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Week 17 Open Game Discussion

Week 17 Open Game Discussion
Photo: USA Today Sports Images

Alright, kids. Let's finish up this regular season. Who's making the wild cards from each conference? Seattle or Atlanta? Baltimore (probably) and Tennessee, or the Chargers, or maybe even Buffalo? Discuss all of Week 17's game action here.

Comments

63 comments, Last at 01 Jan 2018, 10:13am

1 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by Cythammer // Dec 31, 2017 - 1:47pm

Jets kinda hanging around with the Patriots, even with Bryce Petty as the QB. Seems like every Jets game this year has been like this: doing better than expected against superior opposition, before eventually losing a relatively close game.

2 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by Bright Blue Shorts // Dec 31, 2017 - 1:48pm

Cleveland doing their best to secure that (Im)perfect season. -16 net yards to Pittsburgh's 169 and already 14-0 down.

4 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by JoeyHarringtonsPiano // Dec 31, 2017 - 1:52pm

Mark Schlereth is a horrific color commentator. He starts off the broadcast by flat out body-shaming Mike McCarthy, and then he continuously gets players' names wrong, and yaps inanely during the middle of plays.

Even on his worst day, Phil Simms was never this annoying.

12 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by Bright Blue Shorts // Dec 31, 2017 - 3:42pm

Jets just threw in the towel with 10-mins to go against the Pats.

Down 24-3 they kicked a FG on 4th&9 from Pats 17 to make it 24-6. It's still a three score game and they didn't even try an onside kick.

Perhaps they were hoping to capitalise on the Pats pulling their starters with HFA locked up ... except Brady's still out there.

17 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by erniecohen // Dec 31, 2017 - 4:22pm

Can someone explain why JAC is playing starters today? Is the plan to "fix" whatever bad taste was left from last week, and then take them out for the second half so that TEN can win?

20 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

Tanier wrote a good article about this, this week.

He pointed out that a perennial playoff team like the Steelers can afford to rest starters because the organisation know how to cope with the bye week etc.

With a team like the Jags they don't have a winning culture and you don't want to knock their confidence by realising the backups aren't good enough.

But he also points out that the Rams are in the same situation as the Jags and they're resting starters.

I suspect Jags are starting starters because Coughlin tells them to.

19 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by Cheesehead_Canuck // Dec 31, 2017 - 4:27pm

If I’m Jacksonville I’d rather play the Titans again next week than the Chargers (or possibly Bills). But I suppose if the Ravens lose then Tennessee could jump to 5 so even that wouldn’t be a sure thing.

34 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

Good question:

Since the merger (up to 2008) a team went 2-0 vs. an opponent and faced them again in the playoffs 17 times. They went 11-6, 9-3 at home. That's a small data set, though. And it doesn't apply here, as the Titans beat the Jags badly in September. My google-fu is not working for results when division rivals face off in playoffs.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/indexf7f8.html?p=458

26 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by Cythammer // Dec 31, 2017 - 5:24pm

At the moment all results are going the Bills way. They were the team with the longest odds of making the playoffs when the day began, but their chances have only improved since.

38 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by Cheesehead_Canuck // Dec 31, 2017 - 7:01pm

Jags keeping it interesting with a defensive TD. Ravens in Bengals territory. Depending on how those games end, either Bills or Chargers (or maybe both) are going to have a very crummy night after both are handling their opponents with ease.

39 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by roguerouge // Dec 31, 2017 - 7:11pm

Big fight in the Dolphins-Bills game, with lots of flags, punch thrown by Drake, somebody walked off the field already. Drake's being restrained from heading onto the field by Aiken. 6 personal fouls on the play. Three ejections, one for "disrespecting the official" by #14. And, of course, the refs got at least two numbers wrong.

TD.

Landry and Drake are ejected.

42 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

And the Dolphins recovered the onside kick, a variation on the last one they kicked successfully... against the Bills.

It would be a lot easier for the tie to happen if the Dolphins hadn't gone for it on 4th and 3 in the first quarter on the 13 yard line.

45 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by Cheesehead_Canuck // Dec 31, 2017 - 7:54pm

The old eye test (and DVOA) tells me the Ravens and Chargers are by far the better 9-7 teams. But...tiebreakers.

46 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by Steve B // Dec 31, 2017 - 7:55pm

No idea what Mosley was doing there. Is it possible Harbaugh's out if the Ravens lose? For sure at least one of their coordinators will be gone.

48 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by Al Hirt Hologram // Dec 31, 2017 - 7:57pm

I' in the mood for esoteric number-ing. Should a team with a TD up by 3 near the end go for 2 because of the "*need* a TD/take the FG to tie effect"?

54 Re: Week 17 Open Game Discussion

by Cheesehead_Canuck // Dec 31, 2017 - 8:44pm

Anybody out there know the last time all four home teams won WC weekend? I don’t like any of the road teams in an upset but it happens so often I feel like I have to pick one. (Probably Bills because no one seems to get the weak team out of that round like the Patriots do)