Well, we made it. Another regular season is in the books and the only course of action now is to look ahead to the playoffs. But before we do that, it’s only fair to round up a crazy Week 18 of the NFL season. A lot was still at stake heading into the season’s final week. The top seed in the NFC and AFC was up for grabs, and the final wildcard in both conferences was still in play, with a variety of outcomes in play. As always, there was plenty to take away from this weekend.
Farewell to one of the best
We’ve known for a few weeks now that the 2022 NFL season would be the final season of J.J. Watt’s stellar career, but that didn’t make Sunday’s game against the 49ers any less emotional.
The former first-round pick retires as one of the most dominant defenders of all time, amassing 114.5 sacks, 195 tackles for loss, 317 quarterback hits, and 721 total pressures in his 12-year career. Oh, and don’t forget the three Defensive Player of the Year awards, the five All-Pro selections, and a Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
Watt was a menace every time he stepped foot on the field, but he was the ultimate pro and idol, even when injuries took away some of his best years. Before this year, Watt had slowed down over the last couple of years, but he’s leaving the NFL on a high. He ended his playing career with 2 sacks and 3 tackles for loss against the 49ers, giving him 12.5 sacks (tied for 8th-most) and 18 tackles for loss (4th-most) on the year.
The game was a total blowout, and Watt deserved better as a send-off, but he received a standing ovation from everyone in the stadium as he came off the field one final time. Farewell and happy retirement to one of the best players of all time.
The Packers fall at the final hurdle, while the Seahawks clinch
The Green Bay Packers had one job on Sunday night: win. If they did that, then they would seal their place as the NFC’s 7th seed and set up a date with the 49ers in the postseason once again.
It seemed more than likely too. Green Bay had won four in a row heading into Sunday night and both sides of the ball were starting to show some semblance of consistency. With the game being held at Lambeau Field, the Packers were surefire favourites and could have been a danger in the postseason. One final hurdle, just beat the Lions.
They couldn’t do it. The Lions, with nothing to play for after the Seahawks’ win earlier in the day and likely deflated by that result, walked into Lambeau Field and knocked off the Packers 20-16. The big moment in the game came via a penalty and ejection for Quay Walker, who pushed a member of the Lions’ medical staff who was trying to treat D’Andre Swift – that penalty put Lions into a first-and-goal situation and led to Jamaal Williams scoring the game-winning touchdown.
It speaks a lot to the Lions’ character that even with nothing to play for after watching the Seahawks win a nail-biter, they went on the road to a stadium they’ve historically struggled in and came away with a winning performance.
Where this leaves the Packers now is anyone’s guess. That could have been Aaron Rodgers’ last performance in a Green Bay uniform as the team heads down a different path.
For the Seahawks, the real beneficiaries of the Packers’ loss, well, we’ll see them in a week’s time against the San Francisco 49ers as their miracle season continues.
Lovie Smith gets one over the Texans on his way out the door
The Texans have done it again. One year after firing David Culley in his first season in charge, the front office struck again, parting ways with Lovie Smith upon the conclusion of the regular season.
Smith and Culley combined for just seven wins in 34 games, which is poor, but the context is incredibly important here. Both coaches were never given a fair shake of things and were handed poorly constructed rosters with real talent deficiencies. It was really a case of extracting blood from a stone.
Reports of Smith potentially being fired were rife prior to the Colts’ game, so it was mostly viewed as his final game in charge of the team. And boy, did he give ownership the finger on the way out of the door.
A loss against the Colts would have sealed the number one overall pick, clearing the path for the Texans to take a quarterback with the first overall selection if they so desired. Instead, Smith drew one more drop of blood from the stone, with the Texans beating the Colts in miraculous circumstances, converting on two 4th down plays en route to scoring the game-winning touchdown in the final moments of the game, winning 32-31.
Karma probably dictates that it’s fair penance for the Texans after ditching two head coaches in back-to-back years.
The Jaguars are hosting a home playoff game
Who would have thought that the Jaguars would be at the opposite rung of the AFC South ladder this time last year? Not many people, right? But here we are, it’s one year later and the Jaguars are hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2018. Saturday night’s game against the Tennessee Titans was a win-and-in scenario that obviously had a playoff-like atmosphere, but next weekend against the Chargers will be for real.
The swift turnaround under Doug Pederson has been remarkable. The former Eagles’ Super Bowl winning coach has completely revitalised the offense and helped steer Trevor Lawrence back in the right direction, with the quarterback putting forth an incredible second season in the NFL in what can, essentially, be called his rookie season. Lawrence and the offense have impressed, especially during the second half of the season, but it was the defense that came up big on Saturday night.
Granted, it was against Joshua Dobbs and an undermanned Titans offense. But it was how they slowed down Derrick Henry that really stood out, holding the former All-Pro running back to 3.63 yards per carry. Edge defenders Josh Allen and Travon Walker were devastatingly good, and they’ll need to be just as good against the Chargers. Regardless of what happens, this is a real success story in 2022.
Eagles, and Chiefs are the top seeds
After 18 weeks, the top dogs in the NFL are confirmed. Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs and to the Philadelphia Eagles, the number one seeds in the AFC and NFC.
The Chiefs confirmed their status on Saturday night with a 31-13 rout of the Las Vegas Raiders, securing a 14-win season for the second time in the Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes era. The offense has been lights out in 2022, and Mahomes is likely the runaway MVP candidate following his statistical season since 2018, throwing for an NFL-leading 5250 yards and 41 touchdowns, while having a career-high in completion percentage and leading the league in EPA per dropback. And he did it all without Tyreek Hill.
The Eagles were the surprise package in the NFC, winning a franchise-record 14 games and going undefeated for the first 8 games of the 2022 season. They could have locked up the top seed in the NFC weeks ago, but for a timely injury to Jalen Hurts, who returned in Week 18 against the Giants and helped lead his team to a 22-16 win. Now, the Eagles have a first-round bye and can rest Hurts for another week while preparing for their opponents in the Divisional Round.
Both teams are more than capable of making the Super Bowl – the Chiefs looking to make their third with Mahomes under center while the Eagles hope to make it to their first since 2017. There’s every chance we could see the Eagles and the Chiefs face off in Arizona in a month’s time.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @tvalentinesport
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.