Five talking points from Week 18

Two hundred and seventy two games played and we have finally reached the end of the regular season schedule.

It has been one of excitement and intrigue. We have seen teams such as the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks achieve over most people’s expectations, whilst teams such as the Rams, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos have all failed to live up to the hype. It just goes to show that whatever you think you know about this league, you don’t.

Whilst fourteen teams will be looking forwards towards their playoff chances, for the remaining eighteen teams, offseason plans can begin to formulate and that has already resulted in head coaching casualties in Texas for Lovie Smith and Arizona for Kliff Kingsbury. With job openings also available in Denver, Indianapolis and Carolina, there will be many big questions looming over the upcoming searches.

As this series reaches its regular season conclusion, it’s now all eyes forward on State Farm Stadium and the race to reach Super Bowl LVII. So for the final time, here are my five talking points from Week 18:

Chargers stumble into the playoffs

The Chargers had literally nothing to play for this week. Win or lose to the Broncos and they would get the no. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs and go on the road to face the Jaguars. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, the Chargers played all of their most important players for almost the entire game, even after watching stars go down with injuries that could hamper their chances in the playoffs.

The Chargers had won four in a row and so head coach Brandon Staley must have valued carrying that momentum into the postseason over playing it safe with injuries. The problem with that? His team got injured.

Wide receiver Mike Williams suffered an ugly back issue and needed to be carted off the field, Joey Bosa, who missed 12 games this year after groin surgery, also left the game in the first half, Justin Herbert, who has dealt with a painful rib fracture all season, didn’t come out of the game until the fourth quarter. It’s surprising from Staley, who has firmly adopted a strategy of benching everybody in meaningless preseason games.

There’s no right or wrong way to handle these scenarios—some prioritise rest whilst others try to keep players sharp. The Buccaneers, locked into the NFC’s no. 4 seed, played Tom Brady and the starters for a bit; the Giants, locked into the NFC’s no. 6 seed, pulled basically every meaningful player. The Chargers were the only team to play everybody all game and all it got them was at least one critical injury and a loss to division rivals Denver. 

A bright future in Motor City

When the Seahawks beat the Rams in overtime during Sunday’s afternoon slate, Detroit was eliminated from the postseason, rendering their impressive rally in the second half of this season sadly irrelevant regarding playoff football.

There’s no such thing as moral victories in a results-driven business, but that doesn’t mean the fans shouldn’t be excited for their future expectations based on this game and this season.

It seemed like the Lions would have little to play for this season when they started off 1-6, only to turn things around behind a talented young core of rookies and keep their hopes alive until the closing hours of the regular season. Was there any doubt a Dan Campbell-led team would give it everything after what we saw on Hard Knocks?

The heartbeat of the Lions comes in the form of five 300-plus-pound men leading the way for the entire team. Detroit’s offensive line is among the best two or three units the NFL has to offer. The group is powerful at the point of attack to open holes for the talented running back tandem of Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift.

A top-five offence overall is exciting. On the other hand, the league’s 32nd-ranked defence is a great starting point for how the Lions can get better this offseason and build upon an already fantastic core of talent. Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, James Houston, Malcolm Rodriguez and Kerby Joseph are key pieces, but so much more is needed. Maybe Jeff Okudah finally comes around and realises his potential as a former third-overall draft pick.

The Lions aren’t just a feel-good story. They’re building things the right way with a strong foundation. The team is buying into Campbell’s philosophy. The front office has multiple draft picks in this year’s initial two rounds. And the defence can only get better from what everyone saw this season. Beware of these brand-new Lions.

Jacksonville flip the script on their season

In Week 11, the Titans were 7-3 and the Jaguars were 3-7. The teams being scheduled to play their regular-season finales against one another in Week 18 seemed like merely a formality, an opportunity for the Titans to rest their starters while the Jags, once again, played for draft positioning.

For the Jaguars to get there in Year 1 of the Doug Pederson era, after the chaos wrought by the former Coach Urban Meyer, is a miracle. Pederson turned second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence into a legitimate star, and the defence, though inconsistent, has the talent up front to be a nuisance from time to time.

Jacksonville transformed into a great NFL team overnight and with little warning. Between Week 16 of the 2019 season and Week 8 of this season, the Jaguars went 7-36. I was there for their Wembley game against a Denver team that at that point, couldn’t get out of their own way and the Jags still looked terrible. Labouring, inaccurate, sloppy and easy to beat. Since then though Doug Pederson has performed one of the more miraculous transformation jobs that the league has seen for a long time and from Week 9 of this season on, they went 7-2.

The Jags closed their season on a five-game win streak; the Titans closed theirs on a seven-game losing streak and when the Jaguars beat the Titans 20-16 on Saturday night, it completed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent NFL memory.

Have we seen the last of Rodgers in Green Bay

Aaron Rodgers could not lead the Packers to the playoffs in the final game of the 2022 regular season, falling 20-16 to the Lions at Lambeau Field in Week 18. And not even he knows if it will end up being the final game of his NFL career.

The reigning MVP quarterback was admittedly undecided about what lies ahead, suggesting he could either retire at age 39 or return in 2023, but will once again need some time to finalise plans alongside the team.

“Do I feel like I have anything left to prove to myself?” the QB asked himself later in the press conference. “Do I wanna go back and gear up for another grind? Or is it time? Is it time to step away? Is it time for another voice to be leading this team? I think I need to get away and contemplate those things.”

Rodgers made it clear that his decision will also factor in the Packers’ plans and wishes for 2023, both at QB and elsewhere on the roster. Asked if he’d consider playing for another team in the event Green Bay desired to move on “I’m not gonna hold ’em hostage,” he said. “I understand we’re still in January here, March is free agency, so I just need some time to get the emotion out of it and then figure out what’s best. I think there’s gotta be (a) mutual (decision) on both sides.”

After throwing an interception in what could be his final pass at Lambeau Field, Rodgers fuelled speculation by declining to trade jerseys with the Lions’ Jameson Williams after the game (possibly because he wants it as his own keepsake).

Texans lose even when they win

Lovie Smith oversaw a vastly improved team down the stretch this season, winning two games and losing to the Cowboys by four in Dallas and the Chiefs by six in overtime. Sunday was proof that he had no designs on this tanking business and as such it has cost him his job.

Nobody wants to be the worst team in the NFL, except for the owner and general manager of the worst team in the NFL. Unfortunately, the Texans players and coaches had no reason to go along with this apparent tank job as everybody on the field had something to play for, and it wasn’t the Texans’ draft odds.

Two weeks ago, the Texans beat the AFC South–leading Titans and this week, they pulled out a miracle fourth-quarter comeback against the Colts to drop Houston to no. 2 in the draft order. The Bears will now pick first overall and as such we will now spend the next four-plus months dissecting what that will mean for both franchises. After all, Chicago could trade its pick back … but it will cost Houston?