NFL Week 17 Recap: Not Resolved Yet
The final Sunday and Monday of the calendar year sets up the stage for the final week of the season
When I wrote the description for this recap, I was thinking, "It's amazing. Decades ago, the NFL season ended on the final weekend of the year with the championship." The NFL calendar has adapted, along with the league itself, but the final weekend of the calendar year continues to be pivotal, because that is when the penultimate week of the regular season takes place. Five games already took place in Week 17, and the final 11 games occurred on Sunday and Monday. For perspective, the focus will only be on the playoff relevant games.
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Sunday still needing a win in their final two games to lock up the AFC North, and they were against their favorite punching bag: the Cleveland Browns. However, the game reeked of a phrase very familiar to football fans: trap game. A "trap game" is a game where a strong team playing for something is up against a bad team with nothing to lose, and it's usually the latter who gets taken for granted by the former. This often results in the strong team playing down to competition, and at times, they either barely win, or they lose.
In the case of the Steelers, it was the latter--in both regards.
One thing that gets said a lot about Mike Tomlin that even I can't argue against is that he tends not to take certain teams seriously. I have seen evidence of this for years, dating back as far as 2017. He never takes the Browns seriously. He didn't in that 2020 AFC Wild Card Playoff, and the Browns tore up the Steelers... in Pittsburgh. Steelers had also lost three straight in Cleveland. It's four now. A 13-6 loss to the Shedeur Sanders-led Browns, who played so badly, but did just enough to beat the Steelers. The only thing the Steelers did right was keep Myles Garrett from getting that sack record against them, but even so, they are now in a do-or-die situation for the division.
Regarding the other mediocre division in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers entered Sunday with a chance to clinch the NFC South, but they were at home against a Seattle Seahawks team looking to get not only the NFC West, but the #1 seed as well. They would need to win and get help from the lowly Miami Dolphins, as they were hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Funny enough, Miami was doing their part. They had benched Tua, and they really showed out against the still-sputtering Bucs, leading to a 20-17 victory for the Dolphins. So all Carolina needed to do was win, but the Hawks were too much for them. Seattle won 27-10, moving one step closer to their goal. As for the NFC South, it will need the final week, but a crazy wrinkle has been added. More on this later.
Congratulations to the New England Patriots, who locked up the AFC East for the first time since 2019 on Sunday. The Patriots absolutely flattened the New York Jets, but still needed the Buffalo Bills to lose. The Bills were at home against the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that saw the Bills offense sputter, but the Eagles didn't do too much. The Bills had a chance after Philly was held to 17 yards of offense in the 2nd half, and Philly stopped a two point attempt to hold on and win it 13-12. So the Bills will be a Wild Card, and New England remains alive in the race for the #1 seed. The Jacksonville Jaguars are also in the hunt for #1, as their 23-17 victory over the hapless Colts moved them one win closer to the AFC South as well.
We were treated to an offense-filled battle on Sunday Night Football between the Chicago Bears and the San Francisco 49ers, two teams who were in the hunt for the #1 seed, but in this game, the losing team is out of that race, while the Seahawks are looking for a tie in this game. The game started with Brock Purdy doing the one thing he does best: throw a Pick 6. What followed was CMC and the defense doing their best to bail Purdy out. Touchdown after touchdown after touchdown. It was tied at 7, 14, 21, 28, and even 35--the first ever regular season game to have this occurrence. 42-38 was the final score overall, in San Francisco's favor. As a result, the Bears can't get the #1 seed, and also, as a result of this win and Seattle's win, the Los Angeles Rams cannot win the NFC West.
Speaking of the Rams, they were in Atlanta against the Falcons on the final Monday Night Football contest of the regular season, and it was not going well for them at first. Matt Stafford was playing so badly; he threw a pick 6 in this game, and the Rams trailed 21-0 and 24-3. However, the Rams clawed back thanks to some takeaways, and the game actually ended up tied late. The Falcons did get to field goal range, and Zane Gonzalez nailed a 51-yarder with 21 seconds left, which was followed by the defense doing the rest. The Falcons won, 27-24, and we appear to be seeing an inverse regarding the Rams. The Rams spent the two previous seasons starting badly, but ending well. This year, they started strong but they are falling.
Oh, and you know who isn't happy about this result? The Bucs. Atlanta's win improved their record to 7-9. If the Falcons actually win their finale to finish 8-9, the Bucs will be eliminated regardless of their own outcome. This is because Carolina, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay all finishing at 8-9 would make Carolina the first place team due to a combined head-to-head tiebreaker.
And here we go, folks. 256 games in the books, and just sixteen to go. The 18th and final week of the 2025 NFL season will take place in the first weekend of 2026. No Thursday football, no Monday football, it's two games on Saturday and the rest on Sunday. The Saturday doubleheader will kick off with the battle for the NFC South between the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, followed by the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers battling it out for the NFC West and the #1 seed. The regular season will end with the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North crown on Sunday Night Football.
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Check out my recap on the Christmas and Saturday games!
About the Creator
Clyde E. Dawkins
I'm a big sports fan, especially hockey, and I've been a fan of villainesses since I was eight! My favorite shows are The Simpsons and Family Guy, etc.
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