL in 2021, however, and he had another knee surgery this season. Sitting out on Sunday would given him extra rest ahead of next weekend’s playoff opener.

Dobbins has run 57 times for 397 yards and a touchdown in four games since returning from the latest knee issue.

PFT

 

I was looking up Cardinals quarterback David Blough to see if he was originally drafted or a UDFA. (He'll be a restricted free agent this offseason, so if Arizona tenders him at the lowest level, another team would not have to cough up a draft pick to sign him. Arizona would still have the right to match whatever offer he gets.)

Turns out he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Browns, then traded to the Lions even before the start of training camp. It's one of the more unusual trades I've seen.

This was in 2019. He was traded for the option to swap seventh round picks in 2022 - if Detroit ended up with a better seventh rounder than Cleveland, then Cleveland would have the right to switch places. If Detroit ended up with a worse seventh rounder, Cleveland would get nothing.

Turned out Cleveland was mediocre in 2021 while the Lions were dreadful. The Browns ended up moving up 11 spots, from #234 to #223 overall. Cleveland kept the pick and used it, taking Oklahoma edge rusher Isaiah Thomas.

Detroit had already traded their pick (whichever one they ended up getting) before the 2021 season got underway. They sent it to the Broncos in a trade for Trinity Benson. Denver then sent it to the Packers as the trade price to move up in the fifth round, and Green Bay used it to select Jonathan Ford.

 

@Torgo

Nice way to end the season!

 

Vikings 29, Bears 13

 

Wtf where the Texans thinking?

 

Bears get the #1 pick.

 

Dolphins beat Jets 11-6 to book playoff berth

 

There will be no 'coin toss'.

 

I can confidently tell you that the Steelers will not be playing a road AFCCG this year.