As the playoff picture is becoming a lot more clear, we've got a lot more entries in this week's roundup of customs for eliminated teams.
First off, the Vikings celebrated Christmas by being slaughtered by the playoff-bound New Orleans Saints. The Vikes were never a serious threat in the NFC North, despite some strong games from Dalvin Cook making him a league-wide threat, but they were capable of some clutch wins and some great moments. None of which happened in this Saints matchup. The good news is that the Vikings put up 33 points, but Alvin Kamara had the bigger game and waltzed past them for 52.
The 49ers were one of a few eliminated teams that managed to not only squeak out a win this week but outdo some stacked odds against them. On Amazon Prime on Saturday, the tech-savvy 49ers looked to be a wash for Kyler Murray and the Cardinals, but C.J. Beathard, the Niners' third-string QB, powered the Niners to a win thanks to TWO Kyle Juszczyk touchdowns [man, I'm glad I made one of him last week], and some intriguing defensive work. This is still a flawed team that'll need some work done in the offseason, but they can still upset a potential playoff team, which is nice.
Similarly, another wild card team, the Miami Dolphins, managed to overcome an early lead by the onetime playoff threats the Las Vegas Raiders and eliminate the black and silvers from the picture themselves. It was a frustrating moment from Carr, Jacobs and the Raiders, a team that had come so close to legitimacy, going toe-to-toe with Kansas City and great teams before coming into some truly bad luck recently. Despite some great work from Nelson Agholor, it was a game of field goals, and a drive with 19 seconds left gave it to Tua and his Dolphins.
The Bengals at this point have just decided to be a furiously alright bad team. Yes, they're not much without Joe Burrow, but they still have guys like Tyler Boyd and Samaje Perine who can run the opposition out of breath. This week, it was the still-terrible Houston Texans they were up against, and despite the usual good effort from Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt, the Bengals still outscored Houston, even led by Brandon Allen, the backup. While they may not be good enough to, you know, compete, the Bengals can still win games...just, against equally bad teams, it seems.
In a battle between two losing AFC West teams, it was the one with the all-but-certain Rookie of the Year that reigned supreme. What surprised me the most about this one was that it was a genuine QB battle- Herbert and Lock were both doing pretty damn well, despite the lower score. Though Melvin Gordon still had the best day with 79 rushing yards, Herbert and Austin Ekeler had the bigger day, and the win. Hopefully if the right people stay intact, the Chargers will be able to compete relatively soon, because Herbert is definitely the answer.
Leave it to the Carolina Panthers to keep the NFC East waiting game going for another week. In a fierce battle against the Washington Nonames, Teddy Bridgewater had another strong performance, Robby Anderson had another TD to add to his strong season, and Curtis Samuel had the best stats of the day. The Nonames will need to punch their ticket to the postseason with a win over Philadelphia...
Which should be relatively easy, given that Philadelphia can't seem to want to win anyway. The Eagles could have made a huge statement against the Cowboys this week. The Cowboys were starting ANDY DALTON for crying out loud. This was a golden opportunity. And yet despite Jalen Hurts' continued startership, the Cowboys STILL outscored the Eagles by 20 points and eliminated them from the playoff conversation. It was a game marred by the Eagles' lack of any defensive prowess due to injuries. Not even a much-needed TD from DeSean Jackson could help our case any. It was pitiful, and I'm sad I even wasted time believing they could actually do anything.
Next week, we decide not only the NFC East champion, but the owner of that all-too-important AFC Wild Card spot. It'll be interesting to see who comes out on top.
